Will the "Ivy Bridge" be worth it for a first-time-builder?

phillo74

I'm new to PC gaming - and some of you may know that I'm about to attempt my first build - but I hear some people going on and on and on about this Ivy Bridge CPU/motherboard that's coming out.

So far - through this forum - I've gathered that it will be more power efficient....but not by much (considering my gaming hours would average 8-10 per week.) so that's not a real issue..

Other than that, I hear that the Ivy Bridge will be faster...

But the questions I pose are these: Will the Ivy Bridge be worth buying, for a first-time-builder, who only wants their rig for gaming? Will I really notice a difference in gaming from using, say, i5 2500k...when I've never really gamed on PC over the last 10 years anyways? What will it really have to offer me for my extra hard earned cash?

This factor is the only reason why I'm holding off from buying now, coz I have the cash ready.

please help.

Thanks!!

srsly78

You won't notice feck all difference from it. Graphics card is what matters most.

p.s. The i5-2550k is out

phillo74

srsly78 wrote: »

You won't notice feck all difference from it. Graphics card is what matters most.

p.s. The i5-2550k is out

Cool! My budget is €1500 (for everything) so I'm trying to fit it all in...and I've a feeling the Ivy Bridge could put me way over budget! As for cards, I'm thinking Radeon7950..

deconduo

phillo74 wrote: »

Cool! My budget is €1500 (for everything) so I'm trying to fit it all in...and I've a feeling the Ivy Bridge could put me way over budget! As for cards, I'm thinking Radeon7950..

Fill out this and post it here:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056397753

phillo74

deconduo wrote: »

Fill out this and post it here:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056397753

1. What is your budget? [€1500 - for everything, incl peripherals]

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? [Gaming/Internet] (BF3, Crysis 2, Diablo 3, Arma 3, Colonial Marines)

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [Yes - win 7]

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [Nope)

5. Do you need a monitor? [Yes]

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [22'.]

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future?

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [Keyboard/Mouse/G13]

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [when I learn a bit more, yes]

8. How can you pay? [I'd rather not say]

9. When are you purchasing? [In the next month, once I get some exams over]

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? [n/a]

Ive posted up my wishlist already. But here it is again:


Line price Move to basket Copy to basket Remove Corsair Memory 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1333MHz 240-pin DIMM CL9
Quicklinx:7JJLL800 | Mfr#:CMX8GX3M2A1333C9
In stock €39.87 €39.87 Microsoft Windows Home Premium 7 SP1 64-bit EN 1pk OEI OEM DVD
Quicklinx:7J00L800 | Mfr#:GFC-02050
In stock €87.28 €87.28 Corsair 750W Enthusiast Series TX750 Modular Power Supply
Quicklinx:7LGLL800 | Mfr#:CP-9020003-UK
In stock €103.61 €103.61 Sony 24x DVD-RW SATA Black Bare Internal Drive
Quicklinx:7QC0L800 | Mfr#:AD-5280S-0B
In stock €16.72 €16.72 ViewSonic VA2248-LED 22" Widescreen 1920 x 1080 5MS VGA DVI-D LED Monitor
Quicklinx:7HLMWS00 | Mfr#:VA2248-LED
In stock €131.65 €131.65 Best Value Duratool Antistatic Wrist Band
Quicklinx:7GHGWS00 | Mfr#:ZD-152/87-1520
In stock €5.80 €5.80 Logitech G9x Laser Mouse - Call of Duty Edition
Quicklinx:7WR8WS00 | Mfr#:910-002766
Ordered upon request €80.77 €80.77 Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 LGA1155 Intel Z68 DDR3 ATX USB 3.0
Quicklinx:7MQBWS00 | Mfr#:GA-Z68AP-D3
In stock €91.80 €91.80 Antec 300 Three Hundred Case Black
Quicklinx:6252WS00 | Mfr#:0761345-08300-3
In stock €53.12 €53.12 Western Digital 1TB Caviar Green SATA 6Gb/s 64MB 3.5" Hard Drive
Quicklinx:7Y09WS00 | Mfr#:WD10EZRX

