New gaming rig for my bro-in-law......

[HookeyStreet]

Heres what Im thinking of building him:

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.2 GHz Socket AM3 8MB

RAM: Crucial 8GB (4x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz/PC3-10600 Ballistix Memory Kit CL7 (7-7-7-24) 1.65V

MOBO: Asus M4A785TD-V EVO Socket AM3 onboard DVI VGA HDMI 8 channel audio ATX

GFX: PowerColor HD 5770 PCS+ OC 875MHz 1GB GDDR5 VGA DVI HDMI Out PCI-E

PSU: Hi-Power Black 800W 14cm Blue LED Fan PSU - 20+4pin 4x SATA 4x PCI-E

HDD: Western Digital WD3200AAKS 320GB SATAII 7200rpm 16MB Cache - OEM Caviar Blue

ROM: Samsung SH-S223 22X DVD±RW/RAM/DL Serial ATA Black Bare Drive - OEM

OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64Bit


or



EDIT -

PSU: OCZ Stealth XStream 600W PSU - SLI Ready ATX2.2 12cm Fan

MOBO: Asus M4A79XTD EVO 790X Socket AM3 8 channel audio ATX

RAM: OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz/PC2-12800 Gold i5 Memory Kit 1.65V CL7(7-7-7-20)

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 630 Socket AM3 2.8GHz 2MB L2 Cache Retail Boxed Processor

GFX: PowerColor HD 5850 1GB GDDD5 Dual DVI HDMI Display Port Out PCI-E Graphics Card With Dirt 2 Game

 

[Kantastic]

I'm thinking on cutting the RAM amt in half and invest in a better motherboard (may I recommend SATA/USB 3?), especially one that can do Xfire.

PS - Do you have a case?

 

[DirectorC]

That setup in a CM 690 II all the way.

 

[(FIH) The Don]

it looks nice imo, but why ultimate? you only need home premium i'd say

and 4gb is enough, you only need more than that if its for video editing or photoshopping tec, use the money on a CF board, like this ASUS M4A79XTD EVO, it performs well and is Crossfire ready in case he wanna put an extra 5770 in it .

 

[jjFarking]

The OS will be 64-bit, so 8GB is certainly a good forward-thinking move, especially as more developers are starting to move to the 64-bit platform.
Ultimate would be overkill, though.

The mobo should also be a bit better. The above suggestion is a good alternative, though I'd prefer the M4A79T DeLuxe (coz I'm biased ).
That said, anything with USB/SATA 3 is hard to find, where some compensation hasn't been made in stealing bandwidth from the PCI-e slot(s), or cause the mobo to be a fairly expensive one if no such theft occurs..

I like that CM690 case as well

Why not go for 5850 in place of the 5770?

 

[heky]

Change the PSU to something well-known, Motherboard(as suggested), and I also think a 320Gb drive is a little low.

 

[jjFarking]

Change the PSU to something well-known, Motherboard(as suggested), and I also think a 320Gb drive is a little low.

Well spotted!
I'd say a Corsair HX850 would do just nicely, as well as a 1TB drive.
WD or Seagate, unless Samsung's F3 is an option

 

[(FIH) The Don]

why such big psu? id go with an tx650w or an ocz modxstream 6-700w, both can handle 2 5770s in CF without problems, but 850w is way to much for that system, and the HX 850w is very expensive

 

[jjFarking]

why such big psu? id go with an tx650w or an ocz modxstream 6-700w, both can handle 2 5770s in CF without problems, but 850w is way to much for that system, and the HX 850w is very expensive

Depends on what the future holds in regards to the gfx.
In theory, there's no reason to go above 550w in the current setup, but as the OP already had a 800w listed, the logical step would be a high-efficiency PSU that will stand the test of time.
As for price, the HX850 is better value for money, than its bigger brothers, and more solidly future-proof (if there's truly such a thing) than its siblings

 

[(FIH) The Don]

Depends on what the future holds in regards to the gfx.
In theory, there's no reason to go above 550w in the current setup, but as the OP already had a 800w listed, the logical step would be a high-efficiency PSU that will stand the test of time.
As for price, the HX850 is better value for money, than its bigger brothers, and more solidly future-proof (if there's truly such a thing) than its siblings

Def right on that point i'd say, but i just see way too many people do overkill with psu's,

i normally calculate the approx wattage of my setup and then add 2-300w for oc headroom and new gfx's + it wont be too hot and most important it will be quiet,

but yeah, a good quality brand name psu is always good

 

[jjFarking]

Def right on that point i'd say, but i just see way too many people do overkill with psu's,

i normally calculate the approx wattage of my setup and then add 2-300w for oc headroom and new gfx's + it wont be too hot and most important it will be quiet,

but yeah, a good quality brand name psu is always good

That is indeed a very common occurence.
I guess it depends, ultimately, what the OP sees happening in the not-too-distant future for his brother-in-law

 

[HookeyStreet]

I'm thinking on cutting the RAM amt in half and invest in a better motherboard (may I recommend SATA/USB 3?), especially one that can do Xfire.

PS - Do you have a case?

LOL, yeah Ive picked a case, I just thought it was pointless mentioning it without a pic

 

[HookeyStreet]

Change the PSU to something well-known, Motherboard(as suggested), and I also think a 320Gb drive is a little low.

