First things first: NO FANBOYISM!!!!!!! I would like to keep this discussion civil. Tell me why the processor you are supporting is good, not why the other one sucks. For example: DO SAY: Processor X scores higher in cinebench then processor Y so you should buy processor X. DO NOT SAY processor Y's cinebench score is terrible dont buy that processor, buy processor X instead.
Also, please use evidence to support your claims
I am going to be building a new machine after Christmas this year with the money I will be getting in addition to the money i currently have saved, and wanted to start planing the build now. My current situation is a little complicated, so let me explain:
My dad and I are currently sharing a PC. Last year I got a 5770 and a new 650W power supply for the PC we are sharing so I could actually game on it. I am going to transfer over these two pieces to my new build, and possibly upgrade the graphics card later when the next gen cards have been out of a while and launch kinks have been worked out. My current machine is some gateway machine my dad bought about 4 years ago (Back then I knew nothing about computers so I couldnt build it myself). It has a phenom i x3 at 2.1ghz and we upgraded it to 8gb 800mhz DDR2 when I got the new power supply and gfx card. The reason I am building a new machine is so I can have my own PC, actually be able to overclock, and have the PC so that I can take it to college next year. Right now I am a high school senior. When I go to college I will be majoring in software engineering, computer science or game design and development. I would like to be able to use this PC in college as my main system. This is important because at the college I am considering going to their computer labs shut down at 11pm, so if I have a project due I would like to be able to complete it on this PC in timely fashion. The reason I am giving this background is that it affects what I want my new PC to be able to do.
Goals for new system:
1) Be able to overclock
2) Good multitasking capability (IE render something while gaming, watching a video or browsing the web and be relatively lag free)
3) Good gaming performance
4) Be able to quickly render things from video editing or Maya 3D
Low power consumption is nice, however it is not a major issue for me.
Right now I am going to list what I see as the pros and cons of each system. Please feel free to make add things to my lists or to corrections to my current understandings, but again please do it in a positive way.
Bulldozer
Pros:
8 integer cores
great multitasking
good for multithreaded rendering at editing
42 integrated PCIe lanes
Decent overclocking capability
Good quality motherboard with lots of features for a low price
Cons:
Power consumption when overclocked
single threaded performence'
poor cache latency
IPC lower then phenom ii
Sandy bridge (2500k or 2600k, help me decide)
Pros:
High IPC
Great cache latency
low power consumption
Can overclock very well on only slight voltage jumps
preforms very well in games and in rendering (for 2600k)
Cons:
Limited to multiplier only overclocking
only 16 PCIe lanes*
I have heard that if you try to say game and render something at the same time that performance drops considerably (please confirm or rebuke this)
Motherboards $50-$70 more for the same feature set you would get on a comparable AMD motherboard
Phenom ii
Pros:
Inexpensive (1055t is $120 at my local microcenter)
higher IPC then bulldozer
good price to performance ratio
42 PCI lanes integrated
great overclocking
Cons:
EOL
high power consumption (not as much as bulldozer but more then SB)
loses to SB in single thread and multithread (2600k for multithread)
loses to bulldozer for multithread
*A note on the SB PCIe lanes. Some of you may wondering why I consider the 16 pci lanes to be a major con. I know the a 8x/8x crossfire/sli will perform great on a SB, but the reason I am concerned it that many peripherals run off the PCIe lanes as well. So say I was running a 2 card setup, that would mean I might lose the USB 3 front ports, extra sata ports or the ability to place more PCIe items in the remaining x1 or x4 slots because there would be no more bandwidth available for those devices to use. I know you can get a board with a NF200 chip, but the only two boards I have found that have the chip are the Asus WS board priced at $260 and the Asus ROG boards which are $300+, and I really cant afford to pay that much extra to use the features I listed above in a two card config. If anyone has more info that they could add to either confirm or deny this I would appreciate it.
My budget is somewhere in the $700-$900 range, however, I still need to get a monitor, as well as all the other hardware components. Any suggestions for other parts that I should get are welcome. Also, in regards to graphics, should I go for the new HD 7000 or Nvidia 600 right off the bat, or would grabbing a second 5770 provide enough graphics power to last for awhile. I plan to run one monitor at 1920 x 1080. Games I play are Battlefield 3, Star Wars the Old Republic, Starcraft 2. On my current system with the old phenom i and the 5770 I can play all 3 decently, except at times of increased activity such as alot of explosions or military conflict. In regards to storage, I am still debating between one large HDD or a medium HDD and a SSD.
