# A Whole Bunch of Crazy



## ExoticallyPure (Jan 10, 2010)

*$1142.53 / €831.95*...is my price limit.

This _may _sound crazy (at first!), but I'm planning to see if I can build a computer (computer alone, no monitor/speakers) with the ATI Radeon 5970. Now, the lowest price is $649.99. But...I want to see if I can really push my budget. Add on an AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition or maybe even an Intel i7. The lowest prices are $179.99 and $288.99, respectively.

The lowest I can go would be $829.98. But I still have to add on many other things. This is where you, the most awesome tech forum in the world, come in. How can I get both the HD 5970 and either the AMD 965 or Intel i7 without going over my price limit? Because this is such a challenge and because I'm probably not going to use it anymore, I'm giving the person who can make the best build (or offer the best advice) a *Premium MegaUpload/MegaVideo account!* That's right! All expenses paid!

Anything you provide would be helpful...maybe a clearance on some items, a special bundle, etc. Thanks a lot!

EDIT: If you have to go over the budget, feel free to but don't go too far xD.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

The AMD CPU's will limit the cards potential, even the lower end Intel CPU's will hold it back at lower resolutions where the onus is on the CPU, the power supply needed to power it and the card, CPU and Ram will put you at your budget limit without a MB, Case or Drives.


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## gcavan (Aug 13, 2009)

This sounds like spam!


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## emosun (Oct 4, 2006)

You barely have 300$ for a motherboard , ram , drives , power supply , and case with that build. Basically unless you buy only crap parts you'll hafta loose the 5970.


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

you speak of budget build and then throw in a $650.00 ish video card ...........are you being serious with us? :4-dontkno


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## ExoticallyPure (Jan 10, 2010)

linderman said:


> you speak of budget build and then throw in a $650.00 ish video card ...........are you being serious with us? :4-dontkno


I'm being completely serious. The CPU and GPU are the only parts that I want to future-proof (or have the best experience possible, at least the GPU). If you don't think that this can be accomplished with the provided price limit, how much do you think I would end up spending (keep in mind that this is still a budget build, lowest price possible)?

EDIT: All right, I have my first build. Unfortunately, because I can't edit my post after a certain amount of time, be sure to check to see if I've posted a new build under this one.

*Computer Case: *NZXT GAMMA Classic Series GAMA-001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
*CPU (Processor):* AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
*GPU (Graphics):* SAPPHIRE 100280OCSR Radeon HD 5970 (Hemlock) 2GB 512 (256 x 2)-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Dual GPU Onboard CrossFire Video Card w/ Eyefinity - Retail
*Motherboard:* MSI GF615M-P33 AM3 NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
*RAM: *Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KVR667D2N5K2/4G - Retail
*Disc Drive: *Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X 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 DVD/CD Rewritable Drive - OEM
*Power Supply: *COOLMAX CUL-750B 750W ATX 12V V2.3 Modular Power Supply - Retail
*Hard Drive: *Western Digital Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

*Total Price: $1183.92 / €866.95*


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## guitarzann (Jun 18, 2009)

I have a better idea for you; why don't you instead of getting a 5970, get a 5850 for now, and if its too slow you could just buy another 5850 and crossfire it! You would save a ton of dough (5850 is $350 less than 5970) and with it you could get better components for the rest of the computer with the saved money. One 5850 is enough to play todays games at max settings with decent fps.
Just a though for you. (btw, the 5970 is technically 2 *5850s* not 5870s as most people think.)


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## ExoticallyPure (Jan 10, 2010)

Sorry, I'm playing Crysis-style games on max (Everything as high as it can go, 1920x1080).

HD 5970 (Or a similar card/configuration) or bust~

I appreciate your advice, but if you really want to help me, anything like this would be fine:
-Configuration with HD 5970 (Or similar), AMD 965 Black Edition Processor/Intel i7 or higher, looking for a 64-bit system so 4GB+ would be awesome.
-Sales on any of the products mentioned above
-Tips on what would work best with what (Is everything compatible?)

