Please review my rig before i buy and build

Ok, I have reviewed my build and this is what I have decided on:

Processor AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.20GHz £111.61 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-244-AM&tool=3

Motherboard £99 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-339-AS&groupid=701&catid=1903&subcat=1481

+9.50 delivery = £220.11

GPU- Sapphire HD 6850 Toxic £155 (have the plan to buy a second one after a year and crossfire)
Case plus PSU £60 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-225-CM&utm_source=froogle (out of stock but sourced elsewhere)
RAM- Corsair 2X2GB DDR3 1600mhz £40.90
HDD- Samsung F3 1TB 7200rpm SATA £42.99
DVD- SAMSUNG DVD+-R DL etc SATA £12.25
WIRELESS TLINK B/G/N PCI £15.13
Wireless Logitech Keyboard and Mouse £15
Xbox Controller £17.79

Total Cost= £579.17 although i probably wont pay for everything before 4th so add 2.5% VAT increase so comes to £593.65

Is this a good pc? Will everything work together? Will the bundled PSU work considering I have changed my choice of CPU?

Please let me know if I should go ahead with this...or IF i can get better value some other way...its my first ever build and want it to last + no headaches

Thank You! :D
 
Heres my 2 cents:

I have the Asrock extreme 3 770 and its a fantastic motherboard (Used Asus/Gigabyte previosuly).

Bios is good and well laid out with plenty of support form Asrock. Clocked my 965 to 3.8 easily on it. The bios also has some overclockign presets for those who wish to do it that way.

Very good motherboard and couldn't be happier However no crossfire so probably not what you need now looking at the gpu and what you plan to do.

I also have a 6850, the Asus one and can't fault it, clocks nicely and form what I can see slightly higher and cooler than others and comes out top in most reviews. Worth a thought if you're gonna cf later.

Also, a use WesternDigital Caviar Black as my drive, outstanding for the price.

The 955 is a very good choice. Get a good cpu cooler first as last as the stock one on ym 965 was slightly noisey and ran far too hot for my liking. Something like a Titan Fenrir or the Megahalem.

Very nice looking build mate!
 
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Ok, I have began placing my orders. This is what my rig will consist off:

CASE- CoolerMaster Elite 430, £29.93
PSU- XFX P1-650S-NLB9 650W, £67.99
DVD- Samsung SH-223L, £16.71
COOLER- Coolemaster Hyper 212 Plus, £22.05
GPU- XFS HD 5850, £140
Anti Static Wrist Band, £1.74
Motherboard- AsRock 870 EXTREME3. £74.04
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE, £113.92
RAM: Corsair 2x2GB 1600Mhz, £41.30
HDD: Samsung F3 1TB 7200rpm, 43.49
Wireless Keyboard & Mouse: Logitech MK250, £14.99
Gaming Controller: Wired Black Xbox Controller (New D-Pad), £17.91
Wireless Card: TP-Link TL-WN851N Wireless B/G/N 300MB/s, £14.89

All prices include delivery and VAT.

Total Cost: £598.96

Is this a good build for just under £600? I am pretty pleased with myself :) Plan is to stick with this for a while, then when HD 5850 drop in price once more, grab another one and cross fire. Went for a 5850 instead of 6850 because in most benchmarks it scored higher. I know 6850 is better in crossfire but only marginally...also my motherboard does crossfire only @ 8x, but I read that means a drop in performance by 4%. Hopefully overclocking will cover for the loss in performance.

Anyways, I have already got a few tutorials on how to assemble. But do any of you know of good free ones? Video tutorials would be good, but I am also looking for a prety simple one that I can print off, not too many colours cause low on coloured ink lol.

And any other general advise you would give a first time builder like me...

Thank you!

PS. I will post pics when the items arrive and through out the build process :)
 
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I have not ordered the cpu and motherboard yet, everything else on the list above has been ordered, should I look into sandy bridge?

