[Red Haze]

Alright I'll start with a 4GB stick then if it struggles I'll add another. Would it be worth to upgrade the AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz to an AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Six Core 2.8GHz, or would the 955 suffice with a 3.6GHz overclock?

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

So I'll overclock the CPU to 3.6GHz. What form of overclocking is the video card measured in? And how much can I overclock it to safely given my setup?

Well, the HD5770 doesn't overclock very well because it is pretty limited by its 128 bit memory interface. The HD6850 has a 256 bit interface and thus overclocking gains are much more substantial with it. If you get the Sapphire version of the 6850, you should be able to push it to 950 Mhz on the core and 1140 Mhz on the memory without altering the voltage. Then set the fan speed on the card to 60% and it will stay pretty cool and reasonably quiet. Do not use the stock ATI overclocking utility - use MSI Afterburner or Sapphire Trixx. The stock ATI utility won't allow you to go over 850 Mhz on the core, nor adjust the voltage. The other two utilities will allow you to do both, although I don't recommend altering the voltage on the HD6850 - it's just not worth the extra few fps you will gain in your games by pushing the core to 1 Ghz+ with the tempratures skyrocketing into the 90s.
 
Actually, since you seem to be very new to computer hardware, I don't recommend overclocking your gear to the limits. Keep it reasonable for now, until you get more experience. I would say start off by overclocking that CPU to 3.4 Ghz. Then monitor your temperatures in your BIOS or by using a software program from time to time after using your computer for a while. If the temperatures remain safe and safe for CPUs is usually within 45-55 degrees range, then increase your overclock a bit more, by say another 100 Mhz. If the temps for the CPU hit 60 degrees or higher, stop and decrease the speed, so that the temp remains at 60 or below.
 
Same with your video card. If you get the HD6850, I would overclock to a max of 900/1100 with a fan speed set to manual mode at 60%. That will guarantee safe 24/7 operation IMO, but only if you get the Sapphire version or something with similarly good or better cooling. I am not sure what the maximum completely safe temps for HD5770 are. You should search for it on the net. Just type in "HD5770 overclocking." And see what max values people are getting on stock voltage. Then cut it down from those by 10-20 Mhz, just to be completely safe. Monitor your temps through a good utility like MSI Afterburner. For video cards, safe temperatures are much higher than for CPUs. Most modern cards can operate 24/7 for months at 100 degrees. But that doesn't mean that 100 degrees is safe. It may significantly shorten your cards lifespan. I would aim for a maximum temperature of 90 degrees for a graphics card. If it goes above that, cut down on your overclock or increase the GPU fan speed. If it stays at around 80-85 degrees, you may increase your overclock, but make sure you monitor your temps regularly!
 
Quote:

/img/forum/go_quote.gif

Alright I'll start with a 4GB stick then if it struggles I'll add another. Would it be worth to upgrade the AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz to an AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Six Core 2.8GHz, or would the 955 suffice with a 3.6GHz overclock?

Maybe. It depends. Most games nowadays don't take advantage of 6 cores, but in the near future, new titles definitely will. For most games today, the 3.2 Ghz quad core will be faster, unless you push the 6 core one to higher clock speeds. I think the 1055T overclocks very well too. You shouldn't have problems overclocking it to 3.2 Ghz and I've seen people push them to 4 Ghz, but that will not be safe unless you are an experienced user.

 

[s2odin]

Quote:

Alright I'll start with a 4GB stick then if it struggles I'll add another. Would it be worth to upgrade the AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz to an AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Six Core 2.8GHz, or would the 955 suffice with a 3.6GHz overclock?

I would personally stick with the quad core for you.
 
You can always upgrade it later when apps and games take advantage of more than 2 cores.  Even now, most games don't take full advantage of the four cores so you will be set for a while.

