Revised $900ish Build Advice

[xelda]

Hey there.

I made a thread a week or so ago, and since then I've swapped out most everything, and since most forums are picky about drudging up old threads I've made a new one.

I'm mainly looking for gaming, movies, and general internet browsing. I'd defiantly like to stick to Intel, and preferably Newegg. Here is what I've got so far:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9hXk
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9hXk/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9hXk/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($224.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($41.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($259.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 550D ATX Mid Tower Case ($134.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.64 @ Newegg)

Total: $876.92

I am wondering about overclocking, I know that Ivy Bridges are more sensitive than Sandy Bridges, but I wanted the IB for the Thunderbolt compatibility, and I'm just not sure what I should be looking for if I were interested in overclocking and worrying about the heat.

Thanks.

 

[o1die]

You may want to get the 2500k if you want a bigger overclock. The biggest improvement with ivy bridge is the onboard video, but you're using a separate card. I would get this power supply instead of the seasonic: rosewill green series 630w for $64.99 shipped at newegg (link broken). This particular rosewill model gets excellent reviews, has 50 amps on the 12v rail, and is $5 cheaper with free shipping.

 

[aznshinobi]

^ Ivy also has better performance, slightly. Ivy also saves more power. The overclocking differential is unnoticeable.

Another thing, you could do so much better than that build. You could actually get a motherboard that Crossfire's at 8x/8x and a PSU that'd allow you to SLI/CF the 7850.

Check out my $850 build here:
http://www.squidoo.com/electronicandmore
Gives you a board running 8x/8x, a PSU that'll allow you to CF the 7850. You might disagree with the Z68 board I suggest but Z68 vs Z77 has 0 difference in performance and overclocking. Z77 just has native PCI 3.0 and USB 3.0. But in benches the Z68 vs Z77 you couldn't tell the difference. Plus the board I recommend has PCI 3.0 w/ Gen3 and USB 3.0 slots anyways.

 

[nekulturny]

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1924/8/

I don't know, but those temp differentials look pretty substantial to me. I'd rather have a 2500K than 3570K if that reporting is to be believed. Not to mention the 2500K is a little bit cheaper. As far as the less power consumption, the difference at best I couldn't imagine would translate to more than a penny or two a day on an electric bill.

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1924/9/ Theres the power consumption info. Stock to stock theres less power usage, but under overclocking, they both get equally thirsty.

 

[aznshinobi]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i5-3570-low-power,3204-13.html
Temps are fairly close to me, the review also said that the i5 3570K was a good alternate for the i5 2500K, not a huge step forward but a step nonetheless.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2012/05/01/intel-core-i5-3570k-cpu-review/8
Also although temps are high, IB can still overclock well. Intel stated that although the temps are high, it is because IB can handle the heat better than SB. Also the performance is not GREATLY but still increased over the SB chips.

 

[nekulturny]

Yea, the stock temps are close, but under overclocking is where they get toasty. Seems awful hot to me. I dunno man, seems to me since the 3570K isn't worth the extra $20 bucks over the 2500K, whether it can handle the hotter temps or not, and I'm sure it probably can. To me 6 percent is just lame, remember when Pokemon gameboy was popular? Was there really a point to buying the Yellow Pikachu edition if you already had Blue or Red? Well duh!, you get Pikachu to follow you around! *facepalm*.. Intel originally said they expected 20% improvement out of Ivy over Sandy. If they had of delivered, then maybe they could justify the increased price. I don't like the trend I'm seeing, AMD is being crushed and Intel to me is already showing us what they plan to do if they secure the monopoly.

In all seriousness, on the heat issue The question is, how much does the extra temperature contribute to heating up the inside of a computer case? I'd admit I honestly don't know, so I'm asking LOL.

 

[aznshinobi]

? Really, I think Intel said 10% since it was only going to be a die-shrink but not an arch change.

I think the air flow of the case would highly determine that.

 

[nekulturny]

Yes sir they did:

http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/ivy-bridge-to-offer-20-percent-more-processor-performance-using-20-percent-less-average-power

 

[aznshinobi]

You're looking at the wrong report. That's for Ivy Bridge mobile.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5872/intel-dual-core-ivy-bridge-launch-and-ultrabook-review/3
IB did improve that much on the mobile side.

 

[nekulturny]

Ah, I see said the blind man to his deaf daughter!

Well from the mobile market, if I were buying a laptop, I'd still be looking for a Llano. The CPUs are stronger, but Intel onboard graphics still aren't ready for primetime. But I digress, thanks for pointing that out, I took it to mean he was saying Ivy Bridge Desktops would be 20 percent more. I've seen people on the forum throw that figure around, but hey, thats why you check your sources!

 

[aznshinobi]

Llano is nice no doubt. But for people with just productivity Ivy is where it is at. I think Trinity's replacement for mobile platform is where I'll buy a laptop. AMD is pretty decent in mobile with recent Trinity benchmarks so we'll see.

But if I buy now, I'd probably go for an ultrabook for my CS5 work and the size and yeah. That or go Trinity.

 

[xelda]

Best answer selected by xelda.