Also, please use evidence to support your claims
I am going to be building a new machine after Christmas this year with the money I will be getting in addition to the money i currently have saved, and wanted to start planing the build now. My current situation is a little complicated, so let me explain:
My dad and I are currently sharing a PC. Last year I got a 5770 and a new 650W power supply for the PC we are sharing so I could actually game on it. I am going to transfer over these two pieces to my new build, and possibly upgrade the graphics card later when the next gen cards have been out of a while and launch kinks have been worked out. My current machine is some gateway machine my dad bought about 4 years ago (Back then I knew nothing about computers so I couldnt build it myself). It has a phenom i x3 at 2.1ghz and we upgraded it to 8gb 800mhz DDR2 when I got the new power supply and gfx card. The reason I am building a new machine is so I can have my own PC, actually be able to overclock, and have the PC so that I can take it to college next year. Right now I am a high school senior. When I go to college I will be majoring in software engineering, computer science or game design and development. I would like to be able to use this PC in college as my main system. This is important because at the college I am considering going to their computer labs shut down at 11pm, so if I have a project due I would like to be able to complete it on this PC in timely fashion. The reason I am giving this background is that it affects what I want my new PC to be able to do.
Goals for new system:
1) Be able to overclock
2) Good multitasking capability (IE render something while gaming, watching a video or browsing the web and be relatively lag free)
3) Good gaming performance
4) Be able to quickly render things from video editing or Maya 3D
Low power consumption is nice, however it is not a major issue for me.
Right now I am going to list what I see as the pros and cons of each system. Please feel free to make add things to my lists or to corrections to my current understandings, but again please do it in a positive way.
Bulldozer
Pros:
8 integer cores
great multitasking
good for multithreaded rendering at editing
42 integrated PCIe lanes
Decent overclocking capability
Good quality motherboard with lots of features for a low price
Cons:
Power consumption when overclocked
single threaded performence'
poor cache latency
IPC lower then phenom ii
Sandy bridge (2500k or 2600k, help me decide)
Pros:
High IPC
Great cache latency
low power consumption
Can overclock very well on only slight voltage jumps
preforms very well in games and in rendering (for 2600k)
Cons:
Limited to multiplier only overclocking
only 16 PCIe lanes*
I have heard that if you try to say game and render something at the same time that performance drops considerably (please confirm or rebuke this)
Motherboards $50-$70 more for the same feature set you would get on a comparable AMD motherboard
Phenom ii
Pros:
Inexpensive (1055t is $120 at my local microcenter)
higher IPC then bulldozer
good price to performance ratio
42 PCI lanes integrated
great overclocking
Cons:
EOL
high power consumption (not as much as bulldozer but more then SB)
loses to SB in single thread and multithread (2600k for multithread)
loses to bulldozer for multithread
*A note on the SB PCIe lanes. Some of you may wondering why I consider the 16 pci lanes to be a major con. I know the a 8x/8x crossfire/sli will perform great on a SB, but the reason I am concerned it that many peripherals run off the PCIe lanes as well. So say I was running a 2 card setup, that would mean I might lose the USB 3 front ports, extra sata ports or the ability to place more PCIe items in the remaining x1 or x4 slots because there would be no more bandwidth available for those devices to use. I know you can get a board with a NF200 chip, but the only two boards I have found that have the chip are the Asus WS board priced at $260 and the Asus ROG boards which are $300+, and I really cant afford to pay that much extra to use the features I listed above in a two card config. If anyone has more info that they could add to either confirm or deny this I would appreciate it.
My budget is somewhere in the $700-$900 range, however, I still need to get a monitor, as well as all the other hardware components. Any suggestions for other parts that I should get are welcome. Also, in regards to graphics, should I go for the new HD 7000 or Nvidia 600 right off the bat, or would grabbing a second 5770 provide enough graphics power to last for awhile. I plan to run one monitor at 1920 x 1080. Games I play are Battlefield 3, Star Wars the Old Republic, Starcraft 2. On my current system with the old phenom i and the 5770 I can play all 3 decently, except at times of increased activity such as alot of explosions or military conflict. In regards to storage, I am still debating between one large HDD or a medium HDD and a SSD.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram