AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE system build advice for OC

[BMdoobieW]

Hi. Been a long time since I built a computer. I'm now looking to replace my circa 2004 DELL Dimension 8300 P4 3.0E.

I have an AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE and am looking to build a system around it. This will not be for gaming, but will be for pretty much everything else. I plan on running Windows 7 and I do a lot of multi-tasking. I would also like to do a mild overclock with it. In the article on the main site, Anand got this chip up to 3.8 Ghz with the retail air cooler. That's probably around the speed I'd be looking to get to, if it's not too hard. I don't have the retail cooler, so I need a recommendation on a heatsink+fan.

From reading a few of the forums here this morning, it looks like the ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard is a good any one. Any thoughts? I like that it has onboard video, and I figure I can make use of that since this computer will not be for gaming.

Now what RAM would you recommend? I'm thinking of getting 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3, but don't know what speed, what manufacturer, and what model for a mild overclock with this motherboard.

Other components I am considering (let me know if you have any comments):
Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drives - OEM
Sony Optiarc DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model AD-7241S-0B LightScribe Support - OEM

I already have a power supply.

And I'm still looking for a good All-in-one USB 2.0 Internal Card Reader to fit this case.

Thanks for any help you can provide! I'm really looking forward to building this computer. As soon as you guys give me the good word, I'm ready to make these purchases and build this sucker. Oh, and let me know if there's a better forum here to discuss this on, or if I should break out the discussion across several of the forums. Thanks.

 

[veri745]

That motherboard looks like a good choice. You could also look into Gigabyte, as they have had a high-quality product lineup recently for AMD.

Memory speed shouldn't be too much of a concern, just get a name brand. Since you have a black-edition CPU, you won't need to overclock the memory to overclock the CPU and/or NB.

 

[BMdoobieW]

Originally posted by: veri745
That motherboard looks like a good choice. You could also look into Gigabyte, as they have had a high-quality product lineup recently for AMD.

Memory speed shouldn't be too much of a concern, just get a name brand. Since you have a black-edition CPU, you won't need to overclock the memory to overclock the CPU and/or NB.

Thanks!

Now any idea on a heatsink+fan? I don't think I need to spend $45 on something like this, do I?
XIGMATEK Intel Core i7 compatible Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

 

[BMdoobieW]

Just placed the order:

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

GIGABYTE GV-R435OC-512I Radeon HD 4350 512MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Low Profile - Retail

nMEDIAPC ZE-C128 Black Aluminum Panel 5.25"All-in-one USB x 3 / IEEE 1394 / eSATA / HD (or AC97) Audio Internal Card Reader - Retail

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL7D-4GBRH - Retail

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drives - OEM

SAMSUNG DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223L LightScribe Support - OEM

Scythe SY124010L Fans - Retail

Scythe MUGEN-2 SCMG-2000 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler - Retail