First Time Build: Compatibility Check

[Rabbitt]

Since I'm very new to building a computer on my own, I'd appreciate it if someone could look over my parts list and make sure that everything works together, and possibly give me some suggestions.

I'm also looking for a Wireless-card that will connect with my Airport (apple), and work with all of my parts.

Thanks in advance!

Case: Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129024

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 635 Propus 2.9GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor ADX635WFGIBOX

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103702&Tpk=CPU:%20AMD%20Athlon%20II%20X4%20635%20Propus%2 02.9GHz%204%20x%20512KB

Motherboard: ASRock 880G EXTREME3 AM3 AMD 880G HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157191&Tpk=ASRock%20880G%20EXTREME3%20AM3%20AMD%20880G%20 HDMI%20SATA%206Gb/s

GPU: ASUS CuCore Series EAH5770 CuCore/2DI/1GD5 Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121363&Tpk=ASUS%20CuCore%20Series%20EAH5770%20CuCore/2DI/1GD5%20Radeon

RAM: Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT25664BA1339

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148262&cm_re=Crucial_4GB_(2_x_2GB)_240-Pin_DDR3_SDRAM_DDR3_1333-_-20-148-262-_-Product

HD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319&cm_re=Western_Digital_Caviar_Black_WD6401AALS_640G B_7200-_-22-136-319-_-Product

Optical Drive: LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer Black SATA Model iHAS424-98 LightScribe Support

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106335&Tpk=LITE-ON%2024X%20DVD%20Writer%20Black%20SATA%20Model%20i HAS424-98

[RickyTick]

Looks good.
The Athlon II X4 640 is currently the same price as the 635, AND it has free shipping.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103871

[Deneb]

Rabbit,

Not a bad parts list. Everything is compatible. If you’re going to go with an AMD CPU I recommend you go to the top of the line. The Propus core does not have any level III cache. The Deneb gives you 6 MB of level III cache.

When comparing a AMD Athlon II CPU to an Intel I5 or I7 CPU look at the following. The Deneb running at 3.5 GHz is really nice for $186. The comparable Intel chip would be the i5-760 Lynnfield 2.8Ghz for $205. The i5-760 has no hyperthreading but otherwise it’s similar to the Core i7-870 Lynnfield 2.93GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W which does for $280. Not having hyperthreading reduces processing efficiency by about 5%.

The caching schemes that AMD and Intel use are completely different. The cores in the AMD architecture cannot share level II cache. This is why having level III cache is very important for an AMD CPU’s.

AMD Athlon II X2 250 3.0 GHz Socket AM3 Processor Review

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2427

AMD Athlon II X4 620 2.6 GHz Socket AM3 Quad-Core Processor Review

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2452 (http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2452)

Intel Core i5-760 Lynnfield 2.8GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80605I5760 $204.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115067

http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=48496&code=I5-760 (http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=48496&code=I5-760)


AMD Phenom II X4 970 Black Edition Deneb 3.5GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Desktop Processor HDZ970FBGMBOX $185.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103894

I am not a big fan of ASRock motherboards. The one below should work fine and it’s less expensive.

GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3 AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard $63.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128451

Check this video card out. It’s less expensive and someways faster than the one you listed. It’s also very quiet and highly overclockable.

MSI R5670 CYCLONE 1G Radeon HD 5670 1GB PCI Express 2.1 x16 Video Card $114.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127489 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127489)

Model R5670 CYCLONE 1G
GPU ATI Radeon HD 5770
PCI Express x16 2.1
Memory Interface 128bit
Stream Processors 400 Stream Processing Units
DirectX DirectX 11
Memory Type GDDR5
Memory Size(MB) 1024
Memory Interface 128bit
Core Clock Speed(MHz) 775
Memory Clock Speed(MHz) 4040
DVI Output 1
D-SUB Output 1(optional, via DVI to D-Sub adaptor)
Display Ouput(Max Resolution) 3x 2560x1600
RAMDACs 400
DirectX Version Support 11
OpenGL Version Support 3.2
CrossFire Support Y
Card Dimension (mm) 168x112x36 (6.614 X 4.409 X 1.4172 in)
Weight 388g
40 nm Process Technology
• Advanced GDDR5 Memory Technology
• 2nd Generation TeraScale Engine
• Microsoft Windows 7 support
• ATI CrossFireX™ Technology
• Enhanced Anisotropic Filtering
• Accelerated Video Transcoding
• HDMI 1.3 Support
• Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio Support
• ATI PowerPlay™ Technology Enhanced Support for GDDR5 memory
• ATI Avivo™ Technology Enhanced Unified Video Decoder 2 (UVD 2)
400 Watt or greater power supply recommended

http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=proddesc&prod_no=2023&maincat_no=130&cat2_no=137&cat3_no=743


MSI R5670 Cyclone 1G Graphics Card Review

http://www.ntcompatible.com/news/story/msi_r5670_cyclone_1g_graphics_card_review.html

MSI R5670 Cyclone 1G Graphics Card review

http://www.ocia.net/reviews/msi5670cyc/page1.shtml

Good on the RAM.

Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT25664BA1339 $66.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148262&cm_re=Crucial_4GB_%282_x_2GB%29_240-Pin_DDR3_SDRAM_DDR3_1333-_-20-148-262-_-Product

Read the reviews of the drive you listed over at Newegg. Either the drives below should work out fine.

Seagate Constellation ES ST3500514NS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Enterprise Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $91.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148609

Western Digital RE4 WD5003ABYX 500GB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive 79.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136697

This burner cost two dollars less.

LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Writer $21.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106334

[Deneb]

AMD Phenom II X4 970 BE VS Core i5-760

http://vr-zone.com/print/amd-phenom-ii-x4-970-be-review-the-best-quad-core-/9888.html

[Rabbitt]

RickyTick
Looks good.
The Athlon II X4 640 is currently the same price as the 635, AND it has free shipping.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103871

Thank you, I will use that.


Rabbit,

Not a bad parts list. Everything is compatible. If you’re going to go with an AMD CPU I recommend you go to the top of the line. The Propus core does not have any level III cache. The Deneb gives you 6 MB of level III cache.

From what I've read, having L3 Cache in an AMD Processor only provides an increase of 5-6%. Unless there's something that I'm not seeing, it isn't worth it to pay an extra $20-80 for that.

As for which AMD Athlon Processor to use, do you think it'd be worth it to pay an extra $18 and get 3.1GHz over 3.0GHz?


I am not a big fan of ASRock motherboards. The one below should work fine and it’s less expensive.

GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3 AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard $63.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128451

The problem with that Mobo is it only has one PICe Slot, and it has a 7XX chipset. I'd prefer an 8XX.


Check this video card out. It’s less expensive and someways faster than the one you listed. It’s also very quiet and highly overclockable.

MSI R5670 CYCLONE 1G Radeon HD 5670 1GB PCI Express 2.1 x16 Video Card $114.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127489 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127489)

I actually do not plan on over-clocking, and I don't think that that Card would work sufficiently with my monitor (1920x1080).


Read the reviews of the drive you listed over at Newegg. Either the drives below should work out fine.

Seagate Constellation ES ST3500514NS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Enterprise Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $91.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148609

Western Digital RE4 WD5003ABYX 500GB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive 79.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136697

What makes those drives worth around $20 more than the other one? They each have 4-6 reviews, which also worries me.


This burner cost two dollars less.

LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Writer $21.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106334

Thank you all for your timely and informative responses!

Also, I still need suggestions for a Wireless Card Compatible with an Airport from Apple.

[Deneb]

20101129-Rabit response

“From what I've read, having L3 Cache in an AMD Processor only provides an increase of 5-6%. Unless there's something that I'm not seeing, it isn't worth it to pay an extra $20-80 for that.

As for which AMD Athlon Processor to use, do you think it'd be worth it to pay an extra $18 and get 3.1GHz over 3.0GHz?”

I did a quick back of the envelope calculation of what the parts come to you comes out to about $660. Generally a custom build will be $900 and up. Generally there only two reasons to build your own system. One is to have a full understanding of it and to be able to replace parts individually or do partial upgrades. The other is to be able to get top of the line parts that are capable of being overclocked. When you get down to the price point $900 and below you’re probably better off just buying a standard box. You do get more for less.

I don’t really know how much effect the level III cache has. In general if you go with an AMD CPU I would recommend you get the fastest one you can get.

Check out:

HP Pavilion Elite HPE-400z series
AMD Phenom(TM) X4 970 quad-core processor [3.5GHz, 2MB L2 + 6MB L3 shared, up to 4000MHz]
FREE UPGRADE! 6GB DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM [3 DIMMs] from 4GB
FREE UPGRADE! 1TB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive from 500GB
512MB ATI Radeon HD 5450 [DVI, HDMI, VGA adapter]
LightScribe 16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

$729.99

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/series_can.do;HHOJSID=v65mMzrTjXXLF2hhhfQfK798LMVR SPD5RmGBN70NpCdRcWyn3Lpy!1504454565?storeName=comp uter_store&landing=desktops&a1=Category&v1=High%20performance&jumpid=in_R329_prodexp/hhoslp/psg/lateralnav_high_performance_desktops_home


http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_can_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=desktops&a1=Category&v1=High+performance&series_name=HPE400z_series&jumpid=in_R329_prodexp/hhoslp/psg/desktops/High_performance/HPE400z_series


“The problem with that Mobo is it only has one PICe Slot, and it has a 7XX chipset. I'd prefer an 8XX.”
I am not up on AMD chipsets. What would you need a second PCI E. slot for?

