It's decent, but it's not better than an i7 for gaming. Put together a Phenom @ ;the same $1000 price point of an i7 and the i7 drops a 500 pound boulder on the Phenom. Especially if you keep going higher in price, the i7 begins to obliterate the Phenom even more.
Other than that, excluding everything else, it's not a bad buy @ ;~$600 if someone wants to watch movies. However, you can easily cut out some dollars from that build with much better quality parts. I can build an i7 for $700 excluding everything you've mentioned that has an actual graphics card which means it will absolutely destroy your build hahaha. But that's because I know where to buy and don't only use one source.
But real world performance is all that matters as well as different variables like resolution and overclocking or not. Things aren't always cut out like you're putting it.
Plus, you're talking about a board made for an HTPC with its onboard graphics.
Yeah...
Nice try but anybody who knows anything about computers or even last years technology knows that this is not a build to do anything other than watch YouTube and Blu-Ray movies and you didn't even include a Blu-Ray drive hahaha. There's no way it can hang with the i7 in anything to be honest. It's simply inferior technology.
My favorite part is that you showed benchmarks using a GTX 280. That's a single card setup and everything being played is completely GPU limited. Throw in an SLI or Crossfire setup and the i7 will urinate all over the Phenom setup.
People, please just Google anything remotely smart and you'll find out that this guy just learned about computers yesterday or the day before and believes he knows everything needed.
Wow you are completely ignorant and utterly retarded when it comes to the point of a BUDGET PC FOURM.
1. Do you think that anybody on a budget is going to use 4 gtx 260's?
2. Its easiest on a customer to buy all from newegg, also safer and faster. Not to mention customer service.
3. The Mobo has a PCIE2.0 Slot which means you can put a 4870, 4890, whatever you want into it, you DON'T have to use the on board graphics
4. How old are you? 12? Who personally attacks an OP for no reason. Seriously, i dont want to be just as immature as you but, grow up.
5. A budget pc is not supposed to be equal to a $1000+ I7 build.
to the OP, how long you estimate this setup to be good for? i see that the AMD is not a AM3 socket. i like the build and would consider using it, but i dont want to build a rig that i will have to upgrade in a year or so. BTW thanks for the effort in researching and posting this build.
Well seeing that all you truthfully would need to update in years to come would be a graphics card. It would hold up for 3-4 years IMO. After that you would have to replace the Mobo, Cpu and possibly RAM. But you could still keep everything else.
And your welcome :]
Btw i actually bought this build, and i can say that i havent had any trouble with the MOBO. The only thing i dont like about it is that it only has 1PCI express 2.0 slots so no crossfire :[. But what do you expect for a praticially free mobo. Also, if its worth anything, i can run Combat Arms (a better version of counter strike) with no AA on max settings with 1080P resolution on a 23" screen with no lag at all.
since im wanting to go w/ a AM3 socket i came up w/ this build today and wanted the OP input on it. im still bouncing alot of ideas around and want something that i wont upgrade for a few years. thought on this...
AMD Phenom II x4 955 BE 3.2GHz
Asus M4A79T Deluxe 790FX
PNY 4GB DDR3 RAM
Sapphire Vapor-X 4870 2GB
all for $576 w/o shipping
?????
Games played:Warhammer, Atlantica, Vanguard, Tabula Rasa, Guild Wars, DDO, City of Heroes/Villians, Aion, and Global Agenda... Games playing: Age of Conan & EVE Games waiting for: SWTOR
after reading the OP's post, i would say he didnt put together a "budget" PC. he put together some parts for 500 bucks and then left out everything else you will need to run it.
after reading the OP's post, i would say he didnt put together a "budget" PC. he put together some parts for 500 bucks and then left out everything else you will need to run it.
Nope, other than a case and opticial drive, everything here is all you need to run a computer.. not including things like a monitor and speakers ofcourse
since im wanting to go w/ a AM3 socket i came up w/ this build today and wanted the OP input on it. im still bouncing alot of ideas around and want something that i wont upgrade for a few years. thought on this... AMD Phenom II x4 955 BE 3.2GHz Asus M4A79T Deluxe 790FX PNY 4GB DDR3 RAM Sapphire Vapor-X 4870 2GB all for $576 w/o shipping ?????
Looks like a solid build to me, im guessing you already have a PSU and Hard Drive?
Also, on the discussion of graphics.. As we all know Windows7 comes out October, and along with windows 7 new DX11 Cards will be released.. lowering the price of DX10 cards and well.. obviously DX11 cards will make games look better..
So its your call on if you want to wait for a DX11 card or go ahead on a DX10 card
ya i hoping to reuse my old PSU & HD. Win7 that is one thing that is holding me back from buying all this. but its kinda of a budget build and i fear that w/ the new Dx11 GPUs coming out its going to cost more than i want to spend.
Games played:Warhammer, Atlantica, Vanguard, Tabula Rasa, Guild Wars, DDO, City of Heroes/Villians, Aion, and Global Agenda... Games playing: Age of Conan & EVE Games waiting for: SWTOR
Meh, Tom's is and always has been biased toward Intel. Even when the rest of the world was gaping at the fact that AMD machines were stomping all over Intel, Tom's was spinning things to please their corporate masters.
