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New system build, been a while...

D

Dracant

n00b
Joined
May 3, 2010
Messages
15
Just wanting to make sure I'm heading in the right direction... Thanks so much in advance for you help!

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Some FPS gaming, mostly getting ready for FF XIV
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Would like to stay under $600 but could spend a bit extra.
3) Where do you live?
Southern Indiana
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
CPU, RAM, MOBO, Vidcard, Internal Drive (possible SSD)
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Reusing a 550w modular ANtec power supply (not sure of model), the case and monitor.
6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes. I'm hoping for the best with the 555
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
18inch lcd 1280x1024 native
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, maybe crossfire at some point, but my crazy gaming days are over. :)
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, windows 7 64 bit.

Looking at the following hardware...
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" $74.99

GIGABYTE GA-790XTA-UD4 AM3 AMD 790X SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
$15.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$139.99

XFX HD-577X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
$159.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL
$109.99

AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition Callisto 3.2GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Desktop Processor - C3 Revision Model HDZ555WFGMBOX
$99.00
Subtotal: $583.96
 
Find out the exact model of the Antec PSU.

This WD drive is significantly faster than the WD 640GB Black drive:
$56 - Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Crossfire is way overkill for just 1280x1024. 1920x1200 minimum IMO for Crossfire to be worthwhile.

Which FPS BTW? Many FPS are benefiting more from multiple cores than with higher clock speed. i.e BC2. As such, if you're willing to downgrade the mobo, you can up the CPU:
$239 - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition CPU + GIGABYTE GA-770TA-UD3 AM3 AMD 770 Motherboard combo
 
Drive swapped.

Will get the PSU model tonight.

As far as crossfire, my monitor will be the next upgrade. (any advice on a good gaming lcd?)
Current FPS is old school half life mods (natural selection), but I am looking forward to playing Natural Selection 2 when it comes out.

My understanding is the 555 is basically a 955 with 2 cores disabled correct? I was getting that with the hopes of unlocking the 2 extra cores and overclocking to 3.8 or so. :) Most reviews said not to skimp on the mobo to make sure you have good support of multi cores.
 
Last edited:
Dracant said:
My understanding is the 555 is basically a 955 with 2 cores disabled correct? I was getting that with the hopes of unlocking the 2 extra cores and overclocking to 3.8 or so. :) Most reviews said not to skimp on the mobo to make sure you have good support of multi cores.
Click to expand...

More or less. The unlock rate so far is about 65% IIRC. Also, we're not skimping on the mobo here. The Gigabyte 770TA mobo is pretty decent quality mobo.
Dracant said:
Power supply is Antec Neo HE500.
Click to expand...
Should be enough for the above setup.
 
Hm... how old is that Neo HE 500W? IIRC, the HE's are older than the NeoPowers, which are older than the latest version, Neo ECO.
 
Hopefully it'll last you a couple more yrs.

btw, I have some X4 955's in my FS thread, BNIB, if you're interested. ;)
 
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