My first build- Construcive critcism welcome!

C

ColeR91

New Member
Well, I must admit I've been pondering building a gaming computer since 2006, but now I have a funds & motivation to do so.

I've compiled this amongst my research & my $2200CAD budget

Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE

Video Card(s): XFX Radeon HD4890 x2

Motherboard: Asus Crosshair III Formula

Power Supply: Antec TruePower Quattro 850W

RAM: Crucial DDR3 (2x2) 4GB 1333

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 500GB SATA

Optical Drive: LG Blu-Ray 8xRead SATA

Case: Antec 900 Two

Speakers: Logitech Z-2300 2.1 200W

Monitor: Acer X233HBD 23IN

Mouse: Microsoft Habu

Keyboard: Logitech G11

Edit: OS: Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit, with W7 upgrade form

If you'd like to recommend any edits there more then welcome. My main question relies with RAM, should I upgrade that? 1600? 8GB?

Also, though this can't be to exact I imagine, but in your educated opinion, how do you think this would run Crysis at 1080p Very High 8xAA? & is it worth overclocking?
 
Last edited:
I would replace the motherboard, cpu, and upgrade the RAM to 6Gigs.

Core i7 920

Foxconn Flamingblade GTI

OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600
 
I hope this dosent turn into AMD vs Intel, haha. I've put alot of consideration into a Core i7, I went with the AMD system because it seemed to satisfy my desires in a CPU, in a cheaper package. I won't completely reject the i7, but personally, I don't see a logical reason to do that upgrade considering my uses.

I appreciate the input so far, I'd like further opinions, I've learned so much lately about computers, though I've never really been one for numbers, I find the subject quite interesting, even entertaining.
 
Get the 955 instead, the price difference is not worth it. Most 965 will not clock any better then the 955. They just bumped the X up on the 965 to suck more money out of you.
 
Haha, I actually had a hard time distiguishing between WD & Seagate, how are the evil? haha, why do you recommend one over the other?
 
ColeR91 said:
Haha, I actually had a hard time distiguishing between WD & Seagate, how are the evil? haha, why do you recommend one over the other?
Click to expand...
Cant go wrong with WD or Seagate, i have had more failures with the recent seagate 7200.11's, and their RMA process isnt that great, while western digital has a better rma policy in my opinion.
 
Well to be honest, my knowledge is very limited in his regard, most of what know is what people have told me, now from my understanding, the general consensus is that i7 arent very efficient with gaming. But I also understand the 920 has very good overclocking potential,so it's hard to say. I'm having my interest refurbished in the i7, specially since It'l overall upgrade my system, but will it affect m gaming negatively? Or is that a myth?

Edit: Oh & thanks Bomber for your input, I'll be looking more into WD
 
Well, I looked a little more into a i7 rig, this is what I was thinking:

Processor: Core i7 920

Video Card(s): XFX Radeon HD4890 x2

Motherboard: ASUS P6T-Deluxe V2

Power Supply: Antec TruePower Quattro 850W

RAM: Crucial DDR3 (2x3) 6GB 1333

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 500GB SATA

Optical Drive: LG Blu-Ray 8xRead SATA

Case: Antec 900 Two

Speakers: Logitech Z-2300 2.1 200W

Monitor: Acer X233HBD 23IN

Mouse: Microsoft Habu

Keyboard: Logitech G11

Edit: OS: Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit, with W7 upgrade form

With that, it would cost me $2414 CAD (Including tax) Were as the AMD will cost me $2167 (Including Tax)

In your guys opinion, what would be best for now & the future? Is the $250 worth it?
 
If you get the i7 you will be wasting your money because your will never be able to use the i7 to its full potential. That being said if you have the money for it then get it because it will last a long time and will run everything for years to come. Also to answer your question AMD CPU's have always been known to perform better in games but I doubt you will see a difference between the two. The i7 was really designed for high end multitasking but performs in games just as good as the AMD CPU's.

Personally I would go with AMD but that's because I am an AMD fanboy and I see no use in the i7 for myself.
 
ColeR91 said:
i7 arent very efficient with gaming.
Click to expand...

Simply not true.

Fact is, if you're throwing down this kind of cash, you might as well get the best.

ColeR91 said:
Is the $250 worth it?
Click to expand...

How long to you plan to keep this build? 2 years? 3 years?
How old is your current pc? Last computer I had lasted me
5 years and that was a single core...

Let's break it down...
$250 divided by 3 years = $83.33 per year.
$83.33 divided by 12 months = $6.94 per month.
$6.94 divided by 30 days = $0.23 per day.

You tell me if it's worth the little extra right now.

Also, you could consider a Foxconn Flamingblade GTI
since you're using ATI cards. They're much cheaper than
the Asus board. Save you $100.

Plus you could skip the second graphics card for now and
save another $200.
 
Last edited:
I kind of agree with both of you, Bod & Fat... I agree, one of my main drive points at this moments for an AMD is the cost, I simply don't believe I have to processing needs of an i7. Of course Bod, your logic is undeniable, things are always advancing, & it probably wouldent be a decision I'd regret... It's tough, haha. Truth is I have about $3000 but I need to consider a desk, chair & software. I have one question, myself being a amateur musician, I have desire in the future of doing some audio editing & recording... I assume the i7 would be best for this?
 
I'm not saying that an AMD Phenom II build wouldn't work for your needs,
because it would.

I'm just saying, at this price point, it's worth considering the i7.

Especially since the i7 and the X58 platform offer Triple Channel DDR3
and Hyperthreading.
 
Speakers: if you have room buy 5.1, you wont regret it!

RAM is fine, but for such a beast i would take at least 1TB WD. Why? In two years games went from 1gb to 10gb, figure it out where it will be in next two years.
 
Bodaggit23 said:
I'm not saying that an AMD Phenom II build wouldn't work for your needs,
because it would.

I'm just saying, at this price point, it's worth considering the i7.

Especially since the i7 and the X58 platform offer Triple Channel DDR3
and Hyperthreading.
Click to expand...

am3 platforms also offer ddr3
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top