Are AMD CPU's good for gaming?

I am building a gaming pc. a friend of mine swears by intel cpus and motherboards. since i am on a 1k budget i cant help but to always go back to theAMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor

running on a ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard

Its fast and cheap. are amd's cpu really that bad? is there anyone using this cpu and if so what do you think? i plan on dualing 2 Radeon HD 5770

is it better to run a single 5850?

will 4 gigs of ram be enough for games like l4d, tf2, wow, diablo3 and the such?

what type of cooling will i need? i already bought a antec 300 case and a Pioneer optical drive.

how many watts should my psu be?

AMD is great for gaming and everyday use too. Most that are Intel fanboys dont even look at AMD and look down upon them. The Phenom 2 945+ are great cpu's and do keep up with i7'swith gaming. 4gb of ram is plenty, and really you are better off getting a single 5850 now then getting another one down the road. But even a single 5770 is more then enough to all your games.

AMD's are very good for gaming. Especially the Phenom II X4 series.

I'd personally get a single HD 5850 and get a second HD 5850 in the future once the need arises and the prices drop.

4GB is plenty for now. Look for a 600+W PSU, make sure it's a good brand too. Corsair and Antec come to mind as the two best PSU manufacturers.

With PSU's any Psu thats 80PLUS rated 500w+ will be just fine. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341017&cm_re=ocz_600w-_-17-341-017-_-Product

AMD cpu's fit the bill when it comes to gaming. They are about 40-50 less than i5 or i7. The price difference is better spent on a gpu. I would go with one 5850 rather than dual 5770. It is better than the dual card setup and it also leaves room for a second 5850 in the future.JunkTrap

I am building a gaming pc. a friend of mine swears by intel cpus and motherboards. since i am on a 1k budget i cant help but to always go back to theAMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor

running on a ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard

Its fast and cheap. are amd's cpu really that bad? is there anyone using this cpu and if so what do you think? i plan on dualing 2 Radeon HD 5770

is it better to run a single 5850?

will 4 gigs of ram be enough for games like l4d, tf2, wow, diablo3 and the such?

what type of cooling will i need? i already bought a antec 300 case and a Pioneer optical drive.

how many watts should my psu be?

EQShaman

Look at benchmark charts at tomshardware and decide for yourself.

Also dualing 2 GPUs is pointless if you don't plan on gaming on resolutions higher than 1600x.

4GB is perfect and up to 8 and even 16GB showed no signs of performance increase.

Powersupply should be at least 600W if you plan on dualing I'd recommend 800W.

I'd say get the AMD CPU, get 1 5850,4GB of ram and a decent CPU cooler.

this is great news.phew i was set on buying 2 gpu's, thanx.

my friends had a amd melt to his mobo 6 or 7 years ago. i would assume amd has improved their chips. are the stock fans good enough? or should i buy a beefy-er fan for the cpu.

this is great news.phew i was set on buying 2 gpu's, thanx.

my friends had a amd melt to his mobo 6 or 7 years ago. i would assume amd has improved their chips. are the stock fans good enough? or should i buy a beefy-er fan for the cpu.

EQShaman

Yes get a nice fan for the CPU which should allow you to overclock the CPU later if you like and extend it's lifespan. It also doesn't matter which ram speed you get since the performance gain is totally random and at max is 1FPS.

If you want better cooling then stock just pick up a CM Hyper 212+ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065&cm_re=212%2b-_-35-103-065-_-Product

If you want better cooling then stock just pick up a CM Hyper 212+ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065&cm_re=212%2b-_-35-103-065-_-Product

04dcarraher

I am building a gaming pc. a friend of mine swears by intel cpus and motherboards. since i am on a 1k budget i cant help but to always go back to theAMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor

running on a ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard

Its fast and cheap. are amd's cpu really that bad? is there anyone using this cpu and if so what do you think? i plan on dualing 2 Radeon HD 5770

is it better to run a single 5850?

will 4 gigs of ram be enough for games like l4d, tf2, wow, diablo3 and the such?

what type of cooling will i need? i already bought a antec 300 case and a Pioneer optical drive.

how many watts should my psu be?

EQShaman

i'll have to agree on the cooler master 212 plus, its a great heatsink for the price being so low compared to others.

[QUOTE="EQShaman"]

I am building a gaming pc. a friend of mine swears by intel cpus and motherboards. since i am on a 1k budget i cant help but to always go back to theAMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor

running on a ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard

Its fast and cheap. are amd's cpu really that bad? is there anyone using this cpu and if so what do you think? i plan on dualing 2 Radeon HD 5770

is it better to run a single 5850?

will 4 gigs of ram be enough for games like l4d, tf2, wow, diablo3 and the such?

what type of cooling will i need? i already bought a antec 300 case and a Pioneer optical drive.

how many watts should my psu be?

MuddVader

They should be fine for gaming, and as the other users said it might be better just to get the single card.

Well if anyone says AMD make bad CPU's they are talking ****. The Phenom II's are great in every price range.

Never buy the 965! Buy the 955 and up the multiplier by 1. You now have a 965 for less money! It really is that easy.

AMD Phenom II X4 965 quad core 3.4ghz = $179.99

Intel i7 9xx series = $550+ (extreme edition = $989!)

you tell me :p

Well if anyone says AMD make bad CPU's they are talking ****. The Phenom II's are great in every price range.

Daytona_178

This is a moving target. There have been times when AMD had the clear advantage, when Intel was winning, and others when you might as well base it on the best motherboard you could find. Regardless, playing favorites is ill-advised.

EM

AMD Phenom II X4 965 quad core 3.4ghz = $179.99

Intel i7 9xx series = $550+ (extreme edition = $989!)

you tell me :p

wis3boi

I'd run the Dual 5770's they are equal to a 4890 in performance and if you think of last gen with the 4890x2s it will sorta like that but with the DX11 support.

make sure you get one with an aftermarket cooler...preferably an HIS ICEQ...makes temps drop like crazy.

Well if anyone says AMD make bad CPU's they are talking ****. The Phenom II's are great in every price range.

Daytona_178

yeah my phenom II 940 oc at 3.31ghz is a monster cpu for gaming, and anything else i want to do with it.

my mother board has 4 240pin slots and has "dual channel support".

does this mean i can only use sticks of ram in sets of 2? or can i use this.

my mother board has 4 240pin slots and has "dual channel support".

does this mean i can only use sticks of ram in sets of 2? or can i use this.

my mother board has 4 240pin slots and has "dual channel support".

does this mean i can only use sticks of ram in sets of 2? or can i use this.

EQShaman

i believe so, it should be color coated as well, blue with blue, and yellow with yellow, ect.

also once you install your RAM, you can download a program called CPU-Z, google it (CPU-id) it will run a diagnostic on your pc, and tell you if your RAM is currently running in dual channel, or if you have to shut the pc down and re-arrange the ram in the slots and try again.

it is a free program.

I run a 955 with a coolermaster V8....OC to 4 gigs with temps never above 46 C........AMD = :)

AMD CPUs are cheap, but they don't sacrifice performance.