Choice dilemmas

MRTULES

Ok I am going to be pulling the trigger (at last) on parts for a PC but I have loads of choices that I need help with. Here is the first scenario.
I can not say what the PC will be used for because my current one is so poor that maybe if i have the ability to run BF4 I will but currently I dont.

Which do I pick if they both cost they same price

i5 4670k + AsRock Z87 pro4m

or

i7 4770 + AsRock B85 pro4m

All help is greatly appreciated.

SuperTortoise

It might be worth while filling out the little questionaire in the sticky if you're upgrading a few parts, i'm sure someone with better knoledge than myself will be able to point you in the right direction.

It depemds i suppose on what your current setup is and what needs to be upgraded.

Tea_Bag

do you have any intention of OCing? If not you can save money and get a Xeon E3-124Xv3, essentially a 4770 @ ~€240.

MRTULES

OK well I better come clean. The cpu will be got from a friend who works for intel.

@SuperTortoise my current set up is pure muck. I am playing (well im not sure if it counts as playing) mount & blade on the integrated graphics of pentium dual core E5400. So you see i have no idea what I will be using the PC for as I cant use my current one for much.

While I cant be sure of prices yet (import taxes and all that) I am pretty sure the 4770 will be only about €20 more than the 4670k.
To throw a spanner in the works, the 4770k would probably be less than €20 more again, so you see why i am kind of limited.
I had rules out the 4570s but would love others thoughts on this also.
GPUwise The top end I'd be looking at would be a r9 270 circa €150 but will probably get a r7 260x circa €105.

Really appreciate the replys guys

Tea_Bag

if money is that tight, just take the 4570K. its still a beast, far faster than anything you've used if a E5400 is your bench. they saved money is better thrown at the GPU, where it really counts.

MRTULES

Tea_Bag wrote: »

if money is that tight, just take the 4570K. its still a beast, far faster than anything you've used if a E5400 is your bench. they saved money is better thrown at the GPU, where it really counts.

Thanks man. Just to clarify are you talking about the 4670k or the 4570S? I thought the S was a good bit slower all be it a huge jump from where I'm at.

Tea_Bag

damn naming conventions keep changing rabble rabble :pac:

yea the 4670K sorry. the HT from the 4770 is of no real benefit in gaming anyway. and an OC'd i5 would be better than the 4770 every day of the week.

SterlingArcher

Hum...... The I7 is only 20 more you say....
I would get the I7 .
The ht is of no benefit .....yet..

MRTULES

Thanks all. Conflicting opinions Like myself. If money wasn't a problem I would just get the 4770k. I'm not sure if I can justify extra outlays now on the possibility of future trends. I might start video editing too but who knows. The 20 euro difference is between the i5 and the non K i7. Closer to 40 difference for the unlocked i7. The reason I was treating them the same is the 20 euro difference in cost of b85 vs z87.
That saving would be the difference between 120gb and 240gb ssd, looking at the m500.

Next question is this, how important is vram?
I found a 1gb 260x for €92. The cheapest 2gb version is €15 more. Is this worth it?

As always, thanks.

SuperTortoise

If you're planning going with a 260x GPU then that will be your bottleneck long before your CPU, whichever CPU you go for.

If it were me i'd get the cheaper CPU and put the savings into a better GPU.

I also must point out i'm no expert! the regulars on here really know their stuff, far more so than me.

Luck100

Hard to pass on the 4770k when you're getting such a deal on it. If you expect you'll have some more cash down the road for upgrades, I'd go for 4770k + decent gpu (R7 270 if you can manage). Hold off on SSD until you get more cash, it's an easy upgrade. SSD won't have any impact on game FPS anyway. It's more cost effective to upgrade by adding parts you don't have, rather than selling old part and buying new/better part to replace it.

MRTULES

Ideally I am looking at
i7 4770k
AsRock z87 PRO4m
SSD M500 240gb
8GB OF RAM
CX 500M
R9 270

Total price circa €600


I picked up a second hand Bitfenix Merc Beta already.

really i'll be looking at
the 4670k & Z87 OR 4770 and B85
Half the SSD to the m500 120gb version
8Gb RAM
CX 430M
R7 260x


total price circa €470

Its just a shame I dont have more cash to spend on it. Realistically I need a new keyboard, mouse, Monitor (currently 18.5 inch 720p BenQ:mad:), HDD, speakers? First world problems i know

Steviemoyne

If you're looking for a decent keyboard and mouse you could try my setup assuming you're not going after a mechanical. The real draw of the keyboard to me was the backlit keys.

