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The i7 and the HD5870 completely trash their counterparts in the AMD build. I would say wait for the 3.2GHz Black Box Thuban, but unless you do a lot of rendering or something, the $310 Thuban is unjustifiable since the i7 grants you better performance in games and in audio/video encoding/decoding. The HD5870 is also a huge step up over the GTX260 Core 216. If you want to save money, go with the HD5850, 5770, or GTX470.

The flip side is that the AM3 socket can be upgraded with any new AMD processor for the foreseeable future, requiring only a BIOS update and the appropriate TDP tolerances. A good compromise would be to take that AMD system as is, but remove the GTX260 give it an HD5850 or HD5870. You save money and maintain more than adequate gaming performance. Remember, most games are GPU-bound, not CPU.

I would suggest Intel over AMD on this one...

Same, but only if he sticks with LGA 1366. Better to have a powerful core system and be able to upgrade graphics than have something anemic all-around.

See? I fail at putting together systems D: someone get me a kickass yet cheap AMD build for +rep. Go go go D:

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There were a shit ton of combo deals that could easily save you ~$100 when combined together. I went with the Phenom II X4 965 because A.) Thuban is nutty expensive for no gaming performance gain and B.) the X4 has awesome overclock potential with the 125W stepping. Granted, the Thuban black box also has awesome overclock potential, but it's still not going to be any better for games. For the GPU, the HD5850 and GTX470 were the same price, and the GTX470 performs better than the HD5850. You can always spend another $50-$70 to get the HD5870, which performs better than the GTX470. If you intend to do Crossfire, however, definitely go with the HD5850 so you can just drop another one in later. Also, the case you wanted for your i7 machine can be had in combo with the motherboard. Personally, I dig the red AMD-themed case myself.

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Originally Posted by Warsaw

Click Here for List.

There were a shit ton of combo deals that could easily save you ~$100 when combined together. I went with the Phenom II X4 965 because A.) Thuban is nutty expensive for no gaming performance gain and B.) the X4 has awesome overclock potential with the 125W stepping. Granted, the Thuban black box also has awesome overclock potential, but it's still not going to be any better for games. For the GPU, the HD5850 and GTX470 were the same price, and the GTX470 performs better than the HD5850. You can always spend another $50-$70 to get the HD5870, which performs better than the GTX470. If you intend to do Crossfire, however, definitely go with the HD5850 so you can just drop another one in later. Also, the case you wanted for your i7 machine can be had in combo with the motherboard. Personally, I dig the red AMD-themed case myself.

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You linked me to a temp wishlist.

Don't have my own NewEgg account, so...

Motherboard

CPU

RAM

GPU

PSU

Total without combos: $968.96

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Warsaw

Don't have my own NewEgg account, so...

Motherboard

CPU

RAM

GPU

PSU

Total without combos: $968.96

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Does newegg factor in combos when you go to purchase? Or do I have to manually search for them

When you put the combos in your cart it will take them into account. Can't do it in a wishlist though. Don't put both the individual items and the combo into the cart, just the combo that contains the two items you want.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Warsaw

When you put the combos in your cart it will take them into account. Can't do it in a wishlist though. Don't put both the individual items and the combo into the cart, just the combo that contains the two items you want.

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But I have to find which items have a combo then right?