AMD 955BE + 5770 good bang for buck quad rig?

[strengthofmind]

I'm looking to build a new system, and am looking at a balance between good bang for buck and quality components, but I also want quad core and blu ray.

It will be used for general use, multimedia and gaming.

Currently looking at approx £600 depending on whether I get a non-stock CPU cooler.

I'd appreciate any advice on components:


£115 - AMD 955 BE - http://www.kikatek.com/product_info....ucts_id=101430
£58 - Corsair CWCH50-1 - http://www.eclipsecomputers.com/prod...?code=HWC-H501
£107 - AMD 5770 1GB - http://www.lambda-tek.com/components...prodID=1848531
£76 - Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD3P - http://www.kikatek.com/product_info....ucts_id=113378
£74 - OCZ 4GB PC2 8500 - http://www.dclstore.co.uk/desc-ocz-4...-pid-8584.aspx
£35 - WD5000AAKS - http://www.kikatek.com/product_info....ucts_id=102767
£67 - Antec Nine Hundred - http://www.kikatek.com/product_info....ducts_id=19017
£59 - LiteOn iHOS104 - http://www.kikatek.com/product_info....ucts_id=112929
£56 - Antec BASIQ 550W - http://www.ksn-online.co.uk/power-su...il-p-4015.html

[kalniel]

The 5770 is not good bang for the buck at the moment - too new and no competition. Go for a generation older card at the same performance level (4870) and you'll get at least as much bang for many fewer bucks.

You could save half on the case with an Antec 300 or one of the Coolermaster ones.

[moosely]

Got to agree with kalniel about the graphics card. I build a new PC recently and went for a 4870. If i need a bit more power later I may crossfire them later. Even though it doesn't support directx 11 I dont think i'll be missing out much.

Also, i got the antec 300 case. Nice and solid. I love it. I actually prefer the look of this over the 900 version.

[strengthofmind]

I guess they might have stopped producing the 4870, can't find them in stock in many places,
found a 512MB for £94 - http://www.kikatek.com/product_info....ucts_id=118875
a B Grade 1GB one for £94 - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=BG-054-XF
and a new 1GB one for £113 - http://www.eclipsecomputers.com/prod...ode=GC-XR487H1

Will the 1GB make any difference or is it a marketing fad?

[Terbinator]

It will help if you play at higher resolutions such as 1680*1050 and up!

[kalniel]

I'm not hitting limits on any game at 1680x1050 with my 512mb card, but it might make a difference if you're gaming at 1920 upwards.

[strengthofmind]

I've got a 1920 screen, but I've gotten used to playing games at 1280 with it linked up to my laptop.

[kalniel]

I've got a 1920 screen, but I've gotten used to playing games at 1280 with it linked up to my laptop.

*shudder* Get the 1gb version, the extra would be worth it at that res. Keep an eye out for second hand deals, ditto the 4890 which you might be able to find for the same kind of price.

But I see what you mean about availability.. wasn't expecting that to be honest! If you can wait, nVidia will eventually get out their competing products and ATI should finally drop their prices to something more reasonable (wrt their manufacturing/R&D costs).

[moosely]

if you don't mind playing at 1680 resolution then 512mb is fine, but if you try playing at 1920 resolution then you will find the FPS to be pretty poor making it not very good to play games with. You do a cripsy picture which does look very good though. If you are not anal about the graphics and more about the gameplay then 512mb is ok. If it was me i would go for the 1gb and gain the full gaming experience

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

TBH,I would get the HD5770 1GB if it is a similar price to an HD4870 1GB!

Look at this comparison of the two cards:

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2009/...o_card_review/

A lot of the HD5770 1GB reviews were done with earlier drivers. The HD5770 1GB not only consumes far less power than a HD4870 1GB but also has DX11 too. Also the GPU in the HD5770 1GB also has the potential to be overclocked much further than the one found in the HD4870 1GB.

[strengthofmind]

To be honest I don't mind paying 20% or 40% more if the results are significantly better, I just wouldn't want to get fleeced, or get into that dangerous game of always justifying the next model up.

£130 4890 1GB recon - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=BG-046-PC

[Ulti]

FYI, with my slightly overclocked 5770, I can run games like COD MW2 on max settings at 1920*1080 with 60ish fps but with Crysis Warhead on max settings (8x AA, enthusiast) it goes down to around 20FPS.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would look at the following parts:

AMD Phenom II X4 955 C3 ~ £125

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/190673

Asus M4A79XTD EVO ~ £87

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/172846

This motherboard can do symmetrical Crossfire at PCI-E 2.0 8X/8X.

4GB 1333MHZ DDR3 ~ £83

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/178943

Antec 300 ~ £44

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/143854

Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB ~ £43

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146252

LiteOn iHOS104 ~ £50

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/172638

OCZ StealthXStream 600W PSU ~ £55

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/127861

This has a pair of PCI-E power connectors and hence can power a pair of HD5770 1GB graphics cards.

HD5770 1GB ~ £122

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/194707

The total comes to around £609 excluding postage.

The OP should also look at the free postage offer from Scan for Hexus members:

http://forums.hexus.net/scan-care-he...tup-guide.html

http://forums.hexus.net/scan-care-he...0-07-08-a.html

There are various special offers on the Today Only and Shop Offers web-pages.

[Pob255]

Couple of things going off your original list, I'll not make a list as CAT's are generally very good and if I find anything better I can garranty it'll be in the list next time he posts it.

AM3 motherboards use ddr3, AM2/AM2+ use DDR2
Although that board is described as AM3 it's actually AM2+

The memory is "Out of Stock" I give this special notice as there's quite a few websites that drop the price when something goes out of stock, to get better rankings on price comparison sites.

I'd also agree with the Antec 300 over the 900, it's a good bit cheaper and you're not putting a lot of stuff in it (I personally prefer a slightly smaller case if it's not being loaded up with lots of stuff)

cheap 4870 and 4890 are getting harder to find atm, if you can go for it, if you cannot find one cheaper than the 5770 then that's a good option, £109 is a good price on a 5770, however it's not in stock and I'd not be surprised if the price goes up again when it comes back into stock. see above

I'd definately look at 1gb if you plan to run 1920x1080 res.

EDIT: I hope you have a 64bit OS to go with this btw, if you've only got a 32bit then look at 2gb of memory, or possibly 3gb and run it single channel.

[McPhee]

I mirror what Cat said RE: the GPU. The 4870 and 4890 aren't great buys any more. If you want great bang for buck the 4850 and 4770 seem to still be available and are priced sub-£70 if you look hard enough. Above that and you may as well go the whole hog and just grab a 5770. Then again, the 5850 seems to be creeping down and tends to come bundled with games EBuyer had some over the weekend for £199 with DiRT 2 and Amazon have a Sapphire one at £194 (not sure on game bundles with that one. Sapphire website says DiRT 2, but Amazon don't mention it). Basically, if you subtract the value of the game you're looking at only about £50-£60 difference between the two, which makes it a PITA of a decision (considering making the jump myself at the moment).

[Domestic_Ginger]

The Antec Basiq are not meant to be upto the usual Antec standard. I would go 5770 instead of the 4870. You can crossfire later; xfire 4870 are going to consume much more power and generate alot of heat.

A cheap 4890 would be a good buy if they are available.