Perixx PX-2000 keyboard

Anker Mouse with 9 buttons (including right/left/center mouse buttons).

Note on the mouse, I find it excellent but you can't change the colour of all the lights, only that of the breathing light (with the logo).

The following page over in the bargain alerts discussion thread sums up my thoughts on the mouse nicely and I've screenshots of the software for the mouse there.

As for a monitor the LG IPS panels are great value for money in or around the €100 mark for a 22" HD display. HDD you're probably better going western digital as opposed to seagate (despite seagate being a little cheaper). Speakers anything will do really...just plug a cheap set into the headphone slot on the motherboard / case.

BloodBath

To be honest you're not balancing your budget properly. The likes of an i5 4440 with a b85 board is all you need for gaming for the foreseeable future.

Spend the extra money on the g-card and get at least an R9 270.

I'd rate this perixx mouse higher than that anker one as well. It's cheaper too.

MRTULES

BloodBath wrote: »

To be honest you're not balancing your budget properly. The likes of an i5 4440 with a b85 board is all you need for gaming for the foreseeable future.

Spend the extra money on the g-card and get at least an R9 270.

I'd rate this perixx mouse higher than that anker one as well. It's cheaper too.

The budget is unbalanced because I can get a chep CPU. If this was not the case I would be getting a g1820 or some similarly cheap CPU. Again I'm currently running on the integrated graphics of a pentium dual core e5400 so I'm sure the 260x will be a massive improvement.
Is it worth the extra 15 euro for a 2gb version though?

Thanks for all the input guys.

MRTULES

I should say that it maybe possible to get an i5 4430 or 4570S which would both be cheaper and allow for a r9 270. Would the decrease in performance in everyday use be noticeable compared to 4670k or an i7.

BloodBath

It depends what you're doing but for gaming there would be 0 difference with a 270.

You're going to hit gpu limits before cpu limits even with a higher end card.

There will be the odd cpu limited game that would perform better with an overclocked 4670k but if it means getting a lower end card I wouldn't bother.

Luck100

They'll all be perfectly fine both in everyday use and gaming, you won't notice the difference. You would need lots more gpu power before you noticed any cpu bottleneck. On the other hand, the r9 270 will be noticeably faster than the 260 or 260x. So your overall experience will be better with cheaper cpu like 4570S + better gpu like 270.

MRTULES

OK folks I am picking up a few more parts tomorrow so in all I will have

Bitfenix Merc Beta
Sapphire HD 6950 1gb
8gb Corsair Vengeance
CX 600M

So I have to pick up a CPU, MOBO and HDD/SSD

I was thinking about these

Item|Price
Kingston SSD V300 120GB SATA III|€57.84
Intel Celeron G1820, 2x 2.70GHz, boxed|€32.08
ASRock B85M Pro4, Sockel 1150, mATX|€53.19
BitFenix USB 3.0 Front Panel, 2 Ports, 5,25 Zoll, SofTouch, schwarz|€7.89
Total|€162.99

I am using the g1820 as a place holder until I can afford to get eitehr an i5 4570 or i7 4770.
Love to hear your thoughts and also what extras will I need? Cabels and the likes? Also can I download a windows 8 trial and do I jsut pop it on a usb or burn an iso to a disk?
Thanks

SuperTortoise

You can download windows onto a usb and install form there, you can leave the activation of windows for a while i think you get 3 months before you have to buy an activation key, should give you enoght time to save for the key.

MRTULES

SuperTortoise wrote: »

You can download windows onto a usb and install form there, you can leave the activation of windows for a while i think you get 3 months before you have to buy an activation key, should give you enoght time to save for the key.

I am having difficulty with this^^^^
Honestly cant seem to find what I am looking for (whatever that is)
Any help much appreciated

Lu Tze

MRTULES wrote: »

I am having difficulty with this^^^^
Honestly cant seem to find what I am looking for (whatever that is)
Any help much appreciated

You will find ISO of windows 7 on digital river, and Microsoft have a tool which formats USB keys and makes them bookable with the ISO. If you can find any posts by the user monotype, he has links in his signature, definitely for the ISO, not sure about the windows USB tool, but Google if you can't find it

MRTULES

Just received my first ever delivery of computer parts. Exited is am understatement.

SuperTortoise

MRTULES wrote: »

Just received my first ever delivery of computer parts. Exited is am understatement.

Excellent, good luck with the build!