In stock €94.53 €94.53 CablesToGo 15m Shielded Cat5e Cable Grey
Quicklinx:6BWNWS00 | Mfr#:83756
Ordered upon request €18.59 €18.59 Logitech G13 Advanced Gameboard - Command Pad PC & MAC
Quicklinx:5DWJWS00 | Mfr#:920-000947
In stock €87.24 €87.24 Arctic Cooling Alpine 11 GT Rev. 2 CPU Cooler
Quicklinx:7NW2WS00 | Mfr#:UCACO-AP112-GBB01

In stock €5.80 €5.80 Belkin USB 2.0 Lighted Travel Hub - Black
Quicklinx:4PNKWS00 | Mfr#:F5U034ERBLK
In stock €7.57 €7.57 Logitech Deluxe 250 Keyboard PS2 Black
Quicklinx:4DRQWS00 | Mfr#:967642-0120
Ordered upon request €8.45 €8.45 Asus ATI Radeon 7950 HD 800Mhz 3GB PCI-Express 3.0 HDMI
Quicklinx:7ZGNWS00 | Mfr#:HD7950-DC2-3GD5
Ordered upon request €436.82 €436.82 Intel Core i5-2550K 3.40GHz LGA1155 6MB
Quicklinx:7XKFWS00 | Mfr#:BX80623I52550K

In stock €209.80 €209.80 SteelSeries QcK Gaming Mousepad
Quicklinx:69C7WS00 | Mfr#:63004
In stock €8.92 €8.92
Delivery (25.185kg) €3.69

Total (inc VAT) €1,488.34

the prices are a little off center. sorry.

srsly78

edit: My mistake. Very confusing formatting above

Building a beast of a machine, and then pairing it with a cheapo 1080 monitor mocks all sense IMO.

phillo74

srsly78 wrote: »

edit: My mistake. Very confusing formatting above

nah man, sorry, the prices are all over the places after importing them... you're looking at the GPU. The CPU cost €209.

phillo74

srsly78 wrote: »

edit: My mistake. Very confusing formatting above

Building a beast of a machine, and then pairing it with a cheapo 1080 monitor mocks all sense IMO.

I read in a few different forums that the viewsonics were decent enough. No?

srsly78

It's only 22", get something bigger, and then get 3 of them.

edit: I recommend 3 of these -> Dell UltraSharp U2312HM

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dell-Ultrasharp-U2312HM-inch-Monitor/dp/B005MHMFJA great price on amazon. I just ordered 9 for work from dell and got em for £150 each

phillo74

srsly78 wrote: »

It's only 22", get something bigger, and then get 3 of them.

haha, jayzus..overkill a bit, no? :P I reckon ill be sticking with the 22", given my small enough gaming space at home. But if u could recommend a better quality 22"/24" for roughly the same price - give or take - ill gladly take it on board!

srsly78

That's not overkill, this is overkill: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4436079/images/2011-12-03%2021.31.37.jpg

Just know that your machine is capable of driving a hell of lot more than 1920x1080.

phillo74

srsly78 wrote: »

That's not overkill, this is overkill: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4436079/images/2011-12-03%2021.31.37.jpg

Just know that your machine is capable of driving a hell of lot more than 1920x1080.

cool tho! I'm after upgrading my monitor to this:

http://www.dabs.ie/products/benq-g2420hdbl-24--1920-x-1080-5ms-dvi-d-vga-widescreen-lcd-monitor---glossy-black-7SQT.html

srsly78

The Dell monitor has better image quality and viewing angles than that, for roughly the same price. Also comes with rotatable bezel.

Some people like to get a big monitor for center, and then 2 smaller ones rotated to portrait mode at sides. But yes, get what fits on your desk best! You can always buy a 2nd or 3rd monitor in the future.

phillo74

srsly78 wrote: »

The Dell monitor has better image quality and viewing angles than that, for roughly the same price. Also comes with rotatable bezel.

