New rig for about $500

[killthenakedcat]

It's something I've always considered but never wanted to fry anything.

 

[foothead]

It is pretty hard to fry anything if you do it right.

Mainly, do not put the vcore at anything ridiculous, and make sure the temps do not get too high (62C max for Phenom IIs)

 

[killthenakedcat]

Alright, quick question. Will the mobo work out of the box with the processor? I've heard that certain mobo's need to be flashes in order for them to work.

 

[Atomic Rooster]

Nope, the ASUS M4A79XTD EVO will not need a BIOS flash to run the Phenom 955.

 

[killthenakedcat]

Thanks man.

 

[killthenakedcat]

Actually could you recommend a good cooler? how bout those Corsair H50 prefabricated water cooling kits? I saw some techy guy review it saying they compare to some of the top Fan coolers.

 

[Atomic Rooster]

Every review that I have read seems to like them. They aint cheap: CORSAIR Cooling Hydro Series CWCH50

For a bit less, these work extremely well: XIGMATEK Dark Knight

 

[killthenakedcat]

alright thanks that Dark Knight actually looks pretty frickin' legit.

 

[killthenakedcat]

well you suggested this board:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402

however if I wanted to save money would it be ok to substitute it with this board?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130254

obviously the ASUS board is better and has 2 pci-e 2.0 and 2 pci-e x1 but I don't plan on using crossfire on the other board anyways. I don't have a preference in saving the $40 or spending it but how much of a difference would I see?

Edit: Also this board http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130265

 

[Atomic Rooster]

Yea, you could use the MSI 760GM-E51. If you're not overclocking, you wont see any difference in performance. It's a micro-ATX board, so it can be a bit crowded. The second board you selected is an AM2+ and only supports DDR2 memory.

To add to the confusion: GIGABYTE GA-770T-USB3 AM3 AMD 770 - MSI 770-G45 AM3 AMD 770