New here, looking for build opinions

[zmatt]

He said he wanted a 790FX, not a 740g. Also you intentionally picked an Nvidia chipset. Nobody in their right mind would. And the e2200 can still kick the 5400+'s ***. Lets try again. The Op said he wanted a 790FX. That means the cheapest mobo you can get is this:

Newegg.com - DFI LANPARTY DK 790FX-M2RS AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

you did get the 5400+ right at least

Newegg.com - AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400+ Brisbane 2.8GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core black edition Processor - Processors - Desktops

If you are going to pick Intel components. You should at least know what you are doing. I can still beat you with generation old hardware too.

Newegg.com - MSI P35 Neo-F LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

you can get by with this P35

Newegg.com - Intel Pentium E2200 Allendale 2.2GHz 1MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

and there is your e2200.

But to make it fair here is a crossfire mobo. And once again, no AMD board can out OC it.

Newegg.com - BIOSTAR TForce TP45HP LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

And you can't beat the e5200 for price performance.
Newegg.com - Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

It can do 4ghz on air. I would like to see your 5400+ do that. Also your 5400+ needs a cooler. You keep forgetting that. So for a good one that's about 20-30 bucks extra that you have to factor in. The e5200 already comes with one.

Your move.

 

[saltynay]

Actually I didn't intentionally get anything I merely looked at the brands for one that I new would be half decent and reliable who on earth are zotec and pchips? They sound rather dodgy to me haven't been that low in price on newegg for ages.

I wasn't going directly by the OP budget in the first post I was going for a $100 build partially so that I could get the 4870 and keep it under the OP budget of $300 for gpu/mobo/cpu. The E2200 is because its the cheapest decent intel processor imo

The AMD provides better performance in the $100 market which although small is still a market and I did say the extreme lowend. I think you picked up the wrong end of the stick on what I have been debating with you I am not saying your wrong as the E5200 is undoubtedly a brilliant budget processor in fact I just recommended it on a different thread what I am saying is that if you have an extremely limited budget AMD can trounce the intel offerings so Intel is not best in all classes like you generalised

 

[zmatt]

You can't make a balanced machine with a 4870 if you are only spending $100 on the cpu and mobo. If you are spending that little then you are looking at a build with integrated graphics. I think the OP needs to understand that. I said AMD works if you are making builds with integrated graphics and when your budget for a cpu and mobo is $100 that's what you are getting. Simply put, a $50 cpu isn't fast enough for such a high end video card.

 

[saltynay]

Not a reliable source but about to go to bed and can't put more effort in then a quick google. This bloke seems to be doing ok look at his system specs:
[WTB][US] Ati 4870 1gb - techPowerUp! Forums
and this
http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?p=2917385<--- my gawd those forum reccomendations are rubbish 750W needed for a single 4870 I would start at 500W and thats with a bit of headroom to spare

Btw the black editions have unlocked multipliers so it should be a little speed demon for $50 thats not bad

 

[James_78]

Newegg.com - BIOSTAR TForce TP45HP LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

And you can't beat the e5200 for price performance.
Newegg.com - Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

It can do 4ghz on air. I would like to see your 5400+ do that. Also your 5400+ needs a cooler. You keep forgetting that. So for a good one that's about 20-30 bucks extra that you have to factor in. The e5200 already comes with one.

Your move.

4ghz without lots of additional fans?

All this with the 4870 would be all but $400 in today's $'s, but I'm guessing by the end of next month, those numbers will creep down.

Do you think this would give me a good gaming experience for the next 2 years? I'm using an acer 1916W montior. My current p4 3.0ghz, 2gig ram HD2400 PRO puts me at 720X490 with minimal details on COD4.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

^^ A Sunbeam Core Contact would be sufficient cooling for a 4ghz E5200 although Even at stock the E5200 will beat any x2.

Since you are using a 19' monitor I wouldn't recommend getting a 4870 when a 4850 will run anything expect Crysis maxed out at that resolution. Infact at 1440x900 you won't see much if any of a difference in performance between the two because the 4870's increased memory bandwidth only gives it a advantage at larger resolutions.

 

[James_78]

There's a powercolor 4850 on right now for 139.
Is the e5200 going to slow the 4850 down stock form, or is that enough?

 

[Puddle Jumper]

I would get this Asus HD4850 instead, I haven't heard the best things about powercolor.

Newegg.com - ASUS EAH4850 TOP/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

I don't think the e5200 would hold back the HD4850.

Also what power supply were you planning on using?

 

[James_78]

The one supplied with the case: ( I already have it...)

Newegg.com - RAIDMAX SMILODON Extreme Black ATX-612WEBP 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case With 500W Power Supply - Computer Cases

I think the PSU specs are here: Welcome to Raidmax!

With hesitation, I'll ask.... Vista Ultimate 64, or XP Pro 64? Is DX10 the only thing good about vista, and is it worth it?

 

[veg1992]

RAIDMAX PSU's are on our avoid list, I'd recommend avoiding them..

I recommend Vista Home Premium 64bit highly