All good questions....most intriguing regarding the Ivy Bridge!
Well...My budget for the PC alone is around 1100. Then I'll allow up to 300 the a monitor (probably a 27" inch).
I've built an imaginary rig in the form of a wishlist on Newegg, if you wanna take a look at it. I've got most everything picked out and several of the items on my list I've found on some other sites for less than Newegg is charging. I think I've got some real soul searching to do in terms of video cards.
I actually wouldn't mind waiting for the Ivy Bridge, but as you can see, I'm also on a budget. I may be a hardware enthusiast, but I also have to stay within my budget. But it's good. Teaches me discipline and I learn more about hardware as I shop around.
1100 is a little tight, especially when you want new tech.
A lot of people are looking forward to Ivy Bridge, and from how prices for Sandy Bridge has changed (which is not much if at all), most of the price declining over the past year has come from the motherboards.
I believe Ivy Bridge will be using a new socket, and the new motherboards will also have PCI 3.0 (though it's not like we need it for another few years). So I can see it's motherboards being a little bit pricey, but the CPUs will be reasonably priced.
There's also the issue with motherboard levels. Back last year when SB first launched, there were only the P67 and H67 series, and a half a year later they released the Z68 series, which was a combination of the previous 2. So hopefully Intel can release the complete line-up of motherboards this time.
On the other hand, Nivida's kepler won't offer you much options since they will probably only have 1 or 2 video card out (in the 300 range), so it's very likely that you'll still be looking at the 500s.
Last but not least, lets see your rig!
(I'll be off to bed tonight but will check this thread tomorrow and see if i can help you find some deals)
Alright, let's see here...I'll just link to each thing...
So it's pretty basic so far. I'm just making it so I can continue my upgrades as I go along with more ssd's later and I'll max out the ram, get extra monitors later, etc.
Alright, let's see here...I'll just link to each thing...
So it's pretty basic so far. I'm just making it so I can continue my upgrades as I go along with more ssd's later and I'll max out the ram, get extra monitors later, etc.
Just completely my personal opinion, but you can get a 3.8 quad core amd processor for less than half of that i7 (just saw a 3.6 for $156 bucks). Intel is just name brand, I've been using amd my whole computer life and it's never let me down =) As far as your power supply, I'm not sure which video card you want to use, but spending the extra for a 1k watt will defiantly help you in the long run, especially if you ever want to go SLI or triple SLI =P
Also if you're considering a video card, I just replaced my GTX 470 with a GTX 550, and it defiantly makes a difference. Not to mention the GPU doesn't heat up nearly as bad. With the 470 I had to run the fan at ~ 75% to get it to chill around 60C while playing something graphics intensive like SC2 at ultra. That 75% is pretty damn loud, but I can run the 550 at 40% or eve less and it stays around the same C, making it pretty quiet =)
On the motherboard Asus is defiantly the way to go, but I haven't dabbled in the intel region. I know if you end up going with that amd quad (again for half the price =D ) you can pick up something like my motherboard which is the M4A89TD for ~$160. Hasn't let me down yet, and the core unlocker and OC switch right on the mobo is pretty sweet =)
TLDR; Just my honest opinion but AMD is just as good as intel for half the price. IF I was you, I'd switch out for the 3.6 or 3.8 amd quad for ~$160 (instead of the what, $350 for intel). I'd also upgrade your power supply to something closer to 850 or 1k, just because you wouldn't have to buy another one for awhile. And lastly I'd grab the Asus AMD mobo, personally the Crosshair V (The thunderbolt for like 60 bucks more isn't worth it, but the crosshair V is pretty awesome at around $200 =P)
I really thought the 650 watt PSU would be sufficient since the video card won't be that much more power than my other one and I may actually use less power now with only ssd's in the machine. Although since I was considering getting some extra cooling and then unlocking the i7, do I need that much more power for that as well?
I seriously keep reading so many different comparisons between gtx 460 and 550 ti. On the hwcompare.com site it shows overall the 550 ti performing better in most areas with the 460 doing a little better in one particular area. So I'm really not sure how to roll.