Sorry if this sounds like a lot but I don't want you taking your time to write up something that won't matter in the end (Trust me, I've done it many times and it really sucks). Still, I really appreciate the advice. You sound very experienced, but would you mind helping me out?


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## emosun (Oct 4, 2006)

Were trying to say that if you blow your money on a 5970 with only 1,000$ budget , you won't have anything left to buy quality parts for the rest of the build. Case and point , everything except the 5970 and the phenom you posted above is junk in comparison.

That power supply will blow up , that ram is too slow , that motherboard is too cheap and an nvidia board which will have driver conflicts, the case is cheap (and ugly to boot) , and the combination of all this means your 1000 build might last a month before it completely stops functioning , all because the video card stole all the budget. 

Nobody here is going to actually recommend you run an expensive gpu and cpu on a cheapo board and power supply.


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## grimx133 (Jan 15, 2008)

Speaking of the ram, it won't fit in the slots of that motherboard. AM3 boards use ddr3.

emosun is correct, junk just doesn't work. And it doesn't always pack it in by itself, sometimes it wants company for that voyage across the Styx.


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## ExoticallyPure (Jan 10, 2010)

emosun said:


> Were trying to say that if you blow your money on a 5970 with only 1,000$ budget , you won't have anything left to buy quality parts for the rest of the build. Case and point , everything except the 5970 and the phenom you posted above is junk in comparison.
> 
> That power supply will blow up , that ram is too slow , that motherboard is too cheap and an nvidia board which will have driver conflicts, the case is cheap (and ugly to boot) , and the combination of all this means your 1000 build might last a month before it completely stops functioning , all because the video card stole all the budget.
> 
> Nobody here is going to actually recommend you run an expensive gpu and cpu on a cheapo board and power supply.


It'll blow up? Well, then show me another build. So far, all you've done is criticize the builds I've made instead of making your own. And no, it's not a $1000 budget, I'm willing to spend up to or even over $1200. And why do you think I named the title of the thread like I did? I'm looking for major sales. Of course it'll be virtually impossible to make a build like this without some major discounts. And that's where you come in, just like I said in the thread.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

I'll bite

Link	Disc	List	Rebate	Cost After Mir
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131404 P7P55D	$136.99 $136.99
http://microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0317378 i7 860	$199.99 $199.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231259 DDR3 1600	$119.99 $119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102863 HD5970	$649.99 $649.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139013&Tpk=950tx 950TX	$149.99	$20.00	$129.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136320 WD black 500	$69.99 $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289 DVD Burner	$28.99 $28.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021 Antec 900 $99.99 $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754 Win7 64 HP	$104.99 $104.99






$1,560.91	$20.00	$1,540.91


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## ExoticallyPure (Jan 10, 2010)

Finally, thanks! This looks great. Here's the total cost of all of that: $1453.92 (Without Windows 7, which I already have). And that's a very high-powered/expensive power supply. I know that it's one of the most important parts of your PC, but 950 Watts? Isn't that an overkill?

Anyway, and I found a power supply with more wattage for less. What do you think of this combo deal, wrench97?:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.335355


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

I would not use another one of those if you bought for me.
Used 4 in past builds 2 payed homage to the smoke gods, 2 made the Nvidia cards beep and throw the underpowerd message on every startup, a known issue at the time Antec RMA them with refurb units only took 3 1/2 weeks, one of the refurbs was DOA another 3 1/2 weeks I had to buy the customer a different PSU finally sold the 2nd refurb unit on eBay for !/2 of what I paid for it. No more Quattro's for me.


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## ExoticallyPure (Jan 10, 2010)

Awesome. So, your build looks solid. Do you have any recommendations or possible changes I could make?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Other then a blue-ray drive, larger hard drive or camera card reader it a solid build ready to run.


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## emosun (Oct 4, 2006)

ExoticallyPure said:


> $1142.53 / €831.95...is my price limit.





