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[Slayer-33]

Cool, thanks.

Was thinking of this for RAM

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002LE8D1G/?tag=neogaf0e-20

... at this point, just trying to get it all from Amazon. This is just what I found that was under $200 from them ... looks like it's 8-8-8-24, though..

That is not bad at all but

look into this one as well http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231321 it operates at lower power which means a cooler system if you get it to boot up at 1.35v over the 1.65v from that corsair ram.

It's all a game of small numbers adding to good efficiency and less heat when all things are said and done.

 

[WEGGLES]

How does this memory look for this motherboard

Or is there something you'd recommend instead?

 

[Slayer-33]

Alright, a few more questions before I fully complete this build and am eternally in your debt for your help!

1) I've come across people suggesting that the AMD Phenom II X6 is the way to go, especially for gaming. Should I go with this guy instead, given it is the same price as my i5?

2) If not, would this be a better idea for the GA-P55-USB3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard and save $40? Or, if I am going with the AMD chip, then would I need to change my motherboard?

3) Also, if I'm going with AMD, do I need a different kind of RAM?

Thanks again for all your help!

Look at my list, you need that mobo I have, the ram I have is fine for Intel or AMD systems (even though it says "designed for Intel") regardless, yes you need to change the motherboards between processors if you plan to switch, socket am+3 for AMD and sockets 1156/1366 for the i3/5/7's from Intel is what you want to look for.



As far as gaming, trust me you wont lose any sleep over the slightly less performance of the X6 vs the Intel procs, it is up there with them, and as an added benefit you'll have a pretty damn solid future proof proc that you can keep using and is very overclockable (easily) for a dirt cheap price. This thing is mainly tailored to handle intensive applications like Photoshop/3DS or w/e 3D rendering progs are out there that make use of the multiple cores, but gaming certainly won't be a problem on it.

How does this memory look for this motherboard

Or is there something you'd recommend instead?

If you can afford it again go with this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...31320&cm_re=gskill_eco-_-20-231-320-_-Product

Faster, less power consumption which gives you more headroom to OC for an extra $9

K going to sleep guys ttyl

 

[WEGGLES]

Is that compatible with my mobo?
DDR3 1600 isn't listed under the Memory Standard in the specifications. Just DDR3 2200/1333/1066/800

 

[lordy88]

Slayer, you are the man!

I think I've finalized my build now, with it squeaking just under $900!

I'm most likely going to fire away at this build tomorrow evening, and will do so unless there is something glaring that should stop me from doing this.

Thanks again everyone! Could not have done this without your help.

 

[CSampson]

Budget: 700-1000 / Canada
Main Use: Gaming, Watching HD video
Monitor Resolution: Gonna hook it up via HDMI to my 46' Plasma, not sure but pretty high res.
List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: Diablo 3, SC2, Dawn of war 2.

 

[Songbird]

Right, I'm very close to my final spec. Decided to go with an X6 and 5850 card. Before I take the plunge, this card will fit in an Antec 300 fine and dandy right? Just seen a GTX 480 in the flesh (silicon?) and it's a brute alright :lol

 

[spazzfish]

Right, I'm very close to my final spec. Decided to go with an X6 and 5850 card. Before I take the plunge, this card will fit in an Antec 300 fine and dandy right? Just seen a GTX 480 in the flesh (silicon?) and it's a brute alright :lol

Yes it will fit fine, but you will find it will interfere with the middle harddrive bays a bit. Just sit you harddrives in the lower available bays and you'll be fine.

 

[Songbird]

Yes it will fit fine, but you will find it will interfere with the middle harddrive bays a bit. Just sit you harddrives in the lower available bays and you'll be fine.

Very helpful, thanks! I'm getting all excited.

Ed: Hate to be annoying again, but I'd like to ask about motherboards. I've heard good things about Gigabyte and Asus boards and know enough to match processor slots (AM3), but then chipsets and FSB specifications confuse me. Probably unnecessarily.

This is something I've found when shopping around. It's an M-ATX board and seems alright, but I'm not wanting to go dual-card so would a cheaper one be just as good? Argh.

I'm still putting my specs into different stores to find a good total.

 

[Hazaro]

What is, and what are the benefits for? Also, what is the thermal compound for?

