AMD CPU/Mobo advice

M

MissJ84

2[H]4U
Joined
Dec 22, 2009
Messages
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1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Building a new rig so my sig other can game a little. Aion's probably the most demanding thing lol

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$200, but I'd like it to be way cheaper if possible

3) Where do you live?
Pittsburgh, PA :( (not originally from here)

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
CPU and Mobo that can use DDR3

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I have everything else I need, but I am specifically look for a cpu/mb that can use DDR3 as I have some extra :D

6) Will you be overclocking?
I'd like to hit 3.5-3.6, but Its not necessary

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
1440x900

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
I plan on waiting for deals in the for sale section here and elsewhere aka I'm not in a hurry

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
1 PCIe 2.0 x16 for dual slot GPU and one available PCI leftover.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
Yes Win 7 x86 and x64



I'm thinking about building another system for my significant other for light gaming. I was thinking something like a Phenom X2 555 BE, Athlon x4 635, or Athlon x3 425. Its been a few years since I had an AMD system, so I've really been out of the loop. Should I go with one of these or could I get away with something less? I realize I can't go too low or it won't work on DDR3 boards.

Thanks in advance!

Errr updated in last post
 
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$100 - AMD Athlon II X4 630 CPU
$60 - Biostar A785G3 AMD 785G mATX AMD Motherboard
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Total: $160 shipped.

Might as well get a quad-core just in case.
 
$100 - AMD Athlon II X4 630 CPU
$60 - Biostar A785G3 AMD 785G mATX AMD Motherboard
---
Total: $160 shipped.

Might as well get a quad-core just in case.
Click to expand...
I agree with him.
 
Danny Bui said:
Might as well get a quad-core just in case.
Click to expand...

I'll probably only own this combo for 6 months tops, so there's not really an in case.
Very good deals btw! I'll keep these two combos in mind (I realize combos come and go).
 
If you want to overclock, go with lt_shiro's build. Nothing against Danny's choices, but I have doubts about the Biostar's overclocking featureset (generally, Biostar doesn't make OC-friendly boards). Additionally, AMD's Black Edition processors come with unlocked CPU multipliers (amazingly, when you consider that only Intel's Extreme Edition -- aka, Expensive Edition -- processors have unlocked multipliers).
 
First time I've seen Danny recommend something I disagree with ;p

I vote shiros.
 
tiraides said:
Nothing against Danny's choices, but I have doubts about the Biostar's overclocking featureset (generally, Biostar doesn't make OC-friendly boards).
Click to expand...
Yeah truth be told, I have similar doubts too about the Biostar.
flegg said:
First time I've seen Danny recommend something I disagree with ;p
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It happens.;)
 
If you live near a microcenter they have some good deals going on.
0427header.png

http://www.microcenter.com/specials...m=leader_bnr&utm_campaign=hmpg_0427_AMDbundle
 
tiraides said:
If you want to overclock, go with lt_shiro's build. Nothing against Danny's choices, but I have doubts about the Biostar's overclocking featureset (generally, Biostar doesn't make OC-friendly boards). Additionally, AMD's Black Edition processors come with unlocked CPU multipliers (amazingly, when you consider that only Intel's Extreme Edition -- aka, Expensive Edition -- processors have unlocked multipliers).
Click to expand...

yup 4.2 GHZ for the win
 
$180.99 Phenom II x2 555 & GIGABYTE GA-770TA-UD3

Dual core with a strong likely hood that it will end up a quad core after a few small bios tweaks.

I Also agree that I would stay away from the biostar if you plan on doing any overclocking or tweaking.
 
lt_shiro said:
ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard and
AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition Callisto 3.2GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Desktop Processor - C3 Revision Model HDZ555WFGMBOX combo $187
Click to expand...

bastage said:
$180.99 Phenom II x2 555 & GIGABYTE GA-770TA-UD3

Dual core with a strong likely hood that it will end up a quad core after a few small bios tweaks.

I Also agree that I would stay away from the biostar if you plan on doing any overclocking or tweaking.
Click to expand...

Yeah I think I'm going to go with one of these deals. I'm really not a fan of Asus MB's (had problems with them in the past), plus the GIgabyte combo's actually $170.99 after rebate, but we'll see.
Thank you for all of the input peoples :)

BTW, I think Danny was just trying to save me money, like I requested, and that took priority over a good overclocking board.
 
The Asus board can be used for an HTPC build later, with it's onboard video. ;) The Gigabyte 770TA has SATA600 and USB3.0, so there are tradeoffs.
 
I think I'm actually going to go with an i3 530 + Gigabyte GA-H55M-S2H combo for $170 after Bing CD.
Sounds like fun, but would it be foolish?
 
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MissJ84 said:
I think I'm actually going to go with an i3 530 + Gigabyte GA-H55M-S2H combo for $170 after Bing CD.
Sounds like fun, but would it be foolish?
Click to expand...

It's a toss-up IMO between the X2 555 BE and Core i3 530. The Core i3 530 and Phenom X2 555 BE trade blows in games. Both are highly overclockable but the Core i3 530 will use about 30W less clock for clock with the AMD. Both setups would be good for a HTPC but the Core i3 has the upper hand due to it supporting significantly better audio via HDMI. There's a chance that you can unlock the Phenom II X2 555 BE into a quad-core. Also unlike socket LGA 1165, there's a bit more of a CPU upgrade path with socket AM3 due to the release of current and future hex-core CPUs. But since this rig will only be owned for a short period of time, that's a bit of a moot-point.

So basically, a toss-up between the two setups at the two quote prices.
 
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