ExoticallyPure said:


> I'm willing to spend up to or even over $1200.


Then don't say 1142$ is your price limit?


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

their is a price point of good power supply's at $100.00 for say a 650 watt

then its $115.00 for 750 watt

139.00 for 850 watt corsair

only makes sense to spend an extra $40.00 for 250 watts more power and to have a power unit that will never break a sweat during game play

to run a the risk with a $650.00 video card on anything less is wreckless or insane...........you pick



emosun said:


> Then don't say 1142$ is your price limit?






thats why I left the party :embarased


happy to see Wrench hit the homerun though ! ray:


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## ExoticallyPure (Jan 10, 2010)

linderman said:


> thats why I left the party :embarased
> 
> 
> happy to see Wrench hit the homerun though ! ray:


Well, the price limit at the very start was what I was hoping to spend but I decided to extend it so it was easier to make a build out of. Sorry to hear that you aren't participating :[.

I guess I should give the MegaVideo/MegaUpload account to wrench, then? Although it's kind of stupid that no one else made a build besides him, kind of makes it an instant win. But I'm very happy that I don't end up having to pay a whole bunch of money. If I were to do a similar build with Alienware, it would end up costing well over $1,800.


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

happy to hear your goals were met and you got the info you wanted 

I agree 100% with the spec Wrench posted, but we get tossed around here pretty hard when we suggest system specs that come in over budget, hell we take the heat when the "over" budget is less than $100.00 :embarased


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## konradgoat (Aug 29, 2009)

Why dont you get a "Blueray Burner", 

Pioneer Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 5X DVD-RAM 8X BD-ROM 4MB Cache SATA Internal Blu-ray Burner Blu-ray Disc/DVD/CD Writer Model BDR-205BKS - OEM - $219.99 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129051


LG Black 8X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 5X DVD-RAM 6X BD-ROM 4MB Cache SATA Internal Blu-ray Burner 8X Blu-ray Burner Model WH08LS20 - Retail - $179.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136176


And why just a 640GB Hard Drive, Go for like 1TB to 2TB



Western Digital AV-GP WD10EVDS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - $89.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136496




Seagate Barracuda LP ST32000542AS 2TB 5900 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive -Bare Drive - $179.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148413




http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&N=2010150014 103530090 1035324341&name=1.5TB


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## ExoticallyPure (Jan 10, 2010)

*@konradgoat*

Actually it's called a "Blu-Ray Burner" and I don't want it for two reasons: One, because this is a gaming build and games have nothing to do with watching Blu-Ray movies and two, I wouldn't use it. I already have one on the computer that I'm using right now and I've only watched one movie (Casino Royale, it came with the computer and I was just curious). Oh, I forgot, I can just sell the computer I have right now XD.

*@linderman*

Yeah, people are pretty money-crazy in these economic times. But, hell, I'm 14, and I already have $1000 (combination of Christmas, Birthday, etc.)

Wow, I must sound really spoiled.

How much do you think this will go for?:
Dell XPS 410
Intel Dual Core 6320 @ 1.86GHz
2048MB RAM (2GB)
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS
Insignia Speakers (2.1, two speakers+1 bass)
Dell Monitor (1680x1050)

Right now I need approximately $500...


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

I would shoot for $300.00 for the Dell

if you had the 8600GTS for gaming / then you DONT need to spend $650.00 on a video card to be blown away with performance increase !

this one is more than plenty

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102857&cm_re=5850-_-14-102-857-_-Product

go with the $1000.00 intel build and then substitute the 5850 video card 


http://www.techsupportforum.com/f25...evised-2010-and-updated-regularly-448272.html


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## ExoticallyPure (Jan 10, 2010)

Uh, you know that we already figured it out, right? I dislike the computer I'm on now, I'm getting rid of it. The specs of my current computer don't really matter. It can't play Crysis on very high at all, it's horrible. Not to mention the lack of DirectX11. Still, it doesn't matter. Thanks for the price recommendation, I'll put it up for sale to see how much it gets.


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