Edit: Does the 470 do audio over HDMI?

Can I use the $65 W7 disc from the student promotion (I believe it may be an 'upgrade' disc), or do I need to purchase a special edition for new systems?

Is it tricky to set up dual hdds, especially with one being a SSD?

Benefits? You mean the coupon codes at the top of each component? Just enter them when you are at your cart.

Thermal paste is in case you mess up on HS mounting / or need to reapply or remount the heatsink.

Yes the 470 should do Audio via HDMI

I don't know, never been great with OS's, still on XP myself.

Absolutely not. You just plug them in and that is it. SATA is much better.

Alright gaf, I need you to be brutally honest with me. Tell me why this early build is terrible and what I can do to improve on it while sticking at my $1500 CND (before tax) budget. I'm a first time builder, but for the love of god, if you need to call me stupid, do it!

Overkill PSU, no need for i7 (extra $), older HDD, eh case.

See: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=11141094 for components. Add in GPU of choice. GTX 470 is fine, although you might consider the 5850 if the price difference is enough where you are.

Budget substitutions start at the Case/PSU level, if that is not low enough consider an AMD quad system for a bit less

Budget: 700-1000 / Canada
Main Use: Gaming, Watching HD video
Monitor Resolution: Gonna hook it up via HDMI to my 46' Plasma, not sure but pretty high res.
List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: Diablo 3, SC2, Dawn of war 2.

See: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=11141094 for components (Subtract the Intel 40GB SSD). Add in GPU of choice. GTX 470/5850 is fine.
A 5770 will perform admirably, but may not be 60fps on high settings all the time.

Very helpful, thanks! I'm getting all excited.

Ed: Hate to be annoying again, but I'd like to ask about motherboards. I've heard good things about Gigabyte and Asus boards and know enough to match processor slots (AM3), but then chipsets and FSB specifications confuse me. Probably unnecessarily.

This is something I've found when shopping around. It's an M-ATX board and seems alright, but I'm not wanting to go dual-card so would a cheaper one be just as good? Argh.

Mobo is fine, was going to suggest trying to find it cheaper, but that's a no go on that site... You might want to consider upgrading for $10 to the 3H, or an Asus to get two USB 3.0 slots. Otherwise it doesn't matter.

 

[filipe]

Alright gaf, I need you to be brutally honest with me. Tell me why this early build is terrible and what I can do to improve on it while sticking at my $1500 CND (before tax) budget. I'm a first time builder, but for the love of god, if you need to call me stupid, do it!


**GPU: ASUS GeForce GTX 470 - $379.99 (http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=51897&vpn=ENGTX470/2DI/1280MD5&manufacture=ASUS)
CPU: Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz - $312.96 (http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=34598&vpn=BX80601920&manufacture=Intel)
MOBO: Gigabyte X58A-UDR3 - $223.99 (http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=49016&vpn=GA-X58A-UD3R&manufacture=Gigabyte)
MEMORY: Corsair XMS3 6GB DDR3 - $209.64 ()
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 7200RPM - $47.53 (http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=23266&vpn=WD5000AAKS&manufacture=Western Digital WD)
SOUND CARD: N/A
DVD/CD: N/A
POWER SUPPLY: Corsair TX850W - $119.99 (http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=35156&vpn=CMPSU-850TX&manufacture=Corsair&promoid=1019)
CASE: Lancool PC-K56WB Mid Tower - $74.99 (http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=44854&vpn=PC-K56WB&manufacture=LIAN-LI)

Selfish quote because I do absolutely need guidance here.

 

[Hazaro]

Selfish quote because I do absolutely need guidance here.

An i5 vs i7 is not going to be the end of the world. Few would use 8 threads vs 4, and if you needed 8 you could just get an 860 instead. Cheaper mobos and 4GB vs 6GB of RAM sets for standard.

 

[Songbird]

Mobo is fine, was going to suggest trying to find it cheaper, but that's a no go on that site... You might want to consider upgrading for $10 to the 3H, or an Asus to get two USB 3.0 slots. Otherwise it doesn't matter.

