$1000 Budget.

[superman22x]

What should my buddy go with? His idea was:

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor

XFX HD-577A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB

MSI 770-C45 AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard

Crucial Ballistix Tracer 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600)

RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-630SS 630W

Oh, needs a monitor in the budget as well.

 

[nbrikha]

This is what I would go with. 1k is definitely not a bad budget.

Antec 900
AMD Phenom II x4 940
WD Caviar Blue
Asus VW225TL 22" screen
Asus M4A77TD
Asus EAH5770
Corsair CMPSU-550VX 550W
Kingston HyperX 2x2GB @ 1333mhz

I say the Phenom II 940 because it's the same thing as a the 955 and cheaper. Also a black edition so you get the unlocked multi. I've been told XFX is starting to lower quality, Asus' 5770 is good though.

Add all this up and it's about 930 from newegg. Include taxes and shipping and it's just over a thousand.

 

[superman22x]

You think a 550W will be enough for all that?? With the black edition you can overclock quite a bit more though.

 

[nbrikha]

The 940 is a black edition...that's why I put it in there.

It'll cut it close but it'll do unless you put it in crossfire. If he wants to spend another 30 bucks he can get the corsair 750w and that'll definitely handle it.

 

[superman22x]

Oh, ok, I see. How do those phenoms compare to an intel of similar price?

 

[nbrikha]

They destroy. If you spent the same exact money for an intel mobo and cpu, AMD would win. If you were willing to spend another 100 dollars, you can make the intel almost the same as the AMD. In budget builds for gaming, AMD always wins. If he wants to do heavy workstation stuff, he might be better off with intel. Otherwise, the AMD setup is 250 for mobo and cpu. If you spent the exact same amount for intel, you'd get a dual core (i3) around the same clock (3.06).

 

[madanchi]

yeah I always prefer AMD myself as they're cheaper but pretty much the same equivelent to Intels side, although more games work slightly better with nvidia gpu's but really the only game to show such a difference is Crysis with around a plus 5 fps and probably some other titles specially made for nvidia cards

 

[GibsonSGKing]

This is what I would go with. 1k is definitely not a bad budget.

Antec 900
AMD Phenom II x4 940
WD Caviar Blue
Asus VW225TL 22" screen
Asus M4A77TD
Asus EAH5770
Corsair CMPSU-550VX 550W
Kingston HyperX 2x2GB @ 1333mhz

I say the Phenom II 940 because it's the same thing as a the 955 and cheaper. Also a black edition so you get the unlocked multi. I've been told XFX is starting to lower quality, Asus' 5770 is good though.

Add all this up and it's about 930 from newegg. Include taxes and shipping and it's just over a thousand.

I like that build, but a Caviar Black should definitely be in there. Also, I would pick up some 1600 RAM.

And XFX certainly is not lowering quality. I just got my 5770 about a month back, and it is top notch. The packaging is great, and it came with everything needed and then some, even stuff that wasn't listed to be included. I will go with XFX from now on, I think this is the best quality I've ever gotten with a video card. They have excellent support as well. I'm very very impressed with them

yeah I always prefer AMD myself as they're cheaper but pretty much the same equivelent to Intels side, although more games work slightly better with nvidia gpu's but really the only game to show such a difference is Crysis with around a plus 5 fps and probably some other titles specially made for nvidia cards

Intel and Nvidia have no ties, like AMD has no ties with ATi other then being manufactured by the same people. An Nvidia card will run just as fast with an AMD compared to an Intel.

They destroy. If you spent the same exact money for an intel mobo and cpu, AMD would win. If you were willing to spend another 100 dollars, you can make the intel almost the same as the AMD. In budget builds for gaming, AMD always wins. If he wants to do heavy workstation stuff, he might be better off with intel. Otherwise, the AMD setup is 250 for mobo and cpu. If you spent the exact same amount for intel, you'd get a dual core (i3) around the same clock (3.06).

I think you're exaggerating just a tad bit here

 

[foothead]

I have to ask this.

On a $1000 budget, why does everyone get the 5770?!?!

You should do a 5850 minimum for that budget. I mean seriously people, the
5770 is a budget card.

Also, why would you bring a 940 into here? DDR2 is REALLY on the way out, and next time he builds a new rig, he will have to buy new RAM. Think of it that way.

AMD has no ties with ATi other then being manufactured by the same people. An Nvidia card will run just as fast with an AMD compared to an Intel.

Incorrect. High end ATI cards (as well as NV cards) run slightly faster on boards with AMD chipsets, because of higher northbridge frequencies.

Crossfire on AMD chipsets is also more efficient by a small amount.

And XFX certainly is not lowering quality. I just got my 5770 about a month back, and it is top notch. The packaging is great, and it came with everything needed and then some, even stuff that wasn't listed to be included. I will go with XFX from now on, I think this is the best quality I've ever gotten with a video card. They have excellent support as well. I'm very very impressed with them

No, they are selling crap. How many crossfire plugs does your card have?

I think you're exaggerating just a tad bit here

lol he isn't.

 

[nbrikha]

I have to ask this.
Also, why would you bring a 940 into here? DDR2 is REALLY on the way out, and next time he builds a new rig, he will have to buy new RAM. Think of it that way.

How does the Phenom II 940 BE and DDR2 have any connection? And I suggested a mobo with DDR3.