New Build AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955

shanepg

shanepg

shanepg

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Guys, I've been reading the forums over the last couple of weeks as I'm trying to get my first build for 10 years off the ground. (The last 2 set-ups have been 2nd hand ones from work that were just too cheap to turn down, but nows the time to build what I want).

Objectives are to play Civ 5 and SC2. With a view to be able to keep some components for when Civ 6 arrives in x number of years. I am budget conscious, but willing to spend good money on the right components. So here's my list so far;

CC700D - Corsair Obsidian Series 700D, Black, Alu Front Panel, Full Tower Case, 3 x 140mm fans, w/o PSU (cos it's gorgeous!)
Corsair 650 W TX PSU (Will this be enough juice to run crossfire etc in a few years time?)
MSI 870A-G54 AMD 870 AM3 Motherboard (cheap - I think future proof enough for a RAM and GPU upgrade in a year)
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 CPU (Run in crossfire in a year or so)
4GB kit (2GBx2), 240-pin DIMM, DDR3 PC3-10600 memory module
Asus HD 5670 Graphics Card (add 2 more 2GB in a year or so)
1TB Hitachi Deskstar, 0F10383, 7K1000C SATA 3Gb/s, 7200rpm, 32MB Cache, 8.9 ms, NCQ, OEM
Sony AD-5240S-0B 24x DVDR 12xDVDDL DVDRW x8/-RWx6 SATA Black
AKASA AK-All-02BK Black LCD Displ, Card Reader,Temp Controlled Fan Controller, Audio, USB, Firewire,
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit, Single, - OEM
re-use existing monitor - AcerP223w Unfortunatley this won't snap to native res in DVI so I want to run it in VGA - unless you guys say this is a bad idea
re-use existing mouse (USB), keyboard (P/S2), and speakers.

Any comments appreciated.

Like I say, I have done this a few times but a long time ago (I can still remember getting a 50MB HDD that took up two 5 1/4" bays!)

My logic is the case and PSU will last for 5 - 10 years. The GPU and RAM can be upgraded in 1 year and the CPU in 2 (assuming AMD make their next chip [the AM4] backward compatible with the AM3 socket, like they did the AM3 into the AM2.

Cheers
 
Hi and welcome
most of it looks ok, but that gfx card isnt up to much gaming wise, you want at least 57xx if not 58xx for a gaming build (or their NVidia equivalents), and if you up to 58xx youd need stronger psu for 2, at least 750W
Re the HDD Hitachi dont have best reputation, look at the Western Digital 6gb/s ones so you can take advantage of that feature on mobo
For best advice whats your total budget?
 
the psu only has a pair of pcie connectors, and maybe not enough watts for high end gpus in sli or crossfire.

the HX650W or Antec new truepower 650W both have two pairs of pcie connectors.
 
Change the HD as there are better for the same money.

If you want to change the mobo in a year, get a retail OS rather than OEM so you can take it across.
 
Shane any chance you could repost with a budget and tell us how much these components you have picked are individually? It will be easier to help advise you a little ;p
 
one huge error, that chipset motherboard won't do symetrical crossfire,

you need a 890GX or 890FX for that.
 
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Wow, that's a lot of good advice in a short space of time.

Stulid: Thanks for advice on the bulldozer cpu's. I'm disappointed AMD aren;t making the next generation universally backward compatible. Like you say though it looks like I could take my AM3 955 to a new board - guess I'll be upgrading the mobo once the bulldozer CPU's are available and a decent price.
With regard to the mobo supporting crossfire:
http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=prodmbspec&maincat_no=1&cat2_no=&cat3_no=&prod_no=2057
The bottom of the page says it will. I realise that this will drop from 16 to 8 channels though. Is this what you mean by symetrical crossfire?
Re the PSU, is one pair of PCI-e connectors not enough for one pair of GPU's in crossfire?
I do take your point that 650W may not be man enough in a few years time.

95thrifles
re GPU in one test
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html
the 5670 (£90) scored 1161, and the 5870 (>£200) is only 3 places above at 1239, and a 5770 (£130) is only a few more above that at 1421. If this review is to be believed the 5770 may be a go-er.

I agree about the HDD. 6 Gb/s would be better.

Paplazaru: I agree, I'll get retail OS for the extra £40.