*salute*

Okay, here's what I'm going for:
Antec 300 case
Gigabyte GA-880GMA-UD2H motherboard
Phenom II X4 965 (or an X6, if i can find a good deal!)
650W PSU (don't really care about the brand if it fits)
Corsair XMS3 4GB 1600MHz RAM (dual channel)
Sapphire Radeon 5850
2x WD Caviar 500gb Drives
Samsung BD-ROM/DVD-R (only £50)

Comes in just under £1000 in most places.

Is an aftermarket cooler worth the money? The Corsair CPU watercooler looks like a clever little device and shouldn't break the bank too much. But if I stick with the stock one I could have enough for an X6.

 

[Hazaro]

*salute*

Okay, here's what I'm going for:
Gigabyte GA-880GMA-UD2H motherboard
650W PSU (don't really care about the brand if it fits)
2x WD Caviar 500gb Drives

Is an aftermarket cooler worth the money? The Corsair CPU watercooler looks like a clever little device and shouldn't break the bank too much. But if I stick with the stock one I could have enough for an X6.

I'd spend the extra to get the USB ports. The mobo is always the most painful to upgrade and you never know what might need them in a few years. (GA-880GMA-UD3H

Brand is very important. Some brands are terrible and will not protect your computer, or die quickly.

I'd also get a 1TB HDD instead of dual 500GB. It will be faster and cheaper.

Aftermarket is worth it if you plan on overclocking. Try to find one that looks like

for around 20-30 of your currency.

 

[Songbird]

I'd spend the extra to get the USB ports. The mobo is always the most painful to upgrade and you never know what might need them in a few years. (GA-880GMA-UD3H

Brand is very important. Some brands are terrible and will not protect your computer, or die quickly.

I'd also get a 1TB HDD instead of dual 500GB. It will be faster and cheaper.

Yeah, sounds good! I'm ready to buy then. Is Corsair a good brand for PSUs?
Going to get the mobo you recommended from another store, this one doesn't have it. And hard drive advice noted.

Aftermarket is worth it if you plan on overclocking. Try to find one that looks like

Hmm, overclocking is not something I'll be wanting to do, IMO 2.2ghz is plenty fast already. I just assumed that a decent processor needed significant cooling. Will chop it out for X6.

Great thread, thanks for all your help.

 

[Hazaro]

I thought I saw it in stock
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-280-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1782

Corsair, Antec, Zalman, SeaSonic, and many others are good. It's more of the bad you have to watch out for now (Which is good).

Overclocking from 3.2 to 3.8 is a nice jump in performance and helps keep your CPU cool.

 

[Songbird]

I thought I saw it in stock
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-280-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1782

Well snap, thanks!

System bought and paid for. Now to put it together!

 

[Fireflu]

Help guys!

I need some flat out and to the point answers on which one of these builds is superior in terms of speed/performance and value for money.

Build 1 (Custom) = £670:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/167439
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/189288
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/172755
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/173122
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/200911
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164282
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/176026

Build 2 (Aria - Panzer Gladiator) = £773:
http://www.aria.co.uk/Systems/Gamin...uad+Core+OC+3.8GHz+Gaming+PC+?productId=40224

Build 3 (Novatech - iRush Pro) = £670:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/pc/range/irushpro.html

Build 4 (Novatech - Renegade) = £750:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/pc/range/renegade.html

Build 5 (Dino PC - Veloce i5) = £600:
http://www.dinopc.com/shop/pc/Veloce-i5-750-5770-94p763.htm

Build 6 (Dino PC - Veloce i7) = £800:
http://www.dinopc.com/shop/pc/Veloce-i7-860-5850-94p768.htm

As you can see my budget floats around the £700 mark. I have been contemplating on whether i should just go all out now and get a very high end machine now or just settle for a good machine, i think just good will do me. As i said before its been 5 years since i upgraded so any kind of upgrade will be a massive one anyway!

My biggest problem out of all the parts at the moment is the graphics card, originally i was set on the gtx260 then got told that wasn't a good choice and was recommended the 5770. I have also been pondering the 5850 but im not sure i need to go THAT far. Ive been looking at performance reviews and such but all present different results so i kind of feel like im back where i started with this...!

I just want a build that's very fast (and quiet) and from time and time again people have been saying to me intel processors are the better choice, but its total preference i guess, im sure lots of you use AMD (i am atm).

