anyone knows where to get the best prices?

last SG · 2009-12-01T20:03:12+00:00

Hello bro Raraken & guys,Me missing in action for quite a while, paiseh paiseh Shall we carry on where I last left off ? If you have the time pls assists...

PWNED32 SG

For me i just take Core i7, I'm using it now. Quite fast and better multi-tasking abilities.

Raraken SG

Hello Raraken, i tot AMD is equally ex, i7 is definitely ex, dun understand why but which is faster, AMD Phenom II x 4 model 955 or 965 compared with i7 9XX ?

Most probably I would like to get the AMD Phenom II x 4 model 955 or 965, can you pls advise me which motherboard I should buy, preferably ASUS with overclocking ability (wat is the price diff between overclocking & non-overclocking)?

Too many motherboard, I really don't know how to choose, pls reco me. Also I intend to buy Corsair rams, was told Corsair always sell in a package $250 +-, never in pieces, don't know true or false. Me looking at ddr3 -1333 6gb kit.

tks appreciate that.

forget to add on, I want a fast system

AMD is cheap, but fast. Intel cannot beat on Price-to-performance! But Intel wins in pure performance lah.

Lets take the Phenom II 955, $265

And Intel's closest priced chip: Q8400 and E8400.

A quick check on Anandtech reveals that the 955 is superior. Also, the 955 is FULLY UNLOCKED. Easy overclocking.

I will suggest Gigabyte, 790FX/GX or 785G mobos. Asus tends to be very expensive. I'm planning to get the GA MA785GT-UD3H, apparently it has very good overclocking even with locked chips.

You want 6GB kit? That is Intel i7 memory. Look for a 4GB kit. Or 2 kits :P

I can suggest Team Group RAM. Their Team Xtreem and Team Xtreem Dark kits are pretty good. OCZ is excellent as well.

PWNED32 SG

Haha Raraken alot of info larh you LOL!

Raraken SG

Haha Raraken alot of info larh you LOL!

Good what. Need to be specific, later he go buy wrong board, like AM2+ for DDR2 then how? Like some SiS chipset or something? :P

Come to think of it, I haven't seen any SiS AMD chipset :P

PWNED32 SG

Hahaha. I would never touch AMD, I don't know why though.

fattyman SG

AMD is cheap, but fast. Intel cannot beat on Price-to-performance! But Intel wins in pure performance lah.

Lets take the Phenom II 955, $265

And Intel's closest priced chip: Q8400 and E8400.

A quick check on Anandtech reveals that the 955 is superior. Also, the 955 is FULLY UNLOCKED. Easy overclocking.

I will suggest Gigabyte, 790FX/GX or 785G mobos. Asus tends to be very expensive. I'm planning to get the GA MA785GT-UD3H, apparently it has very good overclocking even with locked chips.

You want 6GB kit? That is Intel i7 memory. Look for a 4GB kit. Or 2 kits :P

I can suggest Team Group RAM. Their Team Xtreem and Team Xtreem Dark kits are pretty good. OCZ is excellent as well.

Hi Raraken,

again thanks for the explanation

Precisely this is what is always on my mind, a click on Gigabyte's website HERE, you can see there are so many different motherboards to choose from, can you pls teach me how to spot the difference & what to choose ? I can't find there specs.

BTW didn't know that Team Group Ram have such a amazing speed, are they expensive ?

Pls click on THIS, THIS & THIS, click on the "requirement", there was no mentioning of AMD processor, I wonder their ram is compatible with AMD processor ? (i think should be, sorry if I ask a stupid question)

Do we really need such a high power supply 950w as mentioned in their "requirement" ? confused :-(

Are these "ASUS :P7P55 Deluxe, GIGABYTE:GA-P55-UD4P, GA-P55-UD" motherboard models mentioned in their "requirement" ?

Pls advise, thanks Raraken.

Raraken SG

Hi Raraken,

again thanks for the explanation

BTW didn't know that Team Group Ram have such a amazing speed, are they expensive ?

