• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

How's this for a set up?

D

DCVL

n00b
Joined
Dec 19, 2007
Messages
59
I put a lot of thought into this set up but to make sure I cover everything I wanted some other opinions. My budget is right around $1300 for a completely new set up including a monitor. This is strictly a gaming PC and I plan on using a single monitor in 1080 and want to play games like skyrim, diablo 3, and battlefield 3 on ultra high settings without issues. This is what I've come up with so far:

Case $119
Mobo $121
GPU $259
CPU $229
memory card reader (for the hell of it) $15
SSD $160, for OS and the games I will be playing
RAM $47
Monitor $205
Optical Drive $18
CPU heat sink $30
Extra fan for top of case $13

Total for above = $1270-ish

I am re-using my 700w power supply.

I want this computer to be good for at least 5 years with the only upgrades needing to be made being a GPU or other small and expected thing. Maybe adding more ram even. The thing I really can't decide on is whether or not to wait for Ivy bridge CPU. Is it really going to be worth the cost I'm expecting to see with the new technology? In the next 5 years will we even be touching it's capabilities? Or by that time the prices will have dropped tremendously and this i5 I have above will get the job done no problem? All input is welcome. If you have a recommended change please explain. I'm trying to learn from this whole process as well. The CPU and the GPU are my biggest doubts in this build atm.
 
Last edited:
If you aren't in a rush Ivy release date is the end of this month. Realistically you can probably build sometime in May, pay about the same amount but get more features and about a 10% performance bump.

I'd start picking up universal pieces if you see great deals on them. (SSD/case/fans/monitor/etc) But wait on things such as mobo/cpu/gpu.

Swap the OCZ SSD for a crucial m4 or samsung 830 for better reliability and possibly cheaper.
 
david_ said:
Do you have a microcenter near you? If so you can get the 2500k + mobo (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131781) for around $270.

Cheaper/good SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442

Take that savings and put it into a better gpu with at least 2gb vram. I know my 1gb 6950 unlocked and OC'ed won't max bf3 w/ reasonable frames @ 1080p. I'm assuming the 560ti is similar in performance.
Click to expand...

From what I've been told by others, they said going above 1GB really wouldn't be that useful. I'm not sure myself but that's the impression that I was under. Any truth to that? Are you saying for sure that the 2gb would make a difference in GPU performance or do you only think it will?
 
Let me check my mem. usage when i get home. I'll run skyrim w/ mods and bf3 @ high & ultra.
 
DCVL said:
From what I've been told by others, they said going above 1GB really wouldn't be that useful. I'm not sure myself but that's the impression that I was under. Any truth to that? Are you saying for sure that the 2gb would make a difference in GPU performance or do you only think it will?
Click to expand...

Just depends on the game, for games like BF3 yes more than 1gb vram will be helpful, for games like Diablo 3 it may or may not.
 
That's kind of pricey for a regular 560ti. For around that price you could get a 7850.
Also, as it was mentioned if you are close to a MicroCenter you can get the 2500k for $179 and $50 off your motherboard as well.
 
DCVL said:
I put a lot of thought into this set up but to make sure I cover everything I wanted some other opinions. My budget is right around $1300 for a completely new set up including a monitor. This is strictly a gaming PC and I plan on using a single monitor in 1080 and want to play games like skyrim, diablo 3, and battlefield 3 on ultra high settings without issues. This is what I've come up with so far:

Case $119
Mobo $121
GPU $250
CPU $229
memory card reader (for the hell of it) $15
SSD $199, for OS and the games I will be playing
RAM $47
Monitor $205
Optical Drive $18
CPU heat sink $30
Extra fan for top of case $13

Total for above = $1270-ish

I want this computer to be good for at least 5 years with the only upgrades needing to be made being a GPU or other small and expected thing. Maybe adding more ram even. The thing I really can't decide on is whether or not to wait for Ivy bridge CPU. Is it really going to be worth the cost I'm expecting to see with the new technology? In the next 5 years will we even be touching it's capabilities? Or by that time the prices will have dropped tremendously and this i5 I have above will get the job done no problem? All input is welcome. If you have a recommended change please explain. I'm trying to learn from this whole process as well. The CPU and the GPU are my biggest doubts in this build atm.
Click to expand...

What power supply are you going to use?
 
sorry, forgot to mention I'll be re using a 700w power supply, and I'm not near a microcenter. Do these prices apply to their online store as well?
 
Nice choices overall. A few suggestions I would make:
As others have said, pick another SSD.

2500k instead of the 2550 - the IGP benefits with Z68 are there even if you intend to always use your GPU. The is no higher guaranteed overclock with the 2550. The 2500k will resell better down the road or be more useful in another system.

560Ti isn't a great value at $250. I would suggest buying a 7850 with decent cooling to OC or stepping up to a 560Ti448.