Some people like to get a big monitor for center, and then 2 smaller ones rotated to portrait mode at sides. But yes, get what fits on your desk best! You can always buy a 2nd or 3rd monitor in the future.

I hear ya. Looks like i may need to get back to the drawing board with the aul monitors so. cheers for the input!

Markd250

Item|Price
Total build cost: €1,446.06 + €18.99 shipping
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155|€188.78
LG GH22NS50/70/90 bare schwarz|€16.78
ASRock Z68 Pro3 Gen3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€82.61
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€32.84
Crucial M4 128GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5")|€143.84
Seagate Barracuda 7200 1000GB, SATA 6Gb/s|€89.60
BitFenix Shinobi Midi-Tower USB 3.0 black, ohne Netzteil|€54.71
MSI R7950-2PMD3GD5/OC, 3072MB DDR5, PCI-Express|€407.28
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 650W|€68.57
Dell UltraSharp U2312HM|€202.98
Logitech G500 Gaming Mouse|€39.36
MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SB-Version Englisch|€84.96
Thermalright HR-02 Macho|€33.75


Try this fella on for size!

Advantages:
-nice Dell IPS monitor
-SSD for windows & programs (apart from your steam folder)
-nicer case
-decent CPU cooler for overclocking
-flat €19 shipping rate

Potential disadvantage:
-you have to pay by bank transfer. It's not as dodgy as it sounds, that's just the way the Germans do it!

phillo74

Markd250 wrote: »

Item|Price
Total build cost: €1,446.06 + €18.99 shipping
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155|€188.78
LG GH22NS50/70/90 bare schwarz|€16.78
ASRock Z68 Pro3 Gen3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€82.61
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€32.84
Crucial M4 128GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5")|€143.84
Seagate Barracuda 7200 1000GB, SATA 6Gb/s|€89.60
BitFenix Shinobi Midi-Tower USB 3.0 black, ohne Netzteil|€54.71
MSI R7950-2PMD3GD5/OC, 3072MB DDR5, PCI-Express|€407.28
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 650W|€68.57
Dell UltraSharp U2312HM|€202.98
Logitech G500 Gaming Mouse|€39.36
MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SB-Version Englisch|€84.96
Thermalright HR-02 Macho|€33.75

Try this fella on for size!

Advantages:
-nice Dell IPS monitor
-SSD for windows & programs (apart from your steam folder)
-nicer case
-decent CPU cooler for overclocking
-flat €19 shipping rate

Potential disadvantage:
-you have to pay by bank transfer. It's not as dodgy as it sounds, that's just the way the Germans do it!

Sweet set up, definitely! Those dell monitors are pretty cool too. But i've actually changed quite a bit on my wishlist since i posted it up earlier today. It's almost at my point of perfection (by my standards...not being cocky) Still.....those Ultrasharps do look the business!!

Markd250

What's your new build looking like?

stevenf17

The U2312HM is only €185 over on komplett!
http://komplett.ie/Komplett/product/monitors/20097160/dell_23_u2312hm_lcd_8ms_vga_dvi_d/details.aspx

Genghiz Cohen

Have one of the Dell monitors.

Here's what I look like every time I turn it on:

srsly78

That e200 dell still isn't as good as the more expensive ones tho, it doesn't have full color range.

U3011 or gtfo tbh. Mass Effect 3 was jawdropping in panorama 7680x1600.

Fluffy88

Seriously!!

So the OP should buy three U3011 with his budget of €1500?
It's great that you have €4,500 to spend on monitors but not everyone does.

srsly78

Did you miss the part where I recommended the e200 dell to him? It's the most cost effective. But one must also point out that it doesn't have the color range of the more expensive ultrasharps - even the 24" one (which is about e400 I think). People can easily buy 3 of these cheaper ones.

FYI I got the u3011s for less than half the price you indicate.

