Quick one for ya

[werez]

I`ve been saving some money lately , and i`m planning on building a new somewhat "decent" computer . I had my mind set on buying some stuff , but i realized that the total was way over my available budget , and im back to the drawing board .

Ok , so here is the deal ...
Im just going to stick with the essentials since the other components are pretty much the same for both builds .

Option one :
MB : Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3
CPU : AMD Phenom II X4 955BE
VPU : MSI R6870 HAWK
Total @360EUR

Option two :
MB : MSI A75MA-G55
APU : AMD A-Series A8-3850
VPU : MSI R6670-MD1GD5 1GB
Total @255EUR
And ofc. going crossfire with the apu . I`ve seen some decent results , but i don`t really know if it will be enough to match the R6870 performance , prolly not . And im kinda scared when i think about driver bugs and games in which scalling will be crappy and/or won`t work at all .
But this build allows me to save 100EUR , and buy something like :
CPU COOLER : EKL Alpenföhn Nordwand rev. B for 35EUR
RAM : GeIL Value Plus DIMM Kit 8GB PC3-12800U CL9-9-9-28 (DDR3-1600) for 50EUR
And save some cash for the SSD .

Overclocking is a must . The APU will also give more video performance also .
Yea im going to be gaming a little , but im not for the eyecandy in case ur wondering
I find using more than 2xAA and 4xAF irrelevant in most game titles and 1680x1050 is more than enough for me . No need to max out everything .

Thoughts ?

 

[Syuzeren]

The 990FX is a AM3+ board and will be able to use Bulldozer when it releases + you can throw another 6870 in for crossfire if needed. (Gaming Perspective)

otherwise go for the APU.

 

[Thrackan]

Option three :
MB : Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3
CPU : AMD Phenom II X4 955BE
VPU : 6850

And later on you can get another one of those sweet 6850's to do CF.

 

[Red_Machine]

Don't bother with a Phenom II. Wait for Bulldozer.

 

[werez]

Oh boy :\

ok so i got an HD5870 instead . It`s an used card but it still has some life left in it . Actually overclocks a little too . Going to be testing it a little more , just to be sure . But it was a bargain really , so im pretty happy . It`s not like an HD5870 is outdated or anything ...
I already own a Corsair HX750 PSU so crossfire is "doable" , and im planing to if only i could find another card .
Gonna stick with Gigabyte , and order that mobo today . It`s x16 capable in crossfire so its great .
And yes i am going to wait for BD , i just hope i will see some good performance @ decent price .
I have @ 200EUR left for the CPU + aftermarket cooler , so i guess im ok .

So far :
PSU : CORSAIR HX750
MOBO : GA-990FXA-UD3
VPU : ASUS EAH5870
RAM : im going to wait for the CPU`s to hit the market and then ill decide .
SSD : OCZ Vertex 3 60GB
And also my old Samsung Spinpoint 1tb for storage , and the Lancool PC-K62 case because its still in one piece lol .

Looking good so far !
Thanks for the suggestions guys!

 

[Pestilence]

Sandy Bridge?

 

[werez]

nah Intel is way more expensve around here , and i find no value in something less than a 2500k . And that one is around 195EUR which is not that bad , but i also need an aftermarket cooler and when i sum it all up i get dizzy lmao
Nah AMD all the way ..

 

[Damn_Smooth]

I would definitely go for option one.

I think Llano makes a great laptop, but not so much a great desktop.

I would also look for a used Phenom II. You can get one real cheap and switch it out for Bulldozer when it gets here.

 

[werez]

got an Athlon II X3 440 to play with

 

[Damn_Smooth]

Good choice. That should be a fine placeholder until Bulldozer comes out and you won't be bottlenecking that 5870 much, if at all.

 

[werez]

Uhm i wonder if i will be able to unlock it using the GB board ( just for fun ) , never got the chance to try an unlock before . Ill give it a shot , when my board arrives .

 

[Damn_Smooth]

Good luck man. When does the board get here?

 

[werez]

Bought it online cuz i didn`t find it @ local stores . Only Asus stuff were available . The guy from support told me on the phone that it should get here by Wednesday . They also have to order it from their suppliers , i dunno because it was not listed as "in stock" . I had to call and ask for info .

 

[Syuzeren]

Good luck unlocking! and lets hope Bulldozer is worth the wait