That PSU has some awesome reviews, but it is a toss up between that and an OCZ 600W

IM trying to keep the cost fairly low, hence some cut backs. He wont need a lot of HDD space because ALL he will do is game lol

 

[werez]

4GB RAM / cut the PSU , look for a corsair 500 or something ... with the money saved an HD5830 would be a really good choice .

 

[HalfAHertz]

Why a 965 if it's just for gaming? I'd either go for a P2 720( save ~85$) with a future path upgrade for a 6 core ( 3 cores are plenty fast for now and a 3 to 6 will be a much bigger and worthwhile update than from 4 to 6 - just a bit of future-proofing) or go for one of the new i3's( save ~65$) for a low power but efficient gaming rig...The money saved from the cpu can be invested in a better GPU solution

 

[HookeyStreet]

Im going for this PSU instead: OCZ Stealth XStream 600W PSU - SLI Ready ATX2.2 12cm Fan and this MoBo - Asus M4A79XTD EVO 790X Socket AM3 8 channel audio ATX

As this system is strictly for gaming/internet, should I reduce the RAM to 4GB (2x 2GB) of good DDR3 and maybe invest in a better GFX card?

EDIT: Im going for this RAM now: OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz/PC2-12800 Gold i5 Memory Kit 1.65V CL7(7-7-7-20)

 

[vipz]

Heres what Im thinking of building him:

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.2 GHz Socket AM3 8MB

RAM: Crucial 8GB (4x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz/PC3-10600 Ballistix Memory Kit CL7 (7-7-7-24) 1.65V

MOBO: Asus M4A785TD-V EVO Socket AM3 onboard DVI VGA HDMI 8 channel audio ATX

GFX: PowerColor HD 5770 PCS+ OC 875MHz 1GB GDDR5 VGA DVI HDMI Out PCI-E

PSU: Hi-Power Black 800W 14cm Blue LED Fan PSU - 20+4pin 4x SATA 4x PCI-E

HDD: Western Digital WD3200AAKS 320GB SATAII 7200rpm 16MB Cache - OEM Caviar Blue

ROM: Samsung SH-S223 22X DVD±RW/RAM/DL Serial ATA Black Bare Drive - OEM

OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64Bit


or



EDIT -

PSU: OCZ Stealth XStream 600W PSU - SLI Ready ATX2.2 12cm Fan

MOBO: Asus M4A79XTD EVO 790X Socket AM3 8 channel audio ATX

RAM: OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz/PC2-12800 Gold i5 Memory Kit 1.65V CL7(7-7-7-20)

Cpu:CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.2 GHz

RAM: G-skill F3-12800CL7D-4GBRH 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz/PC2-12800 1.6 Volts CL 7-7-7-24-2N

MOBO:GIGABYTE GA-MA790GPT-UD3H AM3

GFX: PowerColor HD 5770 PCS+ OC 875MHz 1GB GDDR5 VGA DVI HDMI Out PCI-E

PSU:Corsair vx 550w

HDD: Western Digital 500gb black

DVD±RW: Lg GH22NS50

OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64Bit

 

[heky]

The PSU and the GPU are places you shouldnt go cheap, becouse it will affect all other components(PSU).

 

[CDdude55]

The OCZ Stealthxstream 600w is a great power supply.

I have been using mine since '07 and have had zero problems.

 

[HookeyStreet]

The OCZ Stealthxstream 600w is a great power supply.

I have been using mine since '07 and have had zero problems.

The funny thing is, I sold one a month ago on ebay

FINAL SPECS:



PSU: OCZ Stealth XStream 600W PSU - SLI Ready ATX2.2 12cm Fan

MOBO: Asus M4A79XTD EVO 790X Socket AM3 8 channel audio ATX

RAM: OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz/PC2-12800 Gold i5 Memory Kit 1.65V CL7(7-7-7-20)

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 630 Socket AM3 2.8GHz 2MB L2 Cache Retail Boxed Processor

GFX: PowerColor HD 5850 1GB GDDD5 Dual DVI HDMI Display Port Out PCI-E

HDD: Western Digital WD3200AAKS 320GB SATAII 7200rpm 16MB Cache - OEM Caviar Blue

ROM: Samsung SH-S223 22X DVD±RW/RAM/DL Serial ATA Black Bare Drive - OEM

CASE: Casecom 6788 Black Mid Tower Case with Full Black Interior/Exterior 120mm Blue LED Front Fan - No PSU

Additional Case Fan: Xilence Black 120mm Case Fan - 4pin with 3pin adaptor

OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64Bit (not included in overall price as this is already owned)


All parts purchased from ebuyer, grand total including delivery : £655.25

What do you guys think? My budget was £650

 

[jjFarking]

You may want to check the number & type of connections the PSU has.
From what I can see, it has only 3 SATA connections, and 2 6-pin only PCI-e connectors.
Kinda throws a spanner in the works for future expansion.
I know you can use adapters, but still..
2¢

EDIT: what's the compatibility like with that i5 RAM?

 

[HalfAHertz]

The A2's are a nice solution, but not for gaming. A P2 720 would be better imo..

Just to back up my words:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Intel/Core_i5_661/11.html

They are relatively the same price and you still have a chance to unlock the 4th core with a capable MB...