Do we really need such a high power supply 950w as mentioned in their "requirement" ? confused :-(

Are these "ASUS :P7P55 Deluxe, GIGABYTE:GA-P55-UD4P, GA-P55-UD" motherboard models mentioned in their "requirement" ?

Pls advise, thanks Raraken.

What I understand from Gigabyte's models, suffix -UD/US means the board has their Ultra Durable technology, with a lot of copper in the board.

So, lets say the board MA785GPMT-UD2H,

785G - Chipset, G means board has integrated graphics

P -Integrated graphics has its own, small amount of memory (Typically 128MB) <-I think so, anyway

M - microATX form factor, smaller board than ATX.

T -Unsure

UD2 - Ultra Durable, 2oz of copper

H - Unsure

This is what I observed though.

Frankly, no one needs 2000MHz RAM right now, but compared to other types of RAM, they aren't too expensive. They're just up there somewhere. You don't need a 950W PSU to run them, the specifications was what Team Group tested the RAM on. Any decent PSU will run them just fine.

By decent, I mean brands like AcBel, OCZ, Seventeam, Corsair, PC Power and Cooling, just to name a few. Not that PowerFlower Hippy Zeta 450W that came with your casing, that will probably just blow up the whole system, and when a PSU blows, it probably will take a few of your components with it. Trust me, I have countless power supplys blow on me, ain't pretty. Nor is it some aromatic thing too.

Modules are generally vendor-agnostic. That means it will work regardless of the CPU involved, as long as the motherboard and chip support the RAM standard. Any AM3 CPU will support DDR3. Yes, those are motherboards. You can use these RAMs on any motherboard that supports DDR3. Remember though, some boards are very picky about RAMs. I remember some ASUS boards had issues with Corsair Dominator RAM, and refused to boot. Also, there's an issue with some high-speed RAM built on chips known as the Elpida Hyper IC. They fail VERY fast.

Raraken SG

Hahaha. I would never touch AMD, I don't know why though.

The Phenom II 955 is going to be my first AMD chip though :P

fattyman SG

Hi Raraken,

Once again, thank you so much for enlightening me, you taught me quite a lot now :-) am still learning, at least now I know what those suffixes stand for :-)

Am I right to say that if I choose to purchase this mobo GA-790FXTA-UD5, the motherboard support the ram speed up to a maximum of 1866mhz, can't go any further, right or wrong ? Pls see the link HERE, pt 8. (sometimes those links doesn't work therefore you have to go to the main page HERE and click on AM3.

Even if i purchase ram with the speed of 2000MHz, i can only utilize up to 1866mhz the max, right or wrong ? Pls see the memory support list HERE in PDF format. It stated that ddr3 2000mhz downgrade to ddr3 1866, only support DIMM3 & DIMM 4.

BTW what is the meaning of support only DIMM3 & DIMM4 ? I know its Dual Inline Memory Module, does it mean for slot 3 & 4 it supports up to 1866mhz the max ?

If the mobo really supports the speed up to the max of 1866mhz, I thought of getting Corsair ram, what is your opinion compared with Team Group, which brand is more stable & with good customer service ?

Hmm, PSU most probably I'll get Themaltake 650W as what you guys have mentioned before, 650W is more than enuff right ?

BTW any good place to reco, I mean honest sales ppl. As you may aware ppl like us a greenhorn, new kid on the block can be easily conned, they may sell me something which I'm not familiar with that is why I have to be quite sure of what I'm buying :-)

I'm comtemplating to get either Phenom II 955 or 965, first time trying to build my own pc that is why I'm afraid of buying the wrong thing that's why keep asking you :-)

thanks Raraken.

Raraken SG

Hi Raraken,

Once again, thank you so much for enlightening me, you taught me quite a lot now :-) am still learning, at least now I know what those suffixes stand for :-)

BTW what is the meaning of support only DIMM3 & DIMM4 ? I know its Dual Inline Memory Module, does it mean for slot 3 & 4 it supports up to 1866mhz the max ?

