"New" AMD Box for my little brother

[a pet rock]

Another thing is that the NEWEGG PSU calc is way off. By alot. I dont remember where i downloaded mine but Reflex99 gave me one and it works amazing. Actually gives out the REAL amount of power you would need. But the Newegg PSU calc is off. by around 100-200 watts. I believe they do that to factor in that they dont fry your system or something.

AMD and nVidia will spec requirements higher because they don't want the system to fry from a super cheap PSU and them be sued somewhere. Newegg overestimates to get more of your money.

@OP: I know you already bought it, but I want to stress this as a PSA that 650W is supreme overkill for that rig. Reflex is correct in that it will draw under 300W. Seeing people buy PSUs that are more than double what they need is a pet peeve of mine.

 

[Mediarocker]

Actually I have yet to buy the system. I have been delaying to assure my money is well spent. I have not decided on the 650w PSU. I currently have a 450 chilling in my cart with an Asus AM3+ board and Phenom II with 8GB of ram.

Here's what I'm currently Planning to buy.

ASUS M5A78L-M LX AM3+ AMD 760G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD Phenom II X4 960T Zosma 3.0GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor HD96ZTWFGRBOX
CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBSR

 

[a pet rock]

Ah, 500W is more reasonable. I can understand not wanting to buy bare bones PSU just because you want to use it for 5+ years. I'd be very tempted to save that $15 and get the CX430 V2 and apply it to a GPU in the future, but frankly both units are fantastic and it's all about how comfortable you are with the capacitor aging 4-5 years down the road.


It just really bothers me when people say "I'm trying to get the best upgrade I can for under $300. Right now I have an Athlon X2, a $50 mobo, running integrated graphics, but I want this 1000W platinum PSU for $200." PSU education in general helps you pinch those extra pennies that gets you from 4GB to 8GB RAM, or just enough to bump up the graphics card a step.

 

[I'm your huckleberry]

Ah, 500W is more reasonable. I can understand not wanting to buy bare bones PSU just because you want to use it for 5+ years. I'd be very tempted to save that $15 and get the CX430 V2 and apply it to a GPU in the future, but frankly both units are fantastic and it's all about how comfortable you are with the capacitor aging 4-5 years down the road.


It just really bothers me when people say "I'm trying to get the best upgrade I can for under $300. Right now I have an Athlon X2, a $50 mobo, running integrated graphics, but I want this 1000W platinum PSU for $200." PSU education in general helps you pinch those extra pennies that gets you from 4GB to 8GB RAM, or just enough to bump up the graphics card a step.

Thanks, I believe you articulated the point I was making very well. There was definitely a mismatch in the fund distribution. And eve if you upgrade to a 580, that link I posted showing full system load during gaming shows that even the 430W I recommended is plenty. Like I said though, it depends on if the psu can output the rated wattage, so going to expert reviews like hardocp or jonnyguru is a good idea. 500W is not a bad idea though.

 

[Mediarocker]

Ah, 500W is more reasonable. I can understand not wanting to buy bare bones PSU just because you want to use it for 5+ years. I'd be very tempted to save that $15 and get the CX430 V2 and apply it to a GPU in the future, but frankly both units are fantastic and it's all about how comfortable you are with the capacitor aging 4-5 years down the road.


It just really bothers me when people say "I'm trying to get the best upgrade I can for under $300. Right now I have an Athlon X2, a $50 mobo, running integrated graphics, but I want this 1000W platinum PSU for $200." PSU education in general helps you pinch those extra pennies that gets you from 4GB to 8GB RAM, or just enough to bump up the graphics card a step.

Oh yes, Quite. I do plan on upgrading the card in the future however. I'm working on getting into a better position in the future and should be able to plop in a better card in the near future, so It's not of a concern currently as I have an 8800GTS laying around ready to go into this puppy.

This whole event has been quite the learning experience for me. I haven't done this in years. Last time I ever made a purchase for upgrades was 3 years ago. :scared: So I am out of the loop. Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I actually ended up building this system $10 cheaper, with a Phenom II AND 8 Gigs of ram. I wanted him to have the extra ram because he has a habit of opening multiple applications with his web browsing and games. I've found him running a game, while running intensive music applications in addition to several firefox tab sessions.... Also I want to put 7 with Aero on in the future, so this gives a bit more playing room, as well as "future proofing" it. I decided to keep the 500W PSU for the sake of cap aging and heat affecting efficiency (he tends to close his desk so the heat can build up). I want to make sure the power supply can supply the system in abusive situations. In addition I could also decide to change him up to a sandy bridge in the future, and this will be one less thing to buy.

Thanks all for the suggestions, they have been taken into consideration. I will be purchasing the system in a few minutes, and will update the thread with pics for those interested.

 

[Mediarocker]

Just got here....


It begins T minus NOW.

(don't mind the plastic shavings on the floor. I was removing casting marks from plastic earlier.)

 

[Mediarocker]

So here's what I got done yesterday:

-Cleaned the Case
-Installed the Mobo, Processor, stock HSF, PSU, Memory

Here's the problems I ran into:

-Forgot the old CD drive was PATA
-Front Panel LED and power switch Pinouts are stuck in a header which did not match the Mobo.
-Front audio connector did not match Intel HD or AC'97 specifications
-The Graphics card takes up a HUGE amount of space however all the nessecary cards fit without affecting ventilation.

Here's what I accomplished in the way of fixing things:

-Repinned the front panel to match the mobo
-Manually and painstakingly probed the Front panel jacks to determine their properties and positions. I still do not know where 2 pins go exactly, they are presence signal from left and right channel, but I don't know which one is signal "send" and "receive"

Today I got more accomplished:

-Bought a new SATA CD Drive
-Got an aftermarket CPU cooler. Xigmatek Loki SD963 HDT.
-Bought a front case fan to feed the beast in the belly (8800GTS) and to try to eliminate hotspots on the first DDR slot.

Now I'm trying to figure out how to mount the Loki and I'll be on my way to more. Here's some pretty pictures for you guys whom are interested.




[

 

[a pet rock]

A) Thumbnails/links pl0x. You just made the browser asplode.
B) LOL PATA
C) Any chance of a clearer shot of the Loki? In that shot it looks almost corrugated.

 

[Mediarocker]

Sorry about that. I have a HD screen and a fast connection so my computer doesn't really care about big pictures LOL. I switched them all to thumbs now.

Here's some better shots of the Loki. It's a normal stacked plate design, just my cell phone camera in those light conditions resulted in a poor image. The first pic is with my phone, but the later shots I took with my SLR.









Here's a shot of the xiggy without the fan

And the backplate


I finished it last night, but I was too tired from pulling all nighters. I wanted this computer to be done by Christmas so I could put it under the tree for him. I didn't expect all the hurdles but they have all been (mostly) overcome. I'm just waiting on Windows 7 Home Premium to get here.

 

[frost889]

Nice. Should hold him over for a while.