Revel in my latest nerd expenditure

[siegen]

I just bought some new computer parts. It had been 1.5 years since my last substantial upgrade, which is too long. I only spent $390~ total and got a new CPU, MB, RAM, HDD, and case. Excellent deal I think.

Cooler Master Elite Case

Seagate Barracude 7200.12 500GB Hard Drive

ASRock M3A785GXH/128M Motherboard

A-DATA 2 x 2GB DDR3 Memory Kit

AMD Phenom II X2 555 Processor

The 7200.12 drive is a 500GB-per-platter drive, so it owns. I'm going to install Windows 7 Pro 64-bit on it, since I got hooked up through my college (free Microsoft software, yay).

Based on several reviews I've read, the Phenom II X2 555 has a very good chance at being unlockable, since it is essentially a Phenom II X4 955 with two cores disabled. I checked the motherboard too and people have had success unlocking with it. You simply can't beat a Phenom II X4 955 BE for $104. Overclock to 4ghz should be doable. Eat it Intel.

[FAPTurbo]

Good luck on the unlock! I'd have gone for a 550 for my system, but I got a sweet deal on the Mobo/CPU that it was worth a few extra dollars to go with the 955.

The RAM seems like a good deal, but I'm under the impression the AMD controller doesn't play too well with 1600MHz unless the timings are pretty loose. However, the C3 stepping might have changed that.

It's incredible how much computer you can buy these days for a relatively small sum of cash if you shop with AMD.

[loki]

i'm curious how fast the Seagate is with HDtach... to compare with a WD black. even though mine is a 640gb model.

don't push the chip far... you'll prolly run out of power before you run out of OC headroom.

[Lamar]

Sounds good.

I've never installed a motherboard before. How easy/hard is it?

[FAPTurbo]

Sounds good.

I've never installed a motherboard before. How easy/hard is it?

It's super easy, especially if the case has a lot of room to work with.

[Justin Bimmer]

Sounds good.

I've never installed a motherboard before. How easy/hard is it?

I did it for the first time a few months ago. It isn't that hard. You just have to be careful and delicate.

[Lamar]

I can do careful and delicate. Sounds like the plan for when I build my new one later this year.

siegen, you look like you have a good kit there. Let us know how it goes.

[siegen]

I'll be sure to post my results as far as the unlock and overclock goes.

i'm curious how fast the Seagate is with HDtach... to compare with a WD black. even though mine is a 640gb model.

I was originally going to get either the 750GB or 1TB WD Black edition drives. I had them in my cart, and was researching to see which would be better. They both use 3 platters and there are some complaints that they are a little noisy. The 32MB cache would give them a boost over the Seagate I'm sure, though the single 500GB platter should help the Seagate keep up. I am ok with a little less performance along with less noise, heat and energy usage. I bet the performance difference will be minimal.

The RAM seems like a good deal, but I'm under the impression the AMD controller doesn't play too well with 1600MHz unless the timings are pretty loose. However, the C3 stepping might have changed that.

This is the first time I'll be building an AM3 system, so I'm sure there are some nuances I'll have to figure out. The memory can run at 1333 if needed.