# Possible i7 Comp?



## AM4A1 (May 20, 2009)

*Help with AMD Build*

hey guys, i was wondering if a $800 budget can build a i7 comp? i'm thinking of getting a new comp because the comp that I have now has this restarting issue, it would randomly restart by itself. for example, if I'm playing a game, it would sometimes restart, this happens a lot. and I can't seem to bring down the cpu temp, I purchased a cooler instead of using the stock cooler and it's still around the high 50's to the early 60's.

anyways, I'm just wondering what my options would be.. i would re-use the psu that i already have, and possibly the cd/dvd drive, the hard drives, and i don't need a operating system. i won't be overclocking or anything like that. this comp would be used for everyday task and also some gaming, like counter-strike, DOTA, and for starcraft 2, as well as converting videos. thanks for the help.

and btw, I live in the US, and about the moniter, it could be included in the build but it's probably not do-able with such a tight budget, the $800 is just an estimate, I'll re-calculate the money issue after I see what can you guys make, once again, thank you.

*UPDATE:*

re-thinking about my budget and the idea of power vs. cost, i think i might head over to the AMD side, however i have no idea where to start. i think i will be getting the 940 with a GTX-260 perhaps. any builds for a $800 budget? i would also need a new case. thanks for the help guys.


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## SundM001 (May 20, 2009)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128375 MOBO $200

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104092 DDR3 RAM $170

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130469 Graphics $150

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0302727 CPU $200

thats $720.00 USD not including tax and shipping. you could go with less but this is just an example. Just search around. Newegg is good, but Microcenter cas the i7 920 for $200.00 USD


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## MRCL (May 20, 2009)

For light gaming, this should do also:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131155 $100

Makes $670 with the other stuff Sund picked out, there's still money for a monitor.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236056 $120


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## Darren (May 20, 2009)

AM4A1 said:


> hey guys, i was wondering if a $800 budget can build a i7 comp? i'm thinking of getting a new comp because the comp that I have now has this restarting issue, it would randomly restart by itself. for example, if I'm playing a game, it would sometimes restart, this happens a lot. and I can't seem to bring down the cpu temp, I purchased a cooler instead of using the stock cooler and it's still around the high 50's to the early 60's.
> 
> anyways, I'm just wondering what my options would be.. i would re-use the psu that i already have, and possibly the cd/dvd drive, the hard drives, and i don't need a operating system. i won't be overclocking or anything like that. this comp would be used for everyday task and also some gaming, like counter-strike, DOTA, and for starcraft 2, as well as converting videos. thanks for the help.
> 
> and btw, I live in the US, and about the moniter, it could be included in the build but it's probably not do-able with such a tight budget, the $800 is just an estimate, I'll re-calculate the money issue after I see what can you guys make, once again, thank you.




Please do not re-use the PSU, your Pentium 4 is probably a decade old, that is far too old to be powering up today’s components. I am not saying it will not work but do not risk blowing your $800 build because you were too stubborn to spend $40-60 on a new PSU. 

How future proof does this rig have to be?

You mention Star Craft, that is undoubtedly going to be a demanding game! Which will take priority converting videos or gaming? Because the AMD Phenom II route will save you money which could be put onto a much better video card such as the 4890, 4870 X2, GTX 295 etc. But the Intel I7 route would be good for video encoding but leave less budget for a top video card.

Edit:



BarbaricSoul said:


> He has a Corsair 620HX, wtf you talking about? That's only THE BEST psu available. You guys really need to fully read someone's post before giving advice. Replace a Corsair 620HX, pfffffffft, yeah right.




I did not realise that he had an Corsair 620HX, I presumed that he was using a one from when the rig was built.


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## BarbaricSoul (May 20, 2009)

> Please do not re-use the PSU, your Pentium 4 is probably a decade old, that is far too old to be powering up today’s components. I am not saying it will not work but do not risk blowing your $800 build because you were too stubborn to spend $40-60 on a new PSU.



He has a Corsair 620HX, wtf you talking about? That's only THE BEST psu available. You guys really need to fully read someone's post before giving advice. Replace a Corsair 620HX, pfffffffft, yeah right. 