Basically asking, which cpu and motherboard combination would give me the best bang for buck, and allow room to crossfire a 2nd 5850 in a years time, without spending too much more then my current choice of cpu and motherboard....

Cheers :)
 
I built it, took about 3hrs, went fine except m worried i used too much thermal paste, well actually the guy helping me insisted on putting load, at least 5 bead size droplets, actually even more!

whats the worst that could happen? should i take it apart wipe it off and reapply?
 
kagg8 said:
I built it, took about 3hrs, went fine except m worried i used too much thermal paste, well actually the guy helping me insisted on putting load, at least 5 bead size droplets, actually even more!

whats the worst that could happen? should i take it apart wipe it off and reapply?
Click to expand...

Well done :)

Which CPU/Motherboard combo did you eventually go for?

PS. too much thermal paste will have the same effect as too little...ie not very good temps. But as you say you can always reapply it.. Have fun :)
 
i went for;

CPU- AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE (plan on over clocking)
Motherboard- Asus M4A79XTD
CASE- CoolerMaster Elite 430
PSU- XFX P1-650S-NLB9 650W
DVD- Samsung SH-223L
COOLER- Coolemaster Hyper 212 Plus (was told stock cooler sucks, anywhere i can sell it? lol)
GPU- XFS HD 5850 (plan on crossfiring in future)
HDD- Samsung F3 1TB 7200rpm (plan on getting a ssd in future)
Geil 4GB DDR3 1600Mhz

it was loads of fun building :)

might reapply thermal paste when i open case up to add a 2nd case fan on the top of the back of case, so front fan on the bottom brings in cool air, it heats up, rises and forced out of the back :)

or i might just leave it the way it is, performing well n silent as well.

although i do have some regret not adding the extra £s for sandy bridge but at least with this build m sure i can afford to slowly upgrade...

game graphics look good on my 24inch full hd benq monitor :D
 
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Nice build. Yeah, it'd be worth doing the thermal paste again if temps are getting high, particularly if you plan on overclocking. What does it idle at? Stressing the CPU is the only way of knowing for sure if it needs replacing. Loads of you tube videos on how to it. Usually only need one pea sized blob in the middle of the CPU.

Understand what your saying about Sandy Bridge but next year sell the 955 and throw in a hex core and get your second 5850.
 
thanks

a 2nd 5850 would be bottleneckd by my current processor?

man im so angry with my friend, told him not to put so much paste, now have to open it up and the way m so paranoid about static lol
 
kagg8 said:
thanks

a 2nd 5850 would be bottleneckd by my current processor?

man im so angry with my friend, told him not to put so much paste, now have to open it up and the way m so paranoid about static lol
Click to expand...

haha, sometimes less is more. Don't worry about static at all. I've never fried a pc with static yet, just make sure you touch a metal part of the case before a component. If your really concerned, buy a wrist strap for around a fiver. I have one but tend only to use it on big jobs.
 
lol i first stroked my radiator for a good 2mins, then i built it barefoot on the cold floor, always had my hand on the case and had a wrist strap on as well, now thats paranoia lol

guess i will sort out the thermal paste first before overclocking, what should i use to wipe it off?
 
You'll need a lint free cloth and some 99% isopropyl alcohol to clean the heatsink and CPU. Try boots the chemist or a local pharmacy for the isopropyl. Shouldn't use acetone as it'll dissolve the PCB of your mobo if you get any on there.

Or this
 
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If you wan't to be meticulous about it, then go ahead and get the removal compound, otherwise just do what "Stulid" say's. Toilet roll or kitchen roll. That's what I use on everyday heatsinks that need it. You'r not overclocking anyway, so the difference in temps you would get aren't worth the botther of ordering extra stuff you will prob use only the once.
 
i reapplied the thermal paste and fit an outlet fan, temps are slighlty better, not overclocking anyways so guess they werent bad in the first place, anyways, unfortunately im in need for some quick cash so put it up on that auction site :(

Thank you all for your help and advise, hopefully i'll be back soon to build a pc...sucks being a broke student lol
 
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