If none of these builds suggested above are very good for my price point i would be so grateful if anyone has some suggestions, ive been bumbling along now for weeks trying to order these parts and have been pretty unsuccessful doing it solo (blame my fickle and indecisive nature)! Thanks!!

 

[Minsc]

The long-awaited, great Tech Report summer system guide fresh off the press!

Quick glance shows the X6 dethroned the i5 750 from the utility box, will have to check it over in more detail later!

In a move sure to shock fanboys everywhere, we've defected to AMD for this edition of the Utility Player.

 

[CSampson]

Thanks for that. I needed somewhere to start. Looking for a bit smaller case though, but I don't want overheating to be a problem. I'll look around and see what I can find.

 

[TouchMyBox]

Selfish quote because I do absolutely need guidance here.

I just ordered the parts for someone for what I think is the best computer I can build while making zero compromises for $1500 CDN taxed and shipped, it might give you a few ideas.

One of the best GPUs, a Hexa core CPU, more RAM than is needed (the person i'm building it for insisted on 8GB) a compact liquid cooling solution, a nice roomy case with a lot of airflow, a blu-ray drive along with free shipping and two free games.

I think it's decent.

 

[gregor7777]

The long-awaited, great Tech Report summer system guide fresh off the press!

Quick glance shows the X6 dethroned the i5 750 from the utility box, will have to check it over in more detail later!

Nice thanks

 

[filipe]

I'm liking some of the replies so far, but quesiton; Is my $1500 really holding me back? To give a slight insight, I was looking into a computer that can run Crysis at close to max settings.

I'm not a particular graphics nut, but I wanted something that could keep up with current games and maybe a few in the feature, keeping close to max.

My plan was also to buy something a tad cheaper now that can still hold up well but is future proof. If $1500 is really holding me back, I can possibly raise it to $1700-$2000, but am still hoping to keep is as low as possible.

Games I (so far) want to be able to run at max or close to max settings:

Crysis, Grand Theft Auto 4 (though I know this game has had problems even on great PCs), Fuel, Street Fighter 4, Modern Warfare 2, Shattered Horizon, Left 4 Dead 2, Warhammer 40,000 2.

And just so no one feels like I'm taking advantage over your generosity, I do appreciate the replies so far beyond anything. So thank you EVERYONE.

 

[Complex Shadow]

hey gaf i hate to be bothersome but one of my friends has a problem with his desktop (which he made like a year ago)

so far we have narrowed it down to two problems:
-his PSU
~or~
-his Video card

symptoms:
- crashes for random games (e.g split second, lead and gold, and Flotilla (windowed))
-> some games crash after 20 mins of flawless game play or escape to menu(e.g TF2, bioshock 2)
- works fine for other games (e.g Crysis warhead, and portal)
- right before a game crashes the pixels will go jagged, turn into large squares and the computer will reboot.

specs:
Ati Radeon 4870
PSU: crosair 450W
core 2 duo
3 gb ram

i am 99% sure its his PSU, but i would love a second opinion at this point. please help!

 

[TouchMyBox]

I'm liking some of the replies so far, but quesiton; Is my $1500 really holding me back? To give a slight insight, I was looking into a computer that can run Crysis at close to max settings.

I'm not a particular graphics nut, but I wanted something that could keep up with current games and maybe a few in the feature, keeping close to max.

My plan was also to buy something a tad cheaper now that can still hold up well but is future proof. If $1500 is really holding me back, I can possibly raise it to $1700-$2000, but am still hoping to keep is as low as possible.

Games I (so far) want to be able to run at max or close to max settings:

Crysis, Grand Theft Auto 4 (though I know this game has had problems even on great PCs), Fuel, Street Fighter 4, Modern Warfare 2, Shattered Horizon, Left 4 Dead 2, Warhammer 40,000 2.

And just so no one feels like I'm taking advantage over your generosity, I do appreciate the replies so far beyond anything. So thank you EVERYONE.

Anything significantly better than the build I posted goes into overkill territory. If you want to "future-proof" yourself, the best thing to do right now would be to go with an AMD cpu/chipset as we know that AMD will continue using the AM3 socket for at least another 2 good years. This means that you'll be able to pop in a 8 core bulldozer core later down the road if you wish. I wish I could say the same about intel, but they're bringing out yet another socket standard later this year this being after their new socket last year, and a new one the year before that.

