Computear

USAGE:
Primary: Gaming (World of Warcraft, Fallout3, etc.) @ high(est?) settings/resolution.
Secondary: Music/Video storage, Photoshop

Ordered today.
My final build / budget (for those interested):

CASE: Antec 1200 Full Tower
PSU: CORSAIR 850TX 850W
CPU: Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
MOBO: ASUS AM3 790X
GPU: XFX Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit
MEMORY: 4GB (2x 2GB) DDR3 SDRAM
HARD DRIVE: WD 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" HDD
DISC DRIVE: Sony CD/DVD Combo
MONITOR: 25" (24.6" visible) 1080p HDMI LCD
KEYBOARD/MOUSE: Microsoft Comfort Curve Ergonomic Keyboard/Mouse Combo
OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit w/ Windows 7 upgrade

TOTAL: ~$1500 after rebates.


Also grabbed:
Anti-Static Wrist Strap and Thermal Compound

Upgrades coming soon:
25" (24.6" visible) 1080p HDMI LCD (2nd for dual monitors)
XFX Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit (2nd for Crossfire or standalone for 2nd monitor)
4GB (2x 2GB) DDR3 SDRAM (to total 8GB)
WD 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" HDD (to total 2TB)
Aftermarket CPU heatsink/cooler

And OVERCLOCKING!

Possible Upgrades:
HITACHI 73GB 15,000 RPM 16MB Cache (boot/program drive)
To boot faster, and load programs such as Adobe Photoshop CS4 faster.


Any tips on putting it together? This will be my first rig built from scratch.
What all tools will I need? I'll be building it on a marble floor with anti-static wrist straps.

JakeUSMC

if you want powerful for less money go AMD if you want super powerful for expensive go Intel

Bodaggit23

They are expensive, but so is a high end AMD build.

$1010.91 after rebates

Core i7 920 ($279.99)

Foxconn FlamingBlade GTI LGA 1366 ($174.99)
$164.99 after $10.00 Mail-In Rebate

OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 ($124.99)

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX ($99.99)
($79.99 after Rebate)

XFX Radeon HD 4850 1GB ($119.99)

Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB ($69.99)

LG Black SATA CD/DVD Burner with LightScribe ($30.99)

RAIDMAX Tornado ($39.99)
($29.99 after Rebate)

Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit ($109.99)
Includes free Windows 7 upgrade coupon

__________________
Team Stats @ ExtremeOverclocking.com

Team Stats FOLDING FOR THE GOOD OF MANKIND :F@H Team 44358

CPU: i7 920 Batch#3841A525 (@3.43Ghz) Board: EVGA E758-A1 Memory: Dominator 3x2GB DDR3 1600 Hard Drive: 300GB VelociRaptor GPU: EVGA GTX260 SC Core 216
Optical: Sony Optiarc 22x DVD/CD Burner PSU: Corsair TX850W CPU Cooling: Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 Primary OS: Windows Vista x64 SP2 Case: Coolermaster HAF 932

JakeUSMC

you must be talking about the 965 which makes no sense when you have the sub-200 955

Bodaggit23

I'm talking about the budget range. Makes no sense to spend $1000-1500
and not buy an i7.

__________________
Team Stats @ ExtremeOverclocking.com

Team Stats FOLDING FOR THE GOOD OF MANKIND :F@H Team 44358

CPU: i7 920 Batch#3841A525 (@3.43Ghz) Board: EVGA E758-A1 Memory: Dominator 3x2GB DDR3 1600 Hard Drive: 300GB VelociRaptor GPU: EVGA GTX260 SC Core 216
Optical: Sony Optiarc 22x DVD/CD Burner PSU: Corsair TX850W CPU Cooling: Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 Primary OS: Windows Vista x64 SP2 Case: Coolermaster HAF 932

Computear

I'm scraping against my budget with either build; so I think I agree that Core i7 vs top-end AMD build is competitively priced, with Intel coming out on top performance-wise.

I don't like the mobo you chose though.


It's looking like $200 more for the intel build i want; worth it for i7 + X58 vs P2 + 790GX and the extra 2GB RAM ?

__________________
2 + 2 = 5 for extremely large values of 2.

Fatback

I like it but if he has $1500 why not get a 4870 or 4890 and a decent case.

__________________
Display: 40" Polaroid LCD TV Mobo: ASUS M4A78-EM CPU:AMD Phenom X3 8650 @2.6Ghz RAM: 4GB OCZ Blade Series @908Mhz GPU: XFX HD 4850 512MB PSU: 400w Corsair HDD: OS:250GB Seagate 7200.10/Storage:WD Caviar Blue 320GB OS: Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit/Linux Ubuntu 32bit

Fatback Definition

joebob1235

Well i dont know if youve noticed but your PSU is outta stock on newegg so ya might wanna consider a new 1, and also, the Phenom II quad core you have has 3.2 GHz. you might consider getting the 550 which is the phenom II x2 black edition, which runs at 3.1 GHz. its also cheaper by a whole hundred bucks and u can also try unlocking the hidden cores if you want

joebob1235

and the graphics card is good, my friend used it 2 monthes ago on his computer and he plays Wow with it and can play empire total war with all graphic settings on highest

Computear

I'm holding out on the Videocard atm since Sept10 ATI is unveiling the new Radeon HD 5800 series, which i might buy, or even if i dont buy a 5850 or 5870, their release will drive down 4870 / 4890 prices.

I made a few changes to my current build:
**AMD BUILD**
AMD Phenom II X4 955 @ 3.2GHz
ASUS AM3 AMD 790GX Motherboard
Radeon HD 4870 1GB (holding out to see official prices/specs of HD 5850/5870)
4 GB (2x 2GB) DDR3 SDRAM 1600
1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s HDD
Antec Truepower New 750W PSU

*edited a lot so links might not be current anymore
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827118030
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129021
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136284
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131366
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150394
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220371
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103674
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817121045


or


**INTEL BUILD**
Core i7 920
some Intel X58 mobo
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 RAM
Radeon HD 4870 1GB (holding out to see official prices/specs of HD 5850/5870)
1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s HDD
Antec Truepower New 750W Continuous PSU

__________________
2 + 2 = 5 for extremely large values of 2.