Chone

EDIT (5/5/09): NEAR FINAL BUILD

CPU: 720 X3

GPU: XFX 4890
-Best price out of the big name card manufacturers. There is a Gigabyte version for $15 cheaper after rebates, but I don't know if I should go with that or not.

Board: Biostar 790 GX
-With the rebate and bundle discount this board comes to $60. I was set on the Gigabyte 790 X, but that would be $80 more. Do you think it's the right decision to go with the Biostar?

RAM: 4GB of OCZ Reaper DDR2 800http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227267
-$38 after rebates. Is there anything around the $50 range that I should consider instead.

CPU Cooler: Xigamatek Dark Knight
-I'm buying some MX-2. I'll need thermal compound, right? Would you recommend a different compound? Or even a different CPU cooler?

Optical Drive- The $25 LG 22X, I keep hearing that's the best.

PSU- Corsair 650 TX
-I'd like to keep this when I upgrade to next-gen cpu and gpu, think it will be sufficient? On the other hand I don't want a bunch more power than I need if it will waste energy).

Harddrive: WD Black 650 GB, 32 MB Cache, 7200 RPM

Case: CM 590
-I keep hearing it's better than the CM 690 and the Antec Three Hundred.

Monitor: TBD (any suggestions would be fine. i liked this one asus, but i was worried it was 1080 and not 1200 heightwise. something 19-22)

Do I need anything else? Cables or anything, for my OS I plan on using the Windows 7 client.

zero0zero0

1. X3 720 is good.
2. 4890
3. I think a higher wattage PSU would be better like 650TX
4. CM690 is good, you could also look at the Antec 300 which I prefer the look of.
5. I'd say go get a Gigabyte board as Asus seems to be no so great lately.
6. I think you mean CPU cooler by PSU cooler, I'd say get the Xigmatek S1283
7. Any SATA 16x+ DVD drive would be ok.
8. WD 6400AALS Black.

__________________

3DMark Vantage P13259

felipeanon

get a 4890, a Seagate hard drive, and an asus DVD drive, for cooler, get the TRUE, and for psu get a 700w coolermaster psu

__________________

We Are Gr33n Machine

http://valid.canardpc.com/cache/banner/558619.png

greenPlastic

Rather than the 690, which is a bit dated, I would recommend the 590.

Its big, looks awesome, and is pretty new.
$65.

Bigger than the Antec 300, people who have seen both seem to like this one a lot more.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119152


Oh and idk what your budget is but you could look at something like my build, ran me $900 yesterday.

Da5id

I have the 590 and love it. But the picture is misleading. It wont run three 120mm's in the front unless you have a external optical drive. Im running two 120mm's, but i had to make brackets to mount the second one.

GL

__________________

Chone

your build is exactly what i want and i love the look of that case. i think i'll get that piece for piece. thanks guys.


edit: 1 more question
as far as the ram, i see two kits of ram

both g.skill, both $59, both ddr3, both 1333, both pc-10666

the only difference is :

# Cas Latency: 9
# Timing: 9-9-9-24
# Voltage: 1.5V

vs.

# Cas Latency: 8
# Timing: 8-8-8-21
# Voltage: 1.65V

which is better, i assume lower latency is better, what about timing and voltage?

Chone

what do you guys think about waiting for windows 7 and direct x 11 cards? i'd hate to buy vista and then be wanting windows 7 come october. seems like a waste of $100. and if i wait until october maybe i could get dx11 card for the same price as the 4890, but then again im thinking 10.1 can basically do all the same things anyways, i might not even know the difference.

there is always something better around the corner when dealing with this stuff, i think there is always something around the corner you can rationalize waiting for, i just haven't been following pc gaming for years now though except for blizzard games so i don't feel i'm a good judge anyways of when is a good time to buy (if such a time even exists).

greenPlastic

Its really always going to be like this, something will always be coming out, you just have to bite the bullet and jump.

Only thing that I would consider waiting for is next-gen graphics cards.

flag182

4890 , 650 tx

__________________
dXploiT

Chone

yeah, that's the problem. i think im leaning towards biting the bullet.

also can somebody tell me which of these g.skill ddr3 1333 mhz 4 gb kits I should get aside from the $100 kit i guess, unless that really is the smart buy.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...3+4+gb&x=0&y=0

edit:also what do you guys think of going the AM2+/AM3 mobo route with ddr2 to save some money. if i did that and bought a bargain gpu like the 4770 i wouldnt be able to play crysis, but i could play left4dead and the orange box along with WoW. then i could upgrade to a good price point dx11 card around the holidays and play crysis/be ready for starcraft 2, diablo 3 and blizzard's unannounced "2010 mmo".

im just thinking of that as my secondary option. been hearing ddr2 works almost as well as ddr3 with the 720 x3 and is a cheaper setup. the downside is i conceivably wouldnt have to upgrade my motherboard and ram (other than drop in another 2gb) if i wanted to upgrade processors to a better am3 down the road.