And to be honest, I never seriously considered AMD. I was under the impression AMD used to be way better but has not kept up with Intel over the years. And no, I didn't think that just cause of the hype of Intel. But I guess I've got some more reading to do....
I really thought the 650 watt PSU would be sufficient since the video card won't be that much more power than my other one and I may actually use less power now with only ssd's in the machine. Although since I was considering getting some extra cooling and then unlocking the i7, do I need that much more power for that as well?
I seriously keep reading so many different comparisons between gtx 460 and 550 ti. On the hwcompare.com site it shows overall the 550 ti performing better in most areas with the 460 doing a little better in one particular area. So I'm really not sure how to roll.
And to be honest, I never seriously considered AMD. I was under the impression AMD used to be way better but has not kept up with Intel over the years. And no, I didn't think that just cause of the hype of Intel. But I guess I've got some more reading to do....
Thanks very much for your feedback!
Yea if anything I think it's just clever marketing. I've had zero, and I'm not exaggerating ( I actually bent like 14 of the pins on my AMD processor and took my knife to straighten, still works like a champ) problems with AMD. Defiantly go with what you want, but I can promise you you'd pay half as much, have just as good, if not a better rig, and have the same durability.
As far as the power supply, I was actually just talking with some geek squad dudes over at best buy the other day while I was buying my new card, and he was telling me how his 650 wasn't able to power his card (he did get the 560 tho) and his computer. IMO you can't go wrong with the 850 or 1k watt, you want that extra power for wiggle room.
The 550 Ti is actually the exact card I just got, and it defiantly out performs my old 470 with ease. I'd recommend it =) Or for I think an extra $50 you can get the 560.
What I understand about wattages is that it's more about the quality of the PSU and whether it's single rail or not and what the rippling levels are. My current PSU is the exact same one I showed here but it's a 550 watt and I've never had any problems with it before.
What I understand about wattages is that it's more about the quality of the PSU and whether it's single rail or not and what the rippling levels are. My current PSU is the exact same one I showed here but it's a 550 watt and I've never had any problems with it before.
Oh I don't for a second pretend I know half of what I'm talking about, I'm just speaking from my own experiences =) I went with a 1K watt back when I built my rig because I knew i wanted to upgrade to SLI in the future, plus i like LED fans in my case =D
650w should be fine for now, I went with the 850w but I'm using a pretty hefty card, if you don't plan on going higher than the 550ti. Are you getting the 1gb or 2gb card? I'd personally recommend you get the Radeon HD 6870. For about 30$~ more you will be getting a card that out performs the 550ti by quite a bit.
The i7 2600k has excellent benchmarks and a really good price comparatively. Benchmarks here and here. I almost got the 2600k but i got the 2700k instead at the last second.
If you want a motherboard with plenty of room to expand to in the future I suggest the ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3. I got that one it has lots of room to upgrade. It also has PCI-e 3.0 slots so you can really do some upgrading later on.
Might want to ask over at toms hardware to make sure your final build seems okay they're more helpful. But that'd be my suggestion.
That is a sweet mobo, alright. Getting a bit pricey for me though. I wonder too why so many mobos only come with two SATA 3 ports. Seems especially at this price they should include more. I did check out that particular Radeon too earlier today and I'll admit I was impressed by it. Really not sure what to do with the video card though. I don't want to spend too much on something extra my eyes won't be able to distinguish anyway.
Alright, let's see here...I'll just link to each thing...
So it's pretty basic so far. I'm just making it so I can continue my upgrades as I go along with more ssd's later and I'll max out the ram, get extra monitors later, etc.
Well here's MY personal opinion. Firstly, Intel makes better CPU's, both may be 4-core and stuff but AMD CPU's doesn't perform nearly as good as Intel (you can go compare some stuff for yourself):
Intel Core i5 2500K - 3.3GHz vs AMD Phenom II X6 1100T BE - 3.3GHz (One of AMD's most high end CPU's)
For gaming, intel CPU's is the best way to go...even the 6-core AMD is no match for the Intel 4-core...
