[Holymoly]

I'm trying to put together a new pc for my son's 21st and need some advice. My thinking is this so far:

AMD Phenom X4 810 (4 x 2.6GHz) 2MB Black Edition
Corsair XMX2 8GB PC2-6400 800 MHz (DDR2)
ATI Radeon HD 5850 - 1GB
OCZ 600W PSU
Windows 7 Pro 64 bit

My mobo options are these:

Asus M3A32-MVP DELUXE 5200MT/s (AMD 790FX)
Asus M4A79 Deluxe 5200MT/s (AMD 790FX)

Can you maybe steer me in the best direction?

Thanks guys!

[rabb1t]

Is this really a "new" system as in these are new parts? Or is this "new" as in these are a combination of parts you have lying around and parts you'll get on ebay used? I'm showing one of those motherboards as deactivated at NewEgg and they appear to also no longer sell the Phenom X4 810.

The motherboard which is still being sold is a whopping $180. (Which seems very pricy for a DDR2 based board.) I also have concerns if that is actually compatible with the Phenom X4 810, as there were some compatibity issues with those early cores on some motherboards. (The whole 'only works on AM3' 'works on AM3 or AM2+' ordeal. It didn't quite work out as cleanly as AMD had hoped.) Pretty much if you are going with something new on AMD's side you want to stick with a pure AM3 build and DDR3. (Though DDR3 for AMD seems substantially more than Intel - ~100 vs. ~60 post rebate.)

If you truly are getting brand new, and are in the U.S., I'd say look at something more like the following for an entry AMD build (and if you were spending a bit more to simply go to an Intel socket 1156)...

AMD Athlon II X4 640 $100
Patriot Gamer 4 gig DDR3-1600 $95
Asus M4A77TD Pro $80 post rebate (note due to the second slot speed I would recommend against using this as a crossfire board and sticking with single GPU)

[Holymoly]

Originally Posted by rabb1t

If you truly are getting brand new, and are in the U.S., I'd say look at something more like the following for an entry AMD build (and if you were spending a bit more to simply go to an Intel socket 1156)...

Based in the UK so things can be a tad behind but I'll look into what you suggest, thanks!

[rabb1t]

It's probably a bit out of your price range, but you may want to check out socket 1366. Though older, Slide said it's really cheap and it may be cheaper than socket 1156 due to being on the decline. (Though I'd still recommend 1156 for longevity as there will be far greater CPU selection.)

For AMD on AM3 I'd recommend looking at the X4 620 (quad core) and the X3 710 (tri core). Pretty much once you go over those you are into the same price range as the Intel Core i5 / i7 and you'd have far more general computing power with one of those. (At least over here that's where the price curve splits.)

[Slide]

Prices normalised a bit, here are your main options - sourced from OCUK.

Core i7 920 on LGA 1366

Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping (SLBEJ) 2.66Ghz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1366) - Retail £211.99
Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R Intel X58 (Socket 1366) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £142.98
OCZ Gold 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 (1600MHz) Tri-Channel (OCZ3G1600LV6GK) £106.98
Total : £472.88

Core i5 750 on LGA 1156

Intel Core i5 750 2.66Ghz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail £159.99
Gigabyte GA-P55-UD5 Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard £149.99
OCZ Gold Low Voltage 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3G1600lV4GK) £76.99
Total : £397.33

Phenom II X4 965 on AM3

AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965 Black Edition 3.40GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £144.98
Gigabyte GA-MA790FXT-UD5P (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard £129.98
OCZ Gold Low Voltage 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3G1600lV4GK) £76.99
Total : £362.88

Add a Corsair H50 cooler to any of these if you dont want the retail cooler.