Build Your Own AMD/Intel Computer Thread III (Updated 1.15.10)

[chuckdddd]

Anyone have some thoughts on the special newegg is running right now?

I5 combo [newegg.com]

I don't need a case and I'm a little concerned about the PS, but it looks pretty good to me.

[skcolb]

Quote from chuckdddd : Anyone have some thoughts on the special newegg is running right now? I5 combo [newegg.com] I don't need a case and I'm a little concerned about the PS, but it looks pretty good to me.

I think you can do much better purchasing things separately.

Same motherboard, same processor [ewiz.com] (first combo on the page).
$271 = $295 - $10 coupon code MORETURKEY - 5% Bing cashback

Arguably better power supply (OCZ 700W) [zipzoomfly.com].
$49 = $80 - 2% Bing cashback - $30 rebate

Same hard drive at CompUSA. Note that this isn't a very good system drive.
$103 = $109 - 6.5% cashback

RAM with same specs [newegg.com].
$80 = $97 - 2% cashback - $15 rebate

That totals $503 for five out of the six items in the Newegg combo, no case since you don't need one. I'd say you're getting a better power supply this way as well. I'd switch out the hard drive for something faster and cheaper as well.

[odesi09]

I am trying to build a computer that can handle photo editing, movies, music and light gaming (Sims 3, Spore) with ease. This is what I've come up with so far:

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive [newegg.com]
GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard [newegg.com]
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBHK [newegg.com]
AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Callisto 3.1GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor Model HDZ550WFGIBOX [newegg.com]
Thermaltake Element T VK90001N2Z Black SECC/Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case [newegg.com]

For a total of $440 (including shipping). How does it look? Is everything compatible? I realize there's no video card and that's a point I'm still debating. Is it worth shelling out the extra cash for a 9800 GTX or will a 4750 HD be fine?

[skcolb]

Quote from odesi09 : I am trying to build a computer that can handle photo editing, movies, music and light gaming (Sims 3, Spore) with ease. This is what I've come up with so far: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive [newegg.com] GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard [newegg.com] G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBHK [newegg.com] AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Callisto 3.1GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor Model HDZ550WFGIBOX [newegg.com] Thermaltake Element T VK90001N2Z Black SECC/Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case [newegg.com] For a total of $440 (including shipping). How does it look? Is everything compatible? I realize there's no video card and that's a point I'm still debating. Is it worth shelling out the extra cash for a 9800 GTX or will a 4750 HD be fine?

It looks good, and everything looks compatible. A few thoughts/suggestions:

Motherboard: I suggest you shell out slightly more money and get a 785G board. It will be able to unlock your processor to four cores (YMMV depending on luck of the draw).
Gigabyte GA-MA785G-UD3H [ewiz.com]
$85 shipped = $100 - $10 coupon code MORETURKEY - 5% Bing cashback

Processor: It's cheaper from Ewiz.
AMD Phenom II X2 550 BE [ewiz.com]
$87 shipped = $102 - $10 coupon code MORETURKEY (do two separate orders) - 5% Bing cashback

Memory: What you have is fine, alternately, you can go $10 cheaper (this is what I used in my computer).
OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory [newegg.com]
$88 shipped = $100 - 2% Bing cashback - $10 rebate

Hard Drive: I've been recommending this drive to people, it's what I have. It's smaller than the WD you picked out, but per gigabyte it's a lot cheaper.
Seagate Barracuda ST3500418AS 500GB [zipzoomfly.com]
$44 shipped = $60 - 2% cashback - $15 rebate

That's $304 shipped without a case.

Video card: Depends on the resolution you want to "light game" at. A 4750 HD should probably be fine for what you're doing. You *might* even get away with the good integrated graphics (Radeon 4200) on the board I suggested.

[SDtech]

I seem to have misplaced the thermal paste I purchased a while back. Could you guys recommend a good thermal paste for my i5 CPU?

