New build compatibility/recommendations?

[weknowhowtolive]

I havent built a computeri n 4+ years. I used to be really in to all this stuff, reading benchmarks like crazy, OCing my rigs etc but my last build was so stable and solid and has lasted so long that I sort of stopped reading up and now I am 3-4 years out of the loop. Embarrassingly enough, I'm also currently enrolled in an A+ prep class and feel pretty stupid having to ask this stuff while studying to do it for a living. Everything I've thrown together appears to be compatible and up to date as far as northbridge etc but there are certain things that since I havent paid attention to I am unsure of.

Here's what I threw together, please let me know if something is wrong or if there's something I should think about getting. For instance I selected the 1090 because newegg recommended it so highly and it seemed to be top of the charts performance wise and still fairly cheap, but reading around some more it seems that some people say the X6 is useless for what I will be doing which is mainly gaming, web browsing, watching movies, burning/ripping etc. I dont do any rendering or encoding.

Anyway, here's what I threw together on newegg as far as important components:

Mobo: ASUS M4A89GTD PRO -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131631

CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103849

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311

GPU: EVGA 01G-P3-1373-AR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Superclocked -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130568




So thats it for the basic components. I found a nice corsair Pro series modual PSU @ 650W which I think should be ample for that system or something similar.

One question I had was about the RAM. It seems like RAM has either fallen in price drastically from when I was tweaking systems or I just picked out some old junk because I remember dropping over $100 on 2GB of OCZ RAM and thinking I got a good deal. I remember higher end Patriot/GSkill/OCZ stuff being a LOT more than this Ripjaw stuff but I cant really find anything that seems to be better or much more expensive.

As far as budget goes, I'm not really sure. This all depends on my financial aid being what I expect it to be. If thats the case I'm planning for around $1000-1200 max for everything. I am part of the MSDNAA and should be able to get Windows for free/very cheap but I would like to leave a little room in case I need to get it. I will also be getting a new mouse, mouse pad, keyboard, HDD, cat5 cable, hdmi to mini cable etc etc so the price for the things I posted is pretty much the max I can go on those 4 main components.

Sorry for the long post, any help is appreciated.

 

[Why_Me]

This board down below has the new PCI-E 3.0 slots for the new generation vid cards due out whenever. It just hit the shelves a few days ago.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371049 $94.99 - $69.99 after mail-in rebate FREE SHIPPING
Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-750 750W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271 $129.99 + $7.87 Shipping
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.694804 $256.98
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
Patriot Signature 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory with heatshield Model PSD38G1600KH

or...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.694806 $264.98 FREE SHIPPING
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
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/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065 $27.99 FREE SHIPPING
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.696136 $72.48
Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model AD-7260S-0B - 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=N82E16814127594 $239.99 - $219.99 after mail-in rebate card FREE SHIPPING
MSI N560GTX-Ti Twin Frozr II GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

or...

http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-PCI-Express-Graphics-01G-P3-1460-KR/dp/B0050I1PHO $184.88 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
EVGA GeForce GTX 560 1024 MB GDDR5 PCI-Express 2.0 Graphics Card 01G-P3-1460-KR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 $99.99 FREE SHIPPING
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

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

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-560-amp-edition-gtx-560-directcu-ii-top,2944.html <----- gtx 560 vs gtx 560ti

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z68%20Extreme3%20Gen3 <----- A better look at that Asrock board

http://www.asrock.com/microsite/PCIe3/

 

[weknowhowtolive]

A few questions...if I have no plans of upgrading this in the future, why do I need PCIE 3.0, since the cards you listed are 2.0?

I see that the i5 is better than the Phenom II X series but they're also almost $100 more. Is it really worth it to go that much over my current budget to get a better CPU and get a future tech mobo? In my experience the expansion/upgrade capabilities of futuretech never work out.

As for the GPU, what exactly was wrong with the one I posted? Whats the reasoning for spending $70 more than what I have now?

 

[cbrunnem]

I havent built a computeri n 4+ years. I used to be really in to all this stuff, reading benchmarks like crazy, OCing my rigs etc but my last build was so stable and solid and has lasted so long that I sort of stopped reading up and now I am 3-4 years out of the loop. Embarrassingly enough, I'm also currently enrolled in an A+ prep class and feel pretty stupid having to ask this stuff while studying to do it for a living. Everything I've thrown together appears to be compatible and up to date as far as northbridge etc but there are certain things that since I havent paid attention to I am unsure of.

