Budget build .. for gaming and general use

zod

Any advice on the following build wrt value .. general PC, would like to be able to play games also .. if the mood takes


Based on the winning build here



http://www.komplett.ie/k/shoplist.aspx?mode=receive&si=761370&su=54551E66-A087-43CA-94C9-E3176F23D14B

thanks!

Solitaire

Third time trying to post. Methinks there's a glitch in the Matrix - very slow and unstable Boards tonight

Do you need OS/monitor/peripherals? What's the resolution of your current/prospective monitor? The HD4890 is great, but its also flat-out overkill for many (read: ALL sub-1080p) builds And it pushes up the PSU budget to boot.

Personally I like almost everything on that list but I'm not sure about the quality of the case nor the DVD drive; I tend to shy away from Sony optics due to plentiful bad experiences

zod

Solitaire wrote: »

Third time trying to post. Methinks there's a glitch in the Matrix - very slow and unstable Boards tonight

Do you need OS/monitor/peripherals? What's the resolution of your current/prospective monitor? The HD4890 is great, but its also flat-out overkill for many (read: ALL sub-1080p) builds And it pushes up the PSU budget to boot.

Personally I like almost everything on that list but I'm not sure about the quality of the case nor the DVD drive; I tend to shy away from Sony optics due to plentiful bad experiences

Sorry my build is the second link which is only based on the first one, it doesn't contain a DVD drive and the cpu and hd are different .. I'll load windows 7 from usb.
My current screen only does 1366 x 768 but I may change that later..

What case would you recommend ?

Lukker-

I'd go for a smaller HD and bump the AMD to an X3 or 4. Good build otherwise, but I guess when you need space you need space

uberpixie

zod wrote: »

Sorry my build is the second link which is only based on the first one, it doesn't contain a DVD drive and the cpu and hd are different .. I'll load windows 7 from usb.
My current screen only does 1366 x 768 but I may change that later..

What case would you recommend ?

or you could just buy a DVD drive for €20.....

Seriously just get a DVD drive. Less hassle and you can install of few games from DVd if the mood takes you, or rip CDs/DVDs....

Solitaire

Yeah, gaming becomes a real pain without a permanent DVD drive to hand.

And for 720p+ I wouldn't recommend anything over a HD5750 - even that's borderline overkill. If you were upgrading to a 1080p screen in the very near future then feel free to keep the HD4890, but don't forget to consider the HD5770 as well.

slowlydownwards

Getting 57xx would allow you to drop PS to Corsair vx 450. Save a few bob and upgrade to Antec 300 (both on sale ATM on komplett). Besides, 57xx have much better scalability, so when you are not playing games you'll have a nice, cool and (relatively) quiet box.

Looking at the cpu + mobo you picked, have a scroll through this forum (Your board is listed on the first page):
http://www.overclock.net/amd-cpus/535501-amd-phenom-ii-core-unlocking-guide.html

http://www.overclock.net/amd-cpus/535501-amd-phenom-ii-core-unlocking-guide-21.html#post7031454
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=3904713&postcount=51

<edit 2>Gotta be careful 'round here, some nerds patrolling these waters are anal about that blasphemous TLA ---> AMD (shhh), thwrowing tantrums and hissy fits. But then again, no fear, the worst they can do is throw their Xena Warrior Princess figurines at you.

Solitaire

Hell, if you don't OC too hard you can drop down to a CX400 :P

uberpixie

slowlydownwards wrote: »

<edit 2>Gotta be careful 'round here, some nerds patrolling these waters are anal about that blasphemous TLA ---> AMD (shhh), thwrowing tantrums and hissy fits. But then again, no fear, the worst they can do is throw their Xena Warrior Princess figurines at you.

and what take them* out of the original packaging! pufft Noob.

*action figures, mammies boys use figurines ha!

slowlydownwards

uberpixie wrote: »

and what take them* out of the original packaging! pufft Noob.

*action figures, mammies boys use figurines ha!

My bad!! I'm a fish outta water, caught with my pants down... kudos.

zod

Ok here is the revised list

http://www.komplett.ie/k/shoplist.aspx?mode=receive&si=761370&su=54551E66-A087-43CA-94C9-E3176F23D14B


Anything you would change now ?

Cheers

Mister Man

Of you could get some extra money I think you sould upgrade to the triple core or quad.... If not it's still pretty good

zod

Mister Man wrote: »

Of you could get some extra money I think you sould upgrade to the triple core or quad.... If not it's still pretty good

I was told that for gaming more than 2 cores makes no diff and the AMD Phenom II X2 550 3.1GHz, AM3, 85W, 7MB, Boxed is fast per core can be overclocked and is the best one to get.