Jaafa

Does anyone know what the HD4000 is looking like? Big improvement over the HD3000? Will it facilitate entry level gaming?

deconduo

Jaafa wrote: »

Does anyone know what the HD4000 is looking like? Big improvement over the HD3000? Will it facilitate entry level gaming?

Big improvement over the HD3000?
Nope

Will it facilitate entry level gaming?
Nope

Jaafa

deconduo wrote: »

Big improvement over the HD3000?
Nope

Will it facilitate entry level gaming?
Nope

I suppose I should have been more specific. Say in a laptop, in an i5/i7 CPU. Will it do BF3 and Skyrim at 30 FPS, 1366x768 on say medium textures no AA/AF.

Kirby

It will run it at dx9, but it will probably be around 20 fps or so which is unplayable in my opinion.

First person shooters don't suit the intel HD series. There just isn't enough grunt there. They do work with some modern simple games like platformers and puzzle games but anything "AAA" will eat them for breaky.

If you want to game on your laptop, shop around and look for one with an actual budget graphics card in it. You will end up paying more than the desktop equivalent, but thats the price for wanting it all in a laptop. My mate spent 700 on a new laptop recently and he's very happy with it as he plays Starcraft 2 alot and is happy he can look at all the eye candy now without the computer melting on the spot.

deconduo

Jaafa wrote: »

I suppose I should have been more specific. Say in a laptop, in an i5/i7 CPU. Will it do BF3 and Skyrim at 30 FPS, 1366x768 on say medium textures no AA/AF.

It won't do BF3, but it should be able to just about handle Skyrim:



Keep in mind that's with a top of the line i7, so any laptop chip will see a drop in performance. As the GPU is the bottleneck, it shouldn't be more than a few fps though.

Jaafa

Thanks, looks like it'll be decent. Certainly it'll give ultrabooks a bit more performance/versatility for their price.

ShadowHearth

guys, do you really think that a laptop which will have high end i7 CPU wont have any sort of proper GPU? i understand if they will have hd400 in i3 and i5 low end cpus, but i really dont see any point in something like i7.

Fluffy88

A dedicated GPU is rarely needed for anything outside of gaming. Unless your doing some hardcore 3D modelling or something with a high-end professional GPU.

If you were buying a laptop for programming, a turbo-boosted, hyper-threaded quad core is just perfect for your needs without a dedicated GPU. This stands for many other uses.

deconduo

ShadowHearth wrote: »

guys, do you really think that a laptop which will have high end i7 CPU wont have any sort of proper GPU? i understand if they will have hd400 in i3 and i5 low end cpus, but i really dont see any point in something like i7.

Most people who buy laptops have no interest in gaming, so there are plenty of laptops with i7s and only HD3000 graphics. Especially if you look at the Ultrabook market, most will have a high end i5 or i7 CPU, 8GB RAM, SSD and no GPU.

Jaafa

ShadowHearth wrote: »

guys, do you really think that a laptop which will have high end i7 CPU wont have any sort of proper GPU? i understand if they will have hd400 in i3 and i5 low end cpus, but i really dont see any point in something like i7.

See almost all ultrabooks.

ShadowHearth

so all these expensive ultra thin laptops and iMacs for starbucks so? :rolleyes:

there are so many crapy desktops with high cpus and feck all gpus, but how the hell such overpriced laptops getting away with it.

Serephucus

Ultrabooks are not laptops. They are ultrabooks. Completely different product category. It's like saying laptops suck because they all have 10.1" screens. I'd tell you they're not laptops, they're netbooks.

Even so, there are a lot of laptops that do have crappy graphics, but it's not that hard to find decent laptops with decent graphics. Dell's XPS 17 with a GT555M for example can hold its own when gaming. Even a laptop with a 540M - which is even in some almost-ultrabook-type laptops - can play Skyrim nicely.

ShadowHearth

Serephucus wrote: »

Ultrabooks are not laptops. They are ultrabooks. Completely different product category. It's like saying laptops suck because they all have 10.1" screens. I'd tell you they're not laptops, they're netbooks.

