Confusion... need help...

[Grey.Fox]

New here and needed some help. Building a gaming rig using the antec 900 case (got the case on sale at a compusa store closing sale). trying to design the system around crysis.

problem is deciding on what motherboard to get. been look at th asus crosshair and the asus m2n32 sli deluxe. mainly b/c i heard and read that they can use the phenom processor with just an update in the bios.Also look at the MSI K9A2 Motherboard. i know the phenom isn't worth it at the moment the chip i wanna run is the x2 +6400 black edition, and maybe upgrade to the phenom whent they get a little bit more affordable.

need some help deciding on what to buy. trying to bulid rig under 1k.

[dr_drache]

I sugest the MSI board, the crosshair is a great am2 board, but throw a phenom bios in it, and it's crap.
i switched from a crosshair to the k9a2.
and i also happen to have the same case.
:P

[Grey.Fox]

I sugest the MSI board, the crosshair is a great am2 board, but throw a phenom bios in it, and it's crap.
i switched from a crosshair to the k9a2.
and i also happen to have the same case.
:P

hmmm... you have any poblems with that board? will it actually support 8gb of ram? ive benn using asus boards this'll be my 2nd sytem ive built (killed the first board by unplugging the mouse. second one runs fine).any tips for runningcables and whatnot in the antec 900?

[dr_drache]

i COULD NOT run all 4 dimms filled on the crosshair (with phenom) so only 4gb tested.
other than that and phenom only issues, the board is great.
was able to easyly get some decent overclocks with a spare x2 i had,
zero issue.

well, cable management in that case is a semi joke.
you can ziptie a bunch, use the management holes, but you will have to do some crazy routing for the 4/8-pin cpu power (read : under the front of expansion cards)
i highly highly suggest a decent modular PSU if you care how it looks.
otherwise you'll have cables stuffed everywhere in the bottom (Rear of case has Zero room for hiding much back there) i'm looking twords the crosshair 2 though, looks good.... LOL

[Grey.Fox]

ok. leaning toward the msi k9a2or the msi k9a2 platinum edition. looking at modular power supplies also. idk maybe something better will come to me later.

[Undersea]

Don't forget DFI :)

Either the M2RS or M2R

[Grey.Fox]

haven't looked @ them been looking 4 a board with pci 2.0 on it. i 'll give them a try.

[Undersea]

haven't looked @ them been looking 4 a board with pci 2.0 on it. i 'll give them a try.

They are 790FX boards :)

[Grey.Fox]

They are 790FX boards :)

looked at them but hey dont have enough sata connections. i'll figure it out eventually

[Undersea]

looked at them but hey dont have enough sata connections. i'll figure it out eventually

How many drivers are you hooking up?

[Grey.Fox]

How many drivers are you hooking up?

possibly going with 3 hard drives. really tring to wit sata over ide/ ultra ata

[Undersea]

possibly going with 3 hard drives. really tring to wit sata over ide/ ultra ata

All boards have 1 IDE and the M2RS has 4 SATA & the M2R has 6.

I don't think the ASUS board has more then 6.

[Grey.Fox]

i COULD NOT run all 4 dimms filled on the crosshair (with phenom) so only 4gb tested.
other than that and phenom only issues, the board is great.
was able to easyly get some decent overclocks with a spare x2 i had,
zero issue.

well, cable management in that case is a semi joke.
you can ziptie a bunch, use the management holes, but you will have to do some crazy routing for the 4/8-pin cpu power (read : under the front of expansion cards)
i highly highly suggest a decent modular PSU if you care how it looks.
otherwise you'll have cables stuffed everywhere in the bottom (Rear of case has Zero room for hiding much back there) i'm looking twords the crosshair 2 though, looks good.... LOL


hey is the 8800 gt a good card? been thinking about getting either the 9600 gt, 8800 gt , or the 8800 gts.

[Loser777]

Don't get the non-platinum K9A2, two days with your 125W TDP 6400+ will fry the MOSFETS on that board...
I personally recommend the BIOSTAR TA770- KICKASS BOARD for the price, Overclocks like a dream. A second option if it is within your budget would be the DFI M2RS or the even pricier M2R.

As for the cards, the 8800GTS G92 is a STEAL, with a guaranteed 25MHz overclock, you'll be getting the performance of the 9800GTX.
Make sure you get the G92 and not the far worse G80.
If you want a hierarchy, here you go
9800GX2>9800GTX=8800GTS G92=8800GTX +/- 2%>8800GT>9600GT
Note the ATI 3870X2 would be better than the 9800GTX but about 20% behind the 9800GX2, and the 3870 is a little bit behind the 8800GT in overall performance, though it beats the 8800GT in 3dmark.

[Grey.Fox]

Don't get the non-platinum K9A2, two days with your 125W TDP 6400+ will fry the MOSFETS on that board...
I personally recommend the BIOSTAR TA770- KICKASS BOARD for the price, Overclocks like a dream. A second option if it is within your budget would be the DFI M2RS or the even pricier M2R.

As for the cards, the 8800GTS G92 is a STEAL, with a guaranteed 25MHz overclock, you'll be getting the performance of the 9800GTX.
Make sure you get the G92 and not the far worse G80.
If you want a hierarchy, here you go
9800GX2>9800GTX=8800GTS G92=8800GTX +/- 2%>8800GT>9600GT
Note the ATI 3870X2 would be better than the 9800GTX but about 20% behind the 9800GX2, and the 3870 is a little bit behind the 8800GT in overall performance, though it beats the 8800GT in 3dmark.


ok. the dfi boards cost a little too much. at least ther one with enough sata ports. what about this card?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130317

[Brother Esau]

Phenom is a great deal for the money! I just got mine about a week ago from New Egg for $189.00 "Shipped" hows that? Pretty damn good if you ask me and the Phenom situation is blown entirely to far out of proportion on this forum:rolleyes: I had a 6400+ BE prior to this and I don't regret getting this CPU at all/

[Grey.Fox]

Phenom is a great deal for the money! I just got mine about a week ago from New Egg for $189.00 "Shipped" hows that? Pretty damn good if you ask me and the Phenom situation is blown entirely to far out of proportion on this forum:rolleyes: I had a 6400+ BE prior to this and I don't regret getting this CPU at all/


not doubting the phenom at this point just cant really afford it. plus i'll wait till all the kinks get work out of it.

