New AMD build... please help advise

[PhattyT]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming (SC2, Diablo 3) Audio/Video Editing
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Full budget is $600 with tax and shipping.
3) Where do you live?
Houston, TX
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.
Well I only need the main 3, CPU, Mobo, Ram (maybe video card depending on money left over...but i'm pretty ok with my hd4850 lol)
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I will be reusing everything...
PSU = Enermax Revolution 85+ 850w
GPU = hd4850
HDD = 2x 250 2x500 1x80
Case = CM Haf922
6) Will you be overclocking?
I will be mildly overclocking
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
I have a 25'' hannspree monitor
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
I plan on buying the parts within 3-4 weeks.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Firewire, crossfire/sli support
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
Win 7 pro 64 bit


Well... i was hardcore debating between amd(x6) and intel(i7)... decided to stick with amd as i have for the last decade.

Only thing i picked out was the processor AMD Phenom II X6 1055T

Please share your opinions with me on motherboards and ram... as you can see i have $400 left to play with

Thanks in advance!

 

[Dangman]

Unfortunately, there are no AMD socket motherboards that supports Crossfire AND SLI unlike Intel. So you're gonna have to decide which tech you want. Do that the SLI route means an older chipset, no SATA 6Gb/s, USB 3.0, and lower OCs.

 

[MrGuvernment]

what res is that 25' monitor, you likely wont need SLI or Xfire...

the Asrock 890FX board getting a nice review.

 

[PhattyT]

Ah, okay thanks danny, I'll go the xfire route since i tend to buy ATI cards over nVidia.

MrG, my monitor res is 1920x1080

 

[tiraides]

Please list out the rest of the parts (besides the PSU) that you plan on reusing.

As for your "core"...

$323 - AMD Phenom II X6 1055T & Asus M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 combo
$90 - G.Skill 2x2GB DDR3 1600 dual channel kit

I recommend doubling the amount of RAM if you like to perform a lot of intensive video editing, but having all four RAM slots filled will impact your overall overclocking threshold (YMMV).

Do you have a decent CPU cooler? If not, go with the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus.

 

[MrGuvernment]

1920 x 1080, i dont think you "need" xfire / sli, but could pend on what games you want to play.

right now i have a 5850 with my 1055T with dual 24' LCD's, CPU only at 3.3G1hz so far, just ordered Corsair H70 to push it more.

if you got games you want me to test, let me know, i may own some already.

 

[tiraides]

Now I'm curious....

Which particular (brand/model) hard drives do you have? How old are they?

Besides StarCraft 2 and Diablo 3, which games are you considering playing?

 

[PhattyT]

hrmm, well my main hd is a wd caviar black, the rest are storage. 1 wd blue 1 wd green 1 old samsung(IDE) and 1 super old wd (IDE)

besides sc2 and d3, maybe a little bit of Dota, WoW, HoN, LoL... i don't play too much fps games anymore.

thanks

 

[hossdaddy]

give these a look,

Combo: AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz + GIGABYTE GV-R577SO-1GD Radeon HD 5770 1GB $342,98 - $20 mir

Combo: CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 + GIGABYTE GA-890XA-UD3 AM3 AMD 790X SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX $$184.98 - $30 mir

Total: $527.96 - $50 mir's