EVEN for 3d rendering the i5 is slightly better (rendering all depends on the amount of cores and threads of the cpu - so this just go to show how good Intel's CPU's are):
Render Time in Seconds - Lower is Better
i5 - 3.923
1100T - 4.116
So in your case, I'd prefer even the i5 2500k over the i7 2600K and spare $100...i7 only has twice as many threads (better for rendering (as you can see in the above link), gaming doesn't even use these extra threads). The i5 even beats the i7 on some tests:
And just google "i5 2500k vs i7 2600k best for gaming performance" or something you'll get your answer. i5 2500k is the best gaming cpu for the cheapest by FAR!!
Just ask anything, I recently build my own pc and did intensive research to make sure I got everything right!
As for your mobo, I have the exact same one! I also prefer Asus mobo for Intel CPU's. That mobo is a good choice, doesn't have 7+ PCI slots from which you're only gonna use 2...BUT I see your RAM's default frequency is 2133Hz and your mobo's default is 1600Hz, so you'll have to OC the DIMMS in your mobo the fuck up! I don't OC my DIMMS so I can't say if OC that much might be dangerous.
Hope this helps.
Edit: You can add that extra $100 for a better gfx.
Alright, let's see here...I'll just link to each thing...
So it's pretty basic so far. I'm just making it so I can continue my upgrades as I go along with more ssd's later and I'll max out the ram, get extra monitors later, etc.
Well here's MY personal opinion. Firstly, Intel makes better CPU's, both may be 4-core and stuff but AMD CPU's doesn't perform nearly as good as Intel (you can go compare some stuff for yourself):
Intel Core i5 2500K - 3.3GHz vs AMD Phenom II X6 1100T BE - 3.3GHz (One of AMD's most high end CPU's)
For gaming, intel CPU's is the best way to go...even the 6-core AMD is no match for the Intel 4-core...
EVEN for 3d rendering the i5 is slightly better (rendering all depends on the amount of cores and threads of the cpu - so this just go to show how good Intel's CPU's are):
Render Time in Seconds - Lower is Better
i5 - 3.923
1100T - 4.116
So in your case, I'd prefer even the i5 2500k over the i7 2600K and spare $100...i7 only has twice as many threads (better for rendering (as you can see in the above link), gaming doesn't even use these extra threads). The i5 even beats the i7 on some tests:
And just google "i5 2500k vs i7 2600k best for gaming performance" or something you'll get your answer. i5 2500k is the best gaming cpu for the cheapest by FAR!!
Just ask anything, I recently build my own pc and did intensive research to make sure I got everything right!
As for your mobo, I have the exact same one! I also prefer Asus mobo for Intel CPU's. That mobo is a good choice, doesn't have 7+ PCI slots from which you're only gonna use 2...BUT I see your RAM's default frequency is 2133Hz and your mobo's default is 1600Hz, so you'll have to OC the DIMMS in your mobo the fuck up! I don't OC my DIMMS so I can't say if OC that much might be dangerous.
Hope this helps.
Edit: You can add that extra $100 for a better gfx.
Very true. Now compare the quad core AMD phenom BE x4 980 against the 2500k. The AMD is $159 compared to intels $229, and the AMD beats the intel on about half of the benchmarks. Both have their ups, I'm simply saying for the price I always go AMD, I can max any game settings with zero performance issues, and I saved a lot of money for other parts on my rig =D http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/288?vs=362
Gosh, I was hoping the upgrades I've chosen over my current rig would be quite substantial. Are there really not that many selling points for the i7 over the i5? I guess I should've listed what my current rig was, but yeah I am using an unlocked i5 now. I knew I wanted a better mobo for future upgrades, and I'm selling 2 TB of slower harddrives just to invest in ssd. And yeah I wanted RAM for speeds up to 2133. Hopefully this isn't difficult to do in the BIOS.
The Gigabyte mobo I have now made overclocking really easy. Also I know the overclock speeds of i5 and i7 are about the same, but I thought the i7 had all that hyperthreading that the i5 did not. Maybe I acted too soon to replace my rig, but I wasn't confident in selling each of my PC's hardware individually so I'm just selling it all as a package to recover most my costs and do it again since I learned a lot building that first one and I know I'd do things differently this time around.
Alright, let's see here...I'll just link to each thing...
So it's pretty basic so far. I'm just making it so I can continue my upgrades as I go along with more ssd's later and I'll max out the ram, get extra monitors later, etc.
Well here's MY personal opinion. Firstly, Intel makes better CPU's, both may be 4-core and stuff but AMD CPU's doesn't perform nearly as good as Intel (you can go compare some stuff for yourself):
Intel Core i5 2500K - 3.3GHz vs AMD Phenom II X6 1100T BE - 3.3GHz (One of AMD's most high end CPU's)
For gaming, intel CPU's is the best way to go...even the 6-core AMD is no match for the Intel 4-core...
EVEN for 3d rendering the i5 is slightly better (rendering all depends on the amount of cores and threads of the cpu - so this just go to show how good Intel's CPU's are):
Render Time in Seconds - Lower is Better
i5 - 3.923
1100T - 4.116
So in your case, I'd prefer even the i5 2500k over the i7 2600K and spare $100...i7 only has twice as many threads (better for rendering (as you can see in the above link), gaming doesn't even use these extra threads). The i5 even beats the i7 on some tests:
And just google "i5 2500k vs i7 2600k best for gaming performance" or something you'll get your answer. i5 2500k is the best gaming cpu for the cheapest by FAR!!
Just ask anything, I recently build my own pc and did intensive research to make sure I got everything right!
As for your mobo, I have the exact same one! I also prefer Asus mobo for Intel CPU's. That mobo is a good choice, doesn't have 7+ PCI slots from which you're only gonna use 2...BUT I see your RAM's default frequency is 2133Hz and your mobo's default is 1600Hz, so you'll have to OC the DIMMS in your mobo the fuck up! I don't OC my DIMMS so I can't say if OC that much might be dangerous.
Hope this helps.
Edit: You can add that extra $100 for a better gfx.
Very true. Now compare the quad core AMD phenom BE x4 980 against the 2500k. The AMD is $159 compared to intels $229, and the AMD beats the intel on about half of the benchmarks. Both have their ups, I'm simply saying for the price I always go AMD, I can max any game settings with zero performance issues, and I saved a lot of money for other parts on my rig =D http://www.anandtech...duct/288?vs=362
Gosh, I was hoping the upgrades I've chosen over my current rig would be quite substantial. Are there really not that many selling points for the i7 over the i5? I guess I should've listed what my current rig was, but yeah I am using an unlocked i5 now. I knew I wanted a better mobo for future upgrades, and I'm selling 2 TB of slower harddrives just to invest in ssd. And yeah I wanted RAM for speeds up to 2133. Hopefully this isn't difficult to do in the BIOS.
The only selling points I know of is the fact that the i7 is a 4-core-8-thread-8MB-cach cpu and the i5 is a 4-core-4-thread-6MB cpu. Just compare here:
There are subtle increases in some areas, but not THAT much.
I take it you have the previous i5 version cpu and not the Sandy Bridge? Even though it's an improvement IF you sell you old i5 and buy the SB i5, it's not really an "upgrade". But if you want you can buy the i7.
The Gigabyte mobo I have now made overclocking really easy. Also I know the overclock speeds of i5 and i7 are about the same, but I thought the i7 had all that hyperthreading that the i5 did not. Maybe I acted too soon to replace my rig, but I wasn't confident in selling each of my PC's hardware individually so I'm just selling it all as a package to recover most my costs and do it again since I learned a lot building that first one and I know I'd do things differently this time around.
Yeah same OC speeds and yes for i7's hyperthreading. As I said in my post, you only need those extra threads in the i7 for heavy rendering and not gaming. If you sell your old rig as a whole, I'll suggest you take advantage of selling your rig as a package! Lookup what each component is worth atm and add it up and add a couple of $100 afterwards just so you make some profit. But yeah just do your thing!
