Gaming computer build amd

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shortdude

n00b
Joined
Aug 1, 2010
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23
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming such as WoW and others like crysis/counter strike, At high or maxed settings if possible Gimping photos for teh lulz, and standard internet use
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
around 1800 give or take
3) Where do you live? Minnesota
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Motherboard, Cpu, Ram, Psu, optical drive, two ati video cards and a 1tb HD, and maybe a fan controller/ect
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Just my mouse, keyboard, monitor and speakers
6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes hopefully to 4Ghz if cooling will allow
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
I have a 22in vizio tv, that runs 1920 x 1080
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within the next week or two.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
crossfire, and raid, but most decent motherboards have them
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
I plan on downloading and partitioning Ubuntu 64bit to around 100gigs on my hard drive for friends to log onto the internet and play some games. The rest of the hard drive space will be used by Windows 7 64 bit Ultimate edition that I'm buying with the parts.



Heres a parts list I've put together so far, would be nice if someone could add anything they feel I've missed or feel i need to change to have a decent computer for a couple years to come ( I plan on up-grading to 8 gigs of ram in the future along with a SSD card also putting another couple terabytes of hd space when money permits)




CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x
CPU cooler: CORSAIR H50 (decided to keep this after realizing i had enough fans to do the push/pull setup)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181010

Motherboard:GIGABYTE GA-870A-UD3 AM3 AMD 870
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128443

PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009

Video cards:SAPPHIRE Vapor-X Radeon HD 5850 X2 (exact same as the Toxic edition except not factory overclocked)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102886

Ram:Crucial Ballistix Tracer 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM (decided to keep them, i shaved off some money off the wishlist)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148339

Case: Haf 932 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160

Hard drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185


Optical drive: SAMSUNG Black Blu-ray Combo Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151199

Fans: 9, 120MM fans http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998121 And 1, 200MM front fan blue replacement http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103073
controller for said fans,http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998055

also have lights/sata cables added to the wish-list but didn't feel the need to post them, This is my first time posting on hardforum so let me know if i did anything wrong
 
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A few suggestions:

CPU: look at the 955 or 945 instead. The 965 is considered to have a poor performance/price ratio.
Cooler: The H50 is sexy for sure, but isn't the best for the money (to achieve what it's capable of, you need to setup a push/pull config, which adds cost and is loud). I would suggest the Venomous X w/ fan and mounting bracket - it's cheaper and should cool better/quieter.
RAM: Look at Gskill ripjaws kits - should save you some money.
HD: Green drives are 5400 RPM only, meaning they are generally slower than their 7200 RPM counterparts. Look at the Samsung f3 or WD black or blue. You might also consider a SSD for your OS and critical apps. Look at the Intel 2nd gen ones, or the newer OCZ SandForce based ones.

Welcome to the forum and good luck.
 
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Alright, i looked at the cpu, cooler and hd and went with what you said, but will i beable to OC to 4ghz with the cpu and cooler? i plan to upgrade to a ssd later, when i have a bit more cash, and thanks for the warm welcome
 
shortdude said:
Alright, i looked at the cpu, cooler and hd and went with what you said, but will i beable to OC to 4ghz with the cpu and cooler? i plan to upgrade to a ssd later, when i have a bit more cash, and thanks for the warm welcome
Click to expand...

Every individual chip performs differently, making it difficult to predict the "ceiling" of what you can achieve. As to the general OC'ing potential of 945/955 chips, you'll have to look around and see what other folks are reporting. My impression is that 4 ghz is plenty doable - I've hit it on my 940 - but that it might take a bit of luck and a bit of work. The Venomous X should offer plenty of cooling though: heat won't be your bottleneck. Quality thermal paste is a must (I recommend shin-etsu).
 
I agree with cbliss1000 x4 965 is not good value, either get x4 955 or step up too x6 1055t.

but coolit eco is better choice for hsf than h50. it is much easier to install as it uses the standard am3 bracket.
 
Alright so, hate to necro but, my pcmark score with this computer is ~8000...that seems awful low for being 3.9ghz stable and crossfired 5850's anyone have an idea why its this low?
 
hope this will do, and im using PC vantage, i tried it with the demo...and another version which i wont mention.....

Number of cores 4 (max 4)
Number of threads 4 (max 4)
Name AMD Phenom II X4 955
Codename Deneb
Specification AMD Phenom(tm) II X4 955 Processor
Package Socket AM3 (938)
CPUID F.4.3
Extended CPUID 10.4
Brand ID 13
Core Stepping RB-C3
Technology 45 nm
Core Speed 3913.5 MHz
Multiplier x FSB 19.5 x 200.7 MHz
HT Link speed 2006.9 MHz


Northbridge AMD 790GX rev. 00
Southbridge AMD SB700 rev. 00
Graphic Interface PCI-Express
PCI-E Link Width x8
PCI-E Max Link Width x16
Memory Type DDR3
Memory Size 4096 MBytes
Channels Dual, (Unganged)
Memory Frequency 669.0 MHz (3:10)
CAS# latency (CL) 9.0
RAS# to CAS# delay (tRCD) 9
RAS# Precharge (tRP) 9
Cycle Time (tRAS) 24
Bank Cycle Time (tRC) 34
Command Rate (CR) 1T
Uncore Frequency 2006.9 MHz
 
8000 isn't that low for your system, benchmarks should taking for what they are. try some games too see if they is really any issue of performance.
 
Yeah, every game plays fine crysis around 50 and just cause two is 60 same for WoW except dalaran....
 
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