“I actually do not plan on over-clocking, and I don't think that that Card would work sufficiently with my monitor (1920x1080).”

Display Ouput(Max Resolution) 3x 2560x1600

http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=prodvgaspec&maincat_no=130&cat2_no=137&cat3_no=743&prod_no=2023
(http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=prodvgaspec&maincat_no=130&cat2_no=137&cat3_no=743&prod_no=2023)
“What makes those drives worth around $20 more than the other one? They each have 4-6 reviews, which also worries me.”

Both of the two hard drives I listed have a meantime between failure of 1.2 million hours. That works out to about 137 years. So basically you are paying more to get a more reliable hard drive.

“Thank you all for your timely and informative responses!

Also, I still need suggestions for a Wireless Card Compatible with an Airport from Apple.”


You’re welcome.

Any wireless adapter will be compatible with Apple. A wireless card is a wireless card the only question is if you have a PCI slot available then you can get a cheaper one.


EDIMAX EW-7128G IEEE 802.11b/g PCI Wireless Card Up to 54Mbps Wireless Data Rates 64/128-Bit WEP, 802.1x, WPA, AES $19.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833315041
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833315041)


D-Link DWA-556 IEEE 802.11n (draft) IEEE 802.11g IEEE 802.11b PCI Express Xtreme Desktop Adapter Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA, WPA2) $49.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127218&Tpk=D-Link%20DWA-556%20PCI%20Express%20Xtreme%20Desktop%20wireless
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127218&Tpk=D-Link%20DWA-556%20PCI%20Express%20Xtreme%20Desktop%20wireless)
EnGenius EPI-3601S 802.11g Ultra Long Range Wireless PCI Adapter w/ High 600mW RF Power & SuperG 108Mbps & Removable Antenna $21.54

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833168033
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833168033)

Rosewill RNX-N300X IEEE 802.11b/g, IEEE 802.11n Draft 2.0 PCI Wireless Adapter (2T3R) Up to 300Mbps Wireless Download Data Rates 64/128-Bit WEP, WPA PSK and WPA2 PSK (TKIP and AES) Vista/Win7 $29.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166051
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166051)


D-Link DWA-556 PCI Express Xtreme Desktop wireless Adapter $49.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127218&Tpk=D-Link%20DWA-556%20PCI%20Express%20Xtreme%20Desktop%20wireless

[Rabbitt]

Thank you for your informative reply! I have decided to raise my budget to $1000 after doing some more research, and seeing your feedback.

I agree about the CPU, how would this one work:

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX

I can always OC it to around 3.8 GHz.

For the Mobo, I changed to this option:

GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H AM3 AMD 890GX HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

It has the new SATA Ports, USB3 Compatibility, and a well-designed layout.

I was also thinking of going with more like 8 GB of RAM:

CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M2A1333C9

I also found a new Case, PSU, and CPU Cooler:

COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long life sleeve CPU Cooler

Do these changes sound good to you?

As for the Hard Drive, I agree that it should last for a long time. After some research, I found this one which is a TB, very reliable, and not much more:

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

[Deneb]

CPU looks good

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache $144.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808&Tpk=AMD%20Phenom%20II%20X4%20955%20Black%20Edition %20Deneb%203.2GHz

GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H AM3 AMD 890GX HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard $139.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128435&cm_re=GIGABYTE_GA-890GPA-UD3H_AM3-_-13-128-435-_-Product


CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model CMX8GX3M2A1333C9 $119.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145315&Tpk=CMX8GX3M2A1333C9 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145315&Tpk=CMX8GX3M2A1333C9)


COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $59.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233&Tpk=COOLER%20MASTER%20HAF%20912%20RC-912-KKN1

All the changes look good. You’ll probably want to install a CPU and aftermarket cooler on the motherboard before you put in the case. Be careful to orient the fan cooler so it will blow out the back of the case. In other words the 120 mm CPU cooler fan fan will be pointed directly at the exhaust fan. On a hard drive I actually bought the same one myself. If money is no object, in hindsight I probably should have gone with Seagate or Western Digital.

Note that the regular support site at Samsung does not list the diagnostic software tool for this hard drive. I called the manufacturer and the support rep gave me a link on a different website. See below:

http://www.samsung.com/global/business/hdd/support/downloads/support_in_es.html (http://www.samsung.com/global/business/hdd/support/downloads/support_in_es.html)

ESTOOL301p_FDD.zip