Question

I'm in the process of gathering parts and specs for a new machine. I wear many hats, so the machine needs to do a lot. I need at least 2 monitor support, if not three. I also play many online MMOs (wow, aion, war hammer, etc), along with some freelance programming projects.

I already have a case which is very large, so it will fit anything. I have 2 other SATA HDs. They are more for storage and basic programs. I feel that the best improvement could be done with a solid state HD, true or not? I'm more of a software/programming guy, so ANY input at all on improving this system build would be appreciated.

I have a few questions with this list. AMD or Intel? I don't know enough about either to choose what would best fit me. Thanks!

**EDIT: Thanks for the input everyone! Here are some answers:

• I do a lot of programming and gaming, so I do need things for both. The newer video card covers the gaming aspect, as well as allowing me to have many monitors. (hopefully upgrade to dual 30' or more)
• I don't need any additional HDs at this time. I have a SATA 160g and 120g from my previous computer, and a NAS system with over 2TB of storage on the homenetwork. I just wanted a fast HD for OS/programs/games.
• With the memory. I have used G.SKILL before in 2 system builds. It's done excellent for me in them. Very stable.

**EDIT2:

• Made some additional changes. Lowered the power supply down to 750, which saves me more $$. Also changed the SSD to 2 WD 650G HDs.
• Thinking of doing a CPU upgrade to the 3.4GHZ AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz

System Specs - Budget:$1500

• CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz
• MB: GIGABYTE GA-MA790GPT-UD3H AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX
• Memory: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 1066
• Video: DIAMOND 5870PE51G Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit GD
• Power Supply: XCLIO GREATPOWER 1000W ATX12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready
• HD:Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2MH080G2C1 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC

Changes:

• Power Supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V
• HD: 2x Western Digital Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB
• CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz

Answer 1

As far as AMD vs Intel goes, it's largely personal preference, though there are various holy war-esque diatribes one way or the other (I buy whatever is on sale).

Gigabyte is a good motherboard company, you'll likely be happy with that board. A Radeon video card is a good match for an ATI processor.

You could do more ram, as thedude suggested, but I wouldn't buy any bigger than 2 gig sticks: too expensive right now.

You've probably got too much power supply though; 1000 is what you'd get if you had dual graphics cards or something. I run a dual quad core with a top of the line graphics card and 5 (regular) hard drives off of a 750 with no problems. More isn't always better.

An SSD is a personal choice; it's not the way I'd go for price vs performance, but, again, that's a personal choice.

Answer 2

Personally, I always go with AMD. However, you can't go wrong either way.

As for your specs, everything seems to be good.

I could help a little more if you provided links to the parts, but I see no problems in this list.

Here are my thoughts:

• You'll love that CPU. Very easy to overclock (Black Editions have an unlocked multiplier) and can probably hit 3.6-3.8 with stock cooling.
• I LOVE Gigabyte Mobo's. Have been using them for a while and they are absolutely wonderful.
• I'd consider more RAM (assuming a 64 bit OS). You can never have too much and you'll be happy later.
• I use nVidia, so I can't comment directly on the ATI video card, but I've heard great things about that one.
• Power supply - Don't know the brand, but should be more than enough for you.
• Looks like the SDD you mentioned has great reviews on newegg. If it's in your budget, go for it.

I'm usually better at helping folks trim costs from their builds, but given your budget, this seems to be a great build. Of course, always make sure everything is compatible :)

Answer 3

Looks fine to me. I've never seen substantive differences in performance between AMD and intel for real-world concerns. Not familiar with the memory manu/vendor (probably been too long since I built a PC, is 2 years a long time?), check if they are cool with returns and customer service.

I think your most important obstacles will be dealing with noise suppression, cooling requirements, and possible mechanical interference of stuff in the case. After that, the next hurdle is making sure the system is stable by running memtest86 or other performance testing apps. If you have problems then you'll be fussing for a long time with settings and possibly trying other DDR memory modules (that's why memory should be purchased from a reliable vendor). Be prepared to do a lot of that if you're adamant on overclocking (waste of time with little payback if you ask me).

A good source to check for reviews and guidance is tomshardwareguide and anandtech. Those people put together stuff and test it exhaustively.

Answer 4

I sincerely hope you're a gamer cause this looks more like a gaming rig than a developer workstation. That video card is extremely new and high end. If you don't play through every title in this fall's new PC game line-up, you will have committed a great sin.

Going with AMD here will get you more bang for the buck, for sure. Remember though, this CPU sucks 125W, which is a more hefty power consumption compared to intel's offerings.

Also, the 1000W power supply is bigtime overkill unless you're worried about power efficiency (in which case, going with a 125W processor is not really consistent). Even with a monster video card like that, you should be more than fine with a 500-700W PSU.

Also, so long as you're building a new machine, you should futureproof it by going 64-bit, in in which case, go with 8GB of ram.

Answer 5

Generally speaking AMD is cheaper and gives a bit more "bang for the buck", however there is very little in it.

Try to push yourself up to an i7 Intel cpu. I do a lot of gaming also (mostly WoW), and combined with 6GB gSKILL RAM my system flies!

I'm able to run 4x wow accounts all on max settings @ 60fps

also, get a bigger HD than 80gb, considering WoW takes around 10GB and Windows needs about 15-20?

500Gb is around £40-50 here, should be cheaper in the US ;)

Answer 6

While the system will do what you want, there are a few tings that might make life easier for you. I'll go down the list.

• What case are you using? With the amount or hardware you have, you will need to make sure your case has good airflow and cable management. A big case means nothing if it has poor airflow. It is more about having a path for air to pass through your case with the least number of turns possible.

• Make sure you use a 64-bit OS with this system, you have a total a 5GB of memory (4 system + 1 video) in this system. Windows XP 32-bit maxes out at 4GB. Windows 7 would probably love this system.

• Personally, I would go with two fast single platter hard drives in a RAID 0 (striped) array over a single SSD. While SSD's are fast, they have next to no storage space. While the 2TB NAS is a great place to store a backup of your files, running software from that is not suggested. I've been working with a pair of WD3200AAKS ($100) and it works really well. It's not as fast as SSD, but I have 600GB to work with locally and is faster then a single drive. I should also note that I almost 100GB of game related files that I just can't fit on a SSD.

• Finally, make sure you have a good CPU cooler. The stock cooler is okay, but getting something bigger can really reduce fan noise for your system. I use a Scythe SCNJ-2000 Ninja2 in my system. I can't stand noisy systems, and fans are inexpensive compared to other parts.

I have a feeling you'll love whatever you decide to put together. You've picked good parts and the any changes would be relatively minor. When you live in this price range, it's hard to really screw it up.

Hope this helps.