My Intel Build vs. My AMD Build

[Here-Lies-The-Fire]

Hey so I'm working on building a gaming rig/college PC for CAD and all that great stuff... mostly for the gaming though. What build do you think is better and is there anything worth changing about either of them? I find it hard to pick out a good mobo.
(pretty noobish)


Intel: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=13567814

AMD: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=13567834

 

[des74]

There's no difference besides the CPU, and the i52500 pretty much beats any AMD CPU at the current moment in pretty much 80-90 percent of benchmarks.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-review-intel-core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/19

 

[jprahman]

Couple of thoughts. First, I would get a Hyper 212+ heatsink, rather than the one you have picked out. That will save you some money, and will work well. Secondly, you should get a cheaper case. $300 is WAY too much for a case. I'd recommend the Cooler Master HAFx X of HAF 932 or something similar, especially since you want to run a pair of GTX 580s. Third, because you are doing CAD work you may want to consider a i7-2600K, rather than the i5-2500K. The hyper threading of the former doesn't give much extra-performance for most applications, but CAD is one of the areas where it does help.

 

[madchemist83]

U would think the one will get something better to stare at all the time then something better to look at occasionally.
I'm talking about monitor and case ... get ISP panel and case for ~150$
that mobo on intel build is fine ... but i'm sure u can get better for less

 

[madchemist83]

+1 for i7-2600k

 

[madchemist83]

also 23" is pretty small for CAD work

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/203?vs=287 <----- AMD Phenom II X6 1100T BE vs Intel Core i7 2600K benchmarks

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/203?vs=288 <----- AMD Phenom II X6 1100T BE vs Intel Core i5 2500K benchmarks

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139009 $129.99 FREE SHIPPING
Corsair Carbide Series 500R Black Steel structure with molded ABS plastic accent pieces ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.732099 $683.98 - $35.00 Mail In Rebates FREE SHIPPING
CORSAIR Professional Series HX1050 1050W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Power Supply
MSI N580GTX Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157269 $279.99
ASRock Z68 Extreme7 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard PCIe 3.0, NF200, Gold Caps, XFast Lan/USB/Charger

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233186 $52.99 FREE SHIPPING
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Profile Desktop Memory Model CML8GX3M2A1600C9

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.696126 $71.48
LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM
Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233206 $179.99 FREE SHIPPING
Corsair Force Series 3 CSSD-F120GB3A-BK 2.5" 120GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001475 $469.99
SAMSUNG S23A750D Black 23" 2ms Full HD 3D LED BackLight LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 DCR 1,000,000:1 (1,000:1)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001474 $599.99
SAMSUNG S27A750D Black 27" 2ms Full HD 3D LED BackLight LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 DCR 1,000,000:1 (1,000:1)


http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z68%20Extreme7%20Gen3 <---- A better look at that board

http://www.asrock.com/microsite/PCIe3/ <----- PCI-E 3.0 supported by the new 22nm Ivy Bridge cpu's due out in April/May

http://www.asrock.com/microsite/IntelZ68/index.asp <----- Z68 Features

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/4272/asrock_z68_extreme7_gen3_intel_z68_motherboard_review/index1.html <--- Full review of that board with benchmarks

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995.html <----- Review done here on Toms a few weeks ago showing that boards with the NF200 Bridge reduce micro stutter.

 

[Here-Lies-The-Fire]

Well money is an issue for the CPU (plus CAD is about 2 years away for me) and as for the case I don't want anything too flashy and the Corsair is solid as all hell. The Hyper 212 Plus was a nice move..to hell with looks xD

...I might have to go with the HAF X T-T but the corsair is soooo sleek, sexy, and solid.

 

[Why_Me]

Well money is an issue for the CPU (plus CAD is about 2 years away for me) and as for the case I don't want anything too flashy and the Corsair is solid as all hell. The Hyper 212 Plus was a nice move..to hell with looks xD

...I might have to go with the HAF X T-T but the corsair is soooo sleek, sexy, and solid.

This is an easy fix. Drop a 580 for now, and that Corsair case for close to $300 is a hose job imo. Take a close look at that case...like click the "Details" on the newegg link, read the cooling/fan options along with size, etc..and then click on the pics of it on newegg and take a close look at that side window.

Then click on the Corsair case I posted and do the same thing.

 

[farsuka]

Get a HAF 932 instead of HAF X, there isn't enough of a difference to really warrant the price.

 

[Onus]

An Intel system will be much much stronger, but if for whatever reason you decide to go AMD, get a 900-series chipset board with socket AM3+ which will take Bulldozer. These boards can do SLI as well as Crossfire. Can you wait a few weeks before building? Bulldozer is supposed to be out next month, and certainly by then there will be benchmarks out.
If you're building now though, Intel is a sure bet. Your motherboard will come with most or all of the SATA cables you need, so check before you add any.
For the case, I'd choose Rosewill over Coolermaster any day, hands down. You might also like the Enermax Hoplite, because of the drive mounting options it has. I have four drives plus a SSD in mine, and it is very quiet. My CPU (970BE OC'ed to 3.8GHz) is idling at 29C right now under a 120mm Xigmatek Gaia. I added an 800rpm top fan, but kept the front and rear stock, and there's no side fan (you'd probably want one to help cool a pair of GTX580s though).

 

[jprahman]

Honestly, spending more money on a better CPU/monitor is a much better investment than a case. If money is tight you'll just have to prioritize on what's most important, and a $300 case doesn't seem that important with all of the cheaper cases that look still great, and do just as good a job keeping your parts cool.

 

[jprahman]

Good point about waiting for Bulldozer benchmarks.

 

[Why_Me]

An Intel system will be much much stronger, but if for whatever reason you decide to go AMD, get a 900-series chipset board with socket AM3+ which will take Bulldozer. These boards can do SLI as well as Crossfire. Can you wait a few weeks before building? Bulldozer is supposed to be out next month, and certainly by then there will be benchmarks out.
If you're building now though, Intel is a sure bet. Your motherboard will come with most or all of the SATA cables you need, so check before you add any.
For the case, I'd choose Rosewill over Coolermaster any day, hands down. You might also like the Enermax Hoplite, because of the drive mounting options it has. I have four drives plus a SSD in mine, and it is very quiet. My CPU (970BE OC'ed to 3.8GHz) is idling at 29C right now under a 120mm Xigmatek Gaia. I added an 800rpm top fan, but kept the front and rear stock, and there's no side fan (you'd probably want one to help cool a pair of GTX580s though).

I agree with 99.99% of your post on here jt, but how long have we been hearing about BD? Try since before January...before SB came out. Now does anyone here have a date on this benchmarks? I'm talking about a solid date...not some rumor, not some bogus site in Uzbekistan, but a valid date from a reputable site. And no theory's on what BD should do and shouldn't do, but some valid benchmarks with a valid release date.

 

[Why_Me]

Good point about waiting for Bulldozer benchmarks.

Post those benchmarks please so everyone on this site wanting a build doesn't have to put it off waiting for BD. Peeps have been doing that for close to a year now...so post those benchmarks for us please.

 

[Onus]

That is why I added in my post that Intel is a sure bet. The only reason to "risk" AMD now is if an EXISTING AMD CPU is "fast enough," even though Intel will be THE FASTEST, especially running multiple GPUs. It's sort of the "bird in the hand worth two in the bush" argument.

 

[pivotfreaker]

Yo you can save $400 ON THE GPUs because gtx 570 sli and gtx 580 has proved to be extremly similar in benchmarks man the gtx 580 sli is only 2-3% better than the 570 sli so do yourself a favor and invest that into an intel system with that extra money