Hi Snake, sorry to say but there's a couple of your points I believe is a little mis-informed, but I know we all here to help.
First off, a 550ti in no way outperforms a 470 gtx performance wise. It only outperforms a 470 gtx in terms of temp and noise (or underperform i should say), and that's because Nvidia stumbled releasing the first Fermi generation and rushed it so damn hot and power hungry. In terms of performance, 470 gtx is basically at the 560ti level.
Secondly, the power supply, for a single card system (not those 6990 or 590s of course) with overclocking, 650w plenty, a 550w will probably be enough. I dont know what the geek squad dude is running, but something doesn't add up. A good 650w can run 6850 in crossfire.
But of course more is better for future upgrade, if you see sli/crossfire as an option, then get 850w. If not, then 750w and 650w is really a struggle with budget and what other fancy stuff you got in the case.
this powersupply calculator is quite handy, but powersupplies do deteriorate over time, but you can account for that in the calculator too http://extreme.outer...culatorlite.jsp
Lastly AMD vs Intel... it's one of those complicated questions that I dont like to get into, but since its Siaynoq getting the pc, and he is looking for an Upgrade. i'll offer my opinion on that.
Get Sandy Bridge if you dont need multi threading, the 2500k is of great value and performance, uses very little power, and overclocks great because it runs really cool.
If you do need multi-threading, then it's a matter of how much, and the budget, because 2600k is a little bit pricey for your budget, but it's still a very good chip
So while AMD is cheaper, a 150 AMD chip won't offer Siaynoq much improvement from his old i5, so I think the 2500k and above is the only choice he's got.
Oh to Siaynoq, that mobo you have is micro-atx, so definitely not something you want. I will give you some suggestions through messaging, and don't use hwcompare to compare videocards, it rarely gives you the full picture. Search for reviews or use Anandtech's GPU benchmark
I have been thinking lately maybe I will get the i5k and just overclock it while spending the extra money perhaps on a GTX 560 Ti. I may still even get the regular GTX 560, but one thing I am certain of is that I will spend more on the card and forego the 550 Ti.
Also, is the RAM not worth getting up to 2133 then for the i5? Should I just stick to the 1600? I was a little disappointed at this to be honest. Not that RAM is thee most important upgrade, but it's a fairly cheap upgrade to eventually max out so I like doing it eventually. But if my processor can't even really benefit from 2133 speeds then I suppose I'd just buy more of the Corsair Vengeance 1600.
I have been thinking lately maybe I will get the i5k and just overclock it while spending the extra money perhaps on a GTX 560 Ti. I may still even get the regular GTX 560, but one thing I am certain of is that I will spend more on the card and forego the 550 Ti.
Good choice!! Anyway, this is what I would've done. Use that extra $100 on a better GFX which is the best for gaming.
Also, is the RAM not worth getting up to 2133 then for the i5? Should I just stick to the 1600? I was a little disappointed at this to be honest. Not that RAM is thee most important upgrade, but it's a fairly cheap upgrade to eventually max out so I like doing it eventually. But if my processor can't even really benefit from 2133 speeds then I suppose I'd just buy more of the Corsair Vengeance 1600.
If you're not gonna OC your ram to nearly 2133Hz with your mobo, than I'll suggest getting either the 1600 Corsair or Ripjaw RAM. The Vengeance is designed to get OC, so with both the Ripjaw and Corsair RAM at basically the same price I'll suggest getting the Corsair, cause you might want to OC in the future.
Well...My budget for the PC alone is around 1100. Then I'll allow up to 300 the a monitor (probably a 27" inch).
I've built an imaginary rig in the form of a wishlist on Newegg, if you wanna take a look at it. I've got most everything picked out and several of the items on my list I've found on some other sites for less than Newegg is charging. I think I've got some real soul searching to do in terms of video cards.
I actually wouldn't mind waiting for the Ivy Bridge, but as you can see, I'm also on a budget. I may be a hardware enthusiast, but I also have to stay within my budget. But it's good. Teaches me discipline and I learn more about hardware as I shop around.
