$1200 dollar gaming build. critique. AMD

shane.canter

New Member
Have some extra money, planning on devoting it towards a mid-range gaming desktop. If any of yal can find any better components whether they are cheaper, better, or more compatible please post. Plan on buying within 24 hours. This adds up to around $1000, but im adding the monitor to that total also. Here it goes.

1)ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 ATX AMD Motherboard

2)AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor

3)SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 500GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

4)ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS

5)CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W Power Supply

6)SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 100314SR Video Card with Eyefinity

7)G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory

8)COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black Computer Case
 

fastdude

Active Member
Have some extra money, planning on devoting it towards a mid-range gaming desktop. If any of yal can find any better components whether they are cheaper, better, or more compatible please post. Plan on buying within 24 hours. This adds up to around $100, but im adding the monitor to that total also. Here it goes.

1)ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 ATX AMD Motherboard

2)AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor

3)SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 500GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

4)ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS

5)CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W Power Supply

6)SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 100314SR Video Card with Eyefinity

7)G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory

8)COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black Computer Case

Assume you mean $1000?
Looks balanced, nice build. Only things I'd change is to get 1600MHz RAM -http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277&cm_re=g.skill_ripjaws_series_4gb_(2_x_2gb)_240-pin_ddr3-_-20-231-277-_-Product
and this PSU.
Also, you can get a Phenom 955 for cheaper than a 965, and you can easily bring the 955 up to par with a very simple overclock.

HSF - This cooler represents great value at $15 after rebate, and it'll be significantly quieter and much cooler than the stock AMD cooler.

EDIT - RAM link; HERE
 
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shane.canter

New Member
Just curious...Why would you switch the PSU's? I may add another GPU later down the road. 750W enough for future upgrades?
 

fastdude

Active Member
Just curious...Why would you switch the PSU's? I may add another GPU later down the road. 750W enough for future upgrades?

The XFX unit is higher quality and more efficient than Corsair's TX range. (not that the TX range are "bad".) 750W is enough for two 6870s, though now considering it, you might want a bit extra breathing room; Click me
 

shane.canter

New Member
On the 6870. Is their a better manufacturer besides SAPHIRE? What's your take on this?

Thanks for the RAM Benny Boy
Upgraded to the XFX 850W PSU fastdude.

Still curious on the HD.
 
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fastdude

Active Member
On the 6870. Is their a better manufacturer besides SAPHIRE? What's your take on this?

Thanks for the RAM Benny Boy
Upgraded to the XFX 850W PSU fastdude.

Still curious on the HD.

There isn't really a "best" manufacturer, though Sapphire products are usually reliable and don't cost the earth.

The SpinPoint is a good HDD for the price. Phenomenal write speeds and game level load times are second-to-none. You can get a 1TB SpinPoint for the price of a 640GB Caviar Black.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/storage/2009/10/06/samsung-spinpoint-f3-1tb-review/1

EDIT - I'd go for the 1TB version - it's worth it - double the cache, (32 not 16), 100% more capacity for 20% more cost
 
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Benny Boy

Active Member
Negative feedback on F3.
Altho it's beat by certain WDB's in some benches, that isn't the reason for the remark. My breif search didnt find the recent feedback i've read. I've also seen it here @ CF by members of some stature. It may be fine, It's supposed to be the fastest.
 

ScOuT

VIP Member
Here is a SeaSonic 650w Gold fully modular PSU for $120. It would run that system without even breaking a sweat. Very efficient and very high quality.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088

Your motherboard supports 6.0b/s...why not get the Western Digital Black for $15 more. Not really even a hard choice what to buy here.
Samsung = 16mb cache - 3.0b/s - 500GB - 3 year warranty
Western Digital = 64mb cache - 6.0b/s - 640GB - 5 year warranty
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136544


That is just my $0.02
 
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Gabe63

New Member
It is kinda painful to see an AMD build with 1156 and 1366 being faster. Plus 1155 will be out next month and AMD has new things coming.

ASUS for a 3 year GPU warranty to any owner. I have Sapphire but would not buy again, same GPU but warranty to the first owner. The 6870 is new but will be outdated in less than 1 year. Will you sell it? The 69x0 is due out on the 13th. Who knows???

WD Black is an easy choice for a traditional HDD. But many run the F3 without any issue at all, it seems to be the best budget choice.

There are a lot of good PSU's. The TX line is decent. In some test they show some ripple but how many of the 1000's sold have we heard about failing or causing a problem? We all know the HX tests better and is modular. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011&Tpk=850HX
 
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