Another Spec Check

[Bromley86]

Looking to spend as near to £600 as possible, plus the £50 for Novatech to build. I nearly added this to Perak's thread below as the specs are similar, but that can be annoying.
http://forum.novatech.co.uk/showthread.php?t=23370

My specs:

Zalman Z7 Plus Black Tower Case - Black (No PSU) - With Fan Controller (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?ZAL-Z7P)
Asus M4A87TD/USB3 AMD 870 (Socket AM3) ATX DDR3 Motherboard (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?ASU-87TDU)http://65.55.75.167/att/GetInline.aspx?messageid=04da248b-015b-11e0-9221-002264c24806&attindex=0&cp=-1&attdepth=0&imgsrc=cid%3aimage001.jpg%4001CB9566.C8A41370&hm__login=bromley86&hm__domain=hotmail.com&ip=10.13.200.8&d=d5591&mf=0&hm__ts=Mon%2c%2006%20Dec%202010%2021%3a28%3a18%20G MT&st=bromley86&hm__ha=01_44938039f24371728e42e3fcddce1d5305d5af16 1e69e5a48c6dc9e1e6f14059&oneredir=1
AMD Quad Core Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz Socket AM3 - Retail (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?AMD-P2955)http://65.55.75.167/att/GetInline.aspx?messageid=04da248b-015b-11e0-9221-002264c24806&attindex=0&cp=-1&attdepth=0&imgsrc=cid%3aimage001.jpg%4001CB9566.C8A41370&hm__login=bromley86&hm__domain=hotmail.com&ip=10.13.200.8&d=d5591&mf=0&hm__ts=Mon%2c%2006%20Dec%202010%2021%3a28%3a18%20G MT&st=bromley86&hm__ha=01_44938039f24371728e42e3fcddce1d5305d5af16 1e69e5a48c6dc9e1e6f14059&oneredir=1
Coolermaster Hyper TX3 CPU Cooler (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?CM-HTX3)http://65.55.75.167/att/GetInline.aspx?messageid=04da248b-015b-11e0-9221-002264c24806&attindex=0&cp=-1&attdepth=0&imgsrc=cid%3aimage001.jpg%4001CB9566.C8A41370&hm__login=bromley86&hm__domain=hotmail.com&ip=10.13.200.8&d=d5591&mf=0&hm__ts=Mon%2c%2006%20Dec%202010%2021%3a28%3a18%20G MT&st=bromley86&hm__ha=01_44938039f24371728e42e3fcddce1d5305d5af16 1e69e5a48c6dc9e1e6f14059&oneredir=1
Corsair XMS3 TwinX 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Dual Channel Kit (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?CSR-4GXMS3)http://65.55.75.167/att/GetInline.aspx?messageid=04da248b-015b-11e0-9221-002264c24806&attindex=0&cp=-1&attdepth=0&imgsrc=cid%3aimage001.jpg%4001CB9566.C8A41370&hm__login=bromley86&hm__domain=hotmail.com&ip=10.13.200.8&d=d5591&mf=0&hm__ts=Mon%2c%2006%20Dec%202010%2021%3a28%3a18%20G MT&st=bromley86&hm__ha=01_44938039f24371728e42e3fcddce1d5305d5af16 1e69e5a48c6dc9e1e6f14059&oneredir=1
Novatech ATI Radeon 5770 1024MB GDDR5 VGA/DVI/HDMI PCI-Express Graphics Card - Retail (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?NOV-5770)http://65.55.75.167/att/GetInline.aspx?messageid=04da248b-015b-11e0-9221-002264c24806&attindex=0&cp=-1&attdepth=0&imgsrc=cid%3aimage001.jpg%4001CB9566.C8A41370&hm__login=bromley86&hm__domain=hotmail.com&ip=10.13.200.8&d=d5591&mf=0&hm__ts=Mon%2c%2006%20Dec%202010%2021%3a28%3a18%20G MT&st=bromley86&hm__ha=01_44938039f24371728e42e3fcddce1d5305d5af16 1e69e5a48c6dc9e1e6f14059&oneredir=1
Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB 32MB Cache Hard Disk Drive SATAII 300MB/s <8.9ms 7200rpm - OEM (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?WD-5001AA)http://65.55.75.167/att/GetInline.aspx?messageid=04da248b-015b-11e0-9221-002264c24806&attindex=0&cp=-1&attdepth=0&imgsrc=cid%3aimage001.jpg%4001CB9566.C8A41370&hm__login=bromley86&hm__domain=hotmail.com&ip=10.13.200.8&d=d5591&mf=0&hm__ts=Mon%2c%2006%20Dec%202010%2021%3a28%3a18%20G MT&st=bromley86&hm__ha=01_44938039f24371728e42e3fcddce1d5305d5af16 1e69e5a48c6dc9e1e6f14059&oneredir=1
Novatech PowerStation Black Edition 750W Silent ATX2 Modular Power Supply (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?NOV-PSB750)http://65.55.75.167/att/GetInline.aspx?messageid=04da248b-015b-11e0-9221-002264c24806&attindex=0&cp=-1&attdepth=0&imgsrc=cid%3aimage001.jpg%4001CB9566.C8A41370&hm__login=bromley86&hm__domain=hotmail.com&ip=10.13.200.8&d=d5591&mf=0&hm__ts=Mon%2c%2006%20Dec%202010%2021%3a28%3a18%20G MT&st=bromley86&hm__ha=01_44938039f24371728e42e3fcddce1d5305d5af16 1e69e5a48c6dc9e1e6f14059&oneredir=1
Samsung S223C 22x DVD+/-RW SATA Black - OEM (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?SAM-S223C)http://65.55.75.167/att/GetInline.aspx?messageid=04da248b-015b-11e0-9221-002264c24806&attindex=0&cp=-1&attdepth=0&imgsrc=cid%3aimage001.jpg%4001CB9566.C8A41370&hm__login=bromley86&hm__domain=hotmail.com&ip=10.13.200.8&d=d5591&mf=0&hm__ts=Mon%2c%2006%20Dec%202010%2021%3a28%3a18%20G MT&st=bromley86&hm__ha=01_44938039f24371728e42e3fcddce1d5305d5af16 1e69e5a48c6dc9e1e6f14059&oneredir=1
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit DVD - OEM (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?MS-7HP64O)
Novatech 300Mbps 802.11n Wireless LAN PCI Adapter (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?NOV-NPCI)


