Opinions on new computer needed

Hey Vistaforums, I need your opinions on a new computer I'm planning to build for my friend.

He has a budget of $1000, and this build comes out to be $940 total.

Here are the parts:

Newegg.com - Thermaltake V9 Black Edition ATX Computer Gaming Chassis with Dual Oversized 230mm Ultra-Silent Cooling Fans VJ400G1N2Z Mid Tower - Computer Cases

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

TWO OF THESE FOR CROSSFIRE: Newegg.com - HIS H465FS512P Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Newegg.com - OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ700MXSP 700W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply compatible with core i7 - Power Supplies

Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor - Processors - Desktops

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Desktop Memory

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000KSRTL 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

Newegg.com - ATOP ACM-103B Black 103 Normal Keys 9 Function Keys PS/2 Standard Keyboard and mouse combo set - Keyboards

Newegg.com - Acer X193Wb Black 19" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 2000:1 ACM - LCD Monitors

Newegg.com - HP Black 22X DVD+R 22X DVD-R SATA 22X DVD Burner LightScribe Support - CD / DVD Burners

Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders w/ Tech Guarantee - Operating Systems
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    E8400 oc'd @ 4.0Ghz
    Motherboard
    EVGA 780i
    Memory
    4GB Corsair XMS2 Dominator
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS EN9800GX2
    Sound Card
    Auzentech X-Fi Prelude 7.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 19'
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    74 Gb WD Raptor for OS
    2 x 150 Gb WD Raptors in RAID0 for Games
    500 Gb Seagate for storage
    PSU
    Enermax Galaxy 1000W
    Case
    Mountain Mods U2-UFO
    Cooling
    Swiftech & Thermochill Watercooling
    Keyboard
    Logitech G19
    Mouse
    Razer DeathAdder
Only thing I would suggest is to forget about the 2 4650's and get either a 4850 or 4770, as in most cases either of those will be faster than the 2x4650 (and cheaper as both can usually be found for $100.00 or less). That and you won't have the headache that can come from running dual cards.

