Mobo + CPU combos

[frau kaleun]

First off, I blame everyone who participated in this thread.

I am looking right now at this combination for a possible upgrade.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...182&CatId=4297

What say you, oh resident Subsim technical advisors?

Not necessarily buying from there, I haven't checked prices everywhere yet. But at first glance the price looks okay, and it has all the slots I need for the stuff I have plus another gfx card if I want to do that (AND YOU KNOW I DO) and they all appear to be in places which will allow me to use the stuff I've already got.

Gots plenty of USB connectors for peripherals, an eSata connector for my external drive, and I assume there will be no problems hooking up two internal HDDs and two DVD drives.

I will probably get a slightly larger case as I have a... mini-tower (?) now. Anyway, next size up is a mid-tower and I've been looking at some that will take an ATX board and give me a little more tinkering room inside, but are not too big too fit the space I've got which is non-negotiable.

Also I will have to upgrade to DDR3 RAM but RAM's relatively cheap and it's not like I need to have this up and running ASAP. Just looking for a good place to start.

And I'll need a new power supply so wattage recommendations, kind sirs. Will probably get another Radeon HD 5770 if/when I get a second gfx card. IIRC at least 600w is required for two of them running in tandem.

[stoppro]

That is close to what i have I also have the coolermaster tower think it was on sale at the time at 149.00 I think what you have picked out will work fine.I'm sure you will hear more.

[FIREWALL]

I'd like you to check all of this out. And I wouldn't start out with anything less than a 750 watt psu.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...ndle&x=14&y=17

[danasan]

Originally Posted by frau kaleun

First off, I blame everyone who participated in this thread.

Gots plenty of USB connectors for peripherals, an eSata connector for my external drive, and I assume there will be no problems hooking up two internal HDDs and two DVD drives.

And I'll need a new power supply so wattage recommendations, kind sirs. Will probably get another Radeon HD 5770 if/when I get a second gfx card. IIRC at least 600w is required for two of them running in tandem.

Regarding all the drives and discs and two video cards, make sure to get a good, stable and quiet power supply. I would take 750 W to be on the safe side.

Edit: That processor is in my "physical" shop next door 120,- EURO without Mainboard, which is 101,- EURO. So we are much more expensive here in Germany

[frau kaleun]

@ Firewall: yep, I've been looking at Amazon. But so far I haven't seen prices there for the mobo and CPU that amount to less than the bundle at Tiger Direct.

Looking at NewEgg now, they have that mobo as an open box item for $70 and the Phenom II x4 965 Black 3.4 GHz for $120 with a promo code good through the end of the month. That's the same price as the combo with the 955 3.2 GHz CPU at TigerDirect. Don't know about the open box thing though, I always worry about that when buying online.

[kiwi_2005]

Fran sorry to burst your bubble but you should know that all this latest hardware is NOT going to make Silent Hunter III look as good as Silent Hunter 5. Sorry...

Though I'm curious why the kickass PC, what other games do you play beside SH or are you looking at getting into 3dstudio max or something. Anyways the higher the hw the better 750watt sounds right, Radeon HD 5770 (wow!) Im running a pesky 9800GT works fine for all latest games so far. 2 HD 5770 will cream everything thrown at it imo.

[frau kaleun]

Eh, I dunno, I'm just in the mood.

I've always intended to build my own system more or less from scratch, and I've finally gotten to the point where I feel like I know enough to do it, with a little help.

[kiwi_2005]

Originally Posted by frau kaleun

Eh, I dunno, I'm just in the mood.

I've always intended to build my own system more or less from scratch, and I've finally gotten to the point where I feel like I know enough to do it, with a little help.

Good luck. I usually do the same but this time round I had the tech build it. It was coming up christmas holidays I couldn't wait any longer I had to have the PC now! Only work I did on it was installed window 7 and software = 6 games I had got the day before.

[longam]

By all means, build your own. Its a great learning experience. Just don't get caught up in the upgrade fever, you can spend more money then the US deficit.

[Herr-Berbunch]

My two-penneth, for what it's worth.

Depending on your two gfx cards don't expect to use many or any of the other pci slots.

Go for a bigger psu, like firewall said above 750w - but make sure it's a good make, not just a mass-produced item - yes you will pay slightly more but worth it. And if suggesting a 600w is trying to be environmentally friendly, a 800w device doesn't push 800w if there's no call for it.

