Phenom II X4 questions

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slayer9019

[H]ard|Gawd
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Apr 2, 2010
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Hey guys, I got a question here. To start off I've been out of the hardware game for awhile (lets just say last PC i built was a P4 3.4ghz Extreme and that was fast! lol). I've been using mainly servers and heavy-duty laptops recently and want to build a new desktop finally because P4 ain't cutting it anymore for the work I do (multi processor intense programming, dev, and VMs running 24/7/365).

I have servers but I want a desktop that I can also run for some games (been out of that since CS 1.6) and I also want to overclock the living hell out of it.

I was going to go for a i7 but I saw that the AMD alternitive was cheaper. (Phenom II X4)

What should i do to get started. (Ive always have had a heavy preference toward Asus mobos). (also I want to keep this sub 500$ if possible
 
First, answer the questions listed in the sticky labeled, "ASKING FOR BUILD HELP?..."

Second, for the work that you do, you may want to bite the bullet and build a Socket 1366 Core i7/X58-based system with 12GB of DDR3 RAM and plenty of storage space. How badly do you want to keep things under $500?
 
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
3) Where do you live?
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
6) Will you be overclocking?
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?

1) multi processor intense programming, dev, and VMs running 24/7/365
2) =<500 area
3)NYC Metro Area
4) Everything
5) -na-
6)I would like too
7)3-4 22" Dell Ultrasharps or equilivent (possibly only 2 depending on system cost)
8)In the near furtue
9)possiblity or RAID would be excellent but not needed
10)Will be running ArchLinux with VMs (Win2k8 Server, ArchLinux, Ubuntu, LFS, IPCop, WinXP, Win7, *various other OSs)



And in reference to the i7...I would like to keep the costs minimal on this because I am moving soon and have to keep as much free cash as possible incase of expenses with the new place. If anything I can always move some VMs around to other boxes but would preffer to keep them all on one system. Plus with a bit of overclocking I think i can achive decent speed....especially because I'm running a VERY efficient OS (arch built by ME!) (my OS with some 2-3 VMs and NANO, HTOP and a few chromium tabs open runs ok...not fast but ok on a AMD64/2gb)
 
Prelim Build:
$140 - AMD Phenom II X4 925 CPU
$80 - Biostar TA790GXB3 AMD 790GX ATX Motherboard
$94 - A-Data AD3U1333B2G9-DRH 2 x 2GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$56 - Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$20 - Samsung SH-S223C SATA DVD Burner
$55 - Corsair 400CX 400W PSU
$50 - Cooler Master Elite 335 RC-335-KKN1-GP ATX Case
----------
Total: $495 plus tax and shipping
 
Danny Bui said:
Prelim Build:
$140 - AMD Phenom II X4 925 CPU
$80 - Biostar TA790GXB3 AMD 790GX ATX Motherboard
$94 - A-Data AD3U1333B2G9-DRH 2 x 2GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$56 - Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$20 - Samsung SH-S223C SATA DVD Burner
$55 - Corsair 400CX 400W PSU
$50 - Cooler Master Elite 335 RC-335-KKN1-GP ATX Case
----------
Total: $495 plus tax and shipping
Click to expand...


2GB of ram?? I was thinking that would be WAY under my requirments for my VMs. Each i was hoping to give at least a gig. What do you think of just going for larger volume/slower speed memory to kinda even the price out.
 
Umm, thats 2 x 2GB which means 4GB of RAM.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
If you want better performance -- e.g., more memory, an OC-friendly motherboard, more storage capability -- then you have to up your budget. Danny chose that particular brand of DDR3 1333 memory because it's considerably cheaper than DDR3 1066 or DDR3 1600 memory.
 
Danny Bui said:
Umm, thats 2 x 2GB which means 4GB of RAM.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
Click to expand...

whoops sorry missread

tiraides said:
If you want better performance -- e.g., more memory, an OC-friendly motherboard, more storage capability -- then you have to up your budget. Danny chose that particular brand of DDR3 1333 memory because it's considerably cheaper than DDR3 1066 or DDR3 1600 memory.
Click to expand...

I understand that I am asking for something impossible its just hard for me to tweak options to the finest detail when I no longer know whats compatible with what and whats bleeding edge and whats yesterdays junk.

Thanks so far for the relies and thanks in advance for any future postings.
 
What Danny Bui listed is a pretty good base, except for the fact that it was designed more for future upgrades than it was for overclocking. But that all depends on whether or not you can afford to throw more money into this build.

For example, an additional $100 would enable you to pick up 8GB of DDR3 1600 RAM, or you could use it to get a better, OC-friendly board and a larger capacity (read: 1TB) hard drive. For $200 more, you could get the 8GB of RAM, the better mobo, and the larger capacity HDD; you could also (possibly) sneak in a decent, relatively inexpensive CPU cooler to further aid you in overclocking.

But again, that is all based on whether or not you're willing to go beyond your $500 limit.
 
in terms of cost i kinda depends. I do have alot of real life needs outside of more computers, but this would be good to cut down on all the machines i have running plus i might be able to play some of those new swanky games coming out now
 
^^ yea already in talks with a company to take it....i quoted it at like 10-25,000
 
thats a pretty decent build for 500

imo though your requirements are totaly unreasonable, you want 3-4 22" dell montiors + tower for less then 500? buah hahahahah

the monitors themselves would be about 500-800, let alone a video card, which the 500$ build does not have the ability to run.

the system you want is more like 1500-2000....
 
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