Not saying AMD is bad or without value but the new Phenom II just doesn't compare to the I7 chipset for multipurpose factors, this includes gaming.
You can build an AMD machine and be perfectly happy gaming wise,etc. Especially if you're on a budget. But being a hardware enthusiast myself and having more than 1000 custom built computers under my belt, the new wave of chips PII, I7 - I have to take the I7. I use the I7 in most of the PC's I build, even for people on a budget.
But my greatest advice to anyone that is looking for a new PC to build;
If you're on a low budget and need something to last you a couple years, all you do is game in medium/high quality then go with the Phenom 2, good graphics card, and if you can get a tri-kit if not DDR2 is fine also.
If you're on a low/medium budget and want something with more performance gaming wise and out of gaming, go with the I7 and a Tri-Kit 1600.
--------------------
Not playing "Fanboi" it's just how it is when you've benched computers yourself. I own AMD and Intel, both good companies. But you can never "win" in these debates due to fanboys who don't really understand the technology.
It's your money, spend it on what you want. Buy Newegg and Buy Tigerdirect.
Oh and btw...to those who say the Phenom II is better for gaming than an i7. Well, since you're on an MMORPG forum, I would assume you would want a rig that would perform better in an MMO. Well MMO's are a bit different than single-player games, as in, they are more CPU/RAM intensive then something like Crysis. So in this case, an i7 build would be just as good-well better than a Phenom II build.
Here you go, this is all under 600$ and is the best bang for your buck you can buy, all parts are quality and you wont have to worry about anything (not included is thermal paste, optical drives, monitor, speakers, keyboard, mouse, external graphics card, OS, and case as ill leave this up to you) * Mother Board & CPU : www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx
Stats for above: * Amd quad core phenom II at 3 ghz black edition
* 700W psu (lots of headroom, very quiet psu)
* 1TB Hard Drive
* 4G Ram @ 1066 stock (remember you basicially have 8M cache)
* Amd 970gx chipset with 3300 HD graphics
Notes: Due to large cache, and amd 970gx graphics chipset, this rig will preform better than An i7 rig in games (More FPS). 970gx graphics chipset makes it very easy to OC and also creates the ability to OC 30% more than with BIOS. _________
Cost: $499 without rebates
Oh and for you non believers, here are benchmarks: LINK
++ Special thanks to Phelcher for creating this more user-friendly overview.
For 500 or 600 that is a hard deal to beat. Still, its main advantage is you don't have to buy a video card and well 3300HD via the 790gx (what it is not 970gx [becuase they are not real other than an ibm chip for ibooks, hehe]). And while the 3300HD is ok (slightly better than the radeon 2400pro) Thats really not that good video processing. If your just playign games video cards are generally more important than cpu.
I will not go into the amd vs intel issue, it pointless buy what you will the any amd 710+ is a fine buy i personally think better so than the 940 as it costs almost twice as much for a small boost in performence. Bust in any case this cpu is not better than an i-7 such a statement is a joke (e8500s get close and so do Q85xx or highers once OC'ed vs an OC 940).
Personally, i think video cards are the most important factor of a gaming computer, and this one really doesn't have one (or a good one at that).
So while the cpu may be good the 790gx is bad , but for $500 or $600 what do you want?
"Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one ..." - Thomas Paine
Stats for above: * Amd quad core phenom II at 3 ghz black edition * 700W psu (lots of headroom, very quiet psu) * 1TB Hard Drive * 4G Ram @ 1066 stock (remember you basicially have 8M cache) * Amd 970gx chipset with 3300 HD graphics
Notes: Due to large cache, and amd 970gx graphics chipset, this rig will preform better than An i7 rig in games (More FPS). 970gx graphics chipset makes it very easy to OC and also creates the ability to OC 30% more than with BIOS. _________ Cost: $499 without rebates
Oh and for you non believers, here are benchmarks: LINK
++ Special thanks to Phelcher for creating this more user-friendly overview.
Stop acting like no one responded to your outrageous claims.
MMO's aren't so critical about framerate as a FPS game is. These games all have a max frames per second and my AMD meets them everytime so far... Still mmos may use more cpu draw than a fps game it's not enough to make a differance.
Comments
Wow you are completely ignorant and utterly retarded when it comes to the point of a BUDGET PC FOURM.
1. Do you think that anybody on a budget is going to use 4 gtx 260's?
2. Its easiest on a customer to buy all from newegg, also safer and faster. Not to mention customer service.
3. The Mobo has a PCIE2.0 Slot which means you can put a 4870, 4890, whatever you want into it, you DON'T have to use the on board graphics
4. How old are you? 12? Who personally attacks an OP for no reason. Seriously, i dont want to be just as immature as you but, grow up.
5. A budget pc is not supposed to be equal to a $1000+ I7 build.
6. Go cry
7. ????
8. Profit
Well seeing that all you truthfully would need to update in years to come would be a graphics card. It would hold up for 3-4 years IMO. After that you would have to replace the Mobo, Cpu and possibly RAM. But you could still keep everything else.