I dont mind spending more money though .. which one gives the best value and relatively future proofs me ?

Should I even *think* about SSD for the OS ?

Mister Man

zod wrote: »

I was told that for gaming more than 2 cores makes no diff and the AMD Phenom II X2 550 3.1GHz, AM3, 85W, 7MB, Boxed is fast per core can be overclocked and is the best one to get.

I dont mind spending more money though .. which one gives the best value and relatively future proofs me ?

Should I even *think* about SSD for the OS ?

Well it's up to you, I would think you would be future proofing yourself more so, but don't buy it on that reason alone

Defo think about SSD's in the future, i myself am think about getting one in the future for Photoshop/Sony Vegas etc....

zod

Mister Man wrote: »

Defo think about SSD's in the future, i myself am think about getting one in the future for Photoshop/Sony Vegas etc....

they are still quite expensive .. would I get much improvement over a regular HD ?

Yarnhall

AMD are changing their socket types soon as far as I know, cant find a reference to it anywhere. Should affect you too much, if you're only messing around with games it's not that important.

slowlydownwards

Like your build. Bumped into this the other day, see if you like it. Cheap snuggies for your Crucial shticks:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2582

zod

Theres a slight chance that the hidden cores on the X2 550 could be unlocked ..

Is my motherboard MSI 770-C45 capable of unlocking these cores?

If not which motherboard would you recomend to buy .. I know theres a small enough chance.. but it would nice to be able to try it!

This article worries me

Mister Man

zod wrote: »

Theres a slight chance that the hidden cores on the X2 550 could be unlocked ..

Is my motherboard MSI 770-C45 capable of unlocking these cores?

If not which motherboard would you recomend to buy .. I know theres a small enough chance.. but it would nice to be able to try it!

This article worries me

I believe only a Biostar motherboard is able to unlock the "Hidden core" (Altho I'm sure others will do it aswel)
Again don't buy it set on unlocking the extra core....It's only a few, and some are "Bad core's" meaning they can't be used or something so it's no worth the risk

As for SSD's there's some good Samsung HDD's Deano was has, there at a fair price for there proformance, there very fast, maybe if you thinking about SSD's now you could go with a samsung HDD instead.... if you have your heart set on a SSD, then you will need to have things in mind for use's apart from OS, otherwise it would be a waste...

If you only plan on gaming, you could prob get away with the dual core, altho you might have to upgrade it sooner then a triple or quad core, but if you don't mind a upgrade then your fine.

slowlydownwards

zod wrote: »

Is my motherboard MSI 770-C45 capable of unlocking these cores?

Well, it seems so. Have a gawk again at those links posted earlier.

zod wrote: »

If not which motherboard would you recomend to buy

The whole point of this build is a whole lotta bang for relatively little buck... c45 does have ACC (for unlocking the cores) and will overclock easilly, considering it is made on the cheap.
My brother got this board last week:
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=490260
It is much better featured and will probably overclock much better, but it is twice as expensive... your call.
If you decide to go with c45 do check which bios was used by people that succesfully unlocked the two cores. The factors over which you have little or no control are: cpu stepping (wheh buying from komplett) and wether the extra cores are actually defective or just locked. The fact is that six months later since 550be came out people are still succesfully unlocking the cores.
It's just too tempting not to attempt it... Sorry, no more concrete info

zod

slowlydownwards wrote: »

Well, it seems so. Have a gawk again at those links posted earlier.

Thank you Sir!

770-C45 – 1.3 Offical Bios/1.3B2 Special Bios – SUCCESS!!/SUCCESS!! *Thanks Edgemeal*

slowlydownwards

Good luck, and you'll probably need a bit of it too. Hope your 550be plays along nicely.

marco_polo

Yarnhall wrote: »

AMD are changing their socket types soon as far as I know, cant find a reference to it anywhere. Should affect you too much, if you're only messing around with games it's not that important.

AFAIK we will not see anything this side of 2011 on that front.

detonator1979

building a small gaming rig for sale myself can supply a license for xp if required:D

Mister Man

detonator1979 wrote: »

building a small gaming rig for sale myself can supply a license for xp if required:D

Are you trying to sell your rig on here lol

detonator1979

nope not a chance! you can get quad core amd chips for about 120 on pixamania now@2.8ish ghz

detonator1979

http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/779/286/xx/103/9/criteresn.html