Here's my suggestions for a I7 build(if you can get the CPU from microcenter, do that, save yourself $80)-

GPU- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130464
CPU- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202
Mobo- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128374
RAM- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211377


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## PaulieG (May 20, 2009)

BarbaricSoul said:


> He has a Corsair 620HX, wtf you talking about? That's only THE BEST psu available. You guys really need to fully read someone's post before giving advice. Replace a Corsair 620HX, pfffffffft, yeah right.
> 
> Here's my suggestions for a I7 build-
> 
> ...



I have to agree to a point. That Corsair PSU will by fine for now. However, once you start overclocking and add SLI or crossfire, then you are getting close to maxing out even the 620HX. If you don't plan to do SLI/Crossfire, and/or don't plan on pushing the chip too far, you'll be more than fine.


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## BarbaricSoul (May 20, 2009)

Paulieg said:


> I have to agree to a point. That Corsair PSU will by fine for now. However, once you start overclocking and add SLI or crossfire, then you are getting close to maxing out even the 620HX. If you don't plan to do SLI/Crossfire, and/or don't plan on pushing the chip too far, you'll be more than fine.



Oh, I agree with you Paulieg, for SLI or crossfire, he's gonna need a stronger PSU. That would have to be in the future though for a $800 build.


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## yogurt_21 (May 20, 2009)

Darren said:


> I did not realise that he had an Corsair 620HX, I presumed that he was using a one from when the rig was built.



now why couldn't you have said assumed instead? then I could make the ass coment. lol

I agree with barbarics picks save for the memory and gpu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231247
memory better timing and voltage
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500087
gpu 216 shaders vs 192 in the evga 

though getting the i7 920 from microcenter would save you 80$ which is 10% of your budget. but I've never purchase from them so i don't know about reliability.

*edit: checking out your monitor it seems a bigger one would suit you better.*

So i would go with the i7 920 from microcenter 200$
mem above 95$ gpu above 170$ (145$ after rebate) and then drop the board down to the one below. 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186170
180$  that brings you to 645$ before tax (only from microcenter if they have an office in NY, newegg does not so you do not have to pay tax on those items) and shipping. 
then you could get a decent monitor with whats left.  may I suggest http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824112013 since your already have a sceptre and are probabaly happy with it. totals to 775$ (before the 25$ rebate if you send that in it'll be 750$) which is pretty dang close but you could drop to a 19" monitor at the same resolution and save 10$ there.


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## Paintface (May 20, 2009)

no reason to go the i7 road if you are using your rig for gaming, get a phenom 2 720 x3 with a 4770, it will run anything you throw at it.


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## PaulieG (May 20, 2009)

Paintface said:


> no reason to go the i7 road if you are using your rig for gaming, get a phenom 2 720 x3 with a 4770, it will run anything you throw at it.



You do bring up a good point here. If you are just gaming, you may want to consider Phenom II. The cost is considerably lower (say $50-$100 less for MB,CPU and DDR3 combo). I had a couple of PII 940 chips, and except for i7, it is the best platform IMHO. If I was to go AMD though, I'd go with a 940 or 955.

Now, if you are trying to get the best platform available, then i7 is where it's at, and is reasonably affordable considering the performance.


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## Darren (May 20, 2009)

yogurt_21 said:


> now why couldn't you have said assumed instead? then I could make the ass coment. lol



Because the majority of his hardware is extremely old so I thought he was one of those guys that never upgrades. The type of people that own Corsair 620HX tend to have the latest hardware not a rusty P4.


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## AM4A1 (May 20, 2009)

Darren said:


> Because the majority of his hardware is extremely old so I thought he was one of those guys that never upgrades. The type of people that own Corsair 620HX tend to have the latest hardware not a rusty P4.



yea, sorry for the confusion, in the past, i thought i didn't have enough power and thought that was causing the random restarts, so i upgraded my power supply to the Corsair 620HX.



Paintface said:


> no reason to go the i7 road if you are using your rig for gaming, get a phenom 2 720 x3 with a 4770, it will run anything you throw at it.