Siaynoq's Playthroughs
A lot of people are looking forward to Ivy Bridge, and from how prices for Sandy Bridge has changed (which is not much if at all), most of the price declining over the past year has come from the motherboards.
I believe Ivy Bridge will be using a new socket, and the new motherboards will also have PCI 3.0 (though it's not like we need it for another few years). So I can see it's motherboards being a little bit pricey, but the CPUs will be reasonably priced.
There's also the issue with motherboard levels. Back last year when SB first launched, there were only the P67 and H67 series, and a half a year later they released the Z68 series, which was a combination of the previous 2. So hopefully Intel can release the complete line-up of motherboards this time.
On the other hand, Nivida's kepler won't offer you much options since they will probably only have 1 or 2 video card out (in the 300 range), so it's very likely that you'll still be looking at the 500s.
Last but not least, lets see your rig!
(I'll be off to bed tonight but will check this thread tomorrow and see if i can help you find some deals)
So it's pretty basic so far. I'm just making it so I can continue my upgrades as I go along with more ssd's later and I'll max out the ram, get extra monitors later, etc.
Definitely need feedback on the mobo.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820233220
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820231468
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811119233
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817207014
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819115070
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16827118031
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131786
Siaynoq's Playthroughs
Just completely my personal opinion, but you can get a 3.8 quad core amd processor for less than half of that i7 (just saw a 3.6 for $156 bucks). Intel is just name brand, I've been using amd my whole computer life and it's never let me down =) As far as your power supply, I'm not sure which video card you want to use, but spending the extra for a 1k watt will defiantly help you in the long run, especially if you ever want to go SLI or triple SLI =P
Also if you're considering a video card, I just replaced my GTX 470 with a GTX 550, and it defiantly makes a difference. Not to mention the GPU doesn't heat up nearly as bad. With the 470 I had to run the fan at ~ 75% to get it to chill around 60C while playing something graphics intensive like SC2 at ultra. That 75% is pretty damn loud, but I can run the 550 at 40% or eve less and it stays around the same C, making it pretty quiet =)
On the motherboard Asus is defiantly the way to go, but I haven't dabbled in the intel region. I know if you end up going with that amd quad (again for half the price =D ) you can pick up something like my motherboard which is the M4A89TD for ~$160. Hasn't let me down yet, and the core unlocker and OC switch right on the mobo is pretty sweet =)
TLDR; Just my honest opinion but AMD is just as good as intel for half the price. IF I was you, I'd switch out for the 3.6 or 3.8 amd quad for ~$160 (instead of the what, $350 for intel). I'd also upgrade your power supply to something closer to 850 or 1k, just because you wouldn't have to buy another one for awhile. And lastly I'd grab the Asus AMD mobo, personally the Crosshair V (The thunderbolt for like 60 bucks more isn't worth it, but the crosshair V is pretty awesome at around $200 =P)
I seriously keep reading so many different comparisons between gtx 460 and 550 ti. On the hwcompare.com site it shows overall the 550 ti performing better in most areas with the 460 doing a little better in one particular area. So I'm really not sure how to roll.
And to be honest, I never seriously considered AMD. I was under the impression AMD used to be way better but has not kept up with Intel over the years. And no, I didn't think that just cause of the hype of Intel. But I guess I've got some more reading to do....
Thanks very much for your feedback!
Siaynoq's Playthroughs
Yea if anything I think it's just clever marketing. I've had zero, and I'm not exaggerating ( I actually bent like 14 of the pins on my AMD processor and took my knife to straighten, still works like a champ) problems with AMD. Defiantly go with what you want, but I can promise you you'd pay half as much, have just as good, if not a better rig, and have the same durability.
As far as the power supply, I was actually just talking with some geek squad dudes over at best buy the other day while I was buying my new card, and he was telling me how his 650 wasn't able to power his card (he did get the 560 tho) and his computer. IMO you can't go wrong with the 850 or 1k watt, you want that extra power for wiggle room.
