System build up - OPINIONS

euroDub

euroDub

euroDub

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27 Sep 2010
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Hi, so long story short, my laptop when once and for all :mad: and I decided to build a new system. As all this happened unexpectedly I can't go too much over the top as I am on a tight budget! These are the specs, what do you think of it? any change or improvements? :)

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.40GHz

MOBO: Asus Crosshair IV Formula AMD 890FX

Graphics: XFX ATI Radeon HD 5850 1024MB GDDR5

Memory: OCZ Reaper Low-Latency 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 12800C6 (1600MHz) Dual-Channel

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache

PSU: Enermax Pro82 + 525W ATX DXX-Edition SLI/Cfire

Case: CM Storm SCOUT / Lancool K62
 
Welcome to forums

If youre looking to save money could get a 955 and cheaper mobo, no need to spend so much on board unlwess youre after benchmarking OCs, a ton will get you what you want prob, also change RAM to Corsair, OCA been dodgy of late
If youre looking at adding a 2nd card later for xfire, youll want a bigger psu, round 750W to be safe
Dont forget to add an aftermarket cooler if you do plan to OC

HIS ATI Radeon HD 5850 iCooler V 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £199.99 (£170.20)
Asus M4A89TD PRO AMD 890FX (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £139.99 (£119.14)
Corsair HX 750W ATX Modular SLI Compliant Power Supply (CMPSU-750HXUK) £119.98 (£102.11)
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £117.49 (£99.99)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £76.36 (£64.99)
Coolermaster Storm Scout Gaming Case - Black £66.99 (£57.01)
Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD6402AAEX) £51.99 (£44.25)
Sub Total : £657.69
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £12.50
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £117.28
Total : £787.47
 
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890 chipset is pretty pointless.
Personally I'd swap to 785G or 790XX board - some even have USB3 :p

And as aforementioned, get the 955 CPU (cheaper, but practically no difference)
 
first of all thanks a lot for you time :) I went for the 965 cos for almost 10pounds more I thought that it was worth it especially if it has got higher factory vcore (ie. a little better for OC). as for the motherboard I prefair going for an 890FX so it would be a little future proof and maybe better support to AM3 and so on. And why would you go for the HIS vga instead of the XFX, arent XFX better?

As for the PSU I changed it to this one: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-008-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1084

according to a site that calculates what wattage I need (and I did include that I ll be overclocking) it said that I would need a minimum of 495 watts approximately (http://www.antec.outervision.com/index.jsp)
 
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As I say if you plan to add a 2nd card later for xfire, which I assume with an 890FX chipset you do, then you need more power, 650W is fine if you dont plan to OC but if you do then get 750W to be sure, the PSU is not the area to skimp on, get it wrong and it blows and it can take rest of your rig with it, whether you want modular or not is upto you though
the HiS uses a better aftermarket cooler than the XFX, thats all
 
It seems that AMD Bulldozer will need an AM3+ motherboard although AM3 chips will supposedly run in an AM3 motherboard.

If you are going Crossfire it maybe worth looking at the 890GX chipset and if you aren't an 870 or 880G motherboard would do the job.
 
HiS is a good brand yes, shouldnt be any problems
the 890FX runs xfire at 16x/16x vs the 890GX which runs at 8x/8x, however the actual difference in performance is not that great, the FX is also meant to be better at clocking than the GX, whether its worth the premium or not is upto you though, have a read here
Re the memory, why not go for the set similar but specced for AMD rather than Intel? They're next to each other in the list
 
Ahh sry, got it now hehe, was only looking at the description...

also this kit seems pretty decent for the price with better timings than the others. what do you think?
 
so I bought the first 2 components hehe, the case (antec 902) and the PSU. Now as the PSU is located at the bottom of the case and the case has no air vents under the psu is the little space under the PSU ( the space where the small flat rubber feet are) enough for the 120mm PSU fan to intake air (about 2mm of space) or should I drill a hole in the case bottom for better flow?
 
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