Based on my experience, going from 1333 to 1600 won't make any difference (or only a very small "invisible" one). Heck, I went from 4GB of 800 to 8GB of 1333 and saw no practical difference in game FPS. I think the fast memory is only a real benefit on a non-black Phenom. Then, one overclocks the memory, usually, in the process of OCing the CPU.

The stock cooler on the 555 is not the same as on the 955 and other 9xx. Its well made but weaker -- no heat pipes. May be fine with 3.6GHz and 2 cores. Big 4 core OCs could use a better cooler to advantage (or the stock 9xx cooler). In my tests, a relatively inexpensive aftermarket one ($30 range) works as well as an $80 one -- just have to pick the right cheap one (Coolermaster makes a good one -- not the only one).

You Shoulda Saw the Peice Of Junk that Came with my Athlon X2 6000+ 125W AM2 Chip, it couldnt keep it cool at stock clocks int he middle of winter, killed one chip so I RMAd the chip and bought the Zalman at the same time, smooth sailing ever since. I think I have pics of the PSU and the Case w/ the DVD-ROm installed to post.


The Keyboard, Mouse, and LCD etc were delivered as well, tested the LCD no dead Pixels, Keyboard/Mouse tested as well (will take pics of those)

THE 700W PSU BOX:


The Case, DVD Burner, PSU Installed (left Plastic on the front until I deliver it)



Will take more pics of the "Assembly" because I'm prolly gonna have to disassemble the case to install the main board.

Ok, what im trying to figure out, is why toms monthly best cards is constantly putting the 5770 for under $150..

is the 5770 really that good of a chip/card to constantly be beating GTS450/460.

if so I'll definitely go back to re-consider the 5770 if i can get one for $120 or below when it comes time to order the main board components.

We definitely have the same PSU SkateZilla. Install was a snap and it's running like a champ for me, your bro should be pretty happy.

The HD5770 is competitive (will play most anything at max or virtually max graphics -- not the "toughest" games with everything maxxed) up to 1680x1050 and can be had real cheap at times (the limitation is the 128bit bus). Of course, it works fine at 1920x1200 with a minor turn down in some details in some games. The HD5830 is only a little better at stock speeds but does better at 1920x1200 (due to 256bit bus) and can be OC. So, its a performance/price thing.

I got a single slot HD5770 for my wife (to replace HD4870 and give DX11) for $81 (discount, rebate, combo sale). She uses it at 1920x1080. She doesn't come close to straining it.

Today, the cheap HD5770 is $100 delivered (discount, rebate) -- a real good deal -- especially for a casual gamer (all one needs for that).

Im hoping to order the mainboard int eh next week and a half, and use my current GFX Card to get the system's OS up and running. Then look at graphics cards w/ my tax return. But My Cap is at $150ish. (for $159 i can get a 460SE though). I'll prolly be looking at Re-Cert./Open Box Deals at Newegg as well.

I was looking at 5770's when I first started to assemble the parts list in september. but was weary of the 128-bit interface.
That and I seemed to like the ASUS DuirectCU TOP 450.

The max resolution he'll play at is 1680x1050, The games he plays now that I know of are:
* = His Current System wont run it but he wants to be able to play with the new system.
My system runs all of the * games on the list fluidly on HIGH Settings.


Final Fantasy XI

Imperium Galactica II

Total War Titles

America's Army 2.xx

Battlefield 1942 w/ MODS

Strike Fighters/Wings Over Series

*America's Army 3

*Final Fantasy IV

*Strike Fighters 2 Series



Most of the Shooter games he plays, he plays on Xbox Live/360.
He's not into Driving games (except Forza and TDU, again Xbox360).
He's not into heavy simulations (So no DCS A-10C )
He's into Real Time Strategy type games, so Im sure he'll download demo's from steam.

The XFX 5830 just dropped to $159.99, But i think its the newer Revision people have had problems with.

I bought this one for $151 -- now its $130 (delivered after rebate). Mine runs fine at OC 900MHz -- 1200MHz memory. At those settings, it did Eyefinity at 5760x1200 0AA just fine with the XBOX ports (e.g. Fallout 3, Fallout NV). This is NOT the problem one.


XFX HD5830

This is the last of the Build that I am Ordering tonite.(From NewEgg)

$59.99 - ASRock M3A770DE AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
Reccemended By Toms For Budget Builds. Has USB2.0 and eSATA as well as Front Audio

$89.99 - AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition Callisto 3.2GHz Socket AM3
Unlocked Mulitplier To allow slight overclocking. 80w (so it will run cooler than my 125w AthlonX2 6000+)
Later on I'll get a decent Cooler andtry to unlock the cores for maybe a bonus core or 2, for Now its still and awesome CPU.

$47.99 - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel
Decent Price and is on the Mainboard's Compatible List, Decent Reviews as well.

$159.99 (Orig. $179.99, $129 after MIR) - XFX HD-583X-ZAFV Radeon HD 5830 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity
Waited for it to Drop from $179 again, Comes highly reccemended.

$3.99 (Orig. $14.99) - Link Depot 6 ft. HDMI TO HDMI A/V Cable Model HDMI-2-HDMI - OEM
Not gonna limit his display w/ a Analog VGA Cable. Using HDMI will free the VGA Input for his Xbox360.


This Comes To: $366.79 Shipped.

WHich brings his entire Rig, Plus O/S, Periphials and Screen to:

$837.36

That Price doesn't take into Effect the MIRs. After MIRs its a Sub $800 System.

All the parts are here, Assembly starts tonite, followed by the long process of Installing Windows7 and updating it and stress testing. then its time to install steam and download some games. Pics to come tonite or tomar.