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That HD 5770 was $50 more than the HD 5750 (and clearly not $50 better). The difference should be around $20 or $25 I think.
On October 18 2010 09:27 lethal111 wrote:
Would it be better/cheaper to get a i5 750 or a AMD Phenom II X6
Usually the cheapest AMD Phenom II X6, the 1055T (2.8 GHz), is about comparable in price to the Core i5-750. However, AMD motherboards are cheaper than comparable Intel motherboards by about $20 so the AMD option would come out to be a little cheaper.
In performance, the Intel processor is significantly better in games and in most single-threaded applications. AMD's hex core CPUs are only better if you're actually using all cores on the processor, e.g. for heavy encoding work, many virtual machines, etc. See here. So for many users, AMD's Phenom II X4 CPUs are significantly cheaper than the Phenom II X6 while being just as good (or better, depending on clock speed) for everything they are doing.
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On October 18 2010 09:27 lethal111 wrote:
Would it be better/cheaper to get a i5 750 or a AMD Phenom II X6
I'm assuming you're talking about the 1055T?
There are a lot of benchmarks on the internet showing a comparision between these 2 CPUs,
the general gist is, clock for clock, i5 wins, in apps that need more cores, the 1055T wins.
But for SC2, definitely the i5 wins by some margin.
EDIT: Oops, myrmidon beat me to it XD
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Whoa.... After a few months I decided to go back and check newegg for more ram (Cause you know you always need more), and I was shocked to see R2 in the mid-upper $20s for just a gig....
Anyone know a cheaper site to get R2 RAM? Or are manufacturers busy chucking out R3? Looking to get 2x2 GB under 50 if I can, or 1x2 GB at 25
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On October 18 2010 09:52 Myrmidon wrote:That HD 5770 was $50 more than the HD 5750 (and clearly not $50 better). The difference should be around $20 or $25 I think. Show nested quote +On October 18 2010 09:27 lethal111 wrote:
Would it be better/cheaper to get a i5 750 or a AMD Phenom II X6 Usually the cheapest AMD Phenom II X6, the 1055T (2.8 GHz), is about comparable in price to the Core i5-750. However, AMD motherboards are cheaper than comparable Intel motherboards by about $20 so the AMD option would come out to be a little cheaper. In performance, the Intel processor is significantly better in games and in most single-threaded applications. AMD's hex core CPUs are only better if you're actually using all cores on the processor, e.g. for heavy encoding work, many virtual machines, etc. See here. So for many users, AMD's Phenom II X4 CPUs are significantly cheaper than the Phenom II X6 while being just as good (or better, depending on clock speed) for everything they are doing.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13-121-394&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=(keywords)&Page=1#scrollFullInfo
I was gonna use that mobo with the i5 750
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Heyo everyone. It's my first time considering building a computer and I think I've put together a decent one for about $900. I've read a bunch of this thread and changed my build from getting the best of everything for like 2 grand to something that will hopefully work for me for way cheaper.
I'm pretty much only going to use it for SC2 and other steam games. My resolution is 1680x1050. Probably not going to stream or overclock anything. I just want something to play SC2 on ultra with good FPS  My current 5-year-old computer runs SC2 on low with about 10-20 FPS in 1v1, and around 0-5FPS in 4v4s or custom games. It's poop.
Here's the build I'm thinking of:
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz $179.97
GPU: XFX Radeon 5770 1GB $169.97
Motherboard: MSI NF750-G55 $124.99
RAM: Corsair XMS3 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 RAM - - PC10666, 1333MHz $99.97
PSU: Corsair TX950W 950-Watt $159.97
Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 $139.97
Subtotal: $874.84
I think the PSU is overkill... I have no idea what I need in terms of a PSU, so I just picked a random featured one  Any ideas on cheaper ones?
Going to use the harddrives I have from my current computer, so no need for new ones. I thought about maybe adding a SSD, but is it really worth it? I was thinking about maybe this one, it's not too expensive. Does it really make the computer load that much faster? Like, $150 faster?
Is now a good time to buy even or should I wait a few months for the next generation of stuff? If getting a way better deal in a few months means dealing with low settings til then I dont' really mind, but if now is a decent time to upgrade... might as well.
Does everything I pick work with each other? Any suggestions for better/cheaper stuff?
