Help me build a budget AMD pc :)

[Darren]

Well I have never OC'ed before, so simplicity is a must. You just have to go into bios, change the frequency, and monitor temps right? Hmmm, this is confusing If the 720 can hit much high than the 710 with a simple OC, the $20 would be worth it, but I'm not sure if it can? I will also need a wireless-G adapter

For an average overclock the 710 and 720 BE will give you about the same results, around 3.4-3.6 GHz. The difference is if you have a good motherboard, good cooling, know what you are doing you'd have to be cross your fingers to get 3.7-3.8 GHz stable on the 710 without effort, but that is normal with the 720 BE.

To be honest the only advantage is the 720 BE is easier to overclock, but you have the same potential in terms of potential overclocks.

 

[1Kurgan1]

OCing FSB vs Multipliers isn't much diff, just multipliers bump RAM and HT frequencys, so you lower the multipliers on those and bump the FSB up till it doesn't work, then bump the voltage a bit at bump FSB again (watching temps of coarse). Once you get where yor happy turn the RAM multi back up until it is unstable then back down 1, then same with HT and your set with a good OC.

Odds are if you go with a 710 and a stock Heatsink/Fan you shouldn't have a ton of issues, prob need to put the Mem down to DDR 2 667 and HT down to x8.

If your really unsure get the 720, just turn up the multi and then voltage till your happy. But I'm still saying the 4870 would be a better investment, if you can toss $40 more then get them both and oyur adapter and your comp will be def good for 2 years easy.

 

[SirJangly]

Well right now I am using a Phenom 9500 @ 2.2ghz, so it seems either the 710/20 will be a HUGE upgrade

 

[1Kurgan1]

Here, got you a 4870 in there instead of the 4850, came with a RAM combo thats better RAM and only cost you $15 more for the 4870 in the end. Then got a 720 in there for $10 more, boards a 760 chipset vs a 780 chipset, but should be no big deal, end price of $560 before ship, so $27 more for a noticeable difference. For $560 that really is a killer computer, you will be hard pressed to find anything better.

Oh yeah forgot Wireless G... here's one for $8 more, granted will hav a bit of shipping too.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833180030

Also whats stil lgood in your comp, like what size HDD do you have and do you have a working burner? If so cross those off the list and save yourself more money.

 

[human_error]

Here, got you a 4870 in there instead of the 4850, came with a RAM combo thats better RAM and only cost you $15 more for the 4870 in the end. Then got a 720 in there for $10 more, boards a 760 chipset vs a 780 chipset, but should be no big deal, end price of $560 before ship, so $27 more for a noticeable difference. For $560 that really is a killer computer, you will be hard pressed to find anything better.

http://img.techpowerup.org/090724/Capture002.jpg

i'd try and push for a sb750 mobo for the ACC option (i don't think the SB710 has it does it?) - the ACC helps with overclocking and is needed if you wanna try and unlock the 4th core on a phenom 2 x3 chip.

 

[Darren]

Well I have never OC'ed before, so simplicity is a must. You just have to go into bios, change the frequency, and monitor temps right? Hmmm, this is confusing If the 720 can hit much high than the 710 with a simple OC, the $20 would be worth it, but I'm not sure if it can? I will also need a wireless-G adapter

If you are willing to push the budget just below $600, you can get the X4 955 BE. AMD's fastest processor at the moment and its "BE" so you'll get an easy overclock too.

Edit:

I've manged to get a build under $600 with the 955.

The chances are the 955 at stock will be faster than a mildly overclocked 720 BE?

Does the threadstarter need an operating system?

 

[1Kurgan1]

i'd try and push for a sb750 mobo for the ACC option (i don't think the SB710 has it does it?) - the ACC helps with overclocking and is needed if you wanna try and unlock the 4th core on a phenom 2 x3 chip.

ACC is built into PII chips, the only thing it could be used for is unlocking the 4th core. But he doesn't know how to OC very well, so thats something I would recommend not to try, even then it's a shot in the dark. (It didn't work on my 720 on 2 diff mobo's and I have the best batch to unlock with)

If you are willing to push the budget just below $600, you can get the X4 955 BE. AMD's fastest processor at the moment and its "BE" so you'll get an easy overclock too.

I would say thats really not needed for what he's doing, as with a 955 then you really want a aftermarket cooler also, so thats another $40 on top of the $95 more for he processor. Plus the $95 more cost of the 955 vs the 720 puts it to about $650 which is far over $500 that he was looking at.

