Amd build for a friend - Page 2

That evga gtx460 2win is going for a deal at newegg.

it would performe about the same as the 7770

u want a 990 or at least 9XX motherboard not a 870 really. should be around the same price my ASrock 990 only cost me $98 (converted from UK).

better psu

Can u scrape 560ti card as well shouldn't be alot more or go 460 2win as stated above

Here's an Intel build I put together.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139008

Corsair Carbide Series 400R
$99.99
$7 off w/ promo code EMCNCJH37, ends 7/18

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157253

ASRock Fatal1ty P67 Performance LGA 1155
$99.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115078

Intel Core i3-2100 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz
$119.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009399

Acer P216HL Black 21.5" 5ms Widescreen LED Monitor
$99.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104231

Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB)
$45.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161402

HIS iCooler H777F1G2M Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition
$129.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139033

CORSAIR Gaming Series GS500
$79.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840

Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM
$89.99

TOTAL: $765.92
An extra $65 not expecting you to pick it just an alternative if you need one...

GPU
Three things I would change for sure are the video card, motherboard, and PSU. The GTX550 Ti has been a bad value ever since it was released. Get something like a HD6850 or GTX460 1GB, both of which are generally around the same price but perform better.

• Sapphire HD6850 + Free Dirt 3 Game: $119.99 after MIR

Motherboard
There is no reason to get an old AMD 870 AM3 motherboard when the 970 AM3+ boards are lower priced than the board you chose. This would give better upgradeability with the option to move to Piledriver AMD chips when they are released. You can even get a very high end open box Asus 990FX Sabertooth for not much more.

• Asrock 970: $79.99 + shipping
• OB Asus 990FX: $131.99 + shipping

PSU
The PSU is a very crucial component so I wouldn't get a cheapo Raidmax. Spend a little more on a high quality Seasonic M12II 520W (it's also modular like the Raidmax).

• Seasonic M12II 520W: $59.99 + shipping

RAM
The rest of the components are not bad but you could probably do better. For the RAM, higher clocked sticks are not much more expensive or go cheap with the very overclockable Samsung 30nm RAM.

• Samsung 8GB 30nm DDR3-1600 Kit: $46.99 shipped
• G.SKILL 8GB DDR3-2133 Kit: $59.99 shipped

Case
The Antec 300 is a great case but it's really old. There are better cases with newer designs like the Antec Gaming Series One, Corsair 300R, NZXT Source 210, and so on.

• Antec Gaming Series One: $49.99 shipped

CPU
The 965BE CPU is about the best you can get for the price. If the X4 960T was still readily available I'd go with that but it's not.

Hard Drive
For the hard drive I'd get a Samsung F3 1TB. I'm not familiar with the speed of that WD Black hard drive but it's probably not much more than the Samsung. Plus the Samsung has double the capacity. Decent hard drive deals are getting easier to find but prices are still higher since the Thailand flood. Another option is a small SSD and cheap hard drive but that might put you over budget.

• Samsung F3 1TB: $94.99 shipped

Monitor
I'm not a big fan of Acer as their build quality usually tends to be lacking. I'm also not a fan of cheap TN panels. IPS panels are often quite a bit more expensive but there are some decent budget options. The cheapest IPS model I could find is an Asus VS229H-P 21.5" 1920x1080. Monitors are the least upgraded component of a computer and are a long term investments so I'd highly recommend getting a quality monitor. IPS monitors have much better viewing angles and colors compared to TN panels.

• Asus VS229H-P 21.5" IPS: $163.99 + shipping

Sorry for the long reply but I hope it was helpful. Best of luck with your friends build.
Edited by Ben the OCer - 7/17/12 at 12:53am