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Post #1
Hey there Facepunchers.
After 2.5 years with my trusty PC, I've collected enough savings to go out and get the next iteration of hardware for future gaming exploits. I've been out of the hardware loop for quite some time though, and I hope FP could assist me in choosing the right components and avoiding gimmicky money sucking pitfalls. My goal is to make a future-proof PC by investing a good amount of money today so that it can still keep up with the games of tomorrow. I'm not looking for the cream of the crop, but I'm looking for the best performance to money ratio. For example, should a 300 euro graphics card give me 5 times the power of a 100 euro graphics card, then I would consider that money well spent. However, if it only gets me a 30% increase, then that would would be a bad investment in my eyes.
Current specs (can't hurt, right?):
Processor: AMD 9950BE
Graphics card: Nvidia 9800GTX+
RAM 2x2GB
HDD: 1x 600GB
Power supply: OCZ 500 watt 12v rail.
Budget: 800 euros (~1000 dollars). can be stretched to 1000 (~1250 dollars) if I can get a really good return on the extra 200 euros.
Brand preference: None. However, if an Nvidia and AMD card are roughly the same price/performence, then I'd prefer the Nvidia due to familiarity.
Salvage: I might save my 600GB Hard Drive if it means a good saving, otherwise, not much. Will save my computer as a back-up, and down the line sell/gift it to someone.
Usage: High performance gaming. Some over-clocking headroom would be preferable for future proofing, but not required.
I've been doing some research already, and have come up with a very rough build below.
Processor: Intel 2500(K?).
Video card: (1x?) Nvidia 560GTX TI.
Ram: 3x 4GB.
HDD: 1TB. I won't be needing huge amounts of space.
Suggestions, comments etc. are highly appreciated! If anyone's curious, I live in the Netherlands, so should a tech-savvy dutch comrade pop in this thread and read this, I'm also interested in advice about good and cheap online stores in Holland!
PS: I've never actually put a PC together myself. I did select the components of my current computer online, and was build by the store on-site and then shipped to me.
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Wait a tiny bit, the Intel Ivy Bridge processors are rolling out soon. You can salvage the PSU to save a bit of dosh to get a bit more performance, and the 670/660 are being released soon.
So now would be a good time to hold on a little longer.
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Are any of those in reach of my budget though?
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I think they'll be the same price as the current Sandy Bridge proecssors.
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Looking at the release dates, Ivy Bridge is coming on either 29th of April or somewhere in June. If the latter, then I don't see any reason to wait that long as the performance increase is negligible and I won't make use of the integrated CPU. The 660/670 are scheduled to be released somewhere in Q3, so I don't think I'll wait for that either. Keeping that in mind, I'd still like some advice on what to take as per the OP.
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How's this for a build?
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I'm not sure if Antec psu's are that reliable, but then again thats only from what i have read in the past. I would personally spend the extra on a slightly more reliable source of Psu's. Everything else looks ok, not too sure on that case though :/ also that 580 reference make, in my personal opinion looks ugly, but hey! its not about what i like. as for the CPU, the i5 ivy bridge will be coming out soon at around the same price, also because theres not going to be much Overclocking or major tasks on this system, it will be better off holding on and getting the ivy bridge (i5) as they run cooler at lower voltages, = longer lasting :) Also have you thought about cooling yet?
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Antec is reliable-ish. Some are good, some bad.
You could get cheaper ram.
GTX 580? Where are you living, 2011? 680 is out :V
Case doesn't look that good.
Might want to go to Z77 and i5 3770k way.
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I doubt getting a z77 MoBo, and i5 3770k and a GTX 680 along with RAM, Case, a good PSU and cooling (if they plan to overclock) for less than 1000 Euros will be easy for the OP.
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Heard that Antec was a good brand. Any other recommendations?
Cheaper Ram? Got it. Will browse around. Any musts RAM must have?
GTX 680? That's around 150 euro's more. Can that extra money be justified in performence?
I have no idea what case to pick. I want one that looks streamlined but has some eye candy as well.
If the Ivy Bridge comes out this month, then I will (I've heard they're holding on so that Sandy Bridges inventory gets sold first). Otherwise, the minor performance bump and superior integrated graphics card isn't that much of a deal to me to wait over a month for.
I'm not planning on maximum overclocking. It's just so that when the time comes, I can squeeze out enough juice to last me a long time with this system. A Z77 mobo may be possible, but there are so many brands and price differences that I don't really have a clue which one to pick that's cost effective and reliable at the same time.
Also, why are there 50 different brands, names, editions and prices of a particular card?
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Ivy is out, GTX 680 is not really worth that 150 euros then.
Ram, cheaper.
Antec is fine.
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I'd get a 7950 then, they just dropped down in price to compete with Nvidia. The GTX 580 is a power hog and consumes almost 50% more power than a 7950 or even the GTX 680. 680 is by far the better card but if on a budget then the 7950 is a great card too.
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http://db.tt/LJipo53R
Really stretching the budget, but i hope it will save me upgrading parts a bot in the future. I probably took the wrong brand/overly expensive/whatever component somewhere. If so, where in my build can i optimize areas?
EDIT: The hell? First release prices showing up on the Ivy Bridge are over the 320 euro's. Is that still worth the extra dosh compared to the Sandy bridge's 2500K 200 euro mark?
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320 euro's sounds more like the i7-3770K. The i5-3570K has essentially the same MSRP as the 2500K.
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Ět seems you're correct. I was under the impression that the 3770K was the equivalent Ivy Bridge.
Optimistic x 1