Here's a new list of components and prices:
CC700D - Corsair Obsidian Series 700D, Black, Alu Front Panel, Full Tower Case, 3 x 140mm fans, w/o PSU £145
850W Corsair CMPSU-850TXUK, ATX, 4x PCI-E/ 8x SATA, PS/2 PSU, 5 Year Warranty £105
MSI 870A-G54 AMD 870 AM3 Motherboard £78
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 CPU £112
4GB kit (2GBx2), 240-pin DIMM, DDR3 PC3-10600 memory module £72
Asus HD 5670 Graphics Card £90
Though maybe 1GB Asus HD 5770 CuCore, PCI-E 2.1(x16), 4800MHz GDDR5, GPU 850MHz, 800 Cores, DL DVI-I/ D-Sub/ HDMI £127
1TB Western Digital WD1002FAEX Caviar Black, SATA 6Gb/s, 7200rpm, 64MB Cache, 8 ms £68
Sony AD-5240S-0B 24x DVDR 12xDVDDL DVDRW x8/-RWx6 SATA Black £15
AKASA AK-All-02BK Black LCD Displ, Card Reader,Temp Controlled Fan Controller, Audio, USB, Firewire, £32
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit, Single, - retail £112
re-use existing monitor - AcerP223w Unfortunatley this wont snap to native res in DVI so I want to run it in VGA - unless you guys say this is a bad idea
re-use existing mouse (USB) keyboard (P/S2) and speakers.
Total cost £866 (or £829 with cheaper GPU).

The first build came in at £722.

I can spend the extra £150. It's just an issue of how quickly it will become redundant...
Let me know what you think please.
 
The 5870 you are pointing out is the Mobility Radeon for Notebooks.
Look quite a few places up for the actual 5870 ;)

While that benchmark looks pretty Nvidia-biased and inaccurate (5870 beating 5970? Although it probably wasn't making use of both graphics cores) the 5770 is a solid card.

At 1680x1050 which I believe is your native resolution, it should play most games at maximum settings or just under (AKA Crysis...).

You seem to be set on crossfiring, but if you weren't I would recommend a GTX460.
 
1680 x 1050 is right. Thanks for the heads up about the mobility card:D. No idea how the GPU benchmark was performed. I think the 5770 may be the one...:D Cheers
 
@shanepg

if you read the specs it says 1X16 and 1X4 speed, this is the bit that catches the new people out, the slots are a full 16X in physical lenght, but the second slot is not fully wired to the chipset, so the second slots max bandwidth is 4X.

as previously mentioned the 890GX and FX chipset does crossfire at 8X/8X and 16X/16X respectively.
 
Cheers dude :) That makes sense now. I appreciate the step-by-step explanation. I guess I need to bump up to the 890FX mobo then. This build is getting more and more costly... Still it makes good sense to get the correct components in the first place. Thanks again.
 
What's the consensus of opinion about on board graphics. I had been moving away from it as I'm getting a GPU that will clearly supercede anything on the mobo. Is it just a waste of space and money or is it a handy back-up? Does it in anyway interfere with the GPU?
 
its a handy backup, you may sell your card in the future and take a few days to get a new one, or your graphics card may need a RMA, leaving you cardless until replaced.
 
@Big.Wayne It is definetly a SUPER expensive case. But I figure the case will last for 10 years and I have to look at it all the time - PC in front room.

The case and PSU will last a few upgrades and hopefully not become out-dated quickly. So I am happy to spend good money on these 2 components.

The Mobo, CPU, GPU, RAM etc all need replacing after c12-24 months.

That's my logic anyway...
 
shanepg said:
@Big.wayne It is definetly a SUPER expensive case. But I figure the case will last for 10 years and I have to look at it all the time - PC in front room.

The case and PSU will last a few upgrades and hopefully not become out-dated quickly. So I am happy to spend good money on these 2 components.

The Mobo, CPU, GPU, RAM etc all need replacing after c12-24 months.

That's my logic anyway...
Click to expand...

solid logic, don't compromise on the case, monitor and psu, they last the longest usually.
 
I'm a lil late back to your thread wayne and the guys have done well answering your questions and cleared up most of the confusion.

What i will say is this though. Myself and a few of the other forum members, wayne for one and i believe stulid has posted this too is that the "new" or revised ati cards are due this quarter (october is heavily rumoured). I dont know when you plan to order and build but it may be wise to old off just a couple of weeks more and see what these will do to the prices.

I thought it was worth mentioning as you said you were trying to be budget concious.

You seem to be keen on the x-fire feature, a lil research will show that the 5770 in xfire pretty much matches the 5870 for less £. I've used this as an example as you also seem drawn to that card. You will feel a lil sick though if you buy and then it drops in price or the 5830 takes its price slot shortly.

Welcome to the forums. Good luck with your build
 
Some good advice here I would second the thoughts about at least a 5770 and if possible waiting until October to see what the 6xxx have to offer. Cash flow permitting my own build schedule has been postponed until October...I've given up waiting for Bulldozer!
 
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