Hmm, PSU most probably I'll get Themaltake 650W as what you guys have mentioned before, 650W is more than enuff right ?

I'm comtemplating to get either Phenom II 955 or 965, first time trying to build my own pc that is why I'm afraid of buying the wrong thing that's why keep asking you :-)

thanks Raraken.

It might be able to go further, but that involves overclocking the CPU and increasing the memory multiplier so I don't recommend you to do so. Corsair Dominator memory is good, fast, but may have incompatibility issues with some boards.

Yes, DIMM 3 and 4 refer to the slots on the board. DIMM 1 usually refers to the slot closest to the CPU cocket, so 4 would be the furthest. I would recommend OCZ RAM instead, not as much compatibility issues as Dominator memory. The Gold/Titanium RAMs are good, plenty fast without oversized heatsinks.

650W is more than enough, depending on the graphics card involved. Dual GPU cards might works fine. Dual-card set-ups would work too, if they aren't too power hungry.

I would recommend primarily Bell Systems, though I've had good experiences with Best Price beside it.

fattyman SG

650W is more than enough, depending on the graphics card involved. Dual GPU cards might works fine. Dual-card set-ups would work too, if they aren't too power hungry.

I would recommend primarily Bell Systems, though I've had good experiences with Best Price beside it.

Hi Raraken,

tks for the reply but still I don't quite understand your explanation. Can you pls reconfirm.

Previuosly I wrote :

Even if i purchase ram with the speed of 2000MHz, i can only utilize up to 1866mhz the max, right or wrong ?

The memory support list HERE stated that ddr3 2000mhz downgrade to ddr3 1866mhz, only support DIMM3 & DIMM 4. What does it mean ? Does it mean that even if I have FSB speed of 2000mhz, I can only enjoy up to the max of 1866mhz for DIMM3 & DIMM4, right or wrong ?

Then again what is the max speed for DIMM1 & DIMM2 ?

Can advise on which graphic card to buy, which brand & model ? (speed is important but not for palying game, more on watching football via some streaming websites.

Last but not least, you mentioned : 650W is more than enough, depending on the graphics card involved. Dual GPU cards might works fine. Dual-card set-ups would work too, if they aren't too power hungry.

How do you guys calculate whether there is enuff power supply (how much watt is suitable) for the entire system ? How would you know whether dual-card consume lots of power thus you need to get a higher PSU watt ?

The rest of the points are noted, will approach Bell Sysytem & Best Prices.

Thanks again.

fattyman SG

Haha Raraken alot of info larh you LOL!

First time doing DIY that's why need some pointers. Especially those technical terms they use, I need to refer back & forth to find out what it meant

Raraken SG

Hi Raraken,

tks for the reply but still I don't quite understand your explanation. Can you pls reconfirm.

Previuosly I wrote :

Even if i purchase ram with the speed of 2000MHz, i can only utilize up to 1866mhz the max, right or wrong ?

Then again what is the max speed for DIMM1 & DIMM2 ?

Can advise on which graphic card to buy, which brand & model ? (speed is important but not for palying game, more on watching football via some streaming websites.

The rest of the points are noted, will approach Bell Sysytem & Best Prices.

Thanks again.

Max supported speed of 1866MHZ means that the board will not support any frequencies above that without overclocking. So, your memory can be those high-speed 2GHz RAM, but can only run at 1866MHz. So yes, you got that right. As for DIMM 1 and 2, I'm not sure about their maximum supported speeds. They can either support the native 2GHz speed, or not at all. I'm not very sure. Also, somehow I can't access the pdf file, it keeps corrupting.

What is your monitor resolution? Budget for graphics card?

On the box, they will usually list the power supply requirements. I would suggest getting a power supply that is at least 50W over the required amount. So if the box says 550W minimum, I would recommend at least a 600W power supply, or better still, 650W.

EDIT: When they says "Only support DIMM 3 and 4", they really mean it. That means the sticks WILL NOT operate on DIMM 1 and 2.

fattyman SG

What is your monitor resolution? Budget for graphics card?