If you have the itch to spend $2000, spend $1500 now, and then spend $500 on it in two years to keep it a super relevant system.

And yeah, the build you posted and the build I posted would rip through any game released today (crysis included, though not locked down at 60fps, though it doesn't really matter either way as the engine is lightyears behind in multithreading)

 

[CSampson]

SUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890GX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813131631
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $159.99

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822136533
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $104.99

Patriot Gamer Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model PGS34G1333ELKA
Item #: N82E16820220411
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy $129.99

XFX HD-577X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Item #: N82E16814150462
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy $164.99

AMD Athlon II X4 635 Propus 2.9GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor ADX635WFGIBOX Item #: N82E16819103702
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $105.99

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811129042
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $69.99

SAMSUNG DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223L LightScribe Support
Item #: N82E16827151188
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $24.99

Put this together based on the mentioned resources here. Any critiques? Total is 760 CAD so far. I may be missing something. For my display I'm HDMI'ing out to my Panasonic plasma. For sound, I'm assuming the video card only sends out the video signal via HDMI, so what would a good option for sound be? I'd prefer it to come out of the TV for simplicity (and my room is small).

 

[TouchMyBox]

Put this together based on the mentioned resources here. Any critiques? Total is 760 CAD so far. I may be missing something. For my display I'm HDMI'ing out to my Panasonic plasma. For sound, I'm assuming the video card only sends out the video signal via HDMI, so what would a good option for sound be? I'd prefer it to come out of the TV for simplicity (and my room is small).

Looks like a pretty good budget build. Does that case come with a power supply? If not, you're missing that. And yeah, you'll have the option to either use onboard audio if you want to connect speakers to your computer or headphones, or you can use the onboard sound on the videocard over hdmi and play sound over the tv speakers.

 

[CSampson]

Looks like a pretty good budget build. Does that case come with a power supply? If not, you're missing that. And yeah, you'll have the option to either use onboard audio if you want to connect speakers to your computer or headphones, or you can use the onboard sound on the videocard over hdmi and play sound over the tv speakers.

I knew I was forgetting something important...power supply :lol .

So that video card has onboard sound on the hdmi out? Wow, that's awesome. Thanks .

EDIT: Alright well I'm looking at http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033, 380W. That should be enough power?

 

[WEGGLES]

Put this together based on the mentioned resources here. Any critiques? Total is 760 CAD so far. I may be missing something. For my display I'm HDMI'ing out to my Panasonic plasma. For sound, I'm assuming the video card only sends out the video signal via HDMI, so what would a good option for sound be? I'd prefer it to come out of the TV for simplicity (and my room is small).

If the DVD drive costs more because of LightScribe get a different one. My drive has lightscribe. I've used it once with the free demo disk that came with it and never again. :lol

 

[Toki767]

How good will a Phenom II X4 820 and a 5770 be for gaming? My monitor's only 1440x900 and I probably won't be getting a bigger one anytime soon.

 

[Lkr]

Ordered this baby today:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150494


SHIP ALREADY DAMNIT! BFBC2 update is tomorrow!

 

[Complex Shadow]

How good will a Phenom II X4 820 and a 5770 be for gaming? My monitor's only 1440x900 and I probably won't be getting a bigger one anytime soon.

good enough IMO. you really don't need anything past dual core in the present. so yea quad core is perfect.

 

[Lkr]

good enough IMO. you really don't need anything past dual core in the present. so yea quad core is perfect.

Tell that to GTAIV and BFBC2

 

[spazzfish]

hey gaf i hate to be bothersome but one of my friends has a problem with his desktop (which he made like a year ago)

so far we have narrowed it down to two problems:
-his PSU
~or~
-his Video card

symptoms:
- crashes for random games (e.g split second, lead and gold, and Flotilla (windowed))
-> some games crash after 20 mins of flawless game play or escape to menu(e.g TF2, bioshock 2)
- works fine for other games (e.g Crysis warhead, and portal)
- right before a game crashes the pixels will go jagged, turn into large squares and the computer will reboot.

specs:
Ati Radeon 4870
PSU: crosair 450W
core 2 duo
3 gb ram

i am 99% sure its his PSU, but i would love a second opinion at this point. please help!