 

[MCC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pianist /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Well, the HD5770 doesn't overclock very well because it is pretty limited by its 128 bit memory interface. The HD6850 has a 256 bit interface and thus overclocking gains are much more substantial with it.

 
x2. A 128 bit memory bus will hinder GPU performance despite overclocking. Basically, as the GPU performs its duties it needs to get data from RAM. When the needed data isn't in the GPU's cache it reads both the requested data and "spatially local" data in one go. A wider memory bus allows the GPU to transfer more data in parallel with fewer clock penalties for memory access. Basically, your graphics chip has a much larger pipe feeding it the data it needs.
 
As Pianist also said, keep a close eye on the temps. My reference 4850's stock cooler needed to be cleaned a couple of times a year or the temps would hit 110-120 degrees- stock (that is, NOT overclocked). Now I have a Zalman cooler that does a much better job.
 
Keep your heatsinks clean by spraying them with canned air every so often to prevent overheating.

 

[Pianist]

 
Quote:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pianist /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Well, the HD5770 doesn't overclock very well because it is pretty limited by its 128 bit memory interface. The HD6850 has a 256 bit interface and thus overclocking gains are much more substantial with it.

 
x2. A 128 bit memory bus will hinder GPU performance despite overclocking. Basically, as the GPU performs its duties it needs to get data from RAM. When the needed data isn't in the GPU's cache it reads both the requested data and "spatially local" data in one go. A wider memory bus allows the GPU to transfer more data in parallel with fewer clock penalties for memory access. Basically, your graphics chip has a much larger pipe feeding it the data it needs.
 
As Pianist also said, keep a close eye on the temps. My reference 4850's stock cooler needed to be cleaned a couple of times a year or the temps would hit 110-120 degrees- stock (that is, NOT overclocked). Now I have a Zalman cooler that does a much better job.
 
Keep your heatsinks clean by spraying them with canned air every so often to prevent overheating.

Great advice! I totally forgot. Over time as dust and dirt will settle onto your PC components they will definitely need to be cleaned. And never use a vacuum cleaner. Like MCC said canned air works great and won't damage your PC components like vacuum cleaner might.

 

[Pianist]

double post

 

[Red Haze]

So to add up..
 
Video Card -
[size=10.0pt]Sapphire ATI HD6850 - AU$200[/size]

Case -
[size=10.0pt]CoolerMaster CM690 II Advanced ATX Case 692 side window[/size][size=10.0pt](Replace front blue LED with red) - AU$150[/size]

[size=10.0pt]Motherboard -[/size]
Asus M4A88TD EVO - AU$160

Power Supply -
[size=10.0pt]Corsair 650W ATX Power Supply, 80 PLUS Certified - AU$140[/size]
 
[size=10.0pt]Processor -[/size]
[size=10.0pt]AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Processor[/size] 3.2GHz (Overclocked to 3.4GHz) – AU$200
[size=10.0pt]Memory -[/size]
 
[size=10.0pt]Corsair 8GB kit (2x4GB) DDR3 1600MHz - $180[/size]

[size=10.0pt]Hard Drive -[/size]
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1.0TB Sata HD - AU$100

DVD Drive -
Pioneer DVR-219L 24X SATA DVD Black – AU$50
 
[size=10.0pt]I’m looking at around $1200.[/size]

 

[Pianist]

 
Quote:

So to add up..
 
Video Card -
[size=10pt]Sapphire ATI HD6850 - AU$200[/size]

Case -
[size=10pt]CoolerMaster CM690 II Advanced ATX Case 692 side window[/size][size=10pt](Replace front blue LED with red) - AU$150[/size]

[size=10pt]Motherboard -[/size]
Asus M4A88TD EVO - AU$160

Power Supply -
[size=10pt]Corsair 650W ATX Power Supply, 80 PLUS Certified - AU$140[/size]
 
[size=10pt]Processor -[/size]
[size=10pt]AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Processor[/size] 3.2GHz (Overclocked to 3.4GHz) – AU$200
[size=10pt]Memory -[/size]
 
[size=10pt]Corsair 8GB kit (2x4GB) DDR3 1600MHz - $180[/size]

[size=10pt]Hard Drive -[/size]
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1.0TB Sata HD - AU$100

DVD Drive -
Pioneer DVR-219L 24X SATA DVD Black – AU$50
 
[size=10pt]I’m looking at around $1200.[/size]

8 Gb of ram is overkill so if you want to save money, just get 4 Gb - it will be more than enough for now.

 

[fxspec06]

That's a mean setup.
 
