Shiny New Build: Need opinions!

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reddevilandy10

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Hi guys,

This has been a long time coming!! Glad I finally have the finances to go ahead with it.

I'm looking to build a new PC in the following few weeks as my P4's legs are almost gone. Budget is around R6000-R7000 tops, with about R2000-R3000 for the monitor, kb & mouse, headphones and webcam. Let's ignore OS cost for now.

Basically I'm looking for an all round performer, will mostly be used for watching HD video and music playback, preferably with onboard graphics for the time being... I do intend getting a ATi card and Blu-Ray drive in the future though...

This is what I have thought of so far...

Asus M4A785TD-V EVO AM3
AMD Athlon X4 630 2.8GHz
OCZ Reaper DDR3 1333 2x2GB
Vantec iON2+ 520
Coolermaster RC 310
Samsung DRU-V2000

HDD - will be looking for specials...
Monitor - Probably a 2333SW or one with 1920x1080 res when prices drop again...
Phones - Will need some recommendations...
Webcam - Recommendations here too...

So, what you guys think? Any advice, recomendations or comments will be awesome! :D
Thanks!
 
For your budget , lower the mobo specs and get a amd phenom 2 720 tri-core . You only need ddr2 ram ddr3 is a waste . Also look at the p2370 monitor . Better specs than 2333sw
 
Get the Samsung 2494HS from Kalahari.net right now. It's just short of R2K, but not sure for how long that will be.

Actually, DDR3 isn't much of a waste, but you don't need all the fancy cooling.
Switch to Kingston ValueRAM DDR3 1333 (KVR1333D3N9/2G, but don't buy the kit, get the singles as they're cheaper). Close to DDR2 pricing and cheaper than the OCZ.

After my questions here recently regarding RAM speeds and so on, I've done alot of looking around and reading and there's nothing in it. This Kingston ValueRAM actually does better than its HyperX performance cousin.

Definitely try and get a phenomII item though, if you wish to keep with the AMD family.
 
flashfire208 said:
For your budget , lower the mobo specs and get a amd phenom 2 720 tri-core . You only need ddr2 ram ddr3 is a waste . Also look at the p2370 monitor . Better specs than 2333sw
Click to expand...

That is an awesome looking monitor indeed!

TheRift said:
Get the Samsung 2494HS from Kalahari.net right now. It's just short of R2K, but not sure for how long that will be.

Actually, DDR3 isn't much of a waste, but you don't need all the fancy cooling.
Switch to Kingston ValueRAM DDR3 1333 (KVR1333D3N9/2G, but don't buy the kit, get the singles as they're cheaper). Close to DDR2 pricing and cheaper than the OCZ.

After my questions here recently regarding RAM speeds and so on, I've done alot of looking around and reading and there's nothing in it. This Kingston ValueRAM actually does better than its HyperX performance cousin.

Definitely try and get a phenomII item though, if you wish to keep with the AMD family.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up on the 2494HS!:D

I'll have a look at the Kingston's now. Thought I may want to overclock this puppy a little later hence the OCZ's. How well does the ValueRAM overclock? It's not a definite requirement though. Just an assurance thing:)

955BE? I see it's just over R2000 at Sybaritic. That Athlon does look to be the performance bargain of the year...
 
reddevilandy10 said:
That is an awesome looking monitor indeed!



Thanks for the heads up on the 2494HS!:D

I'll have a look at the Kingston's now. Thought I may want to overclock this puppy a little later hence the OCZ's. How well does the ValueRAM overclock? It's not a definite requirement though. Just an assurance thing:)

955BE? I see it's just over R2000 at Sybaritic. That Athlon does look to be the performance bargain of the year...
Click to expand...

ROFL...this is a BIIIIIG upgrade for you :p

865GLC - P4 2.6 Northwood - 1.5GB DDR400 - Onb. Graphics - 160GB Storage - Logitech X-530's - 17" Philips CRT - 384k 1GB DSL - XP SP3
& Win7 7100
Click to expand...

:D
 
Yeah, don't rub the price in on the 955BE. I paid R2.4K at the start of the month. :D

The Kingstons seemed to overclock fine in the tomshardware test I read today. But for overclock on the AMD you can just bump up the multiplier and leave the RAM at normal speed and play around with tightening up the timings. I ran my 955BE @ 3.8 without having to alter the RAM and it was good. I did put the FSB to 250MHz on just 1.5V and it ran fine, but had to bring down the multiplier to see if I could get past 3.8. The 955BE won't go over 3.8GHz easily it seems.

I started another thread on here about a week ago regarding RAM. Some good advice and pointers from fellow myBB'ers and a complete refresher for me having just come from DDR400 territory. :D

If you want I can check on the local pricing of the 955BE tomorrow rather than shipping from Sybaritic. But that Athlon is definitely bang for the buck right now. Maybe someone here who has one can speak for it. I can't, I have the 955BE.
 