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@Sero: Yeah, it all works. The motherboard comes with the SATA cables you need for the hard drive and optical drive, and the GPU comes with a HDMI cable. However, you could get a computer to run SC2 on max settings while streaming decent quality for significantly less money (something like $400-500 less).
@PiousMartyr: What you have works. I'd suggest MemoryExpress and/or NCIX, and doing price matching, rather than tigerdirect.ca, from what Canadian buyers generally say. Any particular reason you want a full-tower high-cooling case for a single midrange GPU and CPU with no overclocks?
For that setup, even this Corsair VX450 (5 yr warranty etc.) would be overkill. That motherboard is a bit dated, and I think you could find slightly better deals on a lot of parts, but it's okay in general.
SSDs are a lot faster, but only in random access (essentially, seeking time), which is what goes on most of the time you use a computer. They're about 100x faster than mechanical drives in that regard and either comparable or a couple times better at reading and writing large files, depending on the model. If all your frequently-accessed files will fit on a small SSD, it may be worth it. It's only a really huge deal if you're I/O constrained now, waiting on stuff to load because you have background file indexing, virus scans, torrents, compiling, lots of virtual machine activity, etc. going on.
By the end of the month we will see new GPUs from AMD (ATI), which may be worth waiting for. Intel's new processors in a few months also look like they may be pretty good. They're adding the new AVX instruction set too. It's like the previous MMX, SSE, etc. If you upgrade once every several years and AVX catches on and becomes popular for applications you would use, you may possibly regret not waiting, but that's a somewhat long shot.
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On October 19 2010 03:24 PiousMartyr wrote:Is now a good time to buy even or should I wait a few months for the next generation of stuff? If getting a way better deal in a few months means dealing with low settings til then I dont' really mind, but if now is a decent time to upgrade... might as well.
Does everything I pick work with each other? Any suggestions for better/cheaper stuff?
Well, it's up to you whether you want to wait a few extra months or not for CPUs. Sandybridge is expected to be announced at CES and retail availability will come shortly after (sometime February). Bulldozer however isn't going to be released until late into 2011.
I do however suggest waiting until Friday of this week for AMD to announce their 6850 and 6870. These two cards will be replacing the 5750 and 5770. Yes, AMD is changing the names to confuse people >.>
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A dedicated video card is exactly what it means? It's a card dedicated to video. Your GTX 470 would be a dedicated video card.
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Ty for the advice Myrmidon and skyR. I checked out MemoryExpress and they have a ton of good stuff on sale, so I completely changed my build to an i7 one. Figured I'd spend about $400 more now and get a computer that will hopefully last much longer.
Here's my new build.
CPU: i7 Processor 950 3.06GHz $299.99
GPU: XFX Radeon HD 5850 1GB $249.99
Motherboard: Asus P6X58D-E $229.99
RAM: Corsair 6GB XMS3-1600 PC3-12800 Core™ i7 Triple Channel DDR3 $124.99
PSU: Corsair TX 750W Power $99.99
Case: ANTEC Nine Hundred $92.99
SSD: Kingston SSDNow V-Series 128GB $189.99
Subtotal $1,287.93
Still not 100% sure if I wanna get an SSD yet. It's $50 off... but it's still $189. -.- So expensive. Nearly instant load times would be sweet tho.
Everything I picked was on sale =P And I tried to get the most money saved per item... I think I did pretty good, almost $300 off the final price.
Still a little overkill, but I'm hoping this build will let me upgrade a little in a year or two. My current computer lasted over 5 years, I don't like getting an entire new rig too often.
Soooo thoughts on this one? It's totally different from the last, but $300 off is a pretty sweet deal IMO.
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On October 19 2010 09:20 PiousMartyr wrote:Ty for the advice Myrmidon and skyR. I checked out MemoryExpress and they have a ton of good stuff on sale, so I completely changed my build to an i7 one. Figured I'd spend about $400 more now and get a computer that will hopefully last much longer. Here's my new build. CPU: i7 Processor 950 3.06GHz $299.99 GPU: XFX Radeon HD 5850 1GB $249.99 Motherboard: Asus P6X58D-E $229.99 RAM: Corsair 6GB XMS3-1600 PC3-12800 Core™ i7 Triple Channel DDR3 $124.99 PSU: Corsair TX 750W Power $99.99 Case: ANTEC Nine Hundred $92.99 SSD: Kingston SSDNow V-Series 128GB $189.99 Subtotal $1,287.93 Still not 100% sure if I wanna get an SSD yet. It's $50 off... but it's still $189. -.- So expensive. Nearly instant load times would be sweet tho. Everything I picked was on sale =P And I tried to get the most money saved per item... I think I did pretty good, almost $300 off the final price. Still a little overkill, but I'm hoping this build will let me upgrade a little in a year or two. My current computer lasted over 5 years, I don't like getting an entire new rig too often. Soooo thoughts on this one? It's totally different from the last, but $300 off is a pretty sweet deal IMO.
