Computer Build

[Genesis2020]

I am planning to build a new computer shortly and am looking for a PC that will play all the latest games, and connect to my HDTV, and be somewhat upgradable in the future. I am somewhat computer savvy but would like a second or multiple opinions as i am looking to spend about a thousand dollars

Currently on my shopping list I have the following:
CPU-AMD Athlon II x3 435 @2.9 GHz
MOBO-Asus M4A88TD-V EVO w/ 880g NB chipset AM3 socket
RAM-Corsair XMS PC12800 DDR3 RAM 1600MHz 2x 2048 (4gb)
VIDEO-ATI Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 1GB DDR5 PCIe x16
HDD-Hitachi 1TB 7200rpm 3GB/sec SATA HDD
POWER-Coolmaster xm-750b 750-Watt PSU
LAN-linksys WMP54G wireless adapter PCI 802.11g

I can tell you that the mobo has two PCIe x16 slots and is xfire ready. As well as the PSU has two 6-pin PCIe power adapters I assume for xfire. I do plan to buy another 5770 and crossfire them at some point. Also i plan to put all of this into a WELL vented mid-size tower. OS will be win 7 ultimate.
note: I wish to have a display for the computer (22" DVI LCD monitor) and also have it display on my HDTV (42" plasma 1080p) via a HDMI cable

My questions are:
Will this system be able to play newer games smoothly such as crysis, mw2, H.A.W.X etc. in at least 1080p resolution? or will i need more horsepower?
Are there any noticeable hardware conflicts or issues that i will run into? (built mostly intel PC's in the past)
Is this setup expandable or easily upgraded? (I plan for this computer to last for a few years)
and finally, is there a different system build i should look into that may be better and cheaper than this setup?

Thank you very much

[Jaskanwar Singh]

processor - go for athlon II x4 635.
motherboard - avoid ASUS, instead get MSI 890GXM-G65
ram - 4gb 1333mhz ram should be fine...
gpu - try get gtx460 768mb...although you wont be able to sli on this board..because amd chipsets only support crossfire. for that look for nvidia nforce980a chipset board.
hdd - ok
psu - get corsair tx650 or tx750w...avoid cm extreme power.
cabinet - look at cm elite 430

[borax12]

yaar...if you go for the 8XX chipset based mobo with two pci-e slots...u can do sli also...
regarding the question....for ability to lay newer release at 1080p.....u can....but u gotta sacrifice on the igher texture details...probably no or 2x AA and very loer levels of AF.....also doing a xfire with another 5770 will give u only a performance increase of....10-15%...and as suggested by athlon II x4 635....u can go for the athlon2 x4 635 also...u will get a better performance....and no u will never run into any probs...amd is fun and vfm...remember that....

also upgradeability of the system....u can if u do go with anew chipset...newer 8XX based chipset based mobo will help u with this...usb 3.0 sata3...all this u will not get with the asus option u mentioned...

[Jaskanwar Singh]

Who told u that sli can be done on amd chipsets? Can u give a link.

[borax12]

read this -AMD: X6 1090T @ 4.1GHz + 890GXM-G65 + 2*XFX 8800GTS 320MB SLI Benches - Erodov Forums

and type sli hack in google...u will find results that explains it...

also chech this link-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130274...click on the right hand side tab called customer reviews..,.and see the last review...it explains easily

[Jaskanwar Singh]

Dude this is done with hacked drivers which are old ones with lot of issues. No updates.

Moreover if something goes wrong, then do u think manufacturers will replace his product?

[mavihs]

Can you fill the below questionnaire so we can suggest you a good config!

1. What is the purpose of the computer? (Note: If you are planning to say multimedia, you will have to be more specific as all types of systems are capable of doing that)
A:
2. Are you open to alternate ideas/products giving similar better performance but offering more VFM/ sellers? If not- why?
A:
3. What is your MAX budget?
A:
4. Planning to overclock?
A:
5. Which OS are you planning to use?
A:
6. How much hard drive space is needed?
A:
7. What resolution will the screen run at & whats the size of the screen you want?
A:
8. How would you rate your hardware knowledge from the count of 1-10? (1 being the lowest, 5 being you are somewhat in sync with the current performers and 10 being the highest)
A:
9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?
A:
10. When are you planning to buy the system?
A:
11. Are you one of the types looking out for "future proof" configurations?
A:
12. Are there going to be any components that you don't want to include in this new rig? If yes, do mention.
A:
13. Which city do you live in and are you open to buying from shops from other city/states?
A:
14. Mention any other points if deemed necessary
A:

[borax12]

Originally Posted by Jaskanwar Singh

Dude this is done with hacked drivers which are old ones with lot of issues. No updates.

Moreover if something goes wrong, then do u think manufacturers will replace his product?

the forum link says he is using latest drivers....
and no obviously manufacturers will not adhere to problems caused hereby witht this setup...that i do agree....but still its there....!!!