What are the gpu temps like under load?
Download gpu-z and report back the temps around when the game crashes.

 

[spazzfish]

Help guys!

I need some flat out and to the point answers on which one of these builds is superior in terms of speed/performance and value for money.

Build 1 (Custom) = £670:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/167439
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/189288
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/172755
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/173122
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/200911
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164282
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/176026

Build 2 (Aria - Panzer Gladiator) = £773:
http://www.aria.co.uk/Systems/Gamin...uad+Core+OC+3.8GHz+Gaming+PC+?productId=40224

Build 3 (Novatech - iRush Pro) = £670:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/pc/range/irushpro.html

Build 4 (Novatech - Renegade) = £750:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/pc/range/renegade.html

Build 5 (Dino PC - Veloce i5) = £600:
http://www.dinopc.com/shop/pc/Veloce-i5-750-5770-94p763.htm

Build 6 (Dino PC - Veloce i7) = £800:
http://www.dinopc.com/shop/pc/Veloce-i7-860-5850-94p768.htm

As you can see my budget floats around the £700 mark. I have been contemplating on whether i should just go all out now and get a very high end machine now or just settle for a good machine, i think just good will do me. As i said before its been 5 years since i upgraded so any kind of upgrade will be a massive one anyway!

My biggest problem out of all the parts at the moment is the graphics card, originally i was set on the gtx260 then got told that wasn't a good choice and was recommended the 5770. I have also been pondering the 5850 but im not sure i need to go THAT far. Ive been looking at performance reviews and such but all present different results so i kind of feel like im back where i started with this...!

I just want a build that's very fast (and quiet) and from time and time again people have been saying to me intel processors are the better choice, but its total preference i guess, im sure lots of you use AMD (i am atm).

If none of these builds suggested above are very good for my price point i would be so grateful if anyone has some suggestions, ive been bumbling along now for weeks trying to order these parts and have been pretty unsuccessful doing it solo (blame my fickle and indecisive nature)! Thanks!!

This one
http://www.dinopc.com/shop/pc/Veloce-i5-750-5770-94p763.htm
seems to be good value for money and on par performance wise with some of those others you've linked.
However you wont be able to go crossfire with that board (run 2 graphics cards together) and i'm a little concerned about the psu that they use.
I'd imagine it will get the job done for a while, but I'd look to replace it a little later down the line.
Personally I think that system is ok for your budget.
Best if someone else can have a look as well just in case I've overlooked anything as it does seem very cheap compared to similar rigs on other sites.

 

[gregor7777]

you really don't need anything past dual core in the present.

People should stop saying this. This view is officially outdated.

 

[Lkr]

People should stop saying this. This view is officially outdated.

its been outdated for over half a year. quad cores are much easier to obtain at this point too.

 

[Slayer-33]

F quad go hexa with a Phenom X6 baby

 

[darkpaladinmfc]

I want to OC my Q6600 to about 3.0 (Or whatever will help me stop dipping into 45fps during Persona 4 battles...). But my temperatures seem way too high for everything, even after cleaning the inside with compressed air. I'm using the stock Q6600 cooler, a stock OCd 8800 Ultra, with a Thermaltake Coolermaster case. My room is pretty hot for England (30ish C), but surely that shouldn't make my temperatures that much higher? Here are my SpeedFan results:

 

[Complex Shadow]

What are the gpu temps like under load?
Download gpu-z and report back the temps around when the game crashes.

60 c

 

[Lkr]

I want to OC my Q6600 to about 3.0 (Or whatever will help me stop dipping into 45fps during Persona 4 battles...). But my temperatures seem way too high for everything, even after cleaning the inside with compressed air. I'm using the stock Q6600 cooler, a stock OCd 8800 Ultra, with a Thermaltake Coolermaster case. My room is pretty hot for England (30ish C), but surely that shouldn't make my temperatures that much higher? Here are my SpeedFan results:

that is under load I hope? Still REALLY hot, almost too hot. Although that might be normal for a Q6600, for some reason I thought your GPU was your CPU:lol

 

[Felix Lighter]

I want to OC my Q6600 to about 3.0 (Or whatever will help me stop dipping into 45fps during Persona 4 battles...). But my temperatures seem way too high for everything, even after cleaning the inside with compressed air. I'm using the stock Q6600 cooler, a stock OCd 8800 Ultra, with a Thermaltake Coolermaster case. My room is pretty hot for England (30ish C), but surely that shouldn't make my temperatures that much higher? Here are my SpeedFan results:

It's definitely not reading some of those temperatures correctly or your CPU is dangerously cold.