I've already decided to change the PSU to a Novatech PS 600W modular as the MB can't crossfire and I'm not intending to overclock. Another £10 saved :) .

That comes in at £611 plus the £50. It's a moderate gaming and general use build. Anything you'd change?

I chose the MB based on other sites configurators, so I've no support for that decision. Everything else has had a bit of thought put into it, but that doesn't mean I got it right.

[system7]

Just to get an Asrock 870 Extreme3, it crossfires due to some cleverness with the PCIE lanes that Asrock have done:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/motherboards/amdam3amdchipsetmotherboards/asrock/90-mxgfa0-a0uayz.html

Everything else is fine including the 600W PSU which will drive 2X HD 5770, but you may not need that aftermarket CPU cooler. See how it goes. :)

[Bromley86]

Thanks system7. I was tempted by your Asrock suggestion, but I decided to be safe/boring & stick with Asus (or GB).

You're right about the cooler being unnecessary, especially as I'm not overclocking. I've had some noisy (non-overclocked) systems in the past though so I thought this time I'd spend a little to try to get some improvement.

On the MB front, is there any reason to go for the M4A8787 EVO over the standard 87? I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out what the difference is between them.

[system7]

Ah, Bromley86, it is my weary task in life to bring enlightenment to the PC building public. Down the road you will realise the HD 5770 card struggles a bit at high resolution. Then you will want the crossfire option! :)

Asrock 870 Extreme3:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/motherboards/amdam3amdchipsetmotherboards/asrock/90-mxgfa0-a0uayz.html
http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/2685/asrock870extreme3.jpg

This is a 4+1 voltage reg 140W crossfire board for £76. Solid capacitors and good heatsinking. Should overclock a Phenom 955BE nicely to 3.8 GHz. Asrock have come a long way recently and make solid motherboards with interesting features.

Let's look at another non-crossfire board I recommend for Phenom X6 CPUs. Enter the Asus M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3. This has a better 8+2 voltage regulator section above the CPU, and the usual USB3 and SATA3 goodies that come with the SB850 south bridge along with YouTube HD standard onboard graphics. A great choice with a Phenom 1075T and a single HD 6870 card. :cool:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/motherboards/amdam3amdchipsetmotherboards/asus/90-mibcz5-g0eay0wz.html
http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/3906/asusm4a88tdvevousb3.jpg (http://img683.imageshack.us/i/asusm4a88tdvevousb3.jpg/)
Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

Generally Asus EVO boards are made for overclocking and solidity. Cheaper ones compromise with electrolytic capacitors and smaller heatsinks and punier 3+1 CPU voltage regs.

[Bromley86]

It won't let me rep you again, so you'll have to make do with my thanks :) .