Even so, there are a lot of laptops that do have crappy graphics, but it's not that hard to find decent laptops with decent graphics. Dell's XPS 17 with a GT555M for example can hold its own when gaming. Even a laptop with a 540M - which is even in some almost-ultrabook-type laptops - can play Skyrim nicely.

yeah, but thats what i am talking about. if its a higher end CPU laptop, you will have a proper GPU in it. i really really dont see a point in such unbalanced systems with latest expencive i7 and no gpu, no matter if its laptop, desktop, ultrabook, dildo with 5inch screen.
i personally think that hd4000 would benefit more in low end i3 and i5, because those cheap laptops wont have proper gpu in them, because they need to be cheap and cheerful.

deconduo

ShadowHearth wrote: »

yeah, but thats what i am talking about. if its a higher end CPU laptop, you will have a proper GPU in it. i really really dont see a point in such unbalanced systems with latest expencive i7 and no gpu, no matter if its laptop, desktop, ultrabook, dildo with 5inch screen.
i personally think that hd4000 would benefit more in low end i3 and i5, because those cheap laptops wont have proper gpu in them, because they need to be cheap and cheerful.

Why would someone need a proper GPU if they don't game or need CUDA/OpenGL? Especially on an ultrabook, for which low power consumption and weight are a priority. Its a waste of space, money and power on a system if its not being used. There are plenty of people that need decent CPU power without needing a GPU as well.

Obviously if a system is built for gaming it would be stupid to put an i7 + 6670 in it. However it would be equally stupid to throw a GTX 680 in a build for someone who will at most use it for farmville and solitaire.

ShadowHearth

deconduo wrote: »

Why would someone need a proper GPU if they don't game or need CUDA/OpenGL? Especially on an ultrabook, for which low power consumption and weight are a priority. Its a waste of space, money and power on a system if its not being used. There are plenty of people that need decent CPU power without needing a GPU as well.

Obviously if a system is built for gaming it would be stupid to put an i7 + 6670 in it. However it would be equally stupid to throw a GTX 680 in a build for someone who will at most use it for farmville and solitaire.

person who play solitaire and farmwile wont need an i7 system. i wonder what sort of job would you do on a ultrabook with i7? if you really need some raw power i am prety sure you wont be buying ultrabook for it.

Serephucus

ShadowHearth wrote: »

person who play solitaire and farmwile wont need an i7 system. i wonder what sort of job would you do on a ultrabook with i7? if you really need some raw power i am prety sure you wont be buying ultrabook for it.

Programming, web development, Photoshop, Office, video conversion, non-GPU accelerated 3D modelling, etc.

Oh, and Minecraft.

deconduo

Serephucus wrote: »

Programming, web development, Photoshop, Office, video conversion, non-GPU accelerated 3D modelling, etc.

Oh, and Minecraft.

Pretty much this. Also keep in mind that all laptop i5s and most i7s are dual core hyperthreaded chips, which aren't even true quad cores. We aren't talking about CPUs comparable to an i7-2600k here. Its only the i7-2630QM and above that are quads.

ShadowHearth

Serephucus wrote: »

Programming, web development, Photoshop, Office, video conversion, non-GPU accelerated 3D modelling, etc.

Oh, and Minecraft.

well for all those listed things i am prety sure people have dedicated desktops.
unless they are students.

anyway, i still dont like inbalanced systems and i still think that hd4000 would better fit in lower range CPUs.

Serephucus

ShadowHearth wrote: »

well for all those listed things i am prety sure people have dedicated desktops.
unless they are students.

anyway, i still dont like inbalanced systems and i still think that hd4000 would better fit in lower range CPUs.

What you're missing here is that there isn't such a thing as an unbalanced system. What you mean to say, is that you don't like laptops that are unbalanced for gaming. Laptops with a decent i7 and 16GB of RAM are however perfectly balanced for 3D modelling or heavy Photoshop, or anything like what I listed above. Certain people only need a GPU to put things on a screen, not render complex 3D geometry with lighting and shaders.