[realdreams]

I am now trying to build a new desktop to replace my laptop for most of the heavy work.Theres no Frys or B&M near me,only Walmart and Staples'.
Now I have

-----------------------------------------------------------
Graphic card:ASUS EAH4670/DI/512MD3 Radeon HD 4670 512MB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail [newegg.com]
38 after MIR,4670 W/ VGA,DVI,HDMI and 512M DDR3
Usually I dont play a lot video games,just Left 4 dead,L4d2,resident evil 5,Silent Hill 5,COD 6,HL2DM
cuz I used to do everything on my laptop(T5450+2G DDR2+8400M G),i dont expect too much for video quality(always all lows in video setting),I think this card is good enough for me,even I will use a 22'' monitor @

Monitor:
ASUS VW224U Black 22" 2ms(GTG) Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail [newegg.com]
130 after MIR
w/ HDCP Support 300 cd/m2 1000:1 (ASCR 5000:1) Built in Speakers,2ms,DVI,VGA
@1680*1050
22'' is large enough for my desk and for me,1680*1050 doesnt require as much as 1080p,considering my 4670 graphic card.I think its a good fit.

Memory:
OCZ Obsidian 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3OB1600LV4GK - Retail [newegg.com]
59 after MIR
it seems good enough for me.I may either add it to a brand desktop(I just cant find a good DDR3 desktop deal after Dell PowerEdge T110 server) or just use it to build a desktop

These are wat i get for these computer this month.
-----------------------------------------------------------
And I also have a 250GB Hitachi SATA2 3.5' hard drive.

_____________________________________

Now I want to get a desktop to put these stuff in or just build one.
I usually runs a server system like Windows Server 2003 and 2008,for everything,even gaming(its still good for gaming after some config).I want to try some other OS like those VMWare stuff,Solaris and linux/unix.So I may often use virtual mathine(maybe running 2 virtual mathine do some work in all 3 OS).Is 4GB memory enough for me?Do I need some specific hardware to run these OS(especially the VMWare OS)

Wat Im using now is a Dell Latitude D630 laptop T5450,PM965,2G DDR2 667,8400M GS,500G SATA2,when i use VMWARE,the cpu usage usually goes up to 90% and not much memory left,the system is very slow.And cuz T5450 doesnt support VT,I cant run a 64bit system in virtual machine.That's very annoying.

Dell PowerEdge T110
Xeon X3430 2.4GHz quad-core processor 8M L2, 2GB RAM*1 DDR3 1666, 160GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s hard drive, DVD-ROM, and dual Gigabit Ethernet(dual Ethernet really helps a lot to me,some high-end motherboard also has dual ethernet)
I think I just need to add more memory(probably to 4G or 6G,and a graphic card just like 4670 to make it work for me).If its still $330,I would definitely but it but now its $680 w/ single Ethernet.


---------------------------------------------
To build a system,Im considering

For motherboard,no matter which platform I choose,I care the most on motherboard.A good motherboard guarantee the success of the computer and wont cause a lot of trouble.(like cant find harddrive,can recognize hardware,fan noise,bad Ethernet,noise in audio output and poor video input quality).If the motherboard has good onboard RAID or SAS things which enables me to use VMWARE OS,that would be awesome.

I always do a lot of file transfer or similar file operation,extracting 10GB file several times a day.Hard drive performance may limit the overall system performance? So Im considering RAID 0(this also means also try something new for me,lol I have wanted to build a RAID system for long).Cuz somethings hard drive can be very cheap and am running out of disk space on my laptop(500GB.............),i may get a 500GB hard drive for $50 to build an RAID.Is that good for me?really much improvement in performance?

I dont care much about power consume cuz my computer is not super power-consuming and i dont need to pay for electricity.But I do care abt noise cuz my computer usually run 24hours a day and im sleeping just feets(u can imagine that in a super small dorm) away.
I dont want to pay much extra money to lower the noise but it shouldnt be 2 noisy for sleeping.I may need to sleep w/ this running computer for several years,no kidding.


1.Inter E5200+P4X motherboard w/ DDR3
Will E5200 enough for me,cuz im kinda crazy computer user and sometimes even have 100+processes running,running a game server and installing some large software,browsing (w/ 30+ labels)or watching video(usually not 1080p,sometimes 720P),probably also running a game background
When I use the computer,the memory usage is usually above 1.2G for just some basic stuff.