Here's what I threw together, please let me know if something is wrong or if there's something I should think about getting. For instance I selected the 1090 because newegg recommended it so highly and it seemed to be top of the charts performance wise and still fairly cheap, but reading around some more it seems that some people say the X6 is useless for what I will be doing which is mainly gaming, web browsing, watching movies, burning/ripping etc. I dont do any rendering or encoding.

Anyway, here's what I threw together on newegg as far as important components:

Mobo: ASUS M4A89GTD PRO -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131631

CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103849

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311

GPU: EVGA 01G-P3-1373-AR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Superclocked -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130568




So thats it for the basic components. I found a nice corsair Pro series modual PSU @ 650W which I think should be ample for that system or something similar.

One question I had was about the RAM. It seems like RAM has either fallen in price drastically from when I was tweaking systems or I just picked out some old junk because I remember dropping over $100 on 2GB of OCZ RAM and thinking I got a good deal. I remember higher end Patriot/GSkill/OCZ stuff being a LOT more than this Ripjaw stuff but I cant really find anything that seems to be better or much more expensive.

As far as budget goes, I'm not really sure. This all depends on my financial aid being what I expect it to be. If thats the case I'm planning for around $1000-1200 max for everything. I am part of the MSDNAA and should be able to get Windows for free/very cheap but I would like to leave a little room in case I need to get it. I will also be getting a new mouse, mouse pad, keyboard, HDD, cat5 cable, hdmi to mini cable etc etc so the price for the things I posted is pretty much the max I can go on those 4 main components.

Sorry for the long post, any help is appreciated.

why are you buying a computer on government money??? seems a little sideways...

but anyway you are going to want a i5 2500k coupled with a 560ti or something around there. if you go the amd route make sure that the board is an am3 + so that when bulldozer comes out there is a chance that your board will work with the new processors.

 

[Why_Me]

why are you buying a computer on government money??? seems a little sideways...

but anyway you are going to want a i5 2500k coupled with a 560ti or something around there. if you go the amd route make sure that the board is an am3 + so that when bulldozer comes out there is a chance that your board will work with the new processors.

Homework of course...with a little gaming on the side. 😛

 

[weknowhowtolive]

why are you buying a computer on government money??? seems a little sideways...

but anyway you are going to want a i5 2500k coupled with a 560ti or something around there. if you go the amd route make sure that the board is an am3 + so that when bulldozer comes out there is a chance that your board will work with the new processors.

Not sure why where the money is coming from is really any of your concern.

I've been building my own computers for many years and only recently stopped paying attention to this stuff. One thing I know is that I've never once actually used anything with future tech to upgrade.

 

[Why_Me]

Not sure why where the money is coming from is really any of your concern.

I've been building my own computers for many years and only recently stopped paying attention to this stuff. One thing I know is that I've never once actually used anything with future tech to upgrade.

+1

I bought a truck with my student loan. Low interest rate ftw! 😀

Tech wise intel has it over AMD atm, and next spring the new intel Ivy Bridge 22nm cpu's come out which these socket 1155 boards will run with a simple bios upgrade.

 

[weknowhowtolive]

Im not saying people dont use future tech, I'm just saying that personally I have never had a use for it. When I'm in a situation where I'm running an X1950XT and a C2D 5000 series, I probably cant buy a brand new CPU to put in an older board 😛

Anyway, I'll take a look at the intel side as well.

Is that RAM that I posted good, bad, mediocre? Are the timings ok? Is there something better?

 

[weknowhowtolive]

Ok so I'm looking at this: http://paulisageek.com/compare/cpu/ and it looks like AMD is killing it in the price to performance ratio, but I also dont see the i5 2500 on there.

I really dont want to drop $260, so assuming I want to spend less, is there any point in going the i3 route or one of the older i5's or if thats what I'm going to do should I just stick with the X6 or even an X4?

 

[Why_Me]

Ok so I'm looking at this: http://paulisageek.com/compare/cpu/ and it looks like AMD is killing it in the price to performance ratio, but I also dont see the i5 2500 on there.

I really dont want to drop $260, so assuming I want to spend less, is there any point in going the i3 route or one of the older i5's or if thats what I'm going to do should I just stick with the X6 or even an X4?

I see that list hasn't been updated in a few years.

