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AMD system build $700-$800

I

Ilumine

n00b
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
39
Building a system for a friend, and decided to go AMD because I don't want to spend a whole lot of time on the OC. Problem is I'm more of an Intel guy and have no idea whats out there right now. He's looking to spend $700-$800, and will be using it for school and gaming. His monitor is a 22in lcd, so I'm prob going with the 5770 as the vid card. Any help on the other components would be greatly appreciated.
 
NZXT M59 - 001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $60

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive$55

Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail $80

ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail and AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition Callisto 3.2GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Desktop Processor - C3 Revision Model HDZ555WFGMBOX - Retail Combo $208

XFX HD-577A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail and G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL - Retail Combo $266

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long life sleeve CPU Cooler - Retail $35

try unlock other two cores and just drop in another 5770 when he upgrades to a 24"
 
thanks for the tip! Any guesses as to how many of the cores I could potentially unlock based on other users experience?
 
the above setup is good, when i get home in a bit ill send another one your way, with a bit more power.....other than a few little things, there are some good deals in the above mentioned post

guess on unlock: probably 2.....though its hard to be certain since it depends on the batch.
 
I wouldn't buy a Dual Core and try to unlock the cores, Just go with the quad core and be done with it, if your budget is 800, get something like these parts listed below. And don't get him the 5770, its barley faster than a 4870. At 299 the 5850 is a really good deal and plenty fast for a 24 inch monitor upgrade in the future.

CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...m_re=955_black_edition-_-19-103-808-_-Product

Mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402


Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145299


Ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277


Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...2884&cm_re=Radeon_5850-_-14-102-884-_-Product
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...1351&cm_re=Radeon_5850-_-14-131-351-_-Product

Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066
 
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Starting to get an idea of what to buy, just a few more questions. How does a crossfire 5770 setup compare to the 5850, and would a 6gig ram setup be noticably faster in games than a 4gig build?
 
number of games than need more than 4 gb is fewer than 2% range

crossfire 5770 would be little faster than a single 5850 but that is depend on the game as not all games scale well in crossfire.
 
Ilumine said:
Starting to get an idea of what to buy, just a few more questions. How does a crossfire 5770 setup compare to the 5850, and would a 6gig ram setup be noticably faster in games than a 4gig build?
Click to expand...
Not since most game are only 32bit, they can only address 4GB or less.

A pair of Crossfired 5770s will stomp a 5870 (And a GTX295, 4870x2...) in most games.
See here: http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-5770-review-test/1
 
thats around the price of my new system build except the HDDs, i have 4 satas already, i have the case already as well

i went with the X4 965, offers just a tad bit more over clocking capabilities

also if you wait a couple weeks, the NEW 890fx boards come out, along with the Asus Crosshair IV :) which are all upgradable to a 6 core CPU

splurge on a 5850, i did and couldnt be happier, you can get a sapphire on newegg that comes with a free Steam copy of Modern Warfare 2, absolutely love this card

make sure you get a good power supply, preferably one thats modular, since in the long run it will save you money on your electric bill

and get a copy of Windows 7 to unlock the DX11 goodness
 
Wolvie56X said:
i went with the X4 965, offers just a tad bit more over clocking capabilities
Click to expand...

the 955 actually is a better Over-clocker....


anyhow

6 GB wont give a noticeable difference, don't waste money(since you are probably referring to a 6 GB kit, which is typically a tri-channel kit....whereas AMD can only as of now incorporate dual-channel memory......and i think on AMD boards if you run a stick solo[not with another] you will only get single channel)

and a xfire 5770 will be faster as said, though the recommendation to get a 5850 is a better choice because you can then get another 5850, especially since a 5850 is more than overkill for a 22 inch monitor

edit: modular wont really reduce power bill....it just makes cable management alot easer, but the modular PSUs are typically marked up, i love my Antec TruPower 750, got it for $70 on sale :p
 
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