$400 rig around a 3870 x2

L

LateraLex

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 14, 2008
Messages
391
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc Gaming - Borderlands, TF2, etc
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included? $400 including shipping & tax (MA)
3) Where do you live? MA
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific. CPU, RAM, case, mobo, HDD, PSU
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model. 21' LCD, HD3870X2 Radeon video card, keyboard and mouse
6) Will you be overclocking? Nope
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have? 21
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? ASAP!
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc. Nothing special...
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? Will buy Win7
 
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Ah budget builds. My speciality. ;)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.265959 Antec VSK200/Earthwatts 500w combo. didn't see you mention a PSU in your reuse items. $104.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103694 AMD Phenom II x2 545 $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231208 Gskils Ripjaws 2x1GB DDR3 1333 $46.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128392 Gigabyte MA770-UD3P. $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181 Samsung Spinoint F3 500GB $54.99

My total in the cart is $376.94. I live pretty close to you and with shipping it comes to $406.73. Minus a $10 MIR and your on budget. I added a PSU to the build to be on the safe side, obviously if you just need a case you'll have some more room. This build has a lot of headroom in it(Phenom down the road or the new AM3+ cpus, more mem, should OC well, tons of connections), they OC well, and are pretty stable boards.
The price of RAM has gotten nuts for a low budget build. I'd patrol the forums to find some deals myself.
 
Cant go wrong with either of those builds. If you need a PSU, get Ghettobox's build; if not, shiro's. And if not, which PSU will you be using?
 
I don't suggest A-DATA memory because of high voltage needed at times and Seagate LP is storage drive.
 
Yeah the price of RAM has really jumped - how come? I built a rig a few months back and I seem to remember you could get 4GB for like $30-40!

I do actually need a PSU, but unfortunately the combo deal in GhettoBox's post has expired. Any other cheap case & PSU combos?

Also, it seems like AMD is now the recommended processor of choice... is that just for the cheap builds? The combo w/ the Asus board looks good. I've become of a big fan of Gigabyte boards lately, but have always had good luck with Asus as well.

Appreciate all the help...
 
Yes, AMD for lower budget builds, as their performance-equiv Intels are priced higher. I don't think you can go wrong between those two brands (Gigabyte and Asus).
 
I think Hossdaddy's reccomended PSU would do the job. Stay away from the Earthwatts 380 and the Corsair 400cx. They simply are way underpowered for your video card. Minimum PSU is 550W 30amp on the 12v rail for your card, in my build I went with the Antec 500w for the combo price. I knew it was pushing the PSU but would be safe. Go lower than that and you are asking for trouble.

Here is some quick reading for you regarding PSU's and your GPU.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-3870-x2-review--his/5

And another Antec combo in the same price range.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129024 Antec sonata case/500w Earthwatts.
 
FYI, the Corsair CX 400W has 30A on its +12V rail. :p Not sayin you should get it for your HD4850X2, just sayin that the "recommended PSU" is always overrated to make up for all the overrated PSUs out there. A 550W and only 30A on the +12V rail would most likely be one crappy quality PSU based off of an OLD design. Modern systems draw most of their power from the +12V rail, so you want the the PSU that will offer the most power on that rail at the lowest price, comparative to other available models in your price range.
 
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enginurd said:
FYI, the Corsair CX 400W has 30A on its +12V rail. :p Not sayin you should get it for your HD4850X2, just sayin that the "recommended PSU" is always overrated to make up for all the overrated PSUs out there. A 550W and only 30A on the +12V rail would most likely be one crappy quality PSU based off of an OLD design. Modern systems draw most of their power from the +12V rail, so you want the the PSU that will over the most power on that rail at the lowest price, comparative to other available models in your price range.
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Agreed, I was going to add a bit about the difference between PSU's made then (time of the 3870x2's release) and now but I am overly verbose most of the time. ;) I think my point stands though. One could run that rig off of the 400cx, but I certainly can think of much better ideas. If he get's into the 380w (not really a big stretch) area with his build, he's dangerously close to it's limits (at least at 80+ efficiency, the 400cx can do more than 400w but at reduced efficiency). While he still needs a case for the build also the Antec combo's make a lot of sense and have a good PSU to boot. I don't think you disagree enginurd, just giving my reasoning is all for not thinking the 400cx/EW380 is the best idea for him.
 
I agree... just wanted to make a note of manufacturer's "recommended psu" listings.
 
LateraLex said:
Yeah the price of RAM has really jumped - how come? I built a rig a few months back and I seem to remember you could get 4GB for like $30-40!
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Supply and demand. Many RAM manufacturers are switching to DDR3 production due to the release of socket AM3 AMD CPUs and Intel Core i5/i7 CPUs. Since those CPUs were released before full-on production of DDR3 RAM could really begin, DDR3 RAM prices have jumped. But DDR2 prices have jumped as well since, as said earlier, not much DDR2 RAM is being produced yet many many people want DDR2 RAM. Thus the increase in DDR2 and DDR3 RAM price.
 
enginurd said:
Made a decision yet Lex?
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Sure did... put the order in last night. Here was what I went with:

  • G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3
  • Gigabyte MA770-UD3P
  • AMD Phenom II x2 545
  • Antec sonata case/500w Earthwatts
  • SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s

Can't wait to put it together... thanks for all the help :D
 
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