Req. HELP with MoBo & PSU for phenom II build

hey guys

i am new to this forum and this is my 1st thread

i require some help from the members in selecting an asus mobo and psu for my new system based on amd phenom II x4 955 be

following are the requirements-

mobo budget - 5-6k
brand - only asus
pcie 16x - single

based on these req. i have shortlisted 2 chipsets-
770 and 870

and following models-
amd 770 chipset- m4a77td and m4a77t/usb3
amd 870 chipset - m4a87td and m4a87td/usb3

for PSU

550W
brands - Cooler master or Corsair
budget - 5k

i am open to suggestions for other models

kindly guide me :-D

Please put your complete rig up front so to help us decide the psu.
Regarding Mobo, any specific reason why do you want only asus??

R

i dont get it,what are you asking? you seem to have decided everything already !

asus service sucks! avoid it..
there are quality mobos from gigabyte and msi. never be brand specific, you will gain nothing!!
also as toad mentioned please give your entire config..

here is my rig

amd phenom II x4 955be
asus mobo
2x2 gb ddr3 1333 corsair ram
xfx 8800 gt (to upgrade to nvidia 460)
1 tb hdd
1 dvd writer

hence i think a 550w would be enough

the asus service in my city is good + the distributor is my friend so i can get good price and service
i just cant decide which model to go for, same for the PSU brand

i also wanted gigabyte boards but the service is really pathetic here

thnx

ok so the opposite is happening!!

for the psu get corsair vx550w @ 4.7k
for mobo get ASUS M4A87TD/USB3 @ 5.7k..looks good feature wise.

yes the 87td is a good board even the best board of the lot feature wise, but i havent been able to find much info/reviews about it

and there are very few 870 based mobos on offer, be it asus or giga!!
whereas there are plenty of 770 boards out there!!

cant seem to find a reason to this

i am been offered a vx550 for 5300!!!!
and gx 550 for 4700

are these prices correct?

vx550 is a bit overpriced IMO..avoid gx, extreme series from cm. overall avoid cm in psu matters.

Corsair 550VX PSU

right

any advice on the mobo??

The one suggested by jaz is a good one with good price.
I understand your condition. We've got the same problem at the place where i live. Everybody just sells asus and above that they pronunce it
'aa-suss'..
Btw, I think Vx450w @ 3.7 might suffice your needs as 550w is but too expensive.
.

yes, same here asus everwhere!!!

i am planning to upgrade the gpu to nvidia 460 in a yrs time and the min. supply of that is 450w, thats why i was going with the 550 unit

toad_frog09 said:
'aa-suss'..

The following 2 motherboards are available afaik.
ASUS M4A87TD/USB3
ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
ASUS M4A87TD EVO
ASUSTeK Computer Inc.

You may get a rough idea on prices here-
*www.deltapage.com/list/index.html

VX550 (4.5K-4.7K approx) is a good buy considering you may get a gfx card that requires 2x PCIe connectors.

Jas-

ASUS Unveils the Bigger & Better - E.L.I.T.E. 2.0 Service for Motherboards

E.L.I.T.E. 2.0 - India's Largest Service Network for Motherboards Now Offers Burnt & Corrosion Warranty on All ASUS Motherboards & Expands Reach to 798 Indian Cities
...
E - Ease of service - Customers can simply call the toll free number and get a sms within 1 hour of logging the call.
L- Commitment of Lowest TAT (Turn-Around-Time) in the industry.
I - Instant Swap / In 24 hours repair facility* (This facility also includes DOA replacement for motherboards for up to 60 days from distributor invoice date and is available only at ASUS Service centres).
T - Toll Free Number and total absence of charges for organizing the pick and return service.
E - Expansive list of 798 cities covered by this service making this the largest network in India for Motherboards.
...

*www.indiaprwire.com/pressrelease/computer-hardware/2010090861563.htm
One guy got a new and much better SATA 6Gbps, USB 3.0 mobo with full 3 years warranty in replacement for an older AMD motherboard.
Another guy was offered credit note of 7K (full refund i think) or a P7P55D (more expensive i think) mobo in replacement for an older socket 775 mobo.
These are just a few cases i have heard of.

ok thanks for the info pegasus..

hey thnx a lot pegasus :grin:

toad_frog09 said:
Everybody just sells asus and above that they pronunce it
'aa-suss'..

you wont believe that yesterday i was visiting the dealers shop and a guy (self proclaimed computer professional for 10yrs!!) pronounced asus as aaa-suss!!!:roll:

it was the first time i heard some1 pronounce it this way, instantly i thought of your post and couldnt help but burst into a laughter there (embarrassing the "professional") :))

it was just hilarious ;-)

^^^ lol.
You go up front and say 'asus'...and they think..."mehn...what a looser. Cant even pronunce right. Oh well why do i care as long as this dumb idiot can be looted easily"...will come up with worst aaaasusssss model, "yea lijiyea sir, best thing for you @ 6000 only".
.
Getting on topic...
Cant you order online?
Cuz aslong as you are sure you would get proper service, i dont mind asus. I own M4A785TD-V EVO. Everythings fine but northbridge tends to get hot even with that fancy blue heatsink.

toad_frog09 said:
I own M4A785TD-V EVO. Everythings fine but northbridge tends to get hot even with that fancy blue heatsink.

i think the NB heats up cause its fancy from outside & crap from inside :grin:

its a 2 piece heatsink. the upper part can be slide out. till it doesn't heats up like Fermi (& get smoked) its safe.

