Reasonable spec reasonable price

mayordenis

Ok so I'm trying to get something that's basically most bang for my buck.

I have a few little caveat's that some of you may think are a bit stupid, such as I'm not going ATI on this build, I normally do but while I have plenty of time for ATI this time I'm feeling nVidia.

So with that in mind what I'm looking at is:

Gigabyte nVIDIA GTX560TI 1GB PCI-E Graphics Card

AsRock Z77 Extreme4 Motherboard

Intel 3rd Generation Core i5-3570K CPU

G-Skill 8GBXL Ripjaws X for Intel Sandybridge Platforms DDR3 PC12800 1600MHz 8GB Kit

I have a case, hard drive, disc drive, and what I think is a still decent power supply OCZ 550W.

so what do you guys think? I'm way out of the loop on hardware so might be going about it all wrong.

Skylinehead

mayordenis wrote: »

Ok so I'm trying to get something that's basically most bang for my buck.

I have a few little caveat's that some of you may think are a bit stupid, such as I'm not going ATI on this build, I normally do but while I have plenty of time for ATI this time I'm feeling nVidia.

So with that in mind what I'm looking at is:

Gigabyte nVIDIA GTX560TI 1GB PCI-E Graphics Card

AsRock Z77 Extreme4 Motherboard

Intel 3rd Generation Core i5-3570K CPU

G-Skill 8GBXL Ripjaws X for Intel Sandybridge Platforms DDR3 PC12800 1600MHz 8GB Kit

I have a case, hard drive, disc drive, and what I think is a still decent power supply OCZ 550W.

so what do you guys think? I'm way out of the loop on hardware so might be going about it all wrong.

Seems alright. Not sure on the PSU you have, model number?

One thing though, 560ti is a waste of money at this point. Either wait for the 660, or go AMD (7850 is a beautiful card for that money).

mayordenis

506ti is a waste? Ok well I'll scratch that is the 660 coming soon at a similar price?

Skylinehead

mayordenis wrote: »

506ti is a waste? Ok well I'll scratch that is the 660 coming soon at a similar price?

No idea how good it will be, so you're still going to be chancing it by waiting. I'd imagine it will come in at ~€230, so 7850 prices.

mayordenis

Right so at this moment in time, I should just scrap my one stupid rule and go AMD?

Eboggles

mayordenis wrote: »

Right so at this moment in time, I should just scrap my one stupid rule and go AMD?

Yeah, the 7850 is a little monster, when it's overclocked it beats a GTX 580!

EDIT: Well actually, it's more like on level with a GTX 580.

Skylinehead

mayordenis wrote: »

Right so at this moment in time, I should just scrap my one stupid rule and go AMD?

Yep!

Should fill this out so we know exactly what you need first.

1. What is your budget? [€xxx]

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? [Gaming/Video editing/3D Modelling/HTPC/Internet] (If gaming include which games)

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [Yes/No]

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [Hard drive/DVD Drive/Case/PSU/etc.] (If possible state brand and model of the parts to ensure compatibility)

5. Do you need a monitor? [Yes/No]

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [19'/20'/22'/24'/etc.]

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? [1920x1080/1440x900/etc.] [Yes/No]

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [Keyboard/Mouse/Wireless Card/Card Reader/Speakers/etc.]

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [Yes/No]

8. How can you pay? [Bank Transfer/Credit Card/Laser]

9. When are you purchasing? [In x days]

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? [South Dublin City/Cork City/Kerry/etc.]

mayordenis

1. What is your budget? I would of like to get this sub 500 as I don't need the entire build but I could stretch as far as 600 potentially

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Gaming mostly

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? Yes, but I can get the student cheap version

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? Will probably use the following unless anyone tells me not to:
Antec Black Tthree Hundred ATX Case
WD Caviar SE16 500GB U133 16MB (pretty old HDD but should still just about be ok?)
Corsair 550W VX PSU
some random DVD drive


5. Do you need a monitor? No

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? 1680x1050 is the highest this monitor will go might also use it on a 1080p tv, but won't be going higher resolution wise

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [no

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [Yes/No]

8. How can you pay? Credit Card/Paypal - most likely going to shop with Amazon as I can get a discount from a friend

9. When are you purchasing? No particular date

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? Shouldn't need

Procrastastudy

Will you be going down the SLI / XFire (2 or more graphics cards) at some point? If not the Asrock Z77 Pro 3 should do the job quite nicely.