Regarding the case, I'd be worried about the

...not too big too fit the space I've got which is non-negotiable.

part, sounds like it's squeezed in somewhere and has little or no breathing space around it. For your cpu and a pair of cards (or even one nowadays) airflow, unless you're considering water cooling, is very, very important. Get the measurements of your intended cards (same base models vary between manufacturers) add the depth of a sata/pata drive and add another good couple of inches for any cabling that needs routing that way.

Do keep us informed how it's going

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by Herr-Berbunch

My two-penneth, for what it's worth.

Depending on your two gfx cards don't expect to use many or any of the other pci slots.

The positioning of the slots is a crucial factor, because I want to keep the sound card I've got plus I do have an internal modem for the phone line. Not an everyday requirement as I've got DSL, but it's through the phone company and if the hi-speed goes out I can still fall back on the dial-up connection provided I've still got the stuff in place for that. It doesn't go out often, but if it does it's always when I need to go online to do things that are time-sensitive (i.e., pay bills) and I can't wait 2-5 days for them to get their act together.

From the looks of the mobo everything should fit.

Current mobo has 4 expansion slots, in this order (working down from top):

PCIe x 1 (sound card)
PCIe x 16 (gfx card)
PCI 2.2 (blocked by 2-slot gfx card)
PCI 2.2 (PCI voice/fax modem)

On the board I'm looking at



it looks like even if you have two gfx cards blocking the top PCIe x 1 and PCI 2.2 slots, you'd still have one of each free. So I'd still have a slot free for the sound card and modem.

Go for a bigger psu, like firewall said above 750w - but make sure it's a good make, not just a mass-produced item - yes you will pay slightly more but worth it. And if suggesting a 600w is trying to be environmentally friendly, a 800w device doesn't push 800w if there's no call for it.

Duly noted.

Regarding the case, I'd be worried about the part, sounds like it's squeezed in somewhere and has little or no breathing space around it. For your cpu and a pair of cards (or even one nowadays) airflow, unless you're considering water cooling, is very, very important.

Oh, I'm allowing for space around it; the cases I'm looking at are roughly the same width, so I won't be losing any breathing space on either side. I'm hoping to find one that's not too much deeper, but even if it is there will still be several inches of space open behind it just to accommodate all the cables/cords. It will just sit further out on my desk. My computer sits in an alcove on one side of my desk that supports shelving over the top of it, but only about half of it is actually "inside" the alcove, the front half is completely out in the open and the back is also open... I mean, there's a wall there a few inches back, but no back panel on the alcove so air can flow through it and for all the cables and whatnot.

But there is a height limit, because it has to fit in underneath everything else with some breathing space in between... 17" is gonna be about the max.

Get the measurements of your intended cards (same base models vary between manufacturers) add the depth of a sata/pata drive and add another good couple of inches for any cabling that needs routing that way.

Everything I'd be using I already have at least one of, lol, and it all fits the case I have, altho it's a cramped enough to make tinkering a bit frustrating. I did have to move one HDD up to a higher bay to make room for the 5770 since it was longer than the card I had, but that was only to keep the cable from getting pinched in between. So I think even a slightly bigger case should be fine provided it works for the ATX mobo... just 1" more depth would work wonders in terms of me not ending up with 10,000 little nicks and scratches on my hands when I get in there and start messing with stuff.

Do keep us informed how it's going

I'm sure if I decide to build a computer from the mobo up, it will not be so much a matter of keeping you informed but of coming here screaming for help when my carefully laid plan goes inevitably awry.

[Herr-Berbunch]

Originally Posted by frau kaleun

just 1" more depth would work wonders

[frau kaleun]

It's twue! It's twue!



Edit: after some checking it looks like I can get the mobo and the Phenom II x4 965 cheaper separately, by splitting the purchase between retailers and taking advantages of current specials and rebates.

Plus I've looked at a ton of other mobos and can't find anything comparable with the configuration I want plus the I/O jacks I need for what I've alread got.

So... I might just go for it.

[FIREWALL]

I'm going to jump in for the last time before it gets too confuseing.

The CPU for the bundle from TD had matching wattage (125 watts) 955

The bigger CPU doesn't (140watts) 965

I think your on the right track and not only have happiness now but, will in the future have UPGRADEABILITY. Like bigger Vid cards.

Without alot out of pocket.

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by FIREWALL

I'm going to jump in for the last time before it gets too confuseing.

The CPU for the bundle from TD had matching wattage (125 watts) 955

The bigger CPU doesn't (140watts) 965

The board supports both CPUs, I checked the Asus web site. TD has both of them bundled with it. Is there a problem I'm not seeing? It's quite possible.

Now I'm really confused, I'm looking at the AMD site and both the 955 and 965 are 125W.