[sccr64472]

I'm about to pull the trigger on the following $500 bundle of parts for a friend's gaming rig. I already have an OCZ 780W Modstream, Antec P180, and Samsung 24" LCD. Here's the 4 parts I'm adding....

AMD 955 Phenom II X4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103674

Asus M4A78 Plus
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131381

G. Skill 2x2GB DDR2 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231122

AMD 4890 (still shopping for best price).

Anyone have any input or can save me some cash? Btw, the motherboard and cpu are a combo for $215 after MIR. I'll add a cooler,dvd, and possibly sound card if i can get him to fork over more cash.

 

[MrLinky]

well you really cant beat the savings on that combo deal but if you're open to reconsiderations, i'd say see if theres a 955+am3 mobo combo. ddr3 is practically the same price as ddr2, but you'll have to spend (im guessing) $40 - $80 more for a good gigabyte am3 mobo.

You're buying amd's second best cpu, why cheap out and get a slow ddr2 mobo?

 

[sccr64472]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrLinky well you really cant beat the savings on that combo deal but if you're open to reconsiderations, i'd say see if theres a 955+am3 mobo combo. ddr3 is practically the same price as ddr2, but you'll have to spend (im guessing) $40 - $80 more for a good gigabyte am3 mobo. You're buying amd's second best cpu, why cheap out and get a slow ddr2 mobo?

This system won't be overclocked other than me raising the cpu multiplier by one, so a "faster" motherboard will be wasteful on him as would faster ddr2. As fas as the AM3/DDR3 question, I just don't feel it's worth spending more for no real world gains. If it were the same price or very close, sure, I'd grab an AM3 paired with some DDR3, but I'd rather spend that money on his video card.

 

[MrLinky]

GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 $80

Thats $246 combined with the 955 (non-combo and before MIR). And when you factor in ddr3 2x2gb ocz golds for $73, the price gap shrinks even more

 

[youra6]

I would really spend an extra 30 and buy a 965 c3. If you can afford spending an extra few dollars, dont see any reason why not to get the 965

And not too long ago I saw a 4890 watercooled for around 150 on newegg.

 

[MrLinky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by youra6 I would really spend an extra 30 and buy a 965 c3. If you can afford spending an extra few dollars, dont see any reason why not to get the 965

I would agree, but the guy hes building it for wont be overclocking, so 200mhz for $20 (140 watt version) when hes counting every dollar probably wont be worth it.

 

[youra6]

c3 isnt 140w its 125 just like the 955...

 

[MrLinky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by youra6 c3 isnt 140w its 125 just like the 955...

i know, but the older 140 watt version is $186, and the c3 125 watt is $196. Hes trying to make every dollar strech, so assuming he can upgrade, he would probably want to get the cheaper of the two.

 

[-iceblade^]

looks good though i'd go DDR3 - the AM3 upgrade path depends on DDR3, and when you tell him he can't slap a Thuban into it, then what?

other than that, look into getting a 4890 used from here (~$165), or get this one instead

 

[H-man]

Why not get a C3 955? (I think they are out)

 

[MrLinky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by -iceblade^ looks good though i'd go DDR3 - the AM3 upgrade path depends on DDR3, and when you tell him he can't slap a Thuban into it, then what? other than that, look into getting a 4890 used from here (~$165), or get this one instead

good 4890 finds, but the Thuban will be compatable with am2+ and am3 mobos.

 

[-iceblade^]

mind providing proof for that? i'd like to see it for myself

 

[grishkathefool]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Idiot Why not get a C3 955? (I think they are out)

Because he's getting a combo.

My question is why not get him a 4770 and then you can get the DvD RW and a decent HSF with the left over cash; the 4770 won't make much of a difference overall, considering you are aiming at a mid-lo-range build.

 

[MrLinky]

http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/21/a...onsumer-realm/

 

[grishkathefool]

Quote:

...(codenamed Thuban) will be released in 2010, with the real kicker being that it'll be fully backwards compatible with existing AM3 and AM2+ mainboards. It'll be based on 45nm process technology and will boast an integrated DDR3 controller, 3MB of L2 cache and 6MB of L3 cache, and while the outfit wouldn't confirm, word on the street has it that the final product will sport a Phenom II X6 moniker. So, Core i9 -- what have you to say now?

Something tells me that the i9 will still out perform the Thuban. And they don't say when in 2010.

 

[MrLinky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grishkathefool Something tells me that the i9 will still out perform the Thuban. And they don't say when in 2010.

yeah, the i9 will be 32nm too (cooler and less voltage). So unless amd is changing up the architecture, which i doubt because it will be based off the existing server design. Im afraid they'll be in the same position as phenom II vs i7. But i've gotten way off-topic, sorry op.

 

[sccr64472]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrLinky yeah, the i9 will be 32nm too (cooler and less voltage). So unless amd is changing up the architecture, which i doubt because it will be based off the existing server design. Im afraid they'll be in the same position as phenom II vs i7. But i've gotten way off-topic, sorry op.

No worries

As far as this computer build, it's for a friend that plays on my computer with the 4890 and it's perfect for what games we play. He simply asked me to build a similar system. He has a 6 figure income, but is identical to me in the fact that he buys what he wants/needs as opposed to what he can afford. Why aren't I building him an I7/I5/SLI/CROSSFIRE,etc machine? Because he doesn't need it. Thanks all for the input. I was curious if anyone had found any killer deals that I hadn't come across, so I posted this. I'm comfortable with the parts I've chosen, but the AM3 motherboard/ram combo is much cheaper than I thought, so I might switch to that.

 

[grishkathefool]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sccr64472 No worries As far as this computer build, it's for a friend that plays on my computer with the 4890 and it's perfect for what games we play. He simply asked me to build a similar system. He has a 6 figure income, but is identical to me in the fact that he buys what he wants/needs as opposed to what he can afford. Why aren't I building him an I7/I5/SLI/CROSSFIRE,etc machine? Because he doesn't need it. Thanks all for the input. I was curious if anyone had found any killer deals that I hadn't come across, so I posted this. I'm comfortable with the parts I've chosen, but the AM3 motherboard/ram combo is much cheaper than I thought, so I might switch to that.

Alright then, well then he will certainly enjoy it much. Have fun with it!

 

[sccr64472]

Well, I just bought an AMD Phenom II 955 C3 combo'd with an MSI 4890 1gb for $300 shipped on Zipzoomfly, so all that is left is a mb and ram. Anyone have a great deal or coupon code? I'm looking to pull the trigger tonight, so I can put this build behind me.

 

[sccr64472]

Well, I finished off the build with a Xigmatek Dark Knight, a Gigabyte UD3P mb, 4 gb of G. Skill DDR3, and a Liteon DVD for a total of $235! I bought the Gigabyte mb for $61.99

So for a total of $538.49, he'll have a 3.2 ghz quad core, 4 gb of DDR3 with an AM3 mb, an OC'd 4890 1gb, a great cooler, and a black name brand DVD! I think I did well

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16813128392R