Forget the "price vs performance". It isn't even close. If the AMD 1100BE and Intel Sandy Bridge cpu's were cars, the AMD would be a Toyota Corolla and the Intel would be a Ferrari. Where you get a bottle neck on the AMD you don't get one with the Intel. And when it comes to over clocking it gets even worse for the AMD's. That build I posted up above (cpu + mobo) will get you to 4.4 - 4.6ghz with a $30 cooler. They are that good.

These Sandy Bridge cpu's came out last January and there's been nothing like them before. They run cool, use less wattage, and they over clock like champs.


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

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

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-990x-extreme-edition-gulftown,2874.html <----- $1,000 Intel Core i7-990X Extreme vs $330 Intel Core i7 2600K Sandy Bridge

*Sandy Bridge reviews down below

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/sandy-bridge-core-i7-2600k-core-i5-2500k,2833.html

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

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1501/1/

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=622&Itemid=63

http://www.guru3d.com/article/core-i5-2500k-and-core-i7-2600k-review/

 

[weknowhowtolive]

10-4. In that case, my main decision comes down to, are the lower model Sandys ie the 2300 and 2400 series that much of a dropoff vs price or should I just wait for the newer AMD's to come out and the 2500k's to age a month or two and hope the price drops more to my budget

 

[Why_Me]

10-4. In that case, my main decision comes down to, are the lower model Sandys ie the 2300 and 2400 series that much of a dropoff vs price or should I just wait for the newer AMD's to come out and the 2500k's to age a month or two and hope the price drops more to my budget

Between amazon, newegg, and superbiiz there's a lot of good deal now along with combo deals.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice <---- This is the standard format for these new builds and it might be possible to hook you up with something decent.

 

[weknowhowtolive]

Thanks for the help. One last question. Looking at the 1155 boards it seems like the main ones are either Z68 or P67. Looking around I cant find anything different between the two bridges other than the Z68 has some sort of souped up caching process for SSD's which I dont have. Is there any sort of benefit to either for the normal user with a separate GPU that I should look out for?

 

[Why_Me]

Thanks for the help. One last question. Looking at the 1155 boards it seems like the main ones are either Z68 or P67. Looking around I cant find anything different between the two bridges other than the Z68 has some sort of souped up caching process for SSD's which I dont have. Is there any sort of benefit to either for the normal user with a separate GPU that I should look out for?

The main feature with the Z68 boards is the SSD caching...which is far from perfected, and being able to use the Intel HD3000 on die graphics. There's a few other features with those Z68 boards...most peeps never use them. As it is the P67 boards and Z68 boards run neck and neck price wise.

http://www.asrock.com/microsite/IntelZ68/index.asp <---- this link here gives you a basic idea of those Z68 boards.

 

[cbrunnem]

Not sure why where the money is coming from is really any of your concern.

I've been building my own computers for many years and only recently stopped paying attention to this stuff. One thing I know is that I've never once actually used anything with future tech to upgrade.

+1

cause government aide comes out of everyones elses pockets.

I bought a truck with my student loan. Low interest rate ftw! 😀

Tech wise intel has it over AMD atm, and next spring the new intel Ivy Bridge 22nm cpu's come out which these socket 1155 boards will run with a simple bios upgrade.

i dont think we are talking about students loans here

 

[weknowhowtolive]

i dont think we are talking about students loans here

No, we're talking about financial aid given to me as a student of a college. The financial aid is given to me to assist in paying for class fees, books, supplies etc. Seeing as how I am a student in 3 computer classes out of the 3 classes I'm taking, I would think that a computer would fall under the supplies category, seeing as how every class I am taking requires that I run Windows 7 and the computer I have now cannot capably run Windows 7. Not all of the money will be going to that which is why under budget I said I am not sure, and 100% of what I spend is 0% your concern.

 

[madchemist83]

Go for AMD 6-core as if u r student u don't need gaming CPU but multitasking.

 

[Why_Me]

Go for AMD 6-core as if u r student u don't need gaming CPU but multitasking.

"Gaming cpu"??? I guess you failed to check that link I posted earlier in this thread, which doesn't surprise me by reading your other post on here. I'm guessing it's a reading comprehension problem. The 2500K is an excellent multi tasking cpu.

 

[madchemist83]

is that link is to Asrock website?
it was a joke btw if u didn't get it
i guess it's hard to follow jokes for a pipe fitter from Alaska .. ouch

 

[weknowhowtolive]

Best answer selected by weknowhowtolive.