Paulieg said:


> You do bring up a good point here. If you are just gaming, you may want to consider Phenom II. The cost is considerably lower (say $50-$100 less for MB,CPU and DDR3 combo). I had a couple of PII 940 chips, and except for i7, it is the best platform IMHO. If I was to go AMD though, I'd go with a 940 or 955.
> 
> Now, if you are trying to get the best platform available, then i7 is where it's at, and is reasonably affordable considering the performance.



re-thinking about my budget and the idea of power vs. cost, i think i might head over to the AMD side, however i have no idea where to start. i think i will be getting the 940 with a GTX-260 perhaps. any builds for a $800 budget? i would also need a new case. thanks for the help guys.


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## PaulieG (May 20, 2009)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128378
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103471
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500087
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211364

Cases decisions are very personal and subjective, so I didn't include one.


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## fire2havoc (May 20, 2009)

Darren said:


> Please do not re-use the PSU, your Pentium 4 is probably a decade old, that is far too old to be powering up today’s components. I am not saying it will not work but do not risk blowing your $800 build because you were too stubborn to spend $40-60 on a new PSU.



The Corsair 620HX is a great unit and will provide plenty of power.




SundM001 said:


> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128375 MOBO $200
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104092 DDR3 RAM $170
> 
> ...



Go with this 6GB G.Skill DDR3 1600 kit instead for $95.

I would also go with the cheaper (and better) Radeon 4850 for $110.


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## AM4A1 (May 21, 2009)

ok, i'm not into the i7 build no more, thanks for all those who helped. i decided to go towards the AMD side.

i currently decided on the following items:

CPU
GPU1 or GPU2
MOBO
CASE

not sure which RAM to get.

*Paulieg* recommended the A-DATA

how is it so far? is everything ok?


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## Paintface (May 21, 2009)

you picked the AM3 version of the 790x

this is the correct AM2+ version

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128387

i also just noticed you picked ddr3 ram .... to be honest save the money, get the 940, AM2 board and DDR2 ram

the DDR2 ram http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166

the above i build for my bro and works great together....

should you really want to go the AM3 DDR3 way remember you need a AM3 cpu , namely the 955

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103674

along with the mobo you posted

and following DDR3 ram http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231189


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## AM4A1 (May 21, 2009)

Paintface said:


> you picked the AM3 version of the 790x
> 
> this is the correct AM2+ version
> 
> ...



oh wow, thank god i let someone checked it, btw what is the difference between AM3 and AM2+?


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## Paintface (May 21, 2009)

thats not a straight cut question. cause its important to specify if you talk about mobos or cpus when talking about AM2/AM3

Athlon , phenom 1 , and models 920/940 only of phenom 2 are AM2+ <-- these support DDR2 only

All the other phenom 2s are AM3 <--- these support DDR2 and DDR3


AM2 mainboards are DDR2 only, that means they accept AM2 cpus and AM3 cpus

AM3 mainboards only support DDR3 , that means only AM3 cpus fit in

So you have the following setups that i would advise to get

Phenom 940 + 790x AM2 mobo + ddr2 ram

or

phenom 955 + 790x am3 mobo + ddr3 ram

The difference in performance is give or take 5% depending on what apps or games.

You have to decide for yourself if the extra cost is worth the few %, but remember both rock and will last you 2 years easely for gaming, both will OC to 3.4ghz on stock voltage 100% . And both are as good or as bad for upgrading , since you will be using it for 2 years i hope , the next upgrade will be a new cpu/mobo/ram altogether.

Cant go wrong either way, but if you save some money and go the AM2/940/ddr2 way , you can spent the money saved on a kickass 4890 that will give alot more than the 5% diff increase in speed compared to the AM3 setup with 260gtx.

i hope this cleared it up


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## n-ster (May 21, 2009)

AM4A1 said:


> *i won't be overclocking or anything like that.*



umm... I suggest you do...  for example, an i7 would suck ass in empire total war compared to a 3.2 ghz Dual core lol...

How serious are you about gaming?


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## AM4A1 (May 21, 2009)

Paintface said:


> You have to decide for yourself if the extra cost is worth the few %, but remember both rock and will last you 2 years easely for gaming, both will OC to 3.4ghz on stock voltage 100% . And both are as good or as bad for upgrading , since you will be using it for 2 years i hope , the next upgrade will be a new cpu/mobo/ram altogether.
> 
> Cant go wrong either way, but if you save some money and go the AM2/940/ddr2 way , you can spent the money saved on a kickass 4890 that will give alot more than the 5% diff increase in speed compared to the AM3 setup with 260gtx.
> 
> i hope this cleared it up



thanks for clearing up the AM2+ and AM3. when you mention the 2 years, are you saying that in 2 years, i will need to upgrade again? because my brothers will be using the computer as well, so i planned on keeping it for like 3-4 years, that's probably a stretch or something..

so here's what i got so far..

CPU + MOBO
GPU, the Zotac one is sold out.
RAM
CASE


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## AM4A1 (May 21, 2009)

n-ster said:


> umm... I suggest you do...  for example, an i7 would suck ass in empire total war compared to a 3.2 ghz Dual core lol...
> 
> How serious are you about gaming?



i switched my mind, i no longer want the i7 build. i will get the AMD Phenom II 940 build.


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## n-ster (May 21, 2009)

AM4A1 said:


> i switched my mind, i no longer want the i7 build. i will get the AMD Phenom II 940 build.



I know... I was juust giving an example... basically what I am saying is... OVERCLOCK


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## fire2havoc (May 21, 2009)

AM4A1 said:


> thanks for clearing up the AM2+ and AM3. when you mention the 2 years, are you saying that in 2 years, i will need to upgrade again? because my brothers will be using the computer as well, so i planned on keeping it for like 3-4 years, that's probably a stretch or something..
> 
> so here's what i got so far..
> 
> ...



Looks good.


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## AM4A1 (May 21, 2009)

fire2havoc said:


> Looks good.



that's great to know, does anyone know good brands for 120mm case fans? i'm planning to get 1-2 more for the case.


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## AM4A1 (May 21, 2009)

n-ster said:


> I know... I was juust giving an example... basically what I am saying is... OVERCLOCK



i probably wouldn't overclock, i have no idea what to do. since i'm not gonna overclock, would the stock cooler be good enough?


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## Kenshai (May 21, 2009)

Alright, let me put in my two cents here. 

You're not doing anything too cpu intensive, nor anything that will really utilize all four cores. Why not drop down to a 720BE I have no issues playing anything with eye candy on and all. A bit of a mild overclock (just adjusting multiplier and voltages) and you get a great gaming pc on a budget. 

I have one of those chips that can unlock fourth core, and for everyday computing and gaming I don't really notice any difference between 3 vs 4 cores @ 3.6ghz. 


So maybe save a little bit of money, and put it towards a great monitor or just saving money in general.


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## SundM001 (May 21, 2009)

I would not suggest you stick with the stock CPU cooler.

Although i use the Thermaltake Spin-Q (just for a small OC) I recommend
the Zalman CNPS 9900.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118046 

Kenshai is correct if you want to save some $$$. I know there is a few games that are out that utilize multi-core, but there are no games yet anyway that would demand a quad. Plus there are dual and triple cores that have been "unlocked" through the right mobo and bios combination to have all four cores function.

http://www.techpowerup.com/?92330 for dual core


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## Kenshai (May 21, 2009)

SundM001 said:


> I would not suggest you stick with the stock CPU cooler.
> 
> Although i use the Thermaltake Spin-Q (just for a small OC) I recommend
> the Zalman CNPS 9900.
> ...



That Zalman is overpriced, the xigmatek coolers are an absolute steal. My 720BE doesn't budge over 35° @ 1.55v with my 1283. Honestly you wouldn't even need better cooling for the 720be from what I understand they run very cool even with stock cooling.


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## fire2havoc (May 21, 2009)

AM4A1 said:


> that's great to know, does anyone know good brands for 120mm case fans? i'm planning to get 1-2 more for the case.



Yate Loon Medium Speed


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## Paintface (May 21, 2009)

ill give my input on the cooler, if he doesnt plan to OC which is his full right to do, the stock cooler will be fine.

the 940 model comes with a "special" cooler , with copper heatpipes etc, i put it on my old AMD 6000 and works like a dream and isnt loud at all. i cant imagine it not doing a good job on the 940.