2.Inter i5+5x motherboard w/ DDR3
Seems cool
I believe i5 720 is enough for me.i5 doesnt support HT,but does it really matter?HT and dual-channel for P4 didnt help a lot,only abt 5% I think.And I dont have the budget for i7.I like new platform cuz it has new feathers(tho sometimes i start using these features years after i owe the computer........),and upgradable.But sometimes its 2 expensive 2 upgrade an existing computer.So i wont do that.The money i spent 4 upgradability became in vain.
When I choose cpu,motherboard,memory graphic card and case,i do pay attention for upgradability but is it really worthy.I choose i5 w/ DDR3,larger motherboard and case for this reason.


3.AMD
AMD seems to be good choice for a low cost system.
AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor Model ADX620WFGIBOX - Retail for $99
This one is really attractive to me. new socket and design(i dunno 2 much abt it,just assuming its newer design compared to AMD Phenom II quad-core,am i correct?)
but the weakness is the L2 cache is 2 small for Athon II X4 620,I think L2 matters a lot for CPU.
I would like to find some AM3(the newest?) w/ DDR3 platform.Some ppl says AMD has poorer quality,I dont think AMD is necessarily poor for cpu(not for graphic card of course,Nvidia sucks)


--------------------------------------------------------
Preference:I can get a brand desktop or build one whichever works for me,not much cost,reliable,and enough for me,thats wat I want.
I dont trust Lenovo(it does really bad in China,tho its a Chinese brand) and Gateway in their quality and service.But if they are really good,its still okay.



Budget
cuz ive spent abt $230 on monitor,memory and graphic card,I expect to get everything else for $250 to $400.I need a reliable desktop,powerful enough for me,but not super fast like i7 i wont need for now or maybe even the coming year.I want to spend at least at possible.


Im trying 2 get this computer as soon as possible.I can wait till Christmas,or even end of the year,but I really want to get it now so i dont need to search deal 20 times everyday.
Plz give some advice on my computer,I do appreciate it a lot.
(bear my English )

[genester]

Quote from SDtech : I seem to have misplaced the thermal paste I purchased a while back. Could you guys recommend a good thermal paste for my i5 CPU?

I used to recommend Arctic Silver 5, but it's been passed in benchmark tests [benchmarkreviews.com], so now I'd recommend OCZ Freeze [newegg.com]

[indianguyinny24]

hi all,


1 Do you have a fry's or microcenter nearby? No

2 What is this PC going to be built for?
what i am looking to create is multi monitor ( need Min 4 monitor max can go 6) for trading and for High graphic card system for programming.. will be using CUDA (Nvidia) for programming

3 what types of tasks/uses you'll be using it for? trading and GPU computing

4 *** If Gaming... what resolution/monitor will you be using? NA



5 What is YOUR budget? 600

6 If YOU have any unreasonable brand preferences?

NVIDIA as i have to do CUda PROGRAMMING

7 Have YOU performed any research yet?

Yes these are following research..
1. power supply (OCZ 700W) [zipzoomfly.com].
$49 = $80 - 2% Bing cashback - $30 rebate

2.
4gb RAM [newegg.com].
$80 = $97 - 2% cashback - $15 rebate

3.
Seagate Barracuda ST3500418AS 500GB [zipzoomfly.com]
$44 shipped = $60 - 2% cashback - $15 rebate

8 If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts?

windows 7(should i buy 32 or 64 bit), Mouse,keyboard , three 22Lcd and one 40 LCD ( 4 monitors)

9 IfvYOU plan on overclocking?
not sure

10 When do you plan to build it? dec end

[goldensuitcase]

1. Do you have a fry's or microcenter nearby?
No

2. What is this PC going to be built for?
I will hook it up to a 50" plasma for games and moderate web browsing/online videos


3. *** If Gaming... what resolution/monitor will you be using?
1920 x 1080

4. What is YOUR budget?
$1,000


5. If YOU have any unreasonable brand preferences?

NO, but I've been fond of AMD Athlon, but if there is something better, I would go for it.

6. Have YOU performed any research yet?
I just opened this thread for the first time and am very ignorant on what is new as far as computers go so no. But I will look around starting now, but some help on where to look would be nice, thank you.


7. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts?
No

8. If YOU plan on overclocking?

Sure. Should I?

9. When do you plan to build it?

Anytime. I don't mind waiting


Thank you for any help. It is much appreciated.

[dealuxautomatic]

Quote from SiXiam : Wait, are we talking the older raptor drives or the newer VelociRaptors [newegg.com]...? The newer ones come in 150GB and 300GB. Also the link you provided showed the 1TB F3 drive, not the 500GB one.

Old Raptor was 75GB per platter 1 & 2 platter models (75GB & 150GB). Newer VelociRaptor

uses 150GB platter 1 & 2 platter models (150GB & 300GB). OP said 75GB Raptor hard drive.

F3 1TB and 500GB have the same head count and platter density so are the same speed. All

drives are compared at the HD Perf. LINK. (average read)

Quote from Won : Sorry kid, but it is the random access times that is important when booting up an OS and the ECS Black P55 is not one of the best out there.

Well you can decide but most people go throughput so files copy faster and games load faster. 34.2%

faster on average with the Samsung F3. That is why the F3 is always sold out. My 8 year old 180GXP

boots Win7 Ultimate in 10 seconds so? Solid P55 board with all solid caps, good OC, 4 mem slots, double

8x PCIe (CrossfireX, SLI Hack?), and 3 year warranty for < $100.

Here is the award list LINK [ecsusa.com] eight and counting.

[dealuxautomatic]

Quote from sandwich : I built an AMD rig during the summer (august-ish). Had a bit of trouble with ASUS (3 broken mobos and 1 bad GPU) and Newegg (got a really mean CSR over email)

You don't get 3 broken boards I have been doing this for 18 years and have only gotten one baddie that was a refurb. Next time read the directions and use an ESD strap.

[sn_85]

Quote from dealuxautomatic : You don't get 3 broken boards I have been doing this for 18 years and have only gotten one baddie that was a refurb. Next time read the directions and use an ESD strap.

Don't be such a jackass. I've had 2 DFI mobo die on me for random reasons. It happens sometimes. You've been doing this for 18 years and yet you've been giving some of the worst advice in this thread. Just check your own post history in this thread. You've been recommending ECS, Coolmax, and HEC for people. Time to find another profession or hobby if this is the best advice you can give after 18 years.

[dealuxautomatic]

He said DOA not die. (Return for replacement within: 30 days)

I am still waiting for you to set us up with premium parts for $500 ..

Oh wait you can't, instead you just push slow overpriced outdated crap.

The only problem here is you can't count to 500.

rtp

Quote from iceman81 : I was hoping to build one for around $500 but it's been 5 years since I've looked at the technology. I hope keep this one for another 5 years, as well.

[tiercel]

I'm pretty much a newb when it comes to hardware/building a system -- I would generally prefer to order a prebuilt system, but I keep hearing how much I can save by DYI. So, I want to see what is possible.

Wiki points:
1) I live in San Jose, so Fry's and Microcenter are accessible.
2) I'm looking at casual gaming use -- probably not any intense FPS ala Crysis, but more RTS/RPG gaming, co-op with my better half. (I'll want to buy/build two of these machines.)
3) Not fixed on resolution yet (don't have monitors -- currently just laptops) but ideally 1920x1080 (seems like there are some decent deals on 1080p 22-24" widescreen monitors out there).
4) I'd like to keep this under $800 before O/S, monitor, speakers. Even less is better (I am going for two machines here).
5) No rabid brand preference, I just want to try and find the sweet spot of reliability/performance/price.
6) I have done some research but I'm pretty inexperienced in many individual components. I've tried seeing what is possible at a more "build-your-own" site than Dell, at CyberPower PC to see what they charge for a gaming rig -- if I'm really going to jump into the deep end and try building a box myself, it definitely needs to beat that price, or even the price of getting a Slickdealed ready-made system that I drop a real graphics card into. (See below.)
7) I have no current parts.
8) While I'm not morally opposed to overclocking, I'm not particularly planning on it given my total lack of experience (I know that I will have to pay more attention to cooling, and even power supply, if I do).
9) Soon-ish would be good, over the next month or so (I've been keeping my eyes open for a while and would like to have it in the not - crazy - distant future, plus if there are sales to be had I would assume over the next month is as good a time as any).

