TJoshX

I was wondering if some of you might take a look at the build I have put together and give me some pointers. I don't do any 3-D gaming, at least not right now, I may in the future but it is hard saying. I use my PC for iTunes, PowerPoint, Word Processing, Internet, and a 2-D graphical game called "Tibia".

I understand that the machine is probably more then what I will need but that is ok, I want to put a machine together that is solid without breaking the bank. My biggest areas of confusion are selecting a motherboard and a graphics card. I know that with what I do an on-board graphics card is sufficient but I want better then that. Something around 100-150.00 max, the lower the cost the better.

Overall I'm hoping to keep the build around 700.00 but I do not mind spending money on quality. I've been told to invest good money into the motherboard and power supply.Here is what I have so far...



CASE: Apevia X-Cruiser- BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower- Any better recommendations? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811144151 50.00

POWER: Antec earthwatts EA500 ATX12V v2.0 500W Power Supply http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371007 90.00

or

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX ATX12V V2.2 550W Power Supply http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139004 90.00

MOTHER BOARDS: ASUS M3A78-EMH HDMI AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131273 95.00

DFI LANPARTY DK 790FX-M2RS AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813136044 150.00

The ASUS cannot support the Phenom CPU. Should I buy a board now that can support the Phenom incase I upgrade later, or should I just look to upgrade the board and CPU later if the need comes up? I plan to have this build for probably 3-4 years. The DFI board seems great but is it overkill in your opinion? I'll probably go with the ASUS unless you think there might be a step up I should look at?

PROCESSOR: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Black Edition Processor http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103194 85.00

HEATSINK: ZALMAN 9500A 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118223 45.00

or

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835185125 25.00

MEMORY: Crucial Ballistix 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148183 110.00

or

OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227267 110.00

I will be running XP Pro-32 bit. I know the OS cannot handle the full 4GB but it can read 3GB. SHould I look to get just 3 GB or just go with 4GB here it is so inexpensive? Someone mentioned running the onboard graphics card and using the extra "wasted" RAM as a framebuffer? I have no dea what this means...

Also which RAM is better the Crucial Ballistix or the OCZ? The OCZ looks badass with those heatsinks.

VIDEO CARD: MSI RX3870-T2D512E OC Radeon HD 3870 512MB 256-bit GDDR4 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127315 160.00

HIS Hightech H385F256NP Radeon HD 3850 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161211 120.00

I honestly have NO IDEA on how to match up a video card. I obviously don't need anything over the top but I want something good. What are your thoughts? Of these cards which would you recommend? Is there a better match for my system?

OPTICAL DRIVE: SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S203B http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151153 30.00

HARD-DRIVE: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148262 60.00



I really appreciate your help on this. I'm a first time builder. This is probably the 4th or 5th build I have configured but feel like for the most part this will be the last. I really just need to determine a great mother board and a good video and I think I will be set. Any recommendations on any of the above would be great.



Thanks,

Josh

oscaryu1

Go with a Intel build.

The Phenom is crap compared to Intel's Quad line.

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TJoshX

I understand Intel is faster, but clearly you didn't read my post. I don't do anything high end with my desktop so there is no justification to spend hundreds of dollars on a CPU when for 85.00 I can have be running the AMD 5000+ dual core Black Edition overclocked at 3.1GHz. Oh, and that is without even changing the stock voltage.

So not be rude, but if anyone actually has some real constructive criticism regarding my build and the actual questions I asked tha would be great appreciated.

Thanks,

Josh

hackapelite

You can easily get an intel past 3ghz on air, plus they perform better clock-for-clock, which makes them a smarter choice (ironically, that's AMDs slogan...) Intel beats AMD, be it a dual-core or not. I'm not saying that AMD is bad, it has its advantages (such as VT on lower-end models + cheap unlocked multipliers compared to intel), but AMD is more for the budget-minded. If you want your computer to last for a few years, you'd probably better off going with intel. If you really want the AMD, fair enough, they're not BAD and offer approx. the same bang-for-buck as intels do.

If you plan on doing overclocking (I understood that you do), an intel probably would offer the best value.

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fortyways

Running an on-board video card and using the extra gigabyte as a frame buffer would mean using the video output that's built into your motherboard, assuming it has one, and using the extra gig of RAM that XP won't recognize as the video card's RAM.

Most on-board video cards, though, can't use that much. I'm using an onboard GeForce 7050 right now; it's using 128MB of my 2GB. So, when I open up system properties, I see 1.87GB instead of my two full GB. I could turn it up to 256MB if I chose to, but that'd be the max.

If you're only going to play a 2D game, I would do this if I were you, especially since you're going to have the extra memory. It also leaves your final product (your computer) looking a lot cleaner, making less heat and noise, and leaving more room for airflow.

Between the two video cards you're looking at, I'd get the HD3850. However, I'd go with the Sapphire one with a passive heatsink. They're both great cards, but the HD3850 uses a lot less power, and it's power you're not going to be using anyway. Less power also means less heat and noise.

I can't really help with the motherboard; I don't have any experience with AMD.

TJoshX

Which sapphire card specifically? are you speaking of? How do I knw if there is a passive heatsink?

oscaryu1

Passive heatsinks have no fan. Active cooling uses fans.

Intel is the best bang for the buck currently. If you wish to waste money, be my guest.

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StrangleHold

The Asus board you picked out does support the Phenom, thats what the 780G chipset is for, but there crap with a 125Watt processor 9850-X2 6000 and X2 6400. If your just going to run a single card and not crossfire the Gigabyte is a good board and better for upgradability later
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128081

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