Radeon 7850 vs 6950 and Core i7-2600k vs i7-3770k

[steamroller16]

I am going to be gaming generally at 1920x1080 and I would like to have a beast processor

These are what I have picked right now:
Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge
ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68
SAPPHIRE 11188-22-20G Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 (OC Edition)
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600

I want to know if the following configuration is better (I think the total price is about the same):
Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge
ASUS P8Z77-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z77
XFX FX-785A-CNFC Radeon HD 7850 Core Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600

 

[cranked]

Neither of those builds are good for gaming. I totaled the price of the second one on Newegg and it came to $850.

Try this build, that is far better for gaming and $80 cheaper:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/b8rJ

 

[rblenden]

Cranked definately has a superior build for the money. There is no need to invest in an i7. It won't improve gaming performance over the i5. The asrock board is incredible and there really isn't anything that needs to be said abut the 670. I am a huge fan of the hd 7850 and it is a mainstay right now for 800.00 builds becuase there is nothing that can touch it for the money. The 670 however is the beast to be beat right now. If you can fit it into your budget it is a no brainer.

 

[ledpellet]

Although it is true that an i7 is no better at gaming then the i5, he did say he wanted a beast cpu. I have a 2600k and a 3770k, and here is my opinion on them. The 2600k overclocks a tiny bit better. The 3770k at stock speeds is faster and uses less power. Unless you overclock I would highly suggest the 3770k, it just feels smoother to me. Get the Z77 chipset, my 2600k is on a Z68 and the 3770k is on a Z77. I had problems using the caching abilities with the Z68 and with the Z77 it worked flawlessly.

Saying neither of your selections is "good" for gaming is not correct. Both of them will be, in my opinion, very good gaming computers. I do agree that the 670 is better than the 7850 in terms of pure framerate though.

My suggestion is to get a cheaper motherboard. I use Biostar $100 boards. I have used 3 of them now and not had a single problem with any of them. That would save you around $100 right there, and you could take that money and get a better video card. Then you get the both a beast CPU, and a beast GPU.

Here are the boards I use,

The 2600k - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138319

The 3770k - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138319

I don't SLI/Crossfire, as I don't think it is worth it. I just get a faster single card solution. If I gamed at more than 1920x1080 I might worry about it.

Overall I really enjoy the 2600k and the 3770k. I also think that down the road I will be thankful that I spent the extra money, but I have used i5 chips on friends computers and sometimes I wonder why I paid the extra cash. But at no point was I disapointed with my decision.

7850 vs 6950, I would pick the 7850 unless the 6950 was cheaper. They are similar in performance, the 7850 uses less power, and it has more headroom.

Just some of my opinions.