EDIT: When they says "Only support DIMM 3 and 4", they really mean it. That means the sticks WILL NOT operate on DIMM 1 and 2.

Hi Raraken,

Thanks so much for explaining to me in details. Last night spent a good 2-3hrs reading those buses thingy, all along I tot there is only one bus but now I can understand how the bus system works.

Did attend the D.I.Y course many years back but already given back to the training instructor

My existing monitor resolution is 1680x1050 LG 22' wide panel, maybe i may buy a new one, maybe only. As for graphic card, slightly above average will do, not too cheap type. By the way what is the price diff between a good & an average G card ?

You wrote : On the box, they will usually list the power supply requirements. I would suggest getting a power supply that is at least 50W over the required amount. So if the box says 550W minimum, I would recommend at least a 600W power supply, or better still, 650W. You mean the motherboard will list out the power supply requirement ?

If yes, how would they (Gigabyte manufacturer) know/calculate exactly what type of hardcore stuff we intend to use & how much power supply we require ?

Now I'm trying to buy piece by piece just to make sure that I'm buying the right stuff.

Thanks bro.

Raraken SG

Hi Raraken,

Thanks so much for explaining to me in details. Last night spent a good 2-3hrs reading those buses thingy, all along I tot there is only one bus but now I can understand how the bus system works.

Did attend the D.I.Y course many years back but already given back to the training instructor

If yes, how would they (Gigabyte manufacturer) know/calculate exactly what type of hardcore stuff we intend to use & how much power supply we require ?

Now I'm trying to buy piece by piece just to make sure that I'm buying the right stuff.

Thanks bro.

With that monitor, a HD4850/HD5750 is enough. Or a HD5770, if you want XD

Price wise, about $50 to $100.

The motherboard wont, but the graphics card will. Let say, my HD4850. It lists a 500W PSU requirement. That requirement is, say, based on a Quad-core, 1 DVD Drive and 2 hard drives. Of course, people have used good quality 380W PSUs to power it XD

Okay, right now, I just bought my Phenom II system.

Phenom II 955

MSI 785G-E53

2x2GB Team Xtreem LV 1600MHz CAS7

About $560 from Cybermind. Note that quite a few shops don't stock the components anymore. Best Price has no more 955 CPUs, and Bell Systems doesn't have the Xtreem kit.

fattyman SG

Thanks Raraken, sorry for the late reply, wasn't feeling well for 3 days already.

Looks like I have to go sls today to stock up fast. I think Core i7 is just too expensive thus many are switching to AMD, I guess so.

How come you are not getting Gigabyte's mobo ? Is it because it is expensive compared to MSI brand ? I just want to get your expert opinion on this. Its a 128bit width right ?

If I can't get the Phenom ll 955 or 965 from Best Price or Bell Systems, I may go to PC Theme Technology eventually.

Casing & the rest will get it some other day, CPU, motherboard & the rams are more impt to me at this juncture.

Thanks.

PWNED32 SG

Fattyman why don't wait for a few more months when the i9 comes out the i7 will probably be alittle cheaper.

fattyman SG

Fattyman why don't wait for a few more months when the i9 comes out the i7 will probably be alittle cheaper.

i7 is very expensive and since this is the first time that i DIY i tot of getting some hands-on experience with cheaper processor first.

I'm not a gamer & i think AMD is more than enuff for me at this juncture, in future I may buy i7 and DIY another set.

fattyman SG

With that monitor, a HD4850/HD5750 is enough. Or a HD5770, if you want XD

Price wise, about $50 to $100.

Okay, right now, I just bought my Phenom II system.

Phenom II 955

MSI 785G-E53

2x2GB Team Xtreem LV 1600MHz CAS7

About $560 from Cybermind. Note that quite a few shops don't stock the components anymore. Best Price has no more 955 CPUs, and Bell Systems doesn't have the Xtreem kit.

all right, now I know why you get the MSI mobo, just found out the specs.

PWNED32 SG

Oh ok i understand, Just fyi though. haha!

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