The 550 Ti is actually the exact card I just got, and it defiantly out performs my old 470 with ease. I'd recommend it =) Or for I think an extra $50 you can get the 560.
*brags about his 2 x 24" screens and his 27" 1080P LCD LED backlit 1million : 1 monitor =D*
Siaynoq's Playthroughs
Oh I don't for a second pretend I know half of what I'm talking about, I'm just speaking from my own experiences =) I went with a 1K watt back when I built my rig because I knew i wanted to upgrade to SLI in the future, plus i like LED fans in my case =D
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Wise Elderhttp://www.hwcompare.com/9710/geforce-gtx-550-ti-vs-radeon-hd-6870/
The i7 2600k has excellent benchmarks and a really good price comparatively. Benchmarks here and here. I almost got the 2600k but i got the 2700k instead at the last second.
If you want a motherboard with plenty of room to expand to in the future I suggest the ASUS P8Z68-V/GEN3. I got that one it has lots of room to upgrade. It also has PCI-e 3.0 slots so you can really do some upgrading later on.
Might want to ask over at toms hardware to make sure your final build seems okay they're more helpful. But that'd be my suggestion.
Siaynoq's Playthroughs
Well here's MY personal opinion. Firstly, Intel makes better CPU's, both may be 4-core and stuff but AMD CPU's doesn't perform nearly as good as Intel (you can go compare some stuff for yourself):
Intel Core i5 2500K - 3.3GHz vs AMD Phenom II X6 1100T BE - 3.3GHz (One of AMD's most high end CPU's)
http://www.anandtech...duct/288?vs=203
For gaming, intel CPU's is the best way to go...even the 6-core AMD is no match for the Intel 4-core...
EVEN for 3d rendering the i5 is slightly better (rendering all depends on the amount of cores and threads of the cpu - so this just go to show how good Intel's CPU's are):
Render Time in Seconds - Lower is Better
i5 - 3.923
1100T - 4.116
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/33
So in your case, I'd prefer even the i5 2500k over the i7 2600K and spare $100...i7 only has twice as many threads (better for rendering (as you can see in the above link), gaming doesn't even use these extra threads). The i5 even beats the i7 on some tests:
(it's quite a long review - but i5 and i7 gaming performance charts start at page 20)
http://www.anandtech...-2100-tested/20
http://www.cpubenchm...h_end_cpus.html
And just google "i5 2500k vs i7 2600k best for gaming performance" or something you'll get your answer. i5 2500k is the best gaming cpu for the cheapest by FAR!!
Just ask anything, I recently build my own pc and did intensive research to make sure I got everything right!
As for your mobo, I have the exact same one! I also prefer Asus mobo for Intel CPU's. That mobo is a good choice, doesn't have 7+ PCI slots from which you're only gonna use 2...BUT I see your RAM's default frequency is 2133Hz and your mobo's default is 1600Hz, so you'll have to OC the DIMMS in your mobo the fuck up! I don't OC my DIMMS so I can't say if OC that much might be dangerous.
Hope this helps.
Edit: You can add that extra $100 for a better gfx.
Very true. Now compare the quad core AMD phenom BE x4 980 against the 2500k. The AMD is $159 compared to intels $229, and the AMD beats the intel on about half of the benchmarks. Both have their ups, I'm simply saying for the price I always go AMD, I can max any game settings with zero performance issues, and I saved a lot of money for other parts on my rig =D http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/288?vs=362
The Gigabyte mobo I have now made overclocking really easy. Also I know the overclock speeds of i5 and i7 are about the same, but I thought the i7 had all that hyperthreading that the i5 did not. Maybe I acted too soon to replace my rig, but I wasn't confident in selling each of my PC's hardware individually so I'm just selling it all as a package to recover most my costs and do it again since I learned a lot building that first one and I know I'd do things differently this time around.