Even better is if you can hold off for a week or two as the new HD5xxx cards are supposed to be coming out. Personally I would wait and see what the prices of the new cards are, that and the prices on the older cards is liable to come down some.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Me
    CPU
    Athlon x2 7750 BE
    Motherboard
    Asus M4A78 Pro
    Memory
    2x2gb Kingston
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire HD 4830
    Sound Card
    X-Fi Xtreme Music
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer P221w and Acer 1916w
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050 and 1440x900
    Hard Drives
    2x80 GB Seagate 7200.10 in RAID0, 500 GB Seagate 7200.12
    PSU
    Antec Earthwatts 500W
    Case
    Antec Sonata III
    Cooling
    AC Freezer 64 Pro and a couple of 120 mm case fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech G5 v2
    Internet Speed
    10000/1000
Well he has time, a lot of time, till next summer to be exact. So I think we'll wait for the new 5xxx series, or should we go with Nvidia?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    E8400 oc'd @ 4.0Ghz
    Motherboard
    EVGA 780i
    Memory
    4GB Corsair XMS2 Dominator
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS EN9800GX2
    Sound Card
    Auzentech X-Fi Prelude 7.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 19'
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    74 Gb WD Raptor for OS
    2 x 150 Gb WD Raptors in RAID0 for Games
    500 Gb Seagate for storage
    PSU
    Enermax Galaxy 1000W
    Case
    Mountain Mods U2-UFO
    Cooling
    Swiftech & Thermochill Watercooling
    Keyboard
    Logitech G19
    Mouse
    Razer DeathAdder
If you're not planning on building it till next summer, I wouldn't even bother making a list till then.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Me
    CPU
    Athlon x2 7750 BE
    Motherboard
    Asus M4A78 Pro
    Memory
    2x2gb Kingston
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire HD 4830
    Sound Card
    X-Fi Xtreme Music
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer P221w and Acer 1916w
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050 and 1440x900
    Hard Drives
    2x80 GB Seagate 7200.10 in RAID0, 500 GB Seagate 7200.12
    PSU
    Antec Earthwatts 500W
    Case
    Antec Sonata III
    Cooling
    AC Freezer 64 Pro and a couple of 120 mm case fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech G5 v2
    Internet Speed
    10000/1000
if hes gaming why choose AMD processor? and id go windows 7
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 @ 4Gig / Titan Fenir
    Motherboard
    XFX 780i
    Memory
    4GB OCZ PC2-8500C5 DDR2
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gainward GTX260/216 SLI
    Sound Card
    Creative X-FI Xtreme Gamer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell UltraSharp 2209WA 22"
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    western digital raptor 10000rpm sata
    PSU
    OCZ Modstream 700w
    Cooling
    Titan Fenir
    Keyboard
    Razer Reclusa
    Mouse
    Logitech G5 Gamer
    Internet Speed
    8mb
How about make a list of what ever the best available today and put it together next summer. Guarantee the best value PC you can have. I am not just saying things. Like my set up, I can play the crap out of all the games but I bet you can put one together today less then $800.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    E6850
    Motherboard
    EVGA 122-CK-NF67-A1 680i
    Memory
    4 x OCZ Platinum 1GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD 5850 1GB
    Sound Card
    SB X-Fi X Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 23" 5MS
    Screen Resolution
    2048 x 1152
    Hard Drives
    2 x Barracuda 7200.10 320GB RAID 0 / 1 x 500GB Maxtor
    PSU
    Seasonic 600W M12
    Case
    CM Centurion 5
    Cooling
    air
    Internet Speed
    100Mbps
hm.... i say wait until he is ready..... but when ya do go for the 5870 or 5850.... they are a best of a card :D
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer, Aspire M1201\Custom Build
    CPU
    AMD Athlon X2 5000+ @ 2.6Ghz
    Motherboard
    Acer Micro-ATX Motherboard
    Memory
    2x2gb Patriot Viper DDR2 PC6400 @ 800mhz Dual Channel SLI Edition (4-4-4-12)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI HD3870 with 512mb GDDR4
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD 7.1 Onboard Sound
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" Acer X223 Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1680 X 1050
    Hard Drives
    320gb Western Digital SATA II (Ubuntu 9.10)
    500gb Seagate SATA II
    1tb Seagate SATA II (Vista Home Premium)
    PSU
    ULTRA X3 600 Watt Modular
    Case
    NZXT Tempest (The Airflow King) 2x 140mm Fans, 4x 120mm Fans
    Cooling
    1x 135mm In PSU, 1x 70mm On CPU, And 1x 120mm On GPU
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Sidewinder X6
    Mouse
    Microsoft Sidewinder X5
    Internet Speed
    6 Mbs Down 1 Mbs Up
    Other Info
    AVerMedia 1500MCE TV Tuner
    Logitech X540 5.1 Surround Sound

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    E8400 oc'd @ 4.0Ghz
    Motherboard
    EVGA 780i
    Memory
    4GB Corsair XMS2 Dominator
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS EN9800GX2
    Sound Card
    Auzentech X-Fi Prelude 7.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 19'
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    74 Gb WD Raptor for OS
    2 x 150 Gb WD Raptors in RAID0 for Games
    500 Gb Seagate for storage
    PSU
    Enermax Galaxy 1000W
    Case
    Mountain Mods U2-UFO
    Cooling
    Swiftech & Thermochill Watercooling
    Keyboard
    Logitech G19
    Mouse
    Razer DeathAdder
Because Intel sucks more than a dirty hooker.

Hah, he's just sore cos he can't afford the better Intel i7 cpu's...

Have a look at what I've just finished building for $3500, Expensive but well worth building. My recommendation is to always futureproof:

Specifications:

INTEL i7 Core Extreme Edition 3.3 Ghz (OC to 4.6)
Asus P6T7 WS Supercomputer Motherboard
6 x OCZ 1800Mhz DDR3 2Gb (dual triple-channel 12Gb total)
3 x Asus Nvidia Geforce 285 GTX 1Gb (in 3-way SLI over six slots) (OC at 125%)
Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty Titanium Edition (PCI-e 2.0 slot version)
Coolermaster CosmosX SuperATX Case
12 case fans, just to keep the GPU's under 50 degrees!
 

My Computer

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer, Aspire M1201\Custom Build
    CPU
    AMD Athlon X2 5000+ @ 2.6Ghz
    Motherboard
    Acer Micro-ATX Motherboard
    Memory
    2x2gb Patriot Viper DDR2 PC6400 @ 800mhz Dual Channel SLI Edition (4-4-4-12)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI HD3870 with 512mb GDDR4
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD 7.1 Onboard Sound
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" Acer X223 Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1680 X 1050
    Hard Drives
    320gb Western Digital SATA II (Ubuntu 9.10)
    500gb Seagate SATA II
    1tb Seagate SATA II (Vista Home Premium)
    PSU
    ULTRA X3 600 Watt Modular
    Case
    NZXT Tempest (The Airflow King) 2x 140mm Fans, 4x 120mm Fans
    Cooling
    1x 135mm In PSU, 1x 70mm On CPU, And 1x 120mm On GPU
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Sidewinder X6
    Mouse
    Microsoft Sidewinder X5
    Internet Speed
    6 Mbs Down 1 Mbs Up
    Other Info
    AVerMedia 1500MCE TV Tuner
    Logitech X540 5.1 Surround Sound
Because Intel sucks more than a dirty hooker.
Hah, he's just sore cos he can't afford the better Intel i7 cpu's...

Have a look at what I've just finished building for $3500, Expensive but well worth building. My recommendation is to always futureproof:

Specifications:

INTEL i7 Core Extreme Edition 3.3 Ghz (OC to 4.6)
Asus P6T7 WS Supercomputer Motherboard
6 x OCZ 1800Mhz DDR3 2Gb (dual triple-channel 12Gb total)
3 x Asus Nvidia Geforce 285 GTX 1Gb (in 3-way SLI over six slots) (OC at 125%)
Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty Titanium Edition (PCI-e 2.0 slot version)
Coolermaster CosmosX SuperATX Case
12 case fans, just to keep the GPU's under 50 degrees!

<This line used to contain a comment that got me banned>.

Have fun with your overpriced i7s, while I'll be buying AMD CPUs for $100, $200, and in some cases $300 less and overclocking to speeds that leave your Intel **** in the dust.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    E8400 oc'd @ 4.0Ghz
    Motherboard
    EVGA 780i
    Memory
    4GB Corsair XMS2 Dominator
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS EN9800GX2
    Sound Card
    Auzentech X-Fi Prelude 7.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 19'
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    74 Gb WD Raptor for OS
    2 x 150 Gb WD Raptors in RAID0 for Games
    500 Gb Seagate for storage
    PSU
    Enermax Galaxy 1000W
    Case
    Mountain Mods U2-UFO
    Cooling
    Swiftech & Thermochill Watercooling
    Keyboard
    Logitech G19
    Mouse
    Razer DeathAdder
I am so NOT bothered by such childishness.

However speed is not the be all and end all of processor development - if clockspeed was the only thing that mattered wouldn't Intel and AMD have developed faster but larger processors instead of staying at the 3 - 4 Ghz mark for the past 5 years?

The Intel i7 975 Extreme Edition is the fastest processor on the planet WITHOUT overclocking, it has 8 cores, each hyperthreaded, and combined with the 720 stream processor cores on the nvidia cards makes for 11520 individual calculation paths, nevermind the calculations per second. Thats why I chose it. AMD cheerleading fans have no influence on facts.

And since you are apparantly unable to read that I had overclocked it to 4.6, I really doubt that you're smart enough or old enough to earn enough money to build a system that can compete with mine, irrespective of how much you over-heat a single AMD processor.

If intelligence makes me a faggot in your eyes, I'll happily take the insult and wait for you and others like you to eliminate yourselves from the genepool and in doing so sparing humanity the burden of having to educate you.
 

My Computer

ok true..... the I7 is faster than a Phenom II but lets look at why....... the Phenom II..... thats 4 cores.... period no hyper threading..... intel's I7 have eight cores with hyper threading.... but when a Phenom II 965 with its four cores only.... can come close to being equal with the I7 920's eight...... then you have a cpu... yea you all say intel is faster..... that is why they are using four more cores..... AMD uses half the cores and can get almost the same speed and they are a heck of a lot cheaper
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer, Aspire M1201\Custom Build
    CPU
    AMD Athlon X2 5000+ @ 2.6Ghz
    Motherboard
    Acer Micro-ATX Motherboard
    Memory
    2x2gb Patriot Viper DDR2 PC6400 @ 800mhz Dual Channel SLI Edition (4-4-4-12)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI HD3870 with 512mb GDDR4
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD 7.1 Onboard Sound
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" Acer X223 Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1680 X 1050
    Hard Drives
    320gb Western Digital SATA II (Ubuntu 9.10)
    500gb Seagate SATA II
    1tb Seagate SATA II (Vista Home Premium)
    PSU
    ULTRA X3 600 Watt Modular
    Case
    NZXT Tempest (The Airflow King) 2x 140mm Fans, 4x 120mm Fans
    Cooling
    1x 135mm In PSU, 1x 70mm On CPU, And 1x 120mm On GPU
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Sidewinder X6
    Mouse
    Microsoft Sidewinder X5
    Internet Speed
    6 Mbs Down 1 Mbs Up
    Other Info
    AVerMedia 1500MCE TV Tuner
    Logitech X540 5.1 Surround Sound
If you play at 1080p, an Intel processor will boost your fps's by around 10-15%. However, AMD cpu's arn't worth it now. Go for Intel's i5 750.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Sony Vaio Z46GDU
    CPU
    [email protected] w/6MB L2 cache 1066MHz FSB
    Memory
    6GB DDR3 1066MHz SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    9300M GS 256MB + Intel Integrated 4500MHD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.1" WXGA True Colour Tough
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900
    Hard Drives
    320GB SATA 7200RPM
    Internet Speed
    1MB/s
ok true..... the I7 is faster than a Phenom II but lets look at why....... the Phenom II..... thats 4 cores.... period no hyper threading..... intel's I7 have eight cores with hyper threading.... but when a Phenom II 965 with its four cores only.... can come close to being equal with the I7 920's eight...... then you have a cpu... yea you all say intel is faster..... that is why they are using four more cores..... AMD uses half the cores and can get almost the same speed and they are a heck of a lot cheaper

This man could not be more correct.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    E8400 oc'd @ 4.0Ghz
    Motherboard
    EVGA 780i
    Memory
    4GB Corsair XMS2 Dominator
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS EN9800GX2
    Sound Card
    Auzentech X-Fi Prelude 7.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 19'
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    74 Gb WD Raptor for OS
    2 x 150 Gb WD Raptors in RAID0 for Games
    500 Gb Seagate for storage
    PSU
    Enermax Galaxy 1000W
    Case
    Mountain Mods U2-UFO
    Cooling
    Swiftech & Thermochill Watercooling
    Keyboard
    Logitech G19
    Mouse
    Razer DeathAdder
ok true..... the I7 is faster than a Phenom II but lets look at why....... the Phenom II..... thats 4 cores.... period no hyper threading..... intel's I7 have eight cores with hyper threading.... but when a Phenom II 965 with its four cores only.... can come close to being equal with the I7 920's eight...... then you have a cpu... yea you all say intel is faster..... that is why they are using four more cores..... AMD uses half the cores and can get almost the same speed and they are a heck of a lot cheaper