you're paying too much. some of those parts go on sale for much less. often the case goes for $50-80 shipped, the power supply can be had for $50. gfx card will be way cheaper in a few days, the CPU can be had for around $200 at microcenter i think...
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The GPU is $70 off right now. Will it drop more than that when the new AMD stuff is announced?
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On October 19 2010 09:20 PiousMartyr wrote:Ty for the advice Myrmidon and skyR. I checked out MemoryExpress and they have a ton of good stuff on sale, so I completely changed my build to an i7 one. Figured I'd spend about $400 more now and get a computer that will hopefully last much longer. Here's my new build. CPU: i7 Processor 950 3.06GHz $299.99 GPU: XFX Radeon HD 5850 1GB $249.99 Motherboard: Asus P6X58D-E $229.99 RAM: Corsair 6GB XMS3-1600 PC3-12800 Core™ i7 Triple Channel DDR3 $124.99 PSU: Corsair TX 750W Power $99.99 Case: ANTEC Nine Hundred $92.99 SSD: Kingston SSDNow V-Series 128GB $189.99 Subtotal $1,287.93 Still not 100% sure if I wanna get an SSD yet. It's $50 off... but it's still $189. -.- So expensive. Nearly instant load times would be sweet tho. Everything I picked was on sale =P And I tried to get the most money saved per item... I think I did pretty good, almost $300 off the final price. Still a little overkill, but I'm hoping this build will let me upgrade a little in a year or two. My current computer lasted over 5 years, I don't like getting an entire new rig too often. Soooo thoughts on this one? It's totally different from the last, but $300 off is a pretty sweet deal IMO.
Remember you can pricematch with MemoryExpress and NCIX. Use www.shopbot.ca to pricematch. Search using the part# if you've never had experience pricematching before.
You can get a OCZ Vertex 2 60gb SSD for ~$120 AMIR.
There are better cases than the Antec 900 such as the Coolermaster 690ii Advanced or HAF922. The only reason why one would get an Antec 900 would be for looks. I have the first generation Antec 900 from four years ago and it does have good airflow but it lacks cable management and roomyness offered by the more modern cases today.
Keep in mind that Intel is releasing Sandybridge next year and that it will be on new sockets (1155 and 2011). You won't be able to upgrade your processor much without changing your motherboard since the i7 950 is already pretty much a high-end socket 1366 processor. My advice is to never ever plan for upgradability with your motherboard and CPU. Just know that you'll be replacing them both in 3-5 years. The only parts you want to keep with you through multiple rigs are the drives, ram, psu, case, and heatsink. Spend more on these and spend less on CPU and motherboard. Buying a core i5 750 and overclocking it yourself will last you just as long as the core i7 950.
You should probably wait until Friday (Oct 22) for the announcement of the 6850 and 6870. They're expected to be on par / beat the performance of a 5850 and are meant as replacements for the 5750 and 5770. Pricing is rumored to be around $170 - $240.
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6850 will perform under the 5850, and 6870 is supposed to perform under the 5870, yet AMD claims that both of them will beat the GTX 460 1GB, which I see as unreasonable for the 6850 since there are many cases where the HD 5850 is dangerously close to the GTX 460 1GB in performance (perhaps even some where it loses)
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I appreciate all the help so far guys. I have a couple more questions if you don't mind.
1) I've decided that I will spend a bit extra because I'll probably end up regretting the uber-cheap route. I found this combo deal which seems to be nice. The reviews I read about the 5750 and 5770 are less than flattering, with lots of people complaining about something called a "gray screen of death." Is it worth it to put up some extra cash to get that gtx 460 (which somehow outperforms the 5770 despite only 768mb memory) and the quad core processor?
2) If I up the ante with those two components, I will surely need more juice to power them. What kind of wattage are we talking about here? I'd think it would be at least 450W but I'm no expert.
Thanks!