 

[1Kurgan1]

Oh yeah for sure without an OS you can get under $600, I got Vista 64 Home in my build. I think he needs an OS though, I already asked an no response so I would assume so. But if no OS is needed, then the 955 would be a great choice. As far as stock 955 vs OC'd 720, yes most likely unless it's a game that only uses 2 cores (which most are that way), but they will use about 20% of every extra core so it wouldn't be too far off, the 955 is def a better proc at everything as it comes at 3.2ghz out of the box, thats a big margin.

 

[human_error]

I've manged to get a build under $600 with the 955.

The chances are the 955 at stock will be faster than a mildly overclocked 720 BE?

Does the threadstarter need an operating system?

i don't know if it would be perceivably faster - this is a gaming rig, if the OP intends to do lots of video encoding then yeah the 955 would be faster and would be useful but in a gaming rig the difference in fps will be <1fps in almost any game (especially if we consider the x3 processor to be over 3.5ghz). Yes the 955 is a nice processor, but when trying to keep costs down it is an unecissary expense (money which would be better spent on an even better GPU).

 

[human_error]

I'm going to wait for SirJangly's response.


*waits*

he's giving his current pc to his family, so he shouldn't have a vista liscense lying around. In his OP he does state he plans on steam games and wow mostly, which are single threaded mostly (some source games have 2 threads if i remember correctly).

 

[Darren]

he's giving his current pc to his family, so he shouldn't have a vista liscense lying around. In his OP he does state he plans on steam games and wow mostly, which are single threaded mostly (some source games have 2 threads if i remember correctly).

i don't know if it would be perceivably faster - this is a gaming rig, if the OP intends to do lots of video encoding then yeah the 955 would be faster and would be useful but in a gaming rig the difference in fps will be <1fps in almost any game (especially if we consider the x3 processor to be over 3.5ghz). Yes the 955 is a nice processor, but when trying to keep costs down it is an unecissary expense (money which would be better spent on an even better GPU).

If he doesn't manage the overclock the advantage will be with the 955 even in games because of the extra 400 MHz, the reason I'm shooting for the 955 is because I get the feeling the threadstarter isn't knowledgeable in overclocking and he wants a rig to last 2 year plus, I do not want him to come back in a year complaining and secretly wishing he went X4 because gaming performance has become sluggish or because he couldn't achieve the overclocks we promised him.

But yes I agree the 720 BE is the best gaming deal, but if the budget allows I think he should shoot for the best. Otherwise the 720 BE definitely.

 

[1Kurgan1]

I doubt the 720 would be sluggish in a year, I do agree if he is wary of clocking the best option is the highest stock clocked CPU. But with easy multi bumps, it's a no brainer, seems a lot of people can run the 720's at 3.3 - 3.4ghz without even bumping the voltage, so really easy to get good speed with 1 simple step.

 

[Darren]

Rosewill R102-P-BK 120mm Fan MicroATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $24.99
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM $59.99
Foxconn A7GM-S 2.0 AM2+ / AM3 Ready AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $69.99
Rosewill RNX-G1 USB 2.0 Wireless Black Dongle with External 2dBi SMA Antenna - Retail $19.99
GIGABYTE GV-R487-512H-B Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $119.99
Rosewill RP550-2 550W ATX12V v2.01 Power Supply - Retail $49.99
Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT25664BA1067 - Retail $60.99
AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor Model HDZ720WFGIBOX - Retail $119.00
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic SP1 32-bit for System Builders - OEM $84.99

Total: $609.92

The operating system and wireless G card pushes the build over budget.

 

[1Kurgan1]

Thats basically the same build I got planned out, but the internal Wireless G card I got is only $8, your HDD is bigger, but I would stay away from that as it's only 16MB cache and almost all other 640's are 32MB, also you got no DVD burner in there. But yeah pretty much same layout, it's about as good as it gets for the price.

 

[SirJangly]

I hate to throw this in there, but I do plan on playing Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 when they come out. Would the x2 550/x3 720/x3 710 be fine for this?

 

[Darren]

I hate to throw this in there, but I do plan on playing Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 when they come out. Would the x2 550/x3 720/x3 710 be fine for this?

Knowone knows until those games are released, we can only guess. I would suspect that those processors will be more than enough, the most emphasis should be on the video card if you're worried about running those games. Although my speculation is that the 4870 would run those games fine.

