What graphics card/ram?

[Fottiti]

I've decided its time to build a decent gaming desktop aftering using laptops exclusively for the past 3 years because I was at university.

After looking around a bit most reviews seem to all say that in terms of playing games the difference between the i7 920 and the 2nd gen phenoms is pretty negligable. Obviously I don't have money to throw away so it makes sense to go for the AMD option were I can get their most powerful processor and best gaming mobo for the cost of a 920 on its own.

So for building my PC around an Asus Crosshair III Formula and Phenom II x4 965 BE, 150GB raptor and another generic 500GB hdd which I haven't picked yet but I doubt its important. I'd like to know what ram is going to be affordable without comprimising too much on performance.

I know the motherboard I've picked only supports crossfire so I'd be looking at ATI but given the rest of the build what is it worth spending up to on a GPU (and if viable with the potential to add a second if money permits in the future).

I'm also open to suggestions on a decent case and PSU but I've already got an idea on that.

I live in UK also, if shipping costs are likely to affect what deals are worth it.

[rothhaas2]

I know this is not an answer or suggestion you were looking for, but did you ever look into the Intel i5 instead of i7?

I am actually in a similar situation as yourself, and after much research, decided to go with the i5, so I was just curious as to why you chose AMD.

[Fottiti]

Because I'm building it based around gaming, nothing else I use it for would ever be an issue. Also the cheapest price I've found for an i5 750 outside of ebay was over £30 more expensive than the 965. Same story with the motherboards if you're looking at something equivilent to the one I mentioned in first post.

I don't really know much at all except from the reviews I've been reading so I've been trying to be as objective as possible and it seemed like the AMD route was a more cost effective way to go.

[DmS]

For vid card depending on what you want to spend 5800 series or if you want a good but cheap cf setup 4800 series. I use HIS 4850 256bit 1gig. I don't play many pc games (new anyway). Toms hardware has some good comparison charts on old-new cards.

[Vile23]

You cant really go wrong with the AMD processor for gaming. Im still running my X2 Athlon @ 3..1 ghz from like 2 1/2 years ago and that thing performs like a champ.

[DmS]

Yeah go amd for cpu.

[Fottiti]

So any suggestions on which RAM? Also I'd like to get an idea of the difference in performance between the Radeon 5850 and the next best cards.

[Olo401]

So for building my PC around an Asus Crosshair III Formula and Phenom II x4 965 BE, 150GB raptor and another generic 500GB hdd which I haven't picked yet but I doubt its important. I'd like to know what ram is going to be affordable without comprimising too much on performance.

For that board the fastest memory you can get would be DDR3-1600, so I'd go with a 2x2GB dual channel kit with timings at 8CAS. As far as a specific reco, I'd say either OCZ, Crucial or Corsair..

I know the motherboard I've picked only supports crossfire so I'd be looking at ATI but given the rest of the build what is it worth spending up to on a GPU (and if viable with the potential to add a second if money permits in the future).

I wouldn't worry about Crossfire or SLI at all. To run most games now, and for the foreseeable future, you don't need more than one good video card. If you can afford a 5870 or 5850, get one. Otherwise go with the 5770. (Here's a couple good articles on the differences in the Radeon 5 series cards - Article 1 - Article 2)

[JetEnduro]

Get a Phenom II X3 BE, unlock the 4th core and voila! you got yourself a quad core for cheap.

[Fottiti]

For that board the fastest memory you can get would be DDR3-1600, so I'd go with a 2x2GB dual channel kit with timings at 8CAS. As far as a specific reco, I'd say either, I wouldn't worry about Crossfire or SLI at all. To run most games now, and for the foreseeable future, you don't need more than one good video card. If you can afford a 5870 or 5850, get one. Otherwise go with the 5770. (Here's a couple good articles on the differences in the Radeon 5 series cards )

Thanks for the info, but is 4GB enough or would I see good returns on my money if I went for 6?

[Olo401]

4 gigs should be fine, unless you're doing something intense that needs it (graphic design, CAD/CAM, video editing etc.).

And the best next step up in memory for AM3 would be 8 gigs. You could do 6 gigs but you'd have to use 2x1GB DIMMs in your last two memory banks to keep dual channel. I know you were probably thinking tri-channel, but for the moment you can only do that on an X58/1366 board (Core i7 or Xeon).

[fishstix]

The only time I max out all 4gb of ram, is when I'm working with like a large file in winrar (was extracting a cracked CoD that I downloaded) but yeah, 4gb is fine for just gaming. I guess prices are different in the UK, but a highend AMD mobo/cpu combo would cost similar to an average i5 build (which would still outperform the AMD).

For the PSU, stick to quality brands, Antec, Thermaltake, Corsair

[Olo401]

For the PSU, stick to quality brands, Antec, Thermaltake, Corsair

Seasonic (who makes many of the high-end quality PSUs like Corsair) and PC Power & Cooling are also good names to look for, if not the top two for overall quality.

[Fottiti]

4 gigs should be fine, unless you're doing something intense that needs it (graphic design, CAD/CAM, video editing etc.).

And the best next step up in memory for AM3 would be 8 gigs. You could do 6 gigs but you'd have to use 2x1GB DIMMs in your last two memory banks to keep dual channel. I know you were probably thinking tri-channel, but for the moment you can only do that on an X58/1366 board (Core i7 or Xeon).

I knew the AM3 boards only support dual channel DDR3 up to 1600 which is why I really didn't want to go and buy the wrong one.

Will an i5 build really outperform the phenom 965 for gaming, I'm sure it would for other stuff but as far as gaming goes the 965 seems to be pretty on par (slightly behind) with an i7. When it comes to extracting large files like downloaded games I'm really not too fussed if I'm maxing out the RAM, I just wanted to make sure it was enough for all the current games and what is likely to be out in the next 2 years.

For the PSU I found a decently priced Antec 750W one which I'm assuming is ample? If I go for the Radeon 5850 would I need any additional cooling, or is it enough to just buy a decent case?

I can't find a site thats priced as cheaply as newegg.com but I assume they can ship the smaller components at not a huge additional cost? overclock.co.uk seems to be pretty cheap but still noticably more than newegg.

[Olo401]

I'd hafta dig up the chart of where each processor falls in line, but I'm pretty sure the 965 is even or slightly behind the i5-750. The i7s tho, no matter if it's 8-series or 9-series, are top of the heap right now.

Edit: not exactly the one I was looking for, but this works: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?b=2

Edit again: Ah! here we go: http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2...tage,1394.html

Looks like I was incorrect - the i5-750 really outpaces the 965BE hard..