CyberPowerPC Phenom x4 Build, any advice appreciated.

[crux47]

I will be buying a computer in a few weeks and have been trying to determine what part's are necessary for what I'll be doing and what I can upgrade easily down the road. Was originally going to try to build my first computer but when I went through Newegg and gathered all the parts, the price ended up only 50$ or so cheaper then having CyberPowerPC build it. The last computer I bought in 2006 was from Dell and have had problems upgrading things in the past, so don't want that again. Any kind of input on which options are better, or if there's some kind of compatibility problem would help a lot.

The computer is for Gaming only, aside from general web browsing and other stuff. I already have a Keyboard/Mouse/Headphones/Monitor. My monitor is 22" with a 1680x1050 max resolution. I don't know how or plan to do any overclocking, and unsure on whether or not I'll use Crossfire later on. And I plan to use Windows 7 with it.

I tried to find all the part's I chose from CyberPower on Newegg so I can link them.

Case - Newegg.com - APEVIA X-JUPITER G-Type X-JUPITERG-BK Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases

CPU - Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

PSU - Newegg.com - SIGMA SHARK SP-635 635W ATX12V V2.01 SLI Ready Power Supply - Power Supplies
Is this PSU suitable? It had good reviews on Newegg and comes with a 30$ rebate so chose it over a Corsair/Thermaltake one. And it had more blue lights. :happy:

CPU Fan - Thermaltake MaxOrb Enthusiast or
Newegg.com - XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks
I'm not sure if the Xigmatek will fit in the case without hitting the side window fan and latch, so I'm leaning towards MaxOrb. Anyone know if the Xigmatek would fit, I would prefer that one if it does.

Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD or
GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 DDR3 AMD 790X ATX AMD
I know nothing about Motherboards. All the options are Gigabyte and MSI, and thought I recalled somewhere that MSI wasn't very good. I'm still not certain on whether or not I might try Crossfire down the road, are there any benefits to the 2nd one other then having Crossfire?

Memory - Corsair Dominator 4GB (2GBx2) PC1333 DDR3 PC3 10666 Dual Channel Memory
They don't give any other details then that. Will the 1600 version do very much for gaming? Is it worth 50$ to get the Dominator or is the 'Corsair or Major Brand' fine? Games can't utilize more then 4gb either right?

Graphics - Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100259L Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
Considering my monitor, I figured this card was the best route to go. If there's something considerably better, let me know, framerate is my #1 priority.

HDD - 500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD
Only information they give.


Thanks to anyone that reads all that and can give me insight from you much more knowledgeable folk.

 

[Tenenbaum]

Do you have to build through CyberPower PC?

If you order from newegg, you can ensure your getting high quality parts, and you'll know your computer inside and out.
Plus, you can enjoy the building part, which to me, is quite fun.
Also, you'll have a warranty on all your products, and won't have to send in the whole PC to get one part fixed or RMA'd.

Let me know, so this way I can throw up a build for you.

 

[IBM/PS1]

That's exactly why i hate doing pre-builds from places like that.

When they give no information on a part it's most likely cheap.

 

[Muffin Man]

editing...

sry, you posted parts with a ddr3 mobo and ram.

the parts you listed would total around $800 i think. in that case, you could try these

CPU/MOBO: Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

GPU: Newegg.com - XFX HD-489A-ZDFC Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

RAM: Newegg.com - OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P16004GK - Desktop Memory

CASE/PSU: Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

CD/DVD: Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD Burner - CD / DVD Burners

HDD: Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

CPU COOLER: Newegg.com - Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2 - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

the total would be $773 + $32 for shipping. but you can get $35 back with the rebates making the total around $770

few things,

the cpu you picked is kind of overpriced, this phen II x3 will work just as good, and it appears to be a great OCer.

and if this is for gaming, youd be better off with this 4890.

all in all, youd be better off building your own rig. look how much you can save. and you can always get help with putting your rig together here.

 

[crux47]

Tenenbaum:
I originally wanted to build it through Newegg, have been trying to familiarize myself with the process the last few weeks with what parts to choose and how to do it. I'm still open to the idea, but when I put all the parts from CyberPower into a Newegg cart the price difference wasn't worth the chance of me messing something up, 50-75$. I'm sure I could build it with no problems myself, and enjoy it, just hesitant as it would be the first time. The thermal paste stuff and wiring everything mainly.


IBM/PS1:
Yea I suspected the same thing, most of it are minor things I could change after myself, but the Video Card not having a name brand option was a concern.


Muffin Man:
Edit- Posted this before I saw your edit, so some of this might not make sense.

Edit2 - Yea I had no idea if the CPU I chose was necessary or not, the price difference wasn't a whole lot so just got the best one. Isn't there some deal with being able to unlock a 4th core in x3's? Didn't really understand what that meant.

Apparantely I suck at finding part's on Newegg, always came out to a ton more when I tried to put stuff together. Problem is I don't know which parts are quality and making sure it's all compatible.

My monitor only goes up to 1680x1050, is that GPU worth the extra money over a 4870? Thought I had read somewhere the high-end GPU's only see a real difference at really high resolutions. Is this CASE/PSU combo fine, Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more! . Same PSU, I really want a good, full tower, nice looking case that I can keep for along time. HAF and that Apevia are my favorites. And last thing, would this CPU Cooler be fine instead? Newegg.com - XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks


Thanks for all the input, such fast replies!

 

[Muffin Man]

yea that cpu/case combo is a great deal too. i didn't list it because i was trying to cut down costs, but it would only be about $40 more than the one i listed so its a good deal for a great case and psu.

well the x3's are really quad cores. but sometimes, amd uses quads with an unusable 4th core and sell them as x3's so while unlocking the 4th one is possible, it would cause alot of instability.

but sometimes, they use perfectly fine quads and just deactivate the 4th to sell as x3's. in this sort of rare case (idk how often it happens), it is possible to succesfully unlock the 4th core.

also, so are you considering building your own rig?

 

[crux47]

Yea I'm back to leaning more towards building it instead of buying from CyberPower.

I live in California so get the sales tax from Newegg though. It ends up as 950$, then 55$ in rebates. Using the HAF/Corsair combo and Dark Knight CPU Cooler, the cooler is the same price as yours though. Not sure if I actually need to buy a CPU Cooler or can just use the stock one, I don't plan to overclock anything.

So about 150$ cheaper than CyberPower, with all better parts except the CPU. Would there be anything else I need to buy? Like the Thermal Paste stuff that I don't know what to do with, or some kind of wiring or anything.

And could someone recommend good guides or videos to putting everything together, mainly the Motherboard/CPU and wiring everything.

 

[Nubbleet]

If you are sure you aren't going to overclock you can save and just use the stock CPU cooler. I'm pretty sure it has thermal compound already on it so you wont need to buy any. All the wires you will need should be there. Take a look that this thread to help guide you.

http://www.techist.com/forums/f76/great-beginner-build-guide-206279/

 

[meat_helmet]

Yeh a stock cooler should be fine if your not overclocking. If you want to make sure its cool enough you can get a cheap one, but theres no point getting a Dark Knight which is one of the best coolers out there.

 

[Muffin Man]

ahh, that dam tax, lol.

everything about the cooler was already said. the one i had listed though, is a good cooler that comes with a tube of a good brand of thermal paste already.

if you still want to get a good cheap one, this is $10 less than the dark knight. an extra $10 less if you can get the rabate.

Newegg.com - Sunbeam CR-CCTF92-4 92mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2 - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

also, if you haven't already, note the change that i made to the build back up where i posted it. the RAM and GPU should not be in a combo. i had made a silly mistake before so i corrected it.