First Build

I Urban I · 11-09-2009 11:18pm #1

Howaya,

My first attempt at building my own computer and it's a hard earned budget. Just want an opinion on the stuff I've picked...I'll be using this rig for gaming mostly.

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
MOBO: MSI 790GX-G65 <--(edited)
RAM: Corsair 4GB-Kit Dominator DDR3 <--(edited)
GFX CARD: ATI Radeon HD4890 1GB (possibly the 5870 when it's released)
Case: CoolerMaster HAF 922 Mid Tower
PSU: OCZ StealthXStream 600W <--(edited)
Hard Drive: WesternDigital Caviar Black 750GB
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-D163B SATA
OS: Vista Premium + Free Windows 7 Upgrade
CPU Cooler: ?

My budeget is at max €1000

If anyone sees anything wrong like incompatible components or cooling. Also, If there are any different components that are better or cheaper (but on the same level) let me know. Thanks in advance

Farcear · 12-09-2009 1:11am

I'm fairly new to this whole area myself; just ordered my first build today but here's my 2c worth of research over the past few weeks. Unless you are planning on going crossfire -- you need a MASSIVE monitor to see visible performance gains from this -- then the PSU and Mobo are overkill. Get cheaper versions of both and put the savings towards better CPU and a CPU cooler.

Shipping: You can get the guys to do assembly for another €20 if you want it too.

MoBo: Unless you are running 2 GFX cards in Crossfire there will be no difference between the FX and the cheaper GX motherboards. You can put that savings towards better stuff in other areas.

RAM: 4GB vs 6GB doesn't seem to make much difference in gaming (once you have enough which 4GB is!) and only the expensive intel Core i7 can make use of triple channel (3 sticks) of RAM -- so swap 6GB of lower quality RAM for 4GB of either cheaper or higher quality RAM.

PSU: (€90) Overkill without crossfire and serious overclocking. You could go with the Corsair VX550W 550 Watt instead and save €20 here for better stuff in other areas.
http://www2.hardwareversand.de/_/articlesearch.jsp?agid=1

Hard Drive: I've seen that recommended so I'd go for it.

CPU Cooler: If you plan on overclocking your system -- this is one of the big benefits of a home built system -- then you should probably budget an additional ~ €40 for a high-quality CPU cooler. Use the savings from other parts.

build · 12-09-2009 1:39am

I Urban I · 12-09-2009 11:12am

Kinda jumped on the band-wagon of 6 gigs of ram :P so I changed it. Changed the board since I was blinded by looks.:o And as for the psu, I'll add a 4890 sowewhere down the line. Also thoughts on the case ? Thanks

Solitaire · 12-09-2009 10:23pm

What's the size of your monitor and its maximum resolution? For a €1000 budget if you have anything less than 19" and a res of 1650*1080 you can put a nice chunk of your money towards a 22"+ jobbie

The X4-955BE is a good piece of kit for the money. The N520 is okay, but there are far better coolers out there - Xigmatek S1283, Scythe Mugen2 etc. They don't have to cost the earth either. But they're only important if you're overclocking the CPU, otherwise stick with the stock cooler or get an Arctic Freezer 64 Pro.

Not pushed on your choice of PSU either. A decent 550W PSU would be better if you don't intend to go CrossFire. If you really do mean to then go for a decent 750W PSU like the Corsair TX750. Just bear in mind that CF is overkill unless the screen resolution is well beyond 1080p - think 2560*1600 and up!

Bob_Harris · 12-09-2009 10:33pm

Is that a AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition, because the 555 is a dual core.

The budget you are on, i'd say the AMD route will serve you better than going with the Core i5 (long term and short term).

I Urban I · 13-09-2009 9:28am

D'oh, yes that would be the 955 not the 555.

I kinda fell for the bigger + more expensive = better, once again that's been proven wrong. So long thoughts of adding another 4890! If I was to get a good 550W psu though, would it be enough to power the soon to be realeased 5870? Which would be possible to get if I was to get a decent 550W psu instead of a 700W.

And yes I'll be doing some mild overclocking since it's only going to be my 3rd time at it. So cooler recommendations then.?

Solitaire · 13-09-2009 8:46pm

Not sure but I doubt the HD5870 will consume much more power than the existing HD4870; less if it takes the power-plane design from the HD4890 and less still if it ends up with the equivalent of 16 SIMD units instead of 20 (HD48*0 has 10). Bear in mind that the drop from 55nm to 40nm sees a 45-50% reduction in total die area and a similar potential drop in power usage.

meepins · 13-09-2009 11:09pm

the 5870 apparently pulls 190ish max maybe a bit less while the 4870 does about 150

Effluo · 13-09-2009 11:52pm

meepins wrote: »

the 5870 apparently pulls 190ish max maybe a bit less while the 4870 does about 150

Yeah i've actually heard big numbers for it too!
Wouldn't be that high though....

Also op you have Vista hm Premium with W7 upgrade? On hardwareversand.de that's in german

Solitaire · 14-09-2009 7:19pm

That's the same amount the HD4890 is supposed to pull. Fun fact - it doesn't. Indeed, actual recordings put the real-world power usage around 120-125W under intense torture-testing. So the HD5870 could easily consume 100-140W and get stuck with a 200W+ label. Nuts... :rolleyes:

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