I prefer 1920x1200 resolution if you can afford one. $200 for a 24" 1080p doesn't seem like good value but I will leave that to others since I have not shopped monitors in a while.
 
Last edited:
K1tty said:
That's kind of pricey for a regular 560ti. For around that price you could get a 7850.
Also, as it was mentioned if you are close to a MicroCenter you can get the 2500k for $179 and $50 off your motherboard as well.
Click to expand...

So the 7850 is better than the 560 ti? I haven't kept up on GPUs lately. I did notice that for the same price as my 560ti, I could double the memory in the 7850.
 
DCVL said:
So the 7850 is better than the 560 ti?.
Click to expand...
Hate to say "better" since you can find a 560ti for $200 or less. But at $250 the more advanced features and the same performance make the 7850 more viable. Here is the HardOCP review. You can decide for yourself. AT $250 I would be buying the 7850 and OC. You may chose differently.
 
Last edited:
david_ said:
Let me check my mem. usage when i get home. I'll run skyrim w/ mods and bf3 @ high & ultra.
Click to expand...

Skyrim Max w/ mods
skyrimmax.jpg


BF3 Max
bf3ultra.jpg


BF3 High
bf3high.jpg


In summary, get more than 1gb RAM.
 
DCVL said:
SSD $199, for OS and the games I will be playing
Click to expand...

As david_ recommended, go for the slightly larger, better quality, and more reliable Crucial M4 128GB SSD.

DCVL said:
The thing I really can't decide on is whether or not to wait for Ivy bridge CPU. Is it really going to be worth the cost I'm expecting to see with the new technology?
Click to expand...
Intel generally releases new CPUs around the same price point as their older CPUs and keeps the prices of the older CPUs artificially high.
DCVL said:
Or by that time the prices will have dropped tremendously and this i5 I have above will get the job done no problem?
Click to expand...
As noted above, Intel generally doesn't drop the prices of older CPUs when they're releasing new CPUs.

DCVL said:
So the 7850 is better than the 560 ti? I haven't kept up on GPUs lately. I did notice that for the same price as my 560ti, I could double the memory in the 7850.
Click to expand...
The HD 7850 is faster than the GTX 560 TI and the extra VRAM does come in handy for games like Skyrim and BF3. I just don't like the pricing of the HD 7850 at the moment.
 
doug_7506 said:
GTX480 for 250?
]
Click to expand...
I would say that if you account for the extra $20 worth of PSU needed to run the 480 and the power savings over the 5 years the OP intends to keep his system that it would not be a good deal. It is a nice performing card based on FPS and price but that is about it.
 
I have decided to build what I think is a comparable AMD version of this computer.
This is all that has changed (note that I have updated the items in the oringal post after considering your inputs)

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819106009
mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131767 (decided t hat pcie 3.0 would be worthless for my life expectancy of this PC)

Let me know what you think? When it comes down to it, this AMD mobo and CPU saves $100 that could be put toward something else. Is it worth these savings? does the intel setup noticably out perform this AMD set up? Is it good enough and I should put the $100 towards a better GPU? Please explain. Thanks.
 
Last edited:
DCVL said:
I have decided to build what I think is a comparable AMD version of this computer.
Click to expand...
Yeah that's not comparable at all. Clock for clock, that AMD is slower than the Core i5 2500K or even the Core i5 2400.

DCVL said:
Let me know what you think? When it comes down to it, this AMD mobo and CPU saves $100 that could be put toward something else. Is it worth these savings? does the intel setup noticably out perform this AMD set up? Is it good enough and I should put the $100 towards a better GPU? Please explain. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Not worth the savings. Yes, as noted earlier, the Intel setup will noticeable out perform that AMD setup without a problem. Hell, even the dual-core Core i3 2120 outperforms that AMD CPU in games. So spend the extra $100 for the significantly faster and lower power using Intel Core i5 2400 or Core i5 2500K.
 
Prav said:
4170 is nearly the worst current generation CPU from either AMD or Intel. I would not recommend building a $1300 gaming system around one.

be sure to get your SSD on sale before they sell out Smoking [H]ot - Newegg - Crucal m4 128GB $129.99 shipped
Click to expand...

Great catch man. I just ordered it. Where exactly do you go to receive these email deals? I may just sit for 2 months and try to catch these deals as they come.
 
I get daily emails from Newegg. Just sign up for their newsletter. Also I check the [H]ot|DEALS Forum often :)

back to your CPU issue. I would grab the 2500k for $205 promotion unless you live near a Microcenter. If you do not want to overclock do as Danny said and grab a 2400. If you absolutely must go AMD, then get the 8120 not a 4170.
 
I wish I did live near a microcenter right now, and I will be OCing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top