Here's the kind of build I've looked at at cyberpowerpc.com:

Quote : Configuration * CPU: AMD Athlon™II X2 245 Dual-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology [-14] * HDD: Single Hard Drive (500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD) * MOTHERBOARD: GigaByte MA770T-UD3P AM3 DDR3 770 Chipset 1666+/1333/1066 with PCIe slot SATA RAID MB w/GbLAN * MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) PC1333 DDR3 PC3 10666 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Dominator [+39]) * SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO * VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT 1GB 16X PCI Express [+40] (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA) * *BASE_PRICE: [+529] * BUNDLE: None * BLUETOOTH: None * CD: LG 22X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Dual Layer Drive (BLACK COLOR) * CD2: None * CAS: Azza Orion Gaming Mid-Tower Case with See-Thru Side Panel (Silver with Blue Lightning) * CASUPGRADE: None * CS_FAN: Default case fans * CPU: AMD Athlon™II X2 245 Dual-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology [-14] * FAN: AMD ATHLON64 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK * FREEBIE_RM: None * FREEGAME_VC02: None * FA_HDD: None * FLASHMEDIA: None [-3] * FLOPPY: None * FREEBIE_OS: None * HDD: Single Hard Drive (500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD) * HDD2: None * IEEE_CARD: None * KEYBOARD: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard * MOUSE: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse * MODEM: None * MULTIVIEW: Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors * MONITOR: None * MONITOR2: None * MOTHERBOARD: GigaByte MA770T-UD3P AM3 DDR3 770 Chipset 1666+/1333/1066 with PCIe slot SATA RAID MB w/GbLAN * MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) PC1333 DDR3 PC3 10666 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Dominator [+39]) * NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network * OS: None - FORMAT HARD DRIVE ONLY * OS_UPGRADE: None * PRINTER: None * PRINTER_CABLE: None * POWERSUPPLY: 635 Watts Power Supplies [+32] (Sigma Shark SP-635W PSU - SLI Ready) * RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS * SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT * SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO * SPEAKERS: None [-5] * TEMP: None * TVRC: None * USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports * USBHD: None * VIDEOCAMERA: None * VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT 1GB 16X PCI Express [+40] (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA) * VIDEO2: None * VC_PHYSX: None * WNC: PCI Wireless 802.11g 54Mbps Network Interface Card [+19] * _PRICE: (+637) $637 - 5% ($31.85) + CA tax ($59) +FS = $664.15, with $30 mailin rebate. ~$634 after rebate. (w/o monitor, speakers, O/S)

And here's what I've seen for a similar sort of setup just by browsing newegg with help from the front-page wiki:


AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz [newegg.com] $66 (FS)
Foxconn A74MX-K AM2+/AM2 AMD 740G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard [newegg.com] $45
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 [newegg.com] $95
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive [newegg.com] $50
RAIDMAX SMILODON Extreme Black ATX-612WEBP 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case With 500W Power Supply [newegg.com] $70 after MIR (FS)
SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD Burner [newegg.com] $31 (FS)
ZOTAC ZT-98GEY3G-FSL GeForce 9800 GT 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 [newegg.com] $94 after MIR
Rosewill RNX-G300LX IEEE 802.11b/g PCI Wireless Card [newegg.com] $15 (FS)

...assuming another $10 or so for basic keyboard+ mouse, this about $475 before CA tax and shipping for the non-FS components; probably $525-550 total. (again, before monitor, speakers, O/S)

Is this a reasonable sort of build.... how much better can I do in terms of quality/performance/price?

[proro1974]

Quote from dealuxautomatic : You don't get 3 broken boards I have been doing this for 18 years and have only gotten one baddie that was a refurb. Next time read the directions and use an ESD strap.

18 years and you still don't have enough sense not to recommend $25 hec power supplies with a $600 build? 18 years and you still haven't learned anything more like it. stop self-promoting, if you actually do know anything people will do that for you. You don't help anyone on here because it's just a case of the blind trying to the lead the blind and others have to be trying to save people from following your dumb advice down some blind alley. find something else to do, gardening or something.