Computer Build Advice

bdaley6509 wrote: »

The I7 destroys the Phenom II in pretty much everything...from gaming to productivity.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/overclock-phenom-ii,2119-7.html

Also...the I7 930 is $199.00. For thirty or forty bucks difference, it's well worth it IMO. I could be wrong...I've been wrong before.

http://www.microcenter.com/search/search_results.phtml?N=4294966995

Just you wait til I get home. Ill show ya. We'll have a battle of the benchmarks!

AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »

I could not disagree more on going with Dell over building your own. You may get similar specs with a comparable price, but the quality of components in a Dell are no where near what you can build on your own

I don't want to start any crap, but that is a pretty ridiculous statement.

Home-builds are fun. If you have a particular function/need to fulfill, then home built can be the way to go. Think HTPC, where there is no need for a lot of proc power and you can narrow down your components to fit a specific need. But for the casual user or even the power gamer, a well thought out Dell order will actually save you money. Not to mention the warranty.

I work with thousands of computers of all kinds. Dell is my choice for everything except highly specialized boxes and (Pro) multi-media production.

The make a quality product and I save money.

That list looks fine. The video card should make you happy using the TV as a 2nd monitor. Look for some youtube tutes on assembling your own kit, or if your uncle is going to do it, get him a case of some good beer- for after it boots up the 1st time.

Some don'ts if you do it- don't build it on a plush carpet or any area where static can be generated. If that's even a hint of possible, get an anti-static wrist strap.

Do I not see a heatsink/fan on your list? Get the biggest, baddest one you can for that style board that you can still fit the other components in and around. AMD's historically run hot. If there's not a factory film of silver paste on the sink, just a dab is all you need on the CPU. Too much defeats the purpose.

Don't try to force anything. I like to do a build in the early to midday. I've screwed up trying to get one built in the evening when I was dogtired and forgot something utterly obvious.

Also, just skip all the AMD vs. Intel debate. Everyone has their prefs, like Fords and GM. Their build architectures and piping are radically different, so it's almost like apples and oranges.
That's why the motherboards aren't interchangeable. Never have been.

MacLeod wrote: »

Just you wait til I get home. Ill show ya. We'll have a battle of the benchmarks!

LOL...don't worry about it. They are both good and I'm sure there are pleanty of benchmarks that favor both...good luck OP on your decision.

I find it humorous that people can lay blame for so many PC "problems" to what brand of microprocessor is inside. I have *never* come across a faulty CPU. Heatsinks/fans/power supplies/motherboards/memory/video cards/hard drives/etc sure. CPU's? Not so much.

PhantomOG wrote: »

I find it humorous that people can lay blame for so many PC "problems" to what brand of microprocessor is inside. I have *never* come across a faulty CPU. Heatsinks/fans/power supplies/motherboards/memory/video cards/hard drives/etc sure. CPU's? Not so much.

word

aside from the occasional bent pin (user caused, no doubt), CPU's are very resilient

and poorly applied thermal past is also a culprit in overheating

Fongolio wrote: »

Absolutely! I almost always nix the stock stuff and apply Arctic Cooling. Lately I've been using MX-3 with tremendous results.

and it is funny that one would refuse to add a $10.00 tube of paste to a cart filled with $500-1000 of components:eek:

PerfectCreture,If you want a suggestion on a case to use,I was very happy with my Cooler Master HAF 932 case. Here are some pics of my build

http://www.flickr.com/photos/renowilliams/

I had some fun with this build

I think your build looks good so far. I would change two things though. I would actually swing for the Phenom II X4 CPU and go with a Western Digital Caviar Black instead of the Blue. Look into the Phenom II 945 or 955. Prices are very good since the release of the new 6core chip. Everything else should be good to go. Also make sure you get a tower that has great airflow.

Building PC's is a ton of fun, and there's so much knowledge to gain. I spend most of my time on the darkside with crackz and other projects. FYI your new CPU will come with thermal paste on the chip so no worries there. Once you decide to overclock then you can step up to different coolers, and paste. I love AS5 or OCZ Freeze, good stuff.

MacLeod wrote: »

I'll be glad to. I'm on my Droid phone at work now so I can't link to all of them but once I get home I'll be happy to post plenty of benchmarks comparing the $170'ish AMD Phenom II's up against the $300'ish Intel i7's.

