New PC

semipsychotic

<div class="IPBDescription">Finally.</div>I know, I know, every second of the day someone is posting this thread somewhere on the internet. Feedback, pretty please?

It's for games. Doesn't need to be super-zomg-fantastic, but I'd like to play TF2, L4D, COD4, and then SC2 when it lands.

Case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW
<a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811119068" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811119068</a>
$50

Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P
<a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813128387" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813128387</a>
$111

CPU: AMD Phenom X4 945 (4 core, 3.0GHz)
<a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819103675" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819103675</a>
$170

GPU: ATI Radeon HD 4890 (1 GB)
<a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814150359" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814150359</a>
$195

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAJS (320 GB, 7200 RPM)
<a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822136098" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822136098</a>
$ 48

Optical: SAMSUNG Black 22X (DVD R/W)
<a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827151187" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827151187</a>
$ 31

RAM: Kingston HyperX (2 x 2GB kit, 240-pin DDR2)
<a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820104073" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820104073</a>
$100

PSU: COOLER MASTER Silent Pro 600 (600 W)
<a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817171036" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817171036</a>
$ 80

I already have a monitor, speakers, mouse, and keyboard. Everything comes out to a bit under $800 before shipping. My budget is flexible, but I like to think I hit my sweet spot right here.

There's another twist: I may not have the opportunity to use this computer much for a while. How much would change if I waited, say, another month and a half to order everything?

Thanks for your time.

Comprox

Looks good to me, with one possible exception. That HDD is quite small. I see the 500gb of the same series is an extra $10. As for if you should wait, I am not too sure. ATI just released their new video cards so unless there is a CPU release in the next week or two I would say go for it.

remi

I've got a very similar build, and love it (same mobo, same video card). My only question is, why the Phenom?

If this is going to be for gaming, you'd probably be better off spending the same money on a dual core.


The other great thing about that video card and motherboard combo is that it's very easy to just add another 4890 with crossfire to quickly up your graphics prowess.

Tykjen

Finally upgraded myself, 5 years with AGP had done its toll. Didnt go all out, just spendt 400$ on;

Intel Core™2 Duo CPU E7400 @, 2.80 GHz
HIS Radeon HD 4770 512MB GDDR5
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3LR
4gig 8500 ddr2

Installed on windows 7..which is just too fkn nice os.

Next buy is an Intel SSD harddrive for the os.

Kept the Cabinet, 500w psu and the Xfi soundcard from the old.
Can finally play Killing Floor with everything on max. Same with Crysis. Happy for the cheap setup.

locallyunscene

I think my CPU(Q6600) has a heat problem and I was wondering if you guys had any recommendations for a good CPU fan, since there's an active PC thread.

Thaldarin

Looks like a good solid base.

Some people are AMD fans, that's why they go for Phenom. It's also well priced for the 'cheaper' user. My X2 940 BE is pretty good and it's comparably the same as the one semipsychotic plans on using. I'd recommend something non-stock to cool that CPU though, for example I'm using this: <a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118051&cm_re=zalman_cnps10x-_-35-118-051-_-Product" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...8-051-_-Product</a> and it works well.

semipsychotic

The HDD suggestion is duly noted; thanks. I received another opinion elsewhere saying that $48 for 320GB is too much and $60 for 500GB would be too, but I didn't clarify RPM with him, and by God I don't want my HDD to fail early. I'll do a little extra research in that department.

As for the Phenom choice, I laid out Build B around an Intel E8500, but I decided that I liked my motherboard options better with the AM3 slot. Also, the tomshardware benchmarks (including video games) for the two processors were pretty comparable, and 4-core feels more versatile and slightly future-proofier (though we know nothing is really future-proof).

Kouji_San

Don't get a Maxtor drive in your research endevours, I've seen 5 if em die in a RAID situation, within a week of getting the beast online... WD, Seagate and samsung are nice IMHO

remi

<!--quoteo(post=1733208:date=Oct 21 2009, 08:32 AM:name=Thaldarin)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Thaldarin @ Oct 21 2009, 08:32 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1733208"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Some people are AMD fans, that's why they go for Phenom.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I'm a fan of AMD, but I go for a dual core at a higher clock speed rather than the Phenom.

I've got an AMD Athlon 64 X2 3.2 Ghz. For games, it's better than a similarly priced Phenom.

lolfighter

<!--quoteo(post=1733206:date=Oct 21 2009, 06:02 PM:name=locallyunscene)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (locallyunscene @ Oct 21 2009, 06:02 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1733206"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I think my CPU(Q6600) has a heat problem and I was wondering if you guys had any recommendations for a good CPU fan, since there's an active PC thread.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
When my Q6600 had heat problems, it was due to a poorly seated cooler. It's mundane, but you should probably check that. Also, "I think my CPU has a heat problem" sounds a little uncertain - have you checked the temperatures? You might find <a href="http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/page-221745_11_0.html" target="_blank">this thread</a> helpful (especially the list with temperature levels for the different CPUs), and <a href="http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php" target="_blank">SpeedFan</a> is always a good choice for checking temperatures.

DiscoZombie

I want a new PC soon, but I've been planning on waiting on Windows 7, and for solid state hard drives to drop in price. Windows 7 drops tomorrow, I guess? so now I'm just waiting on SSDs =p I just can't wait for near instant load times on everything...

Faskalia

<!--quoteo(post=1733206:date=Oct 21 2009, 06:02 PM:name=locallyunscene)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (locallyunscene @ Oct 21 2009, 06:02 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1733206"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I think my CPU(Q6600) has a heat problem and I was wondering if you guys had any recommendations for a good CPU fan, since there's an active PC thread.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I am running a q9300 with a scythe mugen and 4 case fans. No probs at all.

lolfighter

It's worth noting that the Q9300's temperature limits are 10 degrees higher than the Q6600.

semipsychotic

Update: apparently Newegg's wattage calculator sucks the big one. Extremetech recommends about 400W for my system, so I'll bump it up to 450 or so. After doing more research.

HUEG edit: Build update.

Case (same): COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW
<a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811119068</a>

Mobo (same): Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P
<a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128387" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813128387</a>

CPU (same): AMD Phenom X4 945
<a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103675" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819103675</a>

GPU (same, for now): ATI Radeon 4890
<a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150359" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814150359</a>

Optical (same): Samsung Black 22X
<a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151187" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827151187</a>

And now for the changes:

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB
<a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136320" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822136320</a>

As recommended by Comprox.

RAM: Patriot Viper II 4GB
<a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220426" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820220426</a>

As recommended by another party. I've personally heard good things and had good experiences with Kingston, but shaving $20 is nice.

PSU: BFG Tech GS-550
<a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817702010" target="_blank">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817702010</a>

I did a more thorough job of making sure that PSU had all the pins I needed. Also, it's inexpensive and has decent reviews, sprinkled with mentions of similar part layouts to mine. Given the data I've looked at, I think 550W is right.

Incidentally, <a href="http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5850,2433-13.html" target="_blank">I've heard</a> that the Radeon HD 5850 uses less power than the 4890. And with savings on the PSU and the RAM, the cost above is at $740 without shipping. Is that the magical extra $60 I can spend on a shiny new DX11 card? I don't know, actually; I'd feel a little weird spending nearly a full $100 more on my GPU than my CPU. We'll see.