This man could not be more correct.
i know :party: i'm a genius
and also AMD does just fine for gaming my, i get great fps with my X2
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer, Aspire M1201\Custom Build
    CPU
    AMD Athlon X2 5000+ @ 2.6Ghz
    Motherboard
    Acer Micro-ATX Motherboard
    Memory
    2x2gb Patriot Viper DDR2 PC6400 @ 800mhz Dual Channel SLI Edition (4-4-4-12)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI HD3870 with 512mb GDDR4
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD 7.1 Onboard Sound
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" Acer X223 Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1680 X 1050
    Hard Drives
    320gb Western Digital SATA II (Ubuntu 9.10)
    500gb Seagate SATA II
    1tb Seagate SATA II (Vista Home Premium)
    PSU
    ULTRA X3 600 Watt Modular
    Case
    NZXT Tempest (The Airflow King) 2x 140mm Fans, 4x 120mm Fans
    Cooling
    1x 135mm In PSU, 1x 70mm On CPU, And 1x 120mm On GPU
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Sidewinder X6
    Mouse
    Microsoft Sidewinder X5
    Internet Speed
    6 Mbs Down 1 Mbs Up
    Other Info
    AVerMedia 1500MCE TV Tuner
    Logitech X540 5.1 Surround Sound
If you play at 1080p, an Intel processor will boost your fps's by around 10-15%. However, AMD cpu's arn't worth it now. Go for Intel's i5 750.

the higher your resolution the less the cpu matters
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 @ 4Gig / Titan Fenir
    Motherboard
    XFX 780i
    Memory
    4GB OCZ PC2-8500C5 DDR2
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gainward GTX260/216 SLI
    Sound Card
    Creative X-FI Xtreme Gamer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell UltraSharp 2209WA 22"
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    western digital raptor 10000rpm sata
    PSU
    OCZ Modstream 700w
    Cooling
    Titan Fenir
    Keyboard
    Razer Reclusa
    Mouse
    Logitech G5 Gamer
    Internet Speed
    8mb

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer, Aspire M1201\Custom Build
    CPU
    AMD Athlon X2 5000+ @ 2.6Ghz
    Motherboard
    Acer Micro-ATX Motherboard
    Memory
    2x2gb Patriot Viper DDR2 PC6400 @ 800mhz Dual Channel SLI Edition (4-4-4-12)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI HD3870 with 512mb GDDR4
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD 7.1 Onboard Sound
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" Acer X223 Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1680 X 1050
    Hard Drives
    320gb Western Digital SATA II (Ubuntu 9.10)
    500gb Seagate SATA II
    1tb Seagate SATA II (Vista Home Premium)
    PSU
    ULTRA X3 600 Watt Modular
    Case
    NZXT Tempest (The Airflow King) 2x 140mm Fans, 4x 120mm Fans
    Cooling
    1x 135mm In PSU, 1x 70mm On CPU, And 1x 120mm On GPU
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Sidewinder X6
    Mouse
    Microsoft Sidewinder X5
    Internet Speed
    6 Mbs Down 1 Mbs Up
    Other Info
    AVerMedia 1500MCE TV Tuner
    Logitech X540 5.1 Surround Sound
I am as happy as a clam with my commodore 64, no need to uprade! :roflmao:
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel Q9650 w/CM V8 Cooler...
    Motherboard
    EVGA 780i SLI FTW... Latest Bios & Drivers
    Memory
    Corsair Dominator 8GB (4 x 2GB) PC2-8500C5D
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX260
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Def Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 22" LCD Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    WD Velociraptor 160GB
    Samsung Sata 750GB
    Maxtor External 160GB
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750w Silencer
    Case
    Thermaltake Speedo Advance
    Cooling
    Air Cooled... See CPU
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15
    Mouse
    Logitech G7
    Internet Speed
    Comcast 6MB Broadband
    Other Info
    Linksys WRT54G router
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