^^^well, i promised moderators (after two severe groundings) that i would stop getting off topic but i'd also like to say that there's not a single fan in my cabbie!
Lol.
'Less you are counting the cpu cooler.
.
Btw, long time no see eh, sam bhai??

no fan? such a fancy mobo (heatsink) & no fan. oh, its a bit of shame. BTW, upto what temp the NB heatsink hits?

went out of station for a weeks time.

@toad_frog09

the ASUS M4A87TD/USB3 isnt available at indore distributor and will take 4-5 days to get @6200k

he was trying to sell me a ASUS M4A87TD EVO @7000k+ which i declined

guess i'll wait for the usb3 one

BTW i have chosen a Seagate ST31000528AS 1Tb
is it the right choice??

Cooler master GX series is good as for price & value , Only Extreme Power is avoidable

^^best is avoid cm gx also. these use low end components as compared to corsair ones. also price difference is not that much.

@vishalg
yes, seagate is fine..

can anyone enlighten me on the differences between
ASUS M4A87TD/USB3
&
ASUS M4A87TD EVO
both have become available with the local dealer

i could only find , evo has a 8+1 phase power design and crossfire support
does it justify the 800 odd bucks premium over the 87td usb3?

what are the real world benefits of 8+1 power design??

does it make sense

Best avoid Asus.

Low Quality these days. Old reputation gone now.

vishal-
running a quick look at the specs, the EVO model also has eSATA port and firewire(1394).

This is what i found in the features list for the ASUS M4A87TD EVO

8+1 Phase Power Design
To fully unleash the AM3 CPU´s potential, the ASUS M4 Series motherboards have adopted a brand new 8-phase VRM power design.
It delivers high power efficiency and supreme overclocking ability.
Furthermore, high quality power components can effectively lower system temperature to ensure longer component lifespan.
This series also features an extra 1 phase power dedicated to integrated memory/HT controller.

All that is pretty self-explanatory and also universally applicable to motherboards/motherboard design in general.
Overclocking/24x7 use or not, more phases is always better for the above mentioned reasons afaik.
Simply put, one should always prefer getting a motherboard with beefy power phase circuitry imho.

vwad-
I have usually not seen many complaints about the mid-range and esp high end offerings from ASUS.
There might have been some issues with entry-level mobos at one point of time.
Everyone has their ups and downs and the nos may seem high even if the percentage might not be, as the volume of sales for ASUS has always been very high.
At one point of time some years back, almost everyone i knew had an ASUS motherboard.
ASUS has some very good boards in terms of features and quality.
If you do find anyone having issues now, please do start a thread for the same with all details.

eSATA port and firewire are barely of use to me, and so is the crossfire support (@ x16 and x4, what a joke)

the only main adv is the 8+2 power phase

is it worth paying the premium??
evo - 6.6k
usb3 - 5.2k!!!

vishal- deltapage had some different figures iirc- around 5.7K approx and the EVO at around 6.3K approx
*www.deltapage.com/list/index.html

I have already mentioned earlier that it's preferable to get motherboards with beefy power phase design and good cooling, layout, etc- overclocking or not.
The final call has to be yours.
I feel that the minor price difference for getting 8+1 power phases (and i use eSATA too) is well justified but what is important is if you feel it's justified or not.

Sam.Shab said:
i think the NB heats up cause its fancy from outside & crap from inside

Yes.
With advices like that, who needs unethical dealers. :grin:

There's a difference between hot and warm. People, there are something called hwmonitor? Heck almost every well known brand comes with their own temperature display software.

You might take it as a joke, but not others. Its because such comments people are misled and spread idiotic myths.

Besides, advisors of all people should know that passive heatsinks help to dissipate heat away from the core's surface an its obvious it will be "hot". As far as hardware in mid-to-high end boards, asus mobos and graphic cards are pretty good. But in some boards they have minor compatibility issues, entire lineup is overlooked because of service history (then again, xfx and altec lansing is under rashi's umbrella- do you see them not buying) and entire ROG series are over priced like crazy.

pegasus said:
vishal- deltapage had some different figures iirc- around 5.7K approx and the EVO at around 6.3K approx
*www.deltapage.com/list/index.html

I have already mentioned earlier that it's preferable to get motherboards with beefy power phase design and good cooling, layout, etc- overclocking or not.
The final call has to be yours.
I feel that the minor price difference for getting 8+1 power phases (and i use eSATA too) is well justified but what is important is if you feel it's justified or not.

the price diff of delta and what i am getting is weird!!! :???:

delta's diff is 700 while mine is just double:roll: