Part Suggestions

[OneEyeWilly]

I have been running this pc 24/7 for 9 months.To my surprise,my GA-MA790GPT-UD3H bios was auto controlling my cpu voltage.The bios was reading 1.46v,at stock speed-3.2Ghz.I Was pissed off,when I found out,this is on the high end of AMD's recommended max voltage.I have been experimenting with overclocking.I learned With the unlocked multipliers, you can tune each component individually to hit their max potential, hopefully gaining more performance overall without needing all components to match all other components' overclocking capability. Without unlocked multipliers, your max clocks would be limited by your weakest component.Based on this,I guess my bottleneck would be my 460,but It plays all my games at max,running at 1050x1680.My ram is running at it's full potential @ 1600Mhz,but at higher timings 9-9-9-24-40-2T.

Anyway,I bumped down the cpu voltage a little at time ,checked for stability,and then started raising the multiplier.I would run 10 tests,using prime 95 during initial testing for stability,after changes were made.I ran Prime 95 for 3 hours with final settings@ 3.6GHz /cpu core1.31v.At full load Max temp 40C /idles 26C-30C depending on ambient temperature.All seems good:}This is my first attempt at overclocking.These chips were made to overclock on lower voltage.It Seems.With these results on the 955, I bet AMD 975 cpu @ 3.6Ghz stock,with no overclock,would run very cool at lower voltages.I want to build a gaming pc using a 975.

-Current PC-

Antec 900

ASUS VH236HL-P Black 23" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen Full HD 1080P LCD Monitor w/height & swivel adjustment 300 cd/m2 ASCR 20000 :1

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition @ 3.6Ghz /Core 1.31v

GIGABYTE GA-MA790GPT-UD3H AM3 AMD 790GX

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ - Retail

EVGA 01G-P3-1373-AR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Superclocked EE 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm -Use 2 fans for push and pull.

Rosewill RC-401-EX 10/ 100/ 1000Mbps PCI-Express Gigabit Low Profile Network Card - Retail

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W

(2) LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model

(2) Western Digital Caviar Black WD7501AALS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive -Bare Drive

(1) Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive


Here is what I have so far.....

I plan on upgrading my pc by the end of this year. I will be using my present pc for a back up pc.I want to pick up a 970 or 975,after AMD releases there new line-up.I love these cpu's.I game alot,and love the flexibility with the unlocked multiplier,and cheap price tag.I will definitely throw on a Hyper 212,8 gigs of low latency ram,and a video card to be determined as the market dictates.

I have a Monitor,5.1 surround system,keyboard,and gaming mouse for this pc build.This will on be used for "Gaming" only.

-Would lower latency ram help in gaming performance?

-I will -not- be running a sli set-up.Just FYI.

-High end motherboard vs mid range? The motherboard is always the hardest choice for me in a build.I want dependability,which is always not easy to find. The GIGABYTE GA-MA790GPT-UD3H I put in 9 months ago is running trouble free,so GIGABYTE has been dependable so far,Knock on woodI use a separate NIC card,and sound Card.This should help the board run cooler.

-I Like Antec,so I'm thinking the 1200.The Haf X is nice,but the price tag,is almost 2 Bills.My 900 cools all my components-to my satisfaction.The Hyper 212 with/2 fans seems to be the perfect combination for this case.

-How often do you re-apply tim on video card? Just wondering.I watched a few videos for taking off the HS.Basically heat the card up,so its' easier to take apart,and re-apply tim.I need those little doo-dads that cool ram chips.I was thinking of doing this to my GTX 460,and any future cards off the top.I wonder if I'll void Evga' lifetime warranty?


Need suggestions for case,memory,and motherboard

Case 900,1200,?
Motherboard Need help Here?I had a few ideas,but open to all suggestions.Regardless of vendor,dependability is the most important factor I want to consider.
Cpu - 975's are priced at $189.00 These should drop in price after AMD's new line -up
Ram Does tighter timings help game performance?
psu CORSAIR-Done!

 

[BigYoSpeck]

I don't in all honesty see any point in an upgrade of any kind. Thats a respectable spec. Definately not to just another Phenom.

The only upgrade I would even consider would be an SSD or maybe a vid card upgrade.

With that spec I wouldn't even think about an upgrade probably until this time next year, there just isn't that much headroom for extra performance over what you already have.

 

[Dangman]

I plan on upgrading my pc by the end of this year.

This is exactly why we tell people don't plan upgrades so early: You get stuck with a list of old, overpriced, and outdated parts. Anyway, don't plan your upgrade so early. If you want to get a good value for your money, plan the upgrade 2-3 weeks in advance of your actual build/buy date. Planning a build 2 months let alone 7-8 months in advance is a waste of your time.

I will be using my present pc for a back up pc.I want to pick up a 970 or 975,after AMD releases there new line-up.I love these cpu's.

Yeah the AMD Phenom II 970 or 975 CPU are not worth the money at all. Despite the unlocked multi and the slightly higher OC capability, those two factors do not justify the costs of upgrading. In addition they're extremely poor buys even now for a new PC let alone later this year when AMD's Bulldozer's CPUs comes out. So no matter what, those CPUs are just poor buys.

-Would lower latency ram help in gaming performance?

Nope

I use a separate NIC card,and sound Card.This should help the board run cooler.

Actually no. Those cards are still drawing power from the motherboard. Therefore still creating heat. In fact probably drawing more power and therefore creating more heat since they're not directly integrated to the motherboard.

-I Like Antec,so I'm thinking the 1200.The Haf X is nice,but the price tag,is almost 2 Bills.My 900 cools all my components-to my satisfaction.The Hyper 212 with/2 fans seems to be the perfect combination for this case.

The Antec 1200 is not worth the money at all since it's basically just a taller Antec 900. It's still just as cramped and overpriced as the Antec 900. Considering that there are ton of significantly better cases that costs less than or the same as the Antec 900 or Antec 1200 case right now, there's a very good chance there will be even better cases later this year. So no reason to get the Antec 1200.

To reiterate: Wait 2-3 weeks before your actual buy/build date and do the research then. You're just wasting time planning a PC build so early since PC parts can and will be outdated, out of stock, outperformed, or overpriced in a short amount of time

 

[Abula]

The Antec 1200 is not worth the money at all since it's basically just a taller Antec 900. It's still just as cramped and overpriced as the Antec 900. Considering that there are ton of significantly better cases that costs less than or the same as the Antec 900 or Antec 1200 case right now, there's a very good chance there will be even better cases later this year. So no reason to get the Antec 1200.

Well for me was wroth it cause of the bottom design, unlike cases like Haf x, it doesnt have any vents on the bottom, and while you can place the psu backwards like most do on bottom cases, the CP 850 is great PSU and perfect for 1200 design, given that afterwards might be come harder to sell it with its none ATX standard. But if i were buying today i probably would avoid the 1200 in favor of Fractal Design + Corsair AX, just more expensive setup.