 

[Dizzy-4U]

So guys, I'm planning on buying a somewhat decent pc but not too powerfull for now. This is what they offered me:

- Phenom 955 3.2 GHZ AM3 X 4
- Motherboard Asus M4A79XTD EVO AM3
- 4GB DDR3 Kingston 1333 MHZ (can be overclocked to 1800 according to the motherboard).
- XFX Radeon HD 5770 1GB DDR5

I also have the possibility to add another 5770 to do a crossfire (8x8).

Now, is this decent? My most demanding game would be Mass Effect 2 (and Starcraft 2 probably). I'd like to play it without framerate problems. Any changes you'd recommend?

 

[darkpaladinmfc]

It's definitely not reading some of those temperatures correctly or your CPU is dangerously cold.

I didn't see the minus sign . I'll check on CoreTemp in just a sec, and see what it gives me.

EDIT:

Basically what SpeedFan said, but without the minus sign :lol.

 

[spazzfish]

60 c

Hmm temps are fine. It's odd that you say this only happens on some games.
Have you ever had any artefacts on the bios screen or during boot before windows loads?
Also is either the cpu/gpu overclocked?
From what you describe i'm leaning towards the vram on your gpu being faulty.

 

[SuperSonic1305]

Would ncix send me a build that might have problems down the road? I got a GTX480 but my power supply is 550w. They said everything was working fine but i'm worried something will go wrong.

 

[Complex Shadow]

Hmm temps are fine. It's odd that you say this only happens on some games.
Have you ever had any artefacts on the bios screen or during boot before windows loads?
Also is either the cpu/gpu overclocked?
From what you describe i'm leaning towards the vram on your gpu being faulty.

nothings over clocked, there are no artefact's windows it self also runs just fine and modern warfare 2 also works just fine. i don't know what could cause his computer crash.

also thanks for the response

 

[Blackheim]

I had my PSU, or so I thought, die last night. I picked up a CorsairHX Series 750 Watt PSU today and threw it in. Computer still didn't boot up or even do anything. My old PSU wouldn't do anything either except make the power and reset buttons on my MB light up solid.

The corsair makes them flash. No fans spin up and the MB doesn't beep at me even when I place the MB on my table with everything disconnected except for the ram, cpu and the cables to power the board. Any idea what might me my problem? I really don't want to have to buy a new MB, but if I do .... blah, I'll do so.

Specs:
Asus M4A79 Deluxe MB
AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition
GSkill 2x2Gig DDR2 Dual Channel 1066
Gigabyte ATI 4870 1gig ram
Blu-ray Optical Drive
500gig WD Black HDD
1T WD Green

 

[Gritesh]

I'm on the fence, and need help fast as I am pulling the trigger tonight!

My 775 set-up failed yesterday, mobo is shot.

I could re-buy a 775 mobo, but I might as well take this as an opportunity to upgrade.


So after all my research and reading comments on this thread I am stuck.

2 Options, and only these two as they both fall into my budget:

Core i5 750 or AMD Phenom X6??

Thanks for the advice, as I said I am looking to pull the trigger here in the next hour or so, and I am still undecided.


Thanks.

Gritesh

 

[Shambles]

I'm on the fence, and need help fast as I am pulling the trigger tonight!

My 775 set-up failed yesterday, mobo is shot.

I could re-buy a 775 mobo, but I might as well take this as an opportunity to upgrade.


So after all my research and reading comments on this thread I am stuck.

2 Options, and only these two as they both fall into my budget:

Core i5 750 or AMD Phenom X6??

Thanks for the advice, as I said I am looking to pull the trigger here in the next hour or so, and I am still undecided.


Thanks.

Gritesh

Depends what you're doing. Clock for clock the 750 is faster, if you're using applications that will take advantage of the X6 it will be faster.