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Pubstar Hero

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Post: 84423709_16 created on Tue, 29 Jan 2013 19:49:15 +0000
Posted: Tue, 29 Jan 2013 19:49:15 +0000

Minion4Hire

If you're not interested in building the system yourself, then Pubstar Hero's list of parts doesn't help you all that much.

I was using it more of a guideline of how powerful the system should be at that cost.

Hella Kawaii

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Post: 84423709_17 created on Fri, 01 Feb 2013 15:50:00 +0000
Posted: Fri, 01 Feb 2013 15:50:00 +0000

God Emperor Akhenaton

With your budget, the Intel i7 is the best choice considering your lack of restraints. I would also suggest EVGA for the video card.

Why not just get a high end i5 and spend more on the gpu?

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Post: 84423709_18 created on Fri, 01 Feb 2013 18:57:17 +0000
Posted: Fri, 01 Feb 2013 18:57:17 +0000

Hella Kawaii

God Emperor Akhenaton

With your budget, the Intel i7 is the best choice considering your lack of restraints. I would also suggest EVGA for the video card.

Why not just get a high end i5 and spend more on the gpu?

Because for one, processors last longer in terms of future-proofing. Secondly, both are possible with his budget.

Minion4Hire

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Post: 84423709_19 created on Fri, 01 Feb 2013 21:38:37 +0000
Posted: Fri, 01 Feb 2013 21:38:37 +0000

God Emperor Akhenaton

Hella Kawaii

God Emperor Akhenaton

With your budget, the Intel i7 is the best choice considering your lack of restraints. I would also suggest EVGA for the video card.

Why not just get a high end i5 and spend more on the gpu?

Because for one, processors last longer in terms of future-proofing. Secondly, both are possible with his budget.

He makes a good point though. The difference in price between a Core i5-3570K and a Core i7-3770K is going to be $100, whereas the performance difference in games will be in the bottom half of single digit percentages (if anything). Spending another $100 on your GPU will offer far more noticeable performance gains.

When it comes to these boutiques though it depends in part on what sales/packages they're offering at the time.

God Emperor Akhenaton

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Post: 84423709_20 created on Fri, 01 Feb 2013 21:42:12 +0000
Posted: Fri, 01 Feb 2013 21:42:12 +0000

Minion4Hire

God Emperor Akhenaton

Hella Kawaii

God Emperor Akhenaton

With your budget, the Intel i7 is the best choice considering your lack of restraints. I would also suggest EVGA for the video card.

Why not just get a high end i5 and spend more on the gpu?

Because for one, processors last longer in terms of future-proofing. Secondly, both are possible with his budget.

The problem is that Video cards go out of style annually while the i7 has been around since '08. Improvements have been made, sure, but it has always been better than the i5. Will you see a better improvement with a better card? Yes, but it won't be long-lived anyway. Go with a good card, but the CPU is just as important, especially with strategy games.

elemein

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Post: 84423709_22 created on Fri, 01 Feb 2013 22:55:50 +0000
Posted: Fri, 01 Feb 2013 22:55:50 +0000

God Emperor Akhenaton

while the i7 has been around since '08.

The i7 series has been around since then. The i7 itself has gone over many different iterations and three different generations and yet another generational change in another 2-3 months.

Anyway, @ OP, here is my suggestion if you're still searching. This build is superior to the other build listed for the same price.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ATLb
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ATLb/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ATLb/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G46 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($74.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($49.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Crucial M4 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($72.51 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($369.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($369.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Topower 1000W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($109.98 @ Outlet PC)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1444.35
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-01 17:53 EST-0500)

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Post: 84423709_23 created on Fri, 01 Feb 2013 22:59:20 +0000
Posted: Fri, 01 Feb 2013 22:59:20 +0000

elemein

God Emperor Akhenaton

while the i7 has been around since '08.

So why is this build using an fx processor?

elemein

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Post: 84423709_24 created on Fri, 01 Feb 2013 23:03:22 +0000
Posted: Fri, 01 Feb 2013 23:03:22 +0000

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elemein

God Emperor Akhenaton

while the i7 has been around since '08.

So why is this build using an fx processor?

I can make a i5-3570K build in a jiffy if you like.

I was just thinking he'd want it for Battlefield 3.

Think about it. 32 multiplayer with lots of graphics and overhead computing? And the fact that BF3 has a lot of multicore support? The 8350 will do fine.

Though I've personally never compared an 8350 to a 3570K in identical builds. Do you think a 3570K build would be better? I can reconfigure the build to include one if you have compared the two directly.