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Well, the 380W was significantly over what you needed for the Athlon II X3 and HD 5770 specifically, so it would actually be fine with a Phenom II X4 and GTX 460 as long as you don't overclock. But the PSU would definitely be closer to its limit under max system load, which is bad in terms of heat, noise, and its lifespan.
But if you're not cheaping out, you might as well get a higher-wattage PSU that will last, in case you need it. A slightly nicer case may make sense too. These combos with the CM Silent Pro 600 and HAF 912 or 690ii basic look nice.
The Phenom II X4 955 and 965 both have an unlocked multiplier, so all it would take for a 955 to be a 965 is to up the multiplier up one in the BIOS. They ship with the same cooler and are the same chip, after all. You can usually just save yourself the $20 if you're not worried about getting a top-binned part for high-end overclocking. Here is the same combo with the GTX 460 768MB. btw there's a lot more going on to GPU performance than video RAM, but let's not get into that.
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On October 19 2010 12:01 Myrmidon wrote:Well, the 380W was significantly over what you needed for the Athlon II X3 and HD 5770 specifically, so it would actually be fine with a Phenom II X4 and GTX 460 as long as you don't overclock. But the PSU would definitely be closer to its limit under max system load, which is bad in terms of heat, noise, and its lifespan. But if you're not cheaping out, you might as well get a higher-wattage PSU that will last, in case you need it. A slightly nicer case may make sense too. These combos with the CM Silent Pro 600 and HAF 912 or 690ii basic look nice. The Phenom II X4 955 and 965 both have an unlocked multiplier, so all it would take for a 955 to be a 965 is to up the multiplier up one in the BIOS. They ship with the same cooler and are the same chip, after all. You can usually just save yourself the $20 if you're not worried about getting a top-binned part for high-end overclocking. Here is the same combo with the GTX 460 768MB. btw there's a lot more going on to GPU performance than video RAM, but let's not get into that.
I'm sticking to the three hundred due to cost + much better warranty. I'm left with one more question now (I promise this is the last one!):
Is this PSU that you recommended to someone else sufficient for my needs? I need the HDD anyway so the combo is right up my alley. I also saw this monster but it might be overkill.
The Mushkin RAM seems extremely unpopular compared to some other companies, but at that price I think I'm willing to roll the dice.
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Mushkin RAM is very reliable. They normally cater to enthusiasts.
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H'okay, so I've basically gone back to my original build... lol. I slept on it and realized $1300 before tax/shipping is way out of my budget. I'm supposed to be saving for school... so I can't really justify blowing that much on a computer.
Good call on both waiting for the new Radeon cards and not getting a really expensive CPU/motherboard. I went back to AMD because it seems a lot more cost-efficient. What I chose may not be as powerful as an i5/i7 setup, but I'm sure it will handle SC2 on Ultra just fine.
I've ordered most of the parts already, because there's free shipping + a pretty good sale at MemoryExpress until thursday, and a bunch of the parts I wanted were down to 1-2 left in stock. Had to change a few things around because a couple things did run out of stock =(
So I've gone with:
CPU: AMD 955 Black Edition 3.2 - I got a Corsair Hydro Series H50 as well, so I'm gonna OC the cpu a bit and use the H50 to keep it really cool. Dunno how to OC it yet... guess I'll figure that out when it's time, but I read that the 955 is a fairlygood CPU for OCing. $149.99 + 59.99 for the cooler.
Motherboard: Asus M4A89GTD - it looked pretty good, skimmed a few reviews for the 890GX chipset and it seems to be quite good. $152.99
RAM: Patriot Extreme Performance Viper II Sector 5 Series DDR3 4GB PC3-10666 Low latency -$20 off and it got good reviews on TigerDirect so I thought I'd give it a shot. $89.99
Case: HAF922 - you were right, much better airflow and cable management than the Antec 900. Got it from a local store for about $80
GPU: Sticking with my 8800 GT 512 for a while. I'll upgrade after the new Radeon cards come out, unless my 8800 performs well enough. $0 for now
PSU: sticking with the overkill Corsair 750W one. Although it's way more than I need... it's $45 off, and the same price as the lower-wattage stuff. Maybe it will be usefull if I get Crossfire down the line, or decide to power a microwave with it or something. $89.99
SSD: gonna pass on an SSD for now. despite it's awesomeness, still out of my budget. $0
All together it costs about $750 including tax+shipping.
So, howd I do?
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EPT