[Jaskanwar Singh]

Those are beta drivers. Still in development with bugs.
Check out google and find the truth.
U cant gurantee anything.
If something goes wrong, all blame on u.

[borax12]

here it is....the patch.....full updated detailed how to ...and the entire faq on it.....

http://xdevs.com/e107_plugins/conten...php?content.30

---------- Post added at 05:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:42 PM ----------

ha ha cmon....why blame on me..!!!! i was just letting people know hat there are options available fr everything in life....so then should i just not let people know when u are actually not handicapped in situations.......if this is actually troubling you...please notify me...i will not post anything.....hope that explains

[Jaskanwar Singh]

U wont understand

[Sam]

^^ why blaming borax even before you try SLI? & nothing should go wrong. at most PC will crash. those drivers won't burn up the cards. or the mobo. still its best as experimental point of view rather than using it for day-to-day gaming.

[borax12]

Originally Posted by Sam.Shab

^^ why blaming borax even before you try SLI? & nothing should go wrong. at most PC will crash. those drivers won't burn up the cards. or the mobo. still its best as experimental point of view rather than using it for day-to-day gaming.

.....yeah u got it...sam...thanks for that....!!!

[Genesis2020]

First off THANK YOU everyone who posted a reply. your advice is welcome and i am looking into many different possibilities at the moment.

These are my answers to the questions mavihs posted

1. What is the purpose of the computer? (Note: If you are planning to say multimedia, you will have to be more specific as all types of systems are capable of doing that)
A:This machine's main job will be to run high end PC games (crysis, x-plane, GTA4, etc) smoothly and in at least 1080 res with full textures. Also i need to be able to store an archive (500++Gb) of movies, games, audio, and pics. Wireless LAN is a must and would prefer at least 1 HDMI outputs for connecting to an HDTV
2. Are you open to alternate ideas/products giving similar better performance but offering more VFM/ sellers? If not- why?
A:I am open to whatever is a quality product, that will get me what I want from this PC at a minimum of cost. (remember i wish to have this PC last for at least a few years)
3. What is your MAX budget?
A:I want to spend $1,000 USD. my max that i will go to is $1,200
4. Planning to overclock?
A:Yes. reading more about the phenom 2 x4 635 (2.9GHz) i see that a few people have easily overclocked theirs. though they have taken this cpu up past 3.7GHz (with stock heatsink) i think that somewhere around 3.2 GHz is where i will set mine. If it runs too hot then i will reset it to default clock speed. Also My current computer is Using a Full size ATX tower from Koolance with its own built in liquid cooling system (rated for 1,500 watts of heat). eventually plan to use that case and liquid cool this PC's CPU, RAM, and HDDs but as buying the extra cooling blocks for the AM3 socket, RAM, and HDDs is somewhat expensive i wanted to wait on this.
5. Which OS are you planning to use?
A:Windows 7 ultimate (final edition) 2009
6. How much hard drive space is needed?
A:at least 1 TB currently looking at 2 Western Digital Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
7. What resolution will the screen run at & whats the size of the screen you want?
A:Right now the display that i have is a 22.5" LCD full 1080 (DVI) and a 42" plasma 1080 HDTV (HDMI). I would like for it to display in 1920x1080 on both TV and PC display.
8. How would you rate your hardware knowledge from the count of 1-10? (1 being the lowest, 5 being you are somewhat in sync with the current performers and 10 being the highest)
A:maybe a 6-7
9. Have you ever built a desktop before or will this be done by an assembler?
A:Yes I will be assembling this PC and i have built 3 PC's including the liquid cooled system before mentioned.
10. When are you planning to buy the system?
A:Withing the next two weeks
11. Are you one of the types looking out for "future proof" configurations?
A:I would like to have a bit of room to improve the machine in the future but that could just mean switching out the x4 cpu for and x6, adding more RAM, and maybe running SLI/Xfire. if in 3-5 years if i need to buy a new machine to keep up with the times, so be it.
12. Are there going to be any components that you don't want to include in this new rig? If yes, do mention.
A:Anything overly complex =)
13. Which city do you live in and are you open to buying from shops from other city/states?
A:I live in Boise, Idaho. and there really are not a lot of good computer stores around here. I was planning on ordering this off of newegg.com or tigerdirect.com one of the online wholesalers. (cant beat 1.99 shipping for 50lbs)
14. Mention any other points if deemed necessary
A:Looking at this graphics card from newegg: GIGABYTE GV-N460OC-1GI GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI E

Thanks again everyone

[asingh]

Have you guys ever done multi GPU...? And now you are suggesting others to try it with hacked drivers. While multi-GPU the drivers become super critical to render/scale for every new release. I read at least 20 threads x 10 pages each before I update drivers. It is not as easy as typing it in, and providing a hack link.

Yes, nothing can go wrong, but also nothing will be right too. You will be sitting with an AMD chipset + 2 nVidia cards + no gaming, or faulty useless FPS.

Best to suggest a hack when one has tried it themselves.