My laptop:
gateway p-7811fx
3.06ghz intel core 2 extreme processor (overclocked to 3.5ghz)
nvidia gforce 9800m gts (512mb, overclocked 715/918/1870)
4gb ddr3 1066mhz ram
2x320gb seagate momentus 7200.4 in raid0
 
I run Crysis in DX9 at 1365x768, on enthusiast (modified cfg) and I get an average of ~25fps. I could very conceivably run it at 1920x1080 on medium settings, but I prefer having all the special DX effects, plus Crysis still looks amazing at a low resolution.
 
I can run virtually every other new game at max settings at either 1600x900 / 1920x1080, and still get ~30+fps.
 
I think you should be more than pleased with your new computer.

 

[Shark50521]

Unless you are doing some seriously intense photo work or rendering, 8gb of ram is indeed overkill. I am running dual monitors, with foobar converting from flac right now and a bunch of other crap, and I am only at 38% usage in windows 7 for my memory, my processor is capped out, but the memory is nowhere close. If anything take the money you are going to spend on the 8 gb of ram, and put it toward a better gfx card or an OS SSD drive, for the extra 75 you might be able to find a 64gb ssd on sale and you would see much bigger gains with that vs the ram.

 

[Red Haze]

Alright thanks guys, I'll go back to 2x2gb Corsair sticks. Does anything else need looking at? Or does everything look about right?

 

[Red Haze]

Double post.

 

[beamthegreat]

hope im not too late but if you're going to game you need to throw as much money as you can to a graphics card. A quad core cpu will give you only about 2-5 fps more than a 2 core cpu. furthermore, your motherboard is too expensive, get something cheap but decent unless your planning to crossfire (ex. gigabyte 770t.) And 8 gb of ram is an overkill. Unless you're planning to do video editing or rendering 3d models, a 4 gb ram should suffice. So I would reccommend you to cut down as much cost on your mobo, ram, cpu and shell out on the gpu as much as possible (get the hd 6870 or better.) I would get this build if I were you. 
 
CPU phenom II 555 be
GPU HD 6870
Mobo Gigabyte 770t ud3
PSU 600 watt
ram 4 gb
 
Hope I helped

 

[s2odin]

Quote:

hope im not too late but if you're going to game you need to throw as much money as you can to a graphics card. A quad core cpu will give you only about 2-5 fps more than a 2 core cpu. furthermore, your motherboard is too expensive, get something cheap but decent unless your planning to crossfire (ex. gigabyte 770t.) And 8 gb of ram is an overkill. Unless you're planning to do video editing or rendering 3d models, a 4 gb ram should suffice. So I would reccommend you to cut down as much cost on your mobo, ram, cpu and shell out on the gpu as much as possible (get the hd 6870 or better.) I would get this build if I were you. 
 
CPU phenom II 555 be
GPU HD 6870
Mobo Gigabyte 770t ud3
PSU 600 watt
ram 4 gb
 
Hope I helped

The extra 5ish FPS you get with the 6870 isn't worth an extra $60 imo.  Plus anything over 30 FPS is considered playable to the naked eye.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3987/amds-radeon-6870-6850-renewing-competition-in-the-midrange-market/1
For GPU comparions.  Game testing is on like page 4-11 or something.
But yea, I keep sayin 4GB of RAM Haze 

I think his setup is fine other than that.  He is future proofing with the mobo as it has USB 3 and SATA 6 + crossfire ready.
 

 

[beamthegreat]

Btw, what resolution are you going to game with? Whats your budget? You can take a look at this chart if you wanna compare gpu vs cpu performance on games but trust me, dont cheap on a gpu and cut your cpu cost down by getting a dual core cpu.