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Post: 84423709_25 created on Fri, 01 Feb 2013 23:05:16 +0000
Posted: Fri, 01 Feb 2013 23:05:16 +0000

elemein

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elemein

God Emperor Akhenaton

while the i7 has been around since '08.

So why is this build using an fx processor?

Source?
Also a 3570k is going to be a better option.

elemein

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Post: 84423709_26 created on Fri, 01 Feb 2013 23:08:28 +0000
Posted: Fri, 01 Feb 2013 23:08:28 +0000

Disconsented

Source?
Also a 3570k is going to be a better option.

Source of what?

And oh, let me do a i5-3570K build then.

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Post: 84423709_27 created on Fri, 01 Feb 2013 23:12:33 +0000
Posted: Fri, 01 Feb 2013 23:12:33 +0000

elemein

Disconsented

Source?
Also a 3570k is going to be a better option.

Source of what?

And oh, let me do a i5-3570K build then.

Quote:

And the fact that BF3 has a lot of multicore support?

elemein

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Post: 84423709_28 created on Fri, 01 Feb 2013 23:15:17 +0000
Posted: Fri, 01 Feb 2013 23:15:17 +0000

Disconsented

elemein

Disconsented

Source?
Also a 3570k is going to be a better option.

Source of what?

And oh, let me do a i5-3570K build then.

Quote:

And the fact that BF3 has a lot of multicore support?

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-battlefield-3-pc-hardware - Quad Core Support

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ATWm
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ATWm/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ATWm/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G41 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($88.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($49.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Crucial M4 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($72.51 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($369.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (2-Way CrossFire) ($369.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: CoolMax 900W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($88.90 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1437.27
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-01 18:14 EST-0500)

New build.

Je Nique vos Merdiers

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Post: 84423709_29 created on Sat, 02 Feb 2013 01:17:35 +0000
Posted: Sat, 02 Feb 2013 01:17:35 +0000

Get a motherboard, if it's your first build, you should probably go with a mobo/CPU combo. Look for at least 2 PCIe x16 slots, and at least 2 PCI slots, DDR3 DIMM slots (you will probably end up with 4, but there are a few boards with 6), and a good north bridge. Don't worry about the I/O terminals on the mobo, you are probably not going to use any of them. If you want high performance now, go with an i7, but if you want to be able to upgrade your CPU later, go with an AMD FX (AM3+ socket).

For your primary drive, I would go with an SSD, at least 60GB, and as high of a read/write speed as you care to pay for. I have an OCZ SSD, which is obsolete now, but it was really cheap when I got it and it works well. Get a 1TB+ slave drive.

For memory, get DDR3, at least 1066MHz clock, and low CAS latency. If you're looking at a DIMM that doesn't have some sort of huge, ridiculous colorful heat spreader, you are probably looking at the wrong kind of memory. Check the manual for the motherboard you decide on to find out what the best capacity is, though 2x4GB is probably going to work perfectly well.

The video card is the biggest point of contention, and you're never going to hear anyone agree on the subject. I like AMD cards because they have crash recovery and they're pretty much always cheaper than NVidia. I don't know how worried you are about stability, but I don't care much since I haven't seen a stable GPU in >5 years. There's lots of good brands; Just remember that just because it has a chipset name and a large amount of memory does not mean it's a good card. Look for number of processing units, clock frequency (higher is better for both), TDP (lower is better), and read the reviews.

Don't cheap out on your heat sink. Get a copper one, and get a good quality fan.

After you've chosen all your other parts, add up the TDP/wattage of your CPU, video card, etc. and add one or two hundred watts to the total. Get a power supply with at least this wattage. I recommend OCZ ModXStreamer, as it uses modular cables and has a very solid build.

If you want it to look nice, get spiral cable wrap (you can get it for cheap at radioshack) and twist-lock cable guides (I found them at Microcenter).

Minion4Hire

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Post: 84423709_30 created on Sat, 02 Feb 2013 02:27:09 +0000
Posted: Sat, 02 Feb 2013 02:27:09 +0000

God Emperor Akhenaton

Minion4Hire

God Emperor Akhenaton

Hella Kawaii

God Emperor Akhenaton

With your budget, the Intel i7 is the best choice considering your lack of restraints. I would also suggest EVGA for the video card.

Why not just get a high end i5 and spend more on the gpu?

Because for one, processors last longer in terms of future-proofing. Secondly, both are possible with his budget.

Let's compare a $300 i7 from 2008 versus a $300 i7 from 2012. There's a pretty big performance difference. Like upwards of a 50% increase in gaming performance. Using the same graphics card.

Real talk.

Nothing in computing is immune from the exponential advancement of technology.

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