And your welcome :]
Btw i actually bought this build, and i can say that i havent had any trouble with the MOBO. The only thing i dont like about it is that it only has 1PCI express 2.0 slots so no crossfire :[. But what do you expect for a praticially free mobo. Also, if its worth anything, i can run Combat Arms (a better version of counter strike) with no AA on max settings with 1080P resolution on a 23" screen with no lag at all.
since im wanting to go w/ a AM3 socket i came up w/ this build today and wanted the OP input on it. im still bouncing alot of ideas around and want something that i wont upgrade for a few years. thought on this...
AMD Phenom II x4 955 BE 3.2GHz
Asus M4A79T Deluxe 790FX
PNY 4GB DDR3 RAM
Sapphire Vapor-X 4870 2GB
all for $576 w/o shipping
?????
Games played:Warhammer, Atlantica, Vanguard, Tabula Rasa, Guild Wars, DDO, City of Heroes/Villians, Aion, and Global Agenda...
Games playing: Age of Conan & EVE
Games waiting for: SWTOR
after reading the OP's post, i would say he didnt put together a "budget" PC. he put together some parts for 500 bucks and then left out everything else you will need to run it.
Nope, other than a case and opticial drive, everything here is all you need to run a computer.. not including things like a monitor and speakers ofcourse
Looks like a solid build to me, im guessing you already have a PSU and Hard Drive?
Also, on the discussion of graphics.. As we all know Windows7 comes out October, and along with windows 7 new DX11 Cards will be released.. lowering the price of DX10 cards and well.. obviously DX11 cards will make games look better..
So its your call on if you want to wait for a DX11 card or go ahead on a DX10 card
ya i hoping to reuse my old PSU & HD. Win7 that is one thing that is holding me back from buying all this. but its kinda of a budget build and i fear that w/ the new Dx11 GPUs coming out its going to cost more than i want to spend.
Games played:Warhammer, Atlantica, Vanguard, Tabula Rasa, Guild Wars, DDO, City of Heroes/Villians, Aion, and Global Agenda...
Games playing: Age of Conan & EVE
Games waiting for: SWTOR
Meh, Tom's is and always has been biased toward Intel. Even when the rest of the world was gaping at the fact that AMD machines were stomping all over Intel, Tom's was spinning things to please their corporate masters.
Not saying AMD is bad or without value but the new Phenom II just doesn't compare to the I7 chipset for multipurpose factors, this includes gaming.
You can build an AMD machine and be perfectly happy gaming wise,etc. Especially if you're on a budget. But being a hardware enthusiast myself and having more than 1000 custom built computers under my belt, the new wave of chips PII, I7 - I have to take the I7. I use the I7 in most of the PC's I build, even for people on a budget.
But my greatest advice to anyone that is looking for a new PC to build;
If you're on a low budget and need something to last you a couple years, all you do is game in medium/high quality then go with the Phenom 2, good graphics card, and if you can get a tri-kit if not DDR2 is fine also.
If you're on a low/medium budget and want something with more performance gaming wise and out of gaming, go with the I7 and a Tri-Kit 1600.
--------------------
Not playing "Fanboi" it's just how it is when you've benched computers yourself. I own AMD and Intel, both good companies. But you can never "win" in these debates due to fanboys who don't really understand the technology.
It's your money, spend it on what you want. Buy Newegg and Buy Tigerdirect.
Thx.
I think you can only go dual kit for Phenom II...at least from all the mobo's I've seen.
Oh and btw...to those who say the Phenom II is better for gaming than an i7. Well, since you're on an MMORPG forum, I would assume you would want a rig that would perform better in an MMO. Well MMO's are a bit different than single-player games, as in, they are more CPU/RAM intensive then something like Crysis. So in this case, an i7 build would be just as good-well better than a Phenom II build.
For 500 or 600 that is a hard deal to beat. Still, its main advantage is you don't have to buy a video card and well 3300HD via the 790gx (what it is not 970gx [becuase they are not real other than an ibm chip for ibooks, hehe]). And while the 3300HD is ok (slightly better than the radeon 2400pro) Thats really not that good video processing. If your just playign games video cards are generally more important than cpu.
I will not go into the amd vs intel issue, it pointless buy what you will the any amd 710+ is a fine buy i personally think better so than the 940 as it costs almost twice as much for a small boost in performence. Bust in any case this cpu is not better than an i-7 such a statement is a joke (e8500s get close and so do Q85xx or highers once OC'ed vs an OC 940).
Personally, i think video cards are the most important factor of a gaming computer, and this one really doesn't have one (or a good one at that).
So while the cpu may be good the 790gx is bad , but for $500 or $600 what do you want?
"Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one ..." - Thomas Paine
Stop acting like no one responded to your outrageous claims.
bah@ directx 11 there is f--- all for dx10 games still..
MMO's aren't so critical about framerate as a FPS game is. These games all have a max frames per second and my AMD meets them everytime so far... Still mmos may use more cpu draw than a fps game it's not enough to make a differance.