[magicjames92]

I've got a friend building a PC and he asked me to post it here so you all could double check that everything looks good. He is buying a case off ebay (hasnt picked yet) which is why it isnt here.
CPU: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819103808
Vid Card: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814130604
Mobo: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813128519
Ram: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820231428
PSU: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817341022
HD: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822148697

Thanks!

[cyb.tachyon]

I'd recommend a core i5 2500k with z68 chipset and custom cooling over the Phenom. Also an SSD for windows boot and steammover if he can afford it. As far as the case goes, get one with a bottom slot for the PSU, choose the fans for negative air pressure to reduce dust and heat (more air being pushed out the top/back than what comes in the front/side), and look for space to route cabling along the back/underneath. Definitely buy some ties for the cabling.

Don't worry about crossfire/sli unless he has the cash to drop on a graphics upgrade sooner rather than later (I usually wait so long to upgrade that the latest cards are much better than my current; my GTX 260 was able to run everything up to bad company 2 at max settings/AA for 1920x1200)

This post has been edited by cyb.tachyon: 19 October 2011 - 08:26 PM

[TerranUp16]

cyb.tachyon, on 19 October 2011 - 09:20 PM, said:

I'd recommend a core i5 2500k with x58 chipset and custom cooling over the Phenom.

Er, you mean Z68, right?

[cyb.tachyon]

TerranUp16, on 19 October 2011 - 09:21 PM, said:

Er, you mean Z68, right?

yes lol. fixed.

[AZNguyen]

Might want to try NCIX (US Store) to buy parts. They will price match from other online stores and retail (free shipping for me at least).

I picked up an Intel i5 2500K for $180 there and a Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 for $150.

This post has been edited by krazyxazn: 19 October 2011 - 09:01 PM

[ohmecks]

This looks like a budget build, so I don't think a Core i5 is entirely necessary. Going with it increases the build cost by $110 and the performance difference may not be worth that cost.

If your friend ever decides to get a large tower-style heatsink, tall RAM such as those Ripjaws may not have enough clearance to fit correctly under the nearest slots to the CPU socket. I don't see an additional heatsink on the list, so it shouldn't be an issue if you use the stock heatsink.

[TerranUp16]

The i5 is a big price increase, but it is worth considering. Z68 offers a better platform for upgrades right now and the i5 is a very big boost in performance (kiss CPU lag goodbye for a good bit, which is nice to not have to worry about) that does justify the cost unless the uses for the computer are less than modern (or if it is simply over-budget; if it's simply over-budget, it's simply over-budget).

So like I said, it's worth considering, but if the budget is very constrained then quite agreed that the Phenom will be serviceable.

[Joga]

I just recently did a build with the Phenom II X4 955 and I'm quite satisfied with it. Easily overclocked to 4.0 GHz with the stock cooler. Even with the 560 Ti you still won't be CPU limited, and it'll be good enough for BF3 and the like. The 2500k would be more future-proof, but it is a pretty hefty price increase and the Phenom is just dandy for today's games.

This post has been edited by Joga: 20 October 2011 - 09:03 AM

[tacomaster]

If you are going to go AMD route then you should just get the Phenom X6 1090T for 50 bucks more

This post has been edited by tacomaster: 20 October 2011 - 09:23 AM
Reason for edit: spacing issues

[ibfreeekout]

Joga, on 20 October 2011 - 10:01 AM, said:

I just recently did a build with the Phenom II X4 955 and I'm quite satisfied with it. Easily overclocked to 4.0 GHz with the stock cooler. Even with the 560 Ti you still won't be CPU limited, and it'll be good enough for BF3 and the like. The 2500k would be more future-proof, but it is a pretty hefty price increase and the Phenom is just dandy for today's games.

WHAT TEMPERATURE ARE YOU HITTING? If it's anywhere near 60C, back that clock down; Phenoms have a threshold of 62C and beyond that, expect bad things.

[Daman]

ibfreeekout, on 20 October 2011 - 10:54 AM, said:

WHAT TEMPERATURE ARE YOU HITTING? If it's anywhere near 60C, back that clock down; Phenoms have a threshold of 62C and beyond that, expect bad things.

wow,really?

that is a stupidly low threshold, is the processor wooden or something? I think my ambient temperature in my room is higher(yes, Celsius)

This post has been edited by Daman: 20 October 2011 - 11:39 AM

[Joga]

ibfreeekout, on 20 October 2011 - 11:54 AM, said:

WHAT TEMPERATURE ARE YOU HITTING? If it's anywhere near 60C, back that clock down; Phenoms have a threshold of 62C and beyond that, expect bad things.

Lawl, yes I've done my homework. It only gets up to 59C while stress testing with IntelBurnTest, and stays far below that under normal usage. It's cool and rock-solid stable.

This post has been edited by Joga: 20 October 2011 - 01:23 PM

[ibfreeekout]

Joga, on 20 October 2011 - 02:21 PM, said:

Lawl, yes I've done my homework. It only gets up to 59C while stress testing with IntelBurnTest, and stays far below that under normal usage. It's cool and rock-solid stable.

Damn, you must have one amazing stock cooler then. I was barely able to keep mine below that at stock clocks with the stock cooler, let alone overclock it.

[Joga]

ibfreeekout, on 20 October 2011 - 02:32 PM, said:

Damn, you must have one amazing stock cooler then. I was barely able to keep mine below that at stock clocks with the stock cooler, let alone overclock it.

Hmm, from what I've seen (and experienced) it's incredibly easy to hit 3.8 GHz stable with stock voltages/cooler. (I got a stable 4.0 with a slight vcore boost) The Newegg reviews also show that most people get good overclocks out of it.

@TacoMaster: I don't think the 1090T is really worth it - most applications don't use all those cores to begin with. Unless you're doing some heavy duty media encoding or something, you won't see much of a performance gain from the two extra cores in gaming. And if you're going to spend that much, you might as well spend $20 more and get an i5 2400 for $190. But the Phenom II X4 955 should be just fine for his purposes.