Siaynoq's Playthroughs
The 2 AMD CPU's are very similar:
http://www.anandtech...duct/203?vs=362
But yeah, if you have no issues with AMD, then you should go for them and save some money. I just prefer Intel. :Thumbs Up:
The only selling points I know of is the fact that the i7 is a 4-core-8-thread-8MB-cach cpu and the i5 is a 4-core-4-thread-6MB cpu. Just compare here:
i5 - http://ark.intel.com...Cache-3_30-GHz)
i7 - http://ark.intel.com...Cache-3_40-GHz)
There are subtle increases in some areas, but not THAT much.
I take it you have the previous i5 version cpu and not the Sandy Bridge? Even though it's an improvement IF you sell you old i5 and buy the SB i5, it's not really an "upgrade". But if you want you can buy the i7.
Yeah same OC speeds and yes for i7's hyperthreading. As I said in my post, you only need those extra threads in the i7 for heavy rendering and not gaming. If you sell your old rig as a whole, I'll suggest you take advantage of selling your rig as a package! Lookup what each component is worth atm and add it up and add a couple of $100 afterwards just so you make some profit. But yeah just do your thing!
First off, a 550ti in no way outperforms a 470 gtx performance wise. It only outperforms a 470 gtx in terms of temp and noise (or underperform i should say), and that's because Nvidia stumbled releasing the first Fermi generation and rushed it so damn hot and power hungry. In terms of performance, 470 gtx is basically at the 560ti level.
http://www.hardwarec...b-review-9.html
Secondly, the power supply, for a single card system (not those 6990 or 590s of course) with overclocking, 650w plenty, a 550w will probably be enough. I dont know what the geek squad dude is running, but something doesn't add up. A good 650w can run 6850 in crossfire.
But of course more is better for future upgrade, if you see sli/crossfire as an option, then get 850w. If not, then 750w and 650w is really a struggle with budget and what other fancy stuff you got in the case.
this powersupply calculator is quite handy, but powersupplies do deteriorate over time, but you can account for that in the calculator too
http://extreme.outer...culatorlite.jsp
Lastly AMD vs Intel... it's one of those complicated questions that I dont like to get into, but since its Siaynoq getting the pc, and he is looking for an Upgrade. i'll offer my opinion on that.
Get Sandy Bridge if you dont need multi threading, the 2500k is of great value and performance, uses very little power, and overclocks great because it runs really cool.
If you do need multi-threading, then it's a matter of how much, and the budget, because 2600k is a little bit pricey for your budget, but it's still a very good chip
To be honest, Bulldozer is really bad at single thread applications (which are pretty much all games) since AMD focused all their effort on the multithread.
http://www.anandtech...fx8150-tested/8
They use a lot of power too compared to SB
http://www.hardwarec...-review-19.html
So while AMD is cheaper, a 150 AMD chip won't offer Siaynoq much improvement from his old i5, so I think the 2500k and above is the only choice he's got.
Oh to Siaynoq, that mobo you have is micro-atx, so definitely not something you want. I will give you some suggestions through messaging, and don't use hwcompare to compare videocards, it rarely gives you the full picture. Search for reviews or use Anandtech's GPU benchmark
Here's the Anandtech GPU benchmark site he mentioned http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU11/188
I have been thinking lately maybe I will get the i5k and just overclock it while spending the extra money perhaps on a GTX 560 Ti. I may still even get the regular GTX 560, but one thing I am certain of is that I will spend more on the card and forego the 550 Ti.
Also, is the RAM not worth getting up to 2133 then for the i5? Should I just stick to the 1600? I was a little disappointed at this to be honest. Not that RAM is thee most important upgrade, but it's a fairly cheap upgrade to eventually max out so I like doing it eventually. But if my processor can't even really benefit from 2133 speeds then I suppose I'd just buy more of the Corsair Vengeance 1600.
Siaynoq's Playthroughs
Good choice!! Anyway, this is what I would've done. Use that extra $100 on a better GFX which is the best for gaming.
If you're not gonna OC your ram to nearly 2133Hz with your mobo, than I'll suggest getting either the 1600 Corsair or Ripjaw RAM. The Vengeance is designed to get OC, so with both the Ripjaw and Corsair RAM at basically the same price I'll suggest getting the Corsair, cause you might want to OC in the future.