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About LinkBacksThe 3.2ghz Phenom II X4 955BE is available for just under £160 on the Scan Today Only webpage this weekend as are some other bits you maybe interested in:Originally Posted by $eamonk3y
http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx
The 3.2ghz Phenom II X4 955BE is available for just under £160 on the Scan Today Only webpage this weekend as are some other bits you maybe interested in:
http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx
DDR2 memory on a DDR3 motherboard?
- Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P ~ £93.15
The above is the DDR2 version of the same board.
Ooo - great catch.
Cheers,
$eamonk3y
Ok - revised setup:
Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 955 BlackEdition, Sok AM3, 3.2GHz, 8MB Total Cache, 125W, Retail - £158.69
Optical: LG GH22LS30 AUAU 22x DVD±R, 12x DVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, DVD-RAM x12, SATA Black OEM+ 36pcs - £18.39
Motherboard: Sapphire PURE CrossFireX, AMD 790GX, AM3, PCI-E 2.0(x16), DDR3 1333, SATA RAID, ATX, On Board VGA - £74.72
Graphics Card: XFX ATI Radeon HD 4890 XT 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (Includes Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.) - £140.99
Case: Coolermaster Storm 'Scout' Gaming Case - (No PSU) - £69.99
PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro 700w Silent SLI Ready ATX2 Modular Power Supply - £68.99
Memory: OCZ Platinum 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C7 1333MHz Dual Channel (OCZ3P13334GK) - £46.99
Cooler: Titan TTC-NK85TZ Fenrir CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/LGA775/LGA1366) - £33.34
Monitor: 22" Acer V223WBbd, Black, Widescreen LCD Monitor, 5ms, DVI/VGA, 1680x1050, 10000:1, HDCP, Green! + 1 - £112.69
Thoughts?! Almost there...!!! =)
Is everything compatible now? That's the worst scenario - buying everything and then it not working together!
Cheers,
$eamonk3y
Looks a nice build. Try to get the CPU,motherboard and RAM from the same supplier(Scan) as if there are any issues the RMA process will be more straight forward.
Thanks - could you help me find suitable ram from scan with the motherboard and processor ive chosen?
Cheers,
$eamonk3y
I cannot find any RAM compatibility lists on the Sapphire webpage for the motherboard but usually Corsair RAM does work fine.
There is 4gb of PC3-10666 Corsair DDR3 for around £52:
http://www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx
The Today Only offers will change at around 12 noon tommorrow.
Cool - do I need to buy any other stuff? Like tool-wise (antistatic mats, screwdrivers) etc.?
Cheers,
$eamonk3y
An antistatic mat and handstrap can be useful too. However I usually take the following precautions as I have been too stingy to invest in any of that:
1.)Assemble computer on a non-static surface such as wood or concrete. Do not build the computer on potentially charged surfaces like carpet or lino.
2.)Wear clothes made of non-static materials and NOT wool or synthetics.
3.)Remove any static on you by touching a grounded surface like a radiator perodically.
Other things to do are:
1.)Have a printed copy of the instruction manual for the motherboard or have an electronic copy open on another computer. This is very useful when connecting up all the motherboard cables.
2.)Make sure you have a book or manual for assembling a computer to hand if you are not experienced in assembling computers.
3.)Plan you build.
4.)Do not panic and be gentle. Force can damage components.
Regarding screwdrivers the normal cross-type ones should be OK. Also I would also look at getting a long handled screwdriver with a toughened head for screwing down the motherboard as it will have more purchase. Get a shorter version with a fat grip for screwing in the PSU,hard disks and other bits.
Basically two or three cross-head screwdrivers should do it. If you want to check the size look at your existing computer.
I would make sure I have a set of Phillips screwdrivers to hand also as these can be useful for smaller screws too.
If this sounds confusing invest in a set of screwdrivers espcially for computer assembly as all the common sizes should be covered although it may cost more.
Also make sure that you get some Akasa TIM-Clean as you may need some to clean off the thermal paste if you add too much:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Akasa...aning-Solution
Just soak some kitchen roll and use it to clean off the excess paste.
I have noticed that the cooler you specced is pretty large. It could be hard to mount if any of the motherboard components get in the way however don't quote me on this!