[Brother Esau]

What are you talking about? I bought the 6400+ BE for the same amount of money:confused:

[Grey.Fox]

What are you talking about? I bought the 6400+ BE for the same amount of money:confused:

:confused:

6400+ is the processor that i plan to run with. what i mean is that the phenom is a little outside of the budget and i'll wait for them to become cheaper, or they release a 3.0 Ghz version of the chip. i know both chips can be overclocked but i dont know squat about overclocking and dont wanna screw something up.

[Grey.Fox]

if you mean the boards i really dont wanna go over 200 usd for a motherboard. the one board cost 229 usd that ur probably reffering 2 would be nice the other dosen't have enough sata ports.

[justapost]

I'd recommend you get a 780G chipset mobo. The new SB700 southbridge supports up to 6 Sata/eSata ports.

Example:
http://www.giga-byte.com/Products/Motherboard/Products_Spec.aspx?ClassValue=Motherboard&ProductID=2758&ProductName=GA-MA78GM-S2H

[GunterFalstaff]

:confused:
6400+ is the processor that i plan to run with. what i mean is that the phenom is a little outside of the budget and i'll wait for them to become cheaper, or they release a 3.0 Ghz version of the chip. i know both chips can be overclocked but i dont know squat about overclocking and dont wanna screw something up.

the 9850 phenom can be easily clocked up to 3.0ghz on a good air cooled system... AND if you don't know squat about over clocking, ask XS and you will learn... over clocking is basically the main topic on these forums :yepp: ... also, the 6400+ is a very good processor, you will be very happy with it methinks...
by the way, i joined this forum a little over a year ago (about a year of browsing before actually joining) and i didn't know ANYTHING about over clocking or really even about building a system, but since ive been here i have learned ALOT and i dont claim to be an expert now or anything (i still mainly just ask questions on this forum) but i feel like i have gotten very good at over clocking and system building, enough so that i feel i can actually help others now instead of JUST asking questions =).

[Grey.Fox]

the 9850 phenom can be easily clocked up to 3.0ghz on a good air cooled system... AND if you don't know squat about over clocking, ask XS and you will learn... over clocking is basically the main topic on these forums :yepp: ... also, the 6400+ is a very good processor, you will be very happy with it methinks...
by the way, i joined this forum a little over a year ago (about a year of browsing before actually joining) and i didn't know ANYTHING about over clocking or really even about building a system, but since ive been here i have learned ALOT and i dont claim to be an expert now or anything (i still mainly just ask questions on this forum) but i feel like i have gotten very good at over clocking and system building, enough so that i feel i can actually help others now instead of JUST asking questions =).


i'm still kinda a noob this is only my second system.
So do u think u can helpme figure out a board or at least a good gpu
was thinking about this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130317

[i found nemo]

well first off, what is ur total system budget? and i think phenom will be more future proof ( nothing is future proof i know ) and besides the extra $ you spend on phenom will save you $ in the future cuz you have 2x the cpu's as a am2 x2 and if you do the math it's worth it ;) also may i suggest atleast pc 8500? and i'd go with a single 9800gx2. psu ... i think a corsair 650 would be fine, and it's still modular but maybe you want more wattage? but i don't know any that are higher AND modular, maybe another member can help him here?

edit - if you go with the 9800gx2 you can go with a cheaper mobo that is not sli, because you won't need sli with 2 gpu's on one board .... i dunno food for thought.

[Grey.Fox]

well first off, what is ur total system budget? and i think phenom will be more future proof ( nothing is future proof i know ) and besides the extra $ you spend on phenom will save you $ in the future cuz you have 2x the cpu's as a am2 x2 and if you do the math it's worth it ;) also may i suggest atleast pc 8500? and i'd go with a single 9800gx2. psu ... i think a corsair 650 would be fine, and it's still modular but maybe you want more wattage? but i don't know any that are higher AND modular, maybe another member can help him here?

edit - if you go with the 9800gx2 you can go with a cheaper mobo that is not sli, because you won't need sli with 2 gpu's on one board .... i dunno food for thought.

total system budget is about 1,000 usd. im thinking about sli in the future but their are little boards that are sli capaible, more crossfire ones on the market for amd. but when i think about it even more i may just run with a single gpu due to ease of use and less hassle, and cheaper. and don't really have the cash for buying a phenom right now.

[i found nemo]

well, yea i guess get a 9800gtx a 6400+ ( be ) and some pc 8500, also if ur planning on upgrading to 4 core and 1 extra card i think you should look at a psu of 750w+ so you don't have to replace it when you want to upgrade cpu and sli.

[Grey.Fox]

well, yea i guess get a 9800gtx a 6400+ ( be ) and some pc 8500, also if ur planning on upgrading to 4 core and 1 extra card i think you should look at a psu of 750w+ so you don't have to replace it when you want to upgrade cpu and sli.

yeah but need a good mobo tho. not too many mobo that have sli capiblities that can take a phenom at the moment. unless i run an ati card. nut don know too much about their gpu's. unless i go wiht the asus m3a32 deluxe. but i dont think that can do sli either.:(

[i found nemo]

well, then wait a month let it develope and on top of that it will give you more time to read up :)