First build check

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this will be my first build from scratch, i have a HD4870 1GB which ill use with this for a while. In a few months ill grab a new card, win7 (currently have vista64), and probably some cooling for a bit more OC etc.

...but will this do for now? :>

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not sure about: RAM choice, if i really need that extension cable, and if the 965 is worth it compared to the 955 (actually, just noticed the 955 is on week offer and the regular price is more than the 965... im guessing due to better overclockability?).
 
I'd be more inclined to go with this, it's a lot cheaper and at least equals the performance of the Phenom 965. Fair enough if you're decided on the Lancool, but there's no way you'll need a 750W PSU yet, even with a 5870 in there (maybe so if you went Crossfire)

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+1 to above post plus the core i5 with a nice air cooler or h50 would do well and give u additions 40%ish in performance!
 
what planet are you 2 on?
the AM3 is easily equal to i5 for gaming, seen as how gaming is gpu dependant rather than cpu dependant
Id suspect he has got the psu with xfire in mind seen as how he's specced a mobo with full x16/x16 support over a normal x8/x8

Just to prove the point re gaming performance look at the chart below, at low res where its cpu dependant then yeah i5/i7 beats AM3, however at higher res where the game becomes gpu dpependant the new i5/i7s actually nose dive and end up performing worse than AM3 and even old 775. Seen as how most people game at around 1920x1200 nowadays for a purely gaming system its not hard to argue the merits of AM3

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95 rifles i sorry mate but that graphs shows one set up where it beats the i5 also i5 uses les power then am3 quad core chips do so for real world where you game for less then half the time you are using it they are better and i aint no i5 fan boy as my current set up uses a 5000+ be amdchip in it which i think is AMAZING
 
That doesnt compare resolutions though, the point is performance varies depending on resolution
Anyway theyre all pretty evenly matched (less than 10fps between top and bottom performers), I just wondered where sfnx was getting this mystical figure of i5 being 40% better???
Also if someone is building a gaming pc, its likely he's gaming for much more than 50% of his time
 
Thanks for your input all. The PSU/mobo choice was a future proof thing really as crossfire is a good possibility come the time when ill upgrade, and iv heard great things about the asus crosshair iii in general.
I'v spent a lot of time looking into going Intel as my past 2 systems have been amd, and i think if i was spending around £1300+ i'd go intel i7 for sure... but from experience (i use both amd and intel systems at work) i prefer the 'consistency' feel of amd set-ups over the generally faster but more erratic feel of intel systems - its a preference thing!. Ill be gaming at 1920x1200 also so it'll be more about my gfx card upgrade choice come the time.

About the cable, there was a guy building a system on here last week, can't find the thread now but he had trouble getting the cable to reach with same mobo/psu, he was using an antec902 case, and i think the board sits just a little higher in the lancool... think i'll leave it in to be safe and it should at least make cable management easier!
 
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