Edit:

Yeah true. I think I may use the Windows 7 RC. That is functional until June 10, 2010, correct?

I believe so.

 

[SirJangly]

Knowone knows until those games are released, we can only guess. I would suspect that those processors will be more than enough, the most emphasis should be on the video card if you're worried about running those games. Although my speculation is that the 4870 would run those games fine.

Yeah true. I think I may use the Windows 7 RC. That is functional until June 10, 2010, correct?

 

[newtekie1]

I'm just throwing this out there, but with this budget, why not look at the Athlon II X2 250/245? It should be more than enough for the games you plan to play, thrown the money towards more RAM, a better motherboard, and a better graphics card.

I mean look at the difference between the 550 and the 250: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=96&p2=97

In the games, they were all less than 10FPS different(excpet for L4D, which was still over 90FPS). I would think a simple overclock of the 250 would push it over 550 performance.

I'd put the money towards a better motherboard, that way you are more prepared to switch to something far more powerful down the road. Hopefully, you would have enough for a 790FX+SB750 board, which would be best for pairing with a Phenom II quad later on down the road when you can afford it.

 

[SirJangly]

Would this case be a decent way to save some money?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147118

 

[SirJangly]

I'm just throwing this out there, but with this budget, why not look at the Athlon II X2 250/245? It should be more than enough for the games you plan to play, thrown the money towards more RAM, a better motherboard, and a better graphics card.

I mean look at the difference between the 550 and the 250: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=96&p2=97

In the games, they were all less than 10FPS different(excpet for L4D, which was still over 90FPS). I would think a simple overclock of the 250 would push it over 550 performance.

I'd put the money towards a better motherboard, that way you are more prepared to switch to something far more powerful down the road. Hopefully, you would have enough for a 790FX+SB750 board, which would be best for pairing with a Phenom II quad later on down the road when you can afford it.

Hmm, interesting. Although there are some differences, I doubt I would notice the performance? You are referring to the $65 processor, right? I wonder how it would run Team Fortress 2, as that's my favorite game !!

 

[newtekie1]

Hmm, interesting. Although there are some differences, I doubt I would notice the performance? You are referring to the $65 processor, right? I wonder how it would run Team Fortress 2, as that's my favorite game !!

Yes, the 245 is only $65. The comparision I posted was using the 250, which is only 100MHz faster than the 245, and $80...

I think the 245 would suit you just fine, and should overclock pretty easily also. It shouldn't have a problem with TF2.

 

[Dreadnought33]

Would this case be a decent way to save some money?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811147118

IMO I really doubt that 500 W PSU that the chassis comes with will be able to power adequately an HD4870 512 MB, not at least with a lonely 19 A +12 V rail to power the system.

 

[SirJangly]

IMO I really doubt that 500 W PSU that the chassis comes with will be able to power adequately an HD4870 512 MB, not at least with a lonely 19 A +12 V rail to power the system.

I see. Is it safe to assume that the psu and cooling are more important than the case itself?

 

[Darren]

Would this case be a decent way to save some money?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147118

I see. Is it safe to assume that the psu and cooling are more important than the case itself?

Its safe to say that you are on an extreme budget of less than $500, although its a good deal however it will work out a few dollars more than buying a similar "Rosewill R102-P-BK" case for $24.99 and "Rosewill RP550-2" PSU for $49.99. It works out at $74.98 which is slightly cheaper than the case that comes equipped with power supply.


Rosewill R102-P-BK $24.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147111&Tpk=Rosewill R102-P-BK

Rosewill RP550-2 $49.99 (Notice its 550w, the one that comes with the case is 500w)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182017&Tpk=Rosewill RP550-2

 

[SirJangly]

Its safe to say that you are on an extreme budget of less than $500, although its a good deal however it will work out a few dollars more than buying a similar "Rosewill R102-P-BK" case for $24.99 and "Rosewill RP550-2" PSU for $49.99. It works out at $74.98 which is slightly cheaper than the case that comes equipped with power supply.


Rosewill R102-P-BK $24.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147111&Tpk=Rosewill R102-P-BK

Rosewill RP550-2 $49.99 (Notice its 550w, the one that comes with the case is 500w)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182017&Tpk=Rosewill RP550-2

What about this case?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119189

I am sure you are factoring in good cooling, as that will obviously be necessary for me to OC well and have it last for as long as I want it to. Also, I must admit, I am a free shipping whore