New gaming rig: AMD instead of more expensive intel, could this be ok?

[rosamunda]

Hi there!

I´m planning to buy a new machine, and after reading a lot I´m planning to add this:

Asus M5 A99X Evo
AMD Phenom II X6 - 1100
Asus Nvidia GTX 570
8 Gb RAM Corsair Vengeance (2x4)
Western Digital Sata3 1 Tb
Any Cooler Master modular of 800w
Antec case 902 v3

I´ve planned the Intel i7 2600k, but its much more expensive. Is this rig ok for playing at maximum configuration, that latest games today? Like legends of dead kel, of orcs and men, Hegemony Rome: The Rise of Caesar, Risen II: Dark Waters, etc.

What do you think? Should I spend more to get the i7 or maybe this is ok?
I´m using the machine to work too (like Photoshop), and to made some video editing.

Any insight is very much welcome!!

Rosamunda

 

[mortonww]

Wait a few weeks and get i5 3570k with an ivy bridge motherboard. It will be better at everything. And not much more expensive. I'm sure you can get a p77 motherboard for $150, and the 3570k will be $229 or so (and a lot faster than the phenom ii x6).

Also, get a corsair 650TX for your single card. Cooler Master PSU quality is all over the place depending on what series you get.

And by that time, the new Nvidia cards will be out and you can see how they perform. The new card at the 570's price point will be faster and use less power.

 

[rosamunda]

Thanks mortonww!!

 

[Raiddinn]

The 2600k is a waste for most people. A 2500k should do just as well for $100 less in most cases. The 2500k is about the same as the processor you picked and a lot more powerful.

Most games won't use the 6 cores anyway, usually only two or one.

Video editing and photoshop do tend to work better on a 2600k, but is it better enough to be worth $100 more? If you are doing it all the time, maybe, but $100 is a lot of money too. Enough for a 64 GB SSD approx.

The per core power of the Intel processors is just a lot better than the per core power of AMD right now. A slower Intel core can do a lot more work than a faster AMD one.

It wouldn't be the worst idea to wait for Ivy Bridge, but I don't generally suggest putting off a buying decision for multiple weeks usually. Especially so when it was just released that the 3570k might be delayed till June.

It is looking like the processing power of the 3570k will probably be 10% - 15% more than that of the 2500k, iirc, and that is quite some time to wait for it, especially if most stuff isn't processor bottlenecked anyway.

I concur with the other poster, though, in that you should avoid a Cooler Master PSU. If you want a solid PSU at a reasonable price without having to do a lot of research into part quality then look for an XFX Black PSU.

Also, for approximately the same price as a 570 you could get a HD 7870 right now if you wanted to also get the 2500k and get the computer going asap.

The 902 may be more case than you really need. You could probably do just as well with a HAF 912 for half as much.

Corsair RAM avgs 5x higher failure rates than Crucial or Kingston, I would think about getting RAM from one of those two companies instead.

 

[mortonww]

Really depends on how urgent the need is. I didn't know that Ivy Bridge was delayed until June, but even then, if you don't need it now, can't hurt to wait and get a 22nm chip with better Quick Sync (for your video editing), lower TDP, and slightly higher IPC performance. I guess it just depends on your usage balance, patience, and how much you stand to gain/lose by waiting.