$eamonk3y (29-06-2009)
Only thing i'd maybe do is consider swapping the PSU for a Corsair 650tx its about £4 more and is of far better build quality, though the downside is its not modular.
Also unless you are going to be overclocking you really won't need the titan cooler as the standard BE cooler is a heatpipe design and is pretty good tbh.
I can't find any other coolers for the AM3 socket... Any help? I am a little worried about space - it's only a mid-tower case but I'm not cramming in dual graphics cards or anything... Do you think I should choose a different case?
Cheers,
$eamonk3y
You don't need to replace the retail cooler at all - doing so can also void your warranty. But if you wanted some alternative 3rd parties then I recommend the Artic Cooling Freezer series - the one for your chip would be this one:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Arcti...LL-AMD-Opteron
They're really quiet, very effective, and best of all you don't need any thermal grease because it comes ready applied. You just take it out of the box, remove the plastic cover and clamp it on the CPU - no fiddling with backplates or anything. When looking for coolers remember that the mounting for AM3 is identical to AM2, so you can look for AM2 coolers, which are themselves very similar to skt 939 so with the right design the same cooler can fit both.
You don't need to worry about space - you've got bags of it.
I would still go with the phenom II X3 720 over the X4 955 - the X4 is slightly better, but not 50% better. But if they are close in price then obviously go with the X4.
$eamonk3y (29-06-2009)
Oh! I didn't realise it came with a cooler already...! I'll use that and see where that gets me.
I think the Phenom X3 is £105, X4 is £160... Which one? I'm sort of looking towards to future - that's why I though I'd get quad (plus advise from others about it being on offer as well)
Cheers,
$eamonk3y
Future proofing is a black art
At the moment we just can't say how games will utilise >3 cores at the moment. Even the most multi-threaded of today's and the close to release games don't seem to be able to use more than 3 cores in any meaningful way. My point of view is that if we ever get a game that really requires more then 3 cores in order to be playable then 4 cores won't be enough either - we'll be looking at the 8+ cores that are coming down the line.
However, we have to admit that gaming PCs are more often than not about virtual willy waving, and more is always better in that regard. So for your own satisfaction and if the price difference is small then you should consider an X4. But how small is small (in price difference..)? That's really up to you. I wouldn't buy an X4 if it was 60 pounds difference, and be careful of offers that are shouted loudly but only end up knocking 2 quid or so off - that's not a bargain. If the price difference came down to 20 or 30 pounds then I'd go for it.
A basic Number2 crosspoint screwdriver is all you should need.
I take it you are going to reuse a current keyboard and mouse? otherwise you may want to add those to your list
Also OS, you may want to add a copy of vista 64bit to the list.
EDIT: I see kalniel beat me to it and gave more info, you should never need more than 2 crosshead screwdrivers or 1 with interchangeable heads, long shaft tend to be better than short shaft.
one thing I would sugest is long handled tweezers, cand be very handy for recovering dropped screws
I fully agree with the x3 as for £55 more for the x4 is not really worth it
Last edited by Pob255; 29-06-2009 at 10:42 AM.
The Phenom II X4 955BE comes with a nice cooler!
The Phenom II X3 comes with a cheaper all aluminium cooler(still does the job though).
The Phenom II X4 955BE was until a week or so ago IIRC around £180 and has dropped around £20 - it is around the same speed as an Intel Q9550 but cheaper. Also it is clocked around 15% higher than the X3 720 which will be useful even in games which do not make advantage of even one core. Also if you intend to do any image or video editing a quad core does work better.
TBH it is upto you whether it is worth the extra cash over the X3 720.
If you do not mind getting an AM2+ only CPU the 3ghz Phenom II X4 940BE is available for around £132:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-P...Hz-125W-Retail
It only works with DDR2 though but has a similar cooler to the X4 955BE. IMHO I would rather go with this processor, a decent AM2+ motherboard and 4gb to 8gb of pc2-8500 DDR2.
If you do not mind re-installing the OS in March 2010 I would use Windows 7 RC1 64 bit. The retail version of Windows 7 should come out this year too.
Last edited by CAT-THE-FIFTH; 29-06-2009 at 11:02 AM.
$eamonk3y (29-06-2009)
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