Time for a new one. - Hardware & Software

After discussing things with some friends, I threw some parts up on Newegg's wish list. I'd like to see what you guys have to say about everything. My biggest concern is the motherboard as I do not know much about them. This is my first time going away from Intel and Nvidia. Would this make a worthy gaming PC to last me another 5 or so years as my last rig so faithfully did? Mobo: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130274[/url] Processor: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103849[/url] Graphics: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150506[/url] Power: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207003[/url] RAM: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227655[/url] HDD: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533[/url] SDD: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227542[/url] Bluray: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106346[/url] Case: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129