TheRift said:
Yeah, don't rub the price in on the 955BE. I paid R2.4K at the start of the month. :D

The Kingstons seemed to overclock fine in the tomshardware test I read today. But for overclock on the AMD you can just bump up the multiplier and leave the RAM at normal speed and play around with tightening up the timings. I ran my 955BE @ 3.8 without having to alter the RAM and it was good. I did put the FSB to 250MHz on just 1.5V and it ran fine, but had to bring down the multiplier to see if I could get past 3.8. The 955BE won't go over 3.8GHz easily it seems.

I started another thread on here about a week ago regarding RAM. Some good advice and pointers from fellow myBB'ers and a complete refresher for me having just come from DDR400 territory. :D

If you want I can check on the local pricing of the 955BE tomorrow rather than shipping from Sybaritic. But that Athlon is definitely bang for the buck right now. Maybe someone here who has one can speak for it. I can't, I have the 955BE.
Click to expand...

You perhaps have a link? Should be an interesting read.

Lol! I'll be sure to check that one out!

That will be great!
 
Definatately invest in a DDR3 platform. DDR2 is dead and rightfully so.
Get the 955 if you can and don't worry about RAM speed 1333 is fine. (hint: what gives much better performance than different RAM speeds is NB speed. The right NB multiplier can make a DDR3 1066 numbers better than those of 1,600MHZ somteimes ;) )
Go AM3 you wont' regret it especially with 6 core CPUs coming next year your upgrade will be a drop in, while I'm not sure it'll be so for DDr2 platforms (AM2/AM2+)

As for Value RAM vs HyperX, only buy HyperX is you're planning on running the rated speed, if not its waste of money
 
ShockG said:
Definatately invest in a DDR3 platform. DDR2 is dead and rightfully so.
Get the 955 if you can and don't worry about RAM speed 1333 is fine. (hint: what gives much better performance than different RAM speeds is NB speed. The right NB multiplier can make a DDR3 1066 numbers better than those of 1,600MHZ somteimes ;) )
Go AM3 you wont' regret it especially with 6 core CPUs coming next year your upgrade will be a drop in, while I'm not sure it'll be so for DDr2 platforms (AM2/AM2+)

As for Value RAM vs HyperX, only buy HyperX is you're planning on running the rated speed, if not its waste of money
Click to expand...

That's one of the main reasons I'm looking at an AMD base. That should be interesting! You have any knowledge of the Athlon X4 630 Propus? It looks good on paper and it's a good R800 cheaper than the 955BE...

What AM3 mobo do you recommend?
 
Your requirement seems to be for onboard graphics for HD playback, etc. It seems ATI beats NVidia and Intel on that mark.

Right now you could go with that EVO as it has the 785GX chipset with the HD4200 in it. The ASUS M4A78T-E has the 790GX running the HD3300. That is the one I currently have. I think the HD4200 handles HD playback much better from what I hear, but the HD3300 can run a higher clock speed. Doesn't really matter, so get the EVO.

Both boards have enough scope for a decent graphics card later down the line.
 
The EVO board you picked is great and needs not be changed. any board to change too would be a 790FX based board which has no onboard video so its a no no. Stick with that motherboard it runs great and has plenty of features including the Blu-ray acceleration ;) As for the Propus, its an ok CPU but really, the lack of L3 will hurt you in some applications. The TDP is not much lower, and it not worth it unless the CPu itself is R800 then its a different story.
Maybe try Phenom II X3 or X4 925 or 945. They should be cheaper than 955 which is a bit much
 
On a side note i'd take the p2350 over the p2370 as the p2370 has a power brick.
 
Also noticed that. The 720BE is only a few hundred more than the Athlon X4 630...
Think I'll go search for some benches!

As for the i5... well, that would be my first choice. But I'd have to buy a graphics card then, besides the chip + mobo = +/- R5000 on their own.
 
Ok... so this is how my list currently looks...

Asus M4A785TD-V EVO (definite)
AMD Phenom II X3 720BE (still need confirmation)
Kingston ValueRAM DDR3 1333 2GB (x2) (not that much cheaper than the OCZ Reapers actually!)
Vantec iON2+ 520 (this should be enough juice... any other good PSU's?)
Antec 300 (Looks to be the best budget case under R800)
Sony DRU-V200 (looks to be the best optical drive on the market at the moment....correct?)
Samsung 2494HS (definite)

That basically comes to around R7000...

Have about R2500 more to spend. Need HDD, webcam, headphones, kb & mouse combo...
Any ideas on the above??
 
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