First build

I

iYoYo

New Member
Hey fellow geeks :)

im planning on making a custom computer for my family. This is my first time doing it but im a pretty fast learner.ive been doing research for about a week now and here are my specs so far:

RAM
corsair xms3 (4x2) ddr3 1600
mobo
-
processor
phenom ii X4 945
PSU
ocz700mxsp
case
Antec 900
graphics card:
sapphire vapor-x 100237L radeon HD 4850

suggestions are highly appreciated.
Budget is 700-800
 
Are you going to overclock the machine? Phenom IIx 4 955 would be better Option if you do.

Mobo - Get ~$100 AMD870 chipset mobo. Gigabyte/ Asus would be fine.

Video card - How much is sapphire vapor-x 100237L radeon HD 4850? Some 5770 1GB is $130 - 140 after MIR. Better thab 4850.

RAM - I don't see 8GB RAM necessary. 4GB would usually do the job.
 
Sorry thats 2x2) 4gb

mobo- cant really decide, micro or just regular boards?

The video card is 95 after rebate, And its 1gb 256 bit. The 5770s are only 128 bit
 
what are you hoping to do with this computer? would your family be playing games or just watching movies/surfing the internet?
 
Ill be playing some games but it doesnt have to be maxed out on the grapics settings, movies are great,fast web surfing and probably video editing but not too much.
 
then i would stick with a 5770. great card for what you plan on doing.

as for the mobo, i'd stick with a regular atx board.
 
daisymtc said:
Are you going to overclock the machine? Phenom IIx 4 955 would be better Option if you do.

Mobo - Get ~$100 AMD870 chipset mobo. Gigabyte/ Asus would be fine.

Video card - How much is sapphire vapor-x 100237L radeon HD 4850? Some 5770 1GB is $130 - 140 after MIR. Better thab 4850.

RAM - I don't see 8GB RAM necessary. 4GB would usually do the job.
Click to expand...

why is it a better choice for O/Cing? Whats the difference in gigahertz of OCing the 945 vs 955 (stock cooling)?
 
iYoYo said:
why is it a better choice for O/Cing? Whats the difference in gigahertz of OCing the 945 vs 955 (stock cooling)?
Click to expand...

the 955 has an unlocked multiplier (black edition) which makes overclocking MUCH easier. if you do overclock, however, you'll want to get an aftermarket cooler.
 
well i guess micro or mini motherboard are okay but they generally don't let you do crossfire, which might be something you are interested in. other than that though i guess it really doesn't matter one way or the other.
 
Great, i guess ill go with regular atx.

1 more question: what should i look for in a graphics card?
I read an article that shows 512 and 1 gig has no difference in performance
 
well it really depends on what you want in a graphics card. if you plan to do light/medium gaming, like you mentioned, then you don't need anything exceptionally powerful. a 5770 really falls into that category.

the ram really depends on what monitor you are planning to play games on. for bigger monitors it sometimes helps to have that extra ram.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top