Would you be willing to drop down to an i3-2120 (Dual core 4 logical threads) to avoid an ATI/AMD card. There are some merits to this as you could go for a GTX670 anything below this gets eaten by the equivalent prices AMD offering.

Eboggles

What's the amazon discount? Anyway, here's a build on HWVS.

Item|Price
Intel Core i3-2120 Box, LGA1155|€111.64
ASRock Z77 Pro3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€90.77
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€36.44
MSI R7850 TwinFrozr 2GD5/OC, 2048MB DDR5, PCI-Express|€224.43
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€482.27

Is that all you need?

mayordenis

GCDLawstudent wrote: »

Will you be going down the SLI / XFire (2 or more graphics cards) at some point? If not the Asrock Z77 Pro 3 should do the job quite nicely.

Would you be willing to drop down to an i3-2120 (Dual core 4 logical threads) to avoid an ATI/AMD card. There are some merits to this as you could go for a GTX670 anything below this gets eaten by the equivalent prices AMD offering.

No not planning on any dual GPU at this, probably getting way ahead of myself on the motherboard.
I guess I'll go with the consensus, I was basically going with the i5 on the basis that maybe in year or 2 it would still be up to the challenge, but I don't know enough to say the i3 isn't.

Eboggles wrote: »

What's the amazon discount? Anyway, here's a build on HWVS.

Item|Price
Intel Core i3-2120 Box, LGA1155|€111.64
ASRock Z77 Pro3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€90.77
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€36.44
MSI R7850 TwinFrozr 2GD5/OC, 2048MB DDR5, PCI-Express|€224.43
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€482.27

Is that all you need?

I just have a friend who works for them so I might be able to swing their staff discount, but I don't really mind where I order it from if it works out cheaper at Hardwareversand I'll go with them - so do you tend to agree that going with the i3 2120 is a better option?
I'm probably being pretty awkward here but I'm happy to spent a little more if you guys think it's really worth it but if not then that's cool and I'll go with the i3.

Procrastastudy

The i3 is only a better option if you want a more powerful video card.

I'd (and did) go i5 + mid range AMD
but you can go
i3 + High range nVidia
Just suggesting you dont go
i5+mid range nVidia

Its a balancing act between raw power of the machine and how good it is at 3D graphics. Without knowing exactly what games you want to play its difficult to know.

Sorry I've assumed this is a gaming build - if it's not just for games - i5 for sure.

mayordenis

Yea well I was probably being stupid with the anti AMD thing, we can scrap that.

I guess whatever is just going to allow new games to run well, I'm not too interested in maxing anything out, but equally I'd like to be able to pick up the next Battlefield or whatever else and play it to a good standard.

In a lot of ways I would like the PC to be up to the task for hopefully a year or 2 anyway.

Procrastastudy

Actually some reasons to blow your budget on a CPU that will last longer vs a Graphics card that will.

Since AGP bit the dust Intel have had more socket designs that I've haa hot dinners. PCI-e remains backwards compatible.

People are always willing to buy old graphics cards (if you look at adverts.ie for more than they cost new) where as old CPUs sell for next to nothing.

Removing a Graphics Card takes seconds v a CPU which can take ages in buggering about if you have specific cooler and cases.

So I guess my advice is go for the i5

Item|Price
Powercolor HD6870 1024MB Dual-DVI/HD1M2I5|€138.92
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€36.44
ASRock Z77 Pro3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€90.77
Intel Core i5-2500K Tray, LGA1155|€182.70
Thermalright HR-02 Macho|€33.89
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€501.71

Just over budget - if you spend the €600 and get the card Eboggles spec'd you'll have a beast that'll take game for quite a long time. If you go with the one I've spec'd expect about 18 months out of it before you probably want to upgrade.

-( i )- Wicker

I have a rig almost identical to what you described in your original post and I have no issues with it, good framerates with anything i've thrown at it so far. Having said that my resolution is low at 1366x768.