If you had an iPhone you could do it from your phone:p:p
-Cody

If your a newb to building I would not go water cooled. Just go air for now with a good thermal paste. Here are some good ones.

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/7038/thr-41/Innovation_Cooling_Diamond_7_Carat_Thermal_Compound_-_15_Grams.html?tl=g8c127s754

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/9633/thr-68/Arctic_Cooling_MX-3_Super_High_Performance_Non-Conductive_Thermal_Compound_4g.html?tl=g8c127s769

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/3774/thr-16/Arctic_Silver_5_High-Density_Silver_Thermal_Compound_-_35_Grams_AS5-35G.html?tl=g8c127s447

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/6924/thr-40/OCZ_Freeze_Extreme_Thermal_Conductivity_Compound.html?tl=g8c127s454

PhantomOG wrote: »

I find it humorous that people can lay blame for so many PC "problems" to what brand of microprocessor is inside. I have *never* come across a faulty CPU. Heatsinks/fans/power supplies/motherboards/memory/video cards/hard drives/etc sure. CPU's? Not so much.

That's basically exactly what I posted, except with the name calling

vc69 wrote: »

I don't want to start any crap, but that is a pretty ridiculous statement.

I didn't say Dell was crap, but if you're of the opinion that the parts inside a mass produced PC are of that same quality as one you can build yourself then there's really nothing for us to discuss.

For about the same price as you can buy a Dell with comparable specs you can build a machine with better components. By 'better' I don't mean that the Dell will break down in a week and the home built will last a decade - but in terms of things like overclocking and future upgradability and in many cases even down to the capacitors taht are used on the motherboard, you're going to be able to get a better PC by building it yourself.

Dell is out to make money, they're going to put the cheapest parts in the PC that they can which allow maximum profit while still delivering a set amount of performance. Ever tried overclocking a Dell? I have, on several friends setups, it ain't pretty. Pop open your Dell and tell me how many solid caps are on the motherboard. Etc Etc.....

You can do better by building it yourself. It's the same reason that we're all into this audio hobby. Sure I could buy a HTIB, but I'm going to get better sound if I pick all my individual components and do it myself.

zeppage2 wrote: »

word

aside from the occasional bent pin (user caused, no doubt), CPU's are very resilient

Whats the old saying? 99% of computer problems are between the chair and keyboard.

I was told that about ausus....
Hm...I may do some looking around then on a better mother board that is close to what I have.

Asus, MSI, Asrock and Gigabyte all make excellent quality boards. Shop around and find the one that meets your requirements and is cheapest. Theyll be about the same in quality.

LOL...don't worry about it. They are both good and I'm sure there are pleanty of benchmarks that favor both...good luck OP on your decision.

Its not that easy. I always have to have the last word. Just ask my wife.

Here is a good review from Anandtech on the Phenom II X4 965 ($180). In every benchmark, it is at or near the top and is only beaten by CPU's costing twice and sometimes triple the price of the 965.

The benchmarks that it lost on werent by much. For games, the AMD and Intel procs are pretty close and basically even across the board. Windows Media Coding - yeah it 2nd to a $500 processor but the actual difference in time was 4 seconds. Divx encoding, $170 AMD takes 42 seconds to do the job - the $300 Intel takes 39 seconds. Data recovery takes the AMD 32 seconds and the $500 Intel 24 seconds. The Microsoft Excel test, the AMD takes 23 seconds while the $500 Intel does it in 12. Yeah thats a lot faster but Id rather save $330 and wait 11 seconds.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2819/7

Here is another review by Toms Hardware on the P2 965. Again, it gets beat a lot by the Intel i7's, but its by the same margins. The i7 is taking 3 minutes to complete a benchmark, the 965 is taking 3:45. The Intels also win the game benchmarks but again, only by a few frames per second.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/phenom-x4-965,2389-8.html

These are just the 1st two I went to. Intel is definitely the performance leader and the fastest clock for clock. But on a dollar for dollar comparion, the AMD smokes the Intels. Offering 85-95% of the performance for half or less of the price. So like I said, Id rather keep $300 and wait 10 seconds more for encode a home movie. And when you consider the new Athlons that offer quad core CPU's for less than $100 or the new Phenom X6 6 core CPU's that start at $200, AMD is even more appealing.