AM3 Build Advice

[AntiTalent]

So Payday is here and I'm sorely tempted.

So talk me out of this:

AMD Phenom II X4 955 BlackEdition, Sok AM3, 3.2GHz, 8MB Total Cache, 125W, Retail £127.13

Asus M4A79XTD EVO, AMD 790X, AM3, PCI-E 2.0(x16), DDR3 1333/1600/1800, SATA 3Gb/s, ATX
£82.77

4GB (2x2GB) Corsair Dominator DDR3, PC3-12800 (1600), 240 Pin, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 9, DHX £84.74

Silverstone Raven RV02B-W Black Case with Window w/o PSU Latest Rev 2.0!!
£113.79

I can salvage other bits from my current rig for the time being, though I'd like to add a proper CPU cooler and switch to a couple of Samsung F3s.

Any alternatives? I'm mostly unsure about the RAM and Motherboard, they seems pretty good for the features (Ideally want a motherboard capable of X-fire), and I do need a case as my current one is BTX and I'm loving the look of the Raven 2.

EDIT: by salvage bits I mean I've a 500w silverstone PSU, some random hard drives as stop-gaps DVD drives, and the 4850, so I should be okay till I get more funds for the F3s and maybe a new GPU in a few months.

[tiggerai]

hehe I've just done the same....

so I'm not talking you out of it! Good luck!

[Domestic_Ginger]

Spec it against an i5?

And do you really need a new PC? start with the raid F3s and work backwards waiting for price drops and some newer cpus to come out? Can't really talk you out of it!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Apart from the case which seems quite expensive it looks a decent upgrade from an X2 5000!!

[AntiTalent]

I know the case is a bit pricey, but since I'm stuck with the Dell BTX I'm seeing it as more of an investment than anything else.

I had to stop myself pulling the trigger this weekend, bought a Roccat Kone to sate my spendlust, but just found out I have a week's wages owed to me for next friday so I might well be in the same imposition in 7 days.

Spec'ing it against an i5 sounds like a good idea, the reason I went AMD is the perceived price/performance ratio and I assume AM3 might last me a second CPU cycle before they change the socket.. it seems intel pull a switcheroo every 12 months - but they might have big plans for 1156/1366

It's mainly to be used for gaming, and to be followed by a GPU upgrade and a new monitor in the coming months. I might dabble in encoding my dvds to my drives, but I don't see that as justisfying the price hike to i7.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

TBH, an X3 720 will still do the job in most cases. A quad will last a bit longer but the £60(plus the cost of a decent ATX socket 1156) could be better put towards a graphics card update in a year or so.

However compared to a Phenom 955 based build you are looking at another £30 or so will get you a Core i5 which is faster.

Of course if you go for an AM2+ motherboard the cost will be even less as you could re-use your old RAM.