Finally Building Now

[billdcat4]

I just got off of the plane and I want to start getting the final opinions on what I should buy for my new rig.

Parts that I have already:
Antec P182
Corsair VX550W
Shin-Etsu X23
Intel X25M 80gb SSD

I want to have a system that is as quiet as possible while having a bit of modern power under the hood. i7 is out because of the cost, but Phenom II seems to be excellent.

Is it really worth the extra $45 to get the Phenom 940 over the 720? What about the 920 and the 810?

I was thinking of getting one of these three combo deals with the Biostar 790GX mobo. Any comments on the mobo choice?
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!


I really want to get a 4770 because of the low power consumption, but seeing how they aren't in stock anywhere AFAIK, the price-reduced 4850 seems like a deal. I can also add on the Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 onto it (which I cant do on the 4770)
How would the XFX 4850 do for $90 AMIR? It has an aftermarket cooler which should make it quieter.
Newegg.com - XFX HD-485X-YDFC Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Are these better cards/deals?
https://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=XFX-487G1B
https://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=AT-487_512
I think there is a Bing.com (winlive) cashback discount. Anyone know about this or any promo codes?

Mushkin 4gb DDR2 800 RAM $42 AMIR
Newegg.com - mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996587 - Desktop Memory

I think the Scythe Mugen 2 HSF should be a good choice at $37. It comes with a relatively quiet fan as well has a bolt-through mounting system. Should be able to cool an OC'd 720/940 with the fan@5v too.
Newegg.com - Scythe MUGEN-2 SCMG-2000 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

I plan to use the SSD for the boot drive and my HDs for data. I also plan to use an external USB DVDRW so I can unplug it when unneeded and get rid of the noise.

Ordering soon!

[Harvestor]

The combo with the 920 looks to be the bang for your buck, the ram looks good I would also go with the 4850 and put the Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 on it.

heat sink looks to be good.

[billdcat4]

The combo with the 920 looks to be the bang for your buck, the ram looks good I would also go with the 4850 and put the Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 on it.

heat sink looks to be good.

What is the difference in max OC between the phenom II cpus? 720BE, 920, 940BE

Bang for the buck is important. The X25M is a splurge and will hopefully make my PC pretty darn fast. *fondles X25M*

Is it worth sticking with the IGP for a week or two until 4770s come back in stock?

[logain]

920 will be more difficult to overclock. 720be I think is best bang for the buck. Personally since you are starting out new, I would go with an AM3 board and ddr3 ram. ddr2 is on its way out.

[billdcat4]

920 will be more difficult to overclock. 720be I think is best bang for the buck. Personally since you are starting out new, I would go with an AM3 board and ddr3 ram. ddr2 is on its way out.

Easy to OC is kind of important as I am new to that too

Is it really worth the extra $50-70 or so to upgrade to AM3 and DDR3? It doesnt offer a real performance advantage now AFAIK and even if newer and faster DDR3 becomes the standard, who says that an AM3 board will be able to use it.

I am currently using an Intel 925X one of the first DDR2 mobos. DDR2 533 wasnt any faster than PC3200 then but once DDR2 800 came out...

Does anyone have any spare/used parts that I could use? HSF, RAM, Mobo, etc

Also, what about getting an OpenBox ASRock 780g ATX mobo for $35 less than the Biostar? If I did that I could get the 720BE@ewiz for $133FS and save an extra $7.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16813157157R

PS Any Idea when the replacement for the 720BE is coming around i.e. 725BE/735BE with more OCing potential like the 945/955?

[anticupidon]

Personally i will buy this mobo and this cpu

http://http://www.newegg.com/Product...82E16813130223

http://http://www.newegg.com/Product...82E16819103674

Maybe a bit more expensive but in almost all benchmarks this cpu is a bit behind i7 so ...
The mobo also has soe excelent rewiews and really is easy to oc with the OC Dial

[billdcat4]

Personally i will buy this mobo and this cpu

http://http://www.newegg.com/Product...82E16813130223

http://http://www.newegg.com/Product...82E16819103674

Maybe a bit more expensive but in almost all benchmarks this cpu is a bit behind i7 so ...
The mobo also has soe excelent rewiews and really is easy to oc with the OC Dial

your links dont work
I assume you mean the 955BE and the Gigabyte 790GX

too expensive for my tastes really. I need enough to buy a netbook too

[Violet_wind]

Personally I'd get the PhII 710 + the cheapest mobo I can find with 4 slots for RAM.

As with the video card, if your not folding, the HD 4850 for the price, is a bargain.

[randomizer]

Working links from the above post:

Newegg.com - MSI 790FX-GD70 AM3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

[anticupidon]

Working links from the above post:

Newegg.com - MSI 790FX-GD70 AM3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

Thanks a lot Randomizer

[logain]

My reasoning for ddr3 has nothing to do with performance. It has to do with if something should fail, how difficult will it be to get replacements for already out of date hardware.

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 DDR3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

Newegg.com - XFX HD-485X-YDFC Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBHK - Desktop Memory

Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor - Processors - Desktops

[billdcat4]

My reasoning for ddr3 has nothing to do with performance. It has to do with if something should fail, how difficult will it be to get replacements for already out of date hardware.

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 DDR3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

Newegg.com - XFX HD-485X-YDFC Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBHK - Desktop Memory

Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor - Processors - Desktops

For the $65 extra I could get a lot more than just DDR3.
Again, I have the first DDR2 motherboard so I know about being happy that I dont have to buy outdated tech, but I can't justify the extra cost that easily. For that amount I could get the 940BE or another 4gb of RAM.

Also, might there be any compatibility issues between the 790FX chipset and my X25M?

So, if I go for DDR2, the Motherboard, RAM, GPU, CPU, HSF are recommended?

I feel kind of bad for not jumping on the same parts 2 mos ago when the package was $50 cheaper

[Violet_wind]

Go DDR2, methinks. Save the money and bank it!

[billdcat4]

Go DDR2, methinks. Save the money and bank it!

for the extra $65 I would much rather have a Xonar DX sound card
or a better CPU, or more RAM, or a faster GPU

How are the rest of the components?

So far:

Phenom 720BE $140
Biostar 790GX 128M $80 AMIR after Combo
Mushkin 4gb DDR2 800 $42 AMIR
Scythe Mugen 2 HSF $37
Scythe S-Flex 120mm 1200rpm case fan $17
XFX Radeon 4850 $90 AMIR

What about G.Skill DDR2 1066 for an extra $10 or so?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231166
What about G.Skill Pi DDR2 800?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231209

[Violet_wind]

OC the ram and consider getting a 710. Evey cent saved is good.

[randomizer]

710 is not a BE though.

[billdcat4]

710 is not a BE though.

I'll pay $20 more for another 200mhz or so

Is it worth it to get the 1066 ram?

[Violet_wind]

They crap out OC at about the same level.

[billdcat4]

They crap out OC at about the same level.

710 doesnt have the same combo deal as the 720BE which makes it the same price technically

How does getting the Openbox ASRock 780G ATX board for $64 sound?
It would save me a bundle

[billdcat4]

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!
How is the ASUS M4A78T for a combo that comes out to $18 cheaper than the Biostar? Plus, its AM3 so I can upgrade to DDR3 for the same cost as DDR2

Which company would have better features/tech support/RMA turnaround?

http://www.google.com/search?q=ASUS+...ient=firefox-a
The ASUS board looks like a great deal for me!