If you do decide to get a custom cooler, i have the zalman CNPS9500 installed on the 940 next to me and works great.

about the 720 / 940 dilemma, the price difference is so small just go for the 940, the 4th core is hit and miss thing, also since he wants to keep that rig for a long time a quadcore might be alot more beneficial compared to a tricore.

About the OC part, forget whatever you have read about FSB , deviders, northbridge voltage....
only thing that counts is that you have an AMD black edition.
ever noticed how cpus have a 200mhz difference in clockspeed? thats cause they run at 200mhz internally to explain it simple, and internally this speed gets multiplied for example by 15 for the 940, which makes 3000mhz. Mainboards give you the chance to change this value, but of course intel and AMD usually wont let you and lock that multiplier, cause in the end every core2quad and phenom is the same chip, with a different multiplier and if it was unlocked everyone would simply buy the cheapest  chip and turn up the multiplier 
But thats the nice thing about AMD, they give you an unlocked chip called black edition at $160, so all you have to do is go to the bios, set the multiplier from 15 to 17, restart, and your chip will run at 3.4ghz(i havent met anyone where this didnt work), no need to increase voltages, so the chip wont get alot warmer either. There wont be any stress on the mainboard or ram, they simply think its a phenom 960 that was installed and run at the same speed.

also i again strongly suggest spending 30 dollar that you saved by going AM2 on a 4890, if you are a gamer this is what will make  the biggest difference.


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## Kenshai (May 21, 2009)

Paintface said:


> ill give my input on the cooler, if he doesnt plan to OC which is his full right to do, the stock cooler will be fine.
> 
> the 940 model comes with a "special" cooler , with copper heatpipes etc, i put it on my old AMD 6000 and works like a dream and isnt loud at all. i cant imagine it not doing a good job on the 940.
> 
> ...




I wasn't saying for him to go for the x3 that can unlock, I was stating that in everyday tasks, gaming and slight video conversion. That I can't really tell the difference between having that extra core from 2.8 all the way up to 3.6. 

Really for a budget of his, $50 is a rather decent chunk of money that he could toss elsewhere. The X4's are more bench friendly but there isn't anything that the X3 couldn't handle.

Couldn't agree more on the black edition, basically overclocks itself.


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## Paintface (May 21, 2009)

Kenshai said:


> I wasn't saying for him to go for the x3 that can unlock, I was stating that in everyday tasks, gaming and slight video conversion. That I can't really tell the difference between having that extra core from 2.8 all the way up to 3.6.
> 
> Really for a budget of his, $50 is a rather decent chunk of money that he could toss elsewhere. The X4's are more bench friendly but there isn't anything that the X3 couldn't handle.
> 
> Couldn't agree more on the black edition, basically overclocks itself.



i agree , if he cant afford the 4890, i have him rather go for the 720BE and spent that money on the videocard.


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## AM4A1 (May 22, 2009)

Paintface said:


> i agree , if he cant afford the 4890, i have him rather go for the 720BE and spent that money on the videocard.



i think i'll probably do this. i just have a hard time choosing which 4870, if you guys can help out with that, that would be great!

is this acer 22" any good?

One Final Check:

CPU + MOBO
RAM
CASE


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## AM4A1 (May 22, 2009)

AM4A1 said:


> i think i'll probably do this. i just have a hard time choosing which 4870, if you guys can help out with that, that would be great!
> 
> is this acer 22" any good?
> 
> ...



some help guys? please. about to purchase soon, just need a final check and some recommendations.


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## Kenshai (May 22, 2009)

That acer 22" will work just fine, it's a great monitor for the money. Same ram I'm using very similar motherboard, same processor. Looks damn good to me


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## AM4A1 (May 22, 2009)

Kenshai said:


> That acer 22" will work just fine, it's a great monitor for the money. Same ram I'm using very similar motherboard, same processor. Looks damn good to me



that's great news, btw are these fan filters any good?


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## Kenshai (May 22, 2009)

I'm not sure they will fit on the 300, if the fans mount the same way as the 900. I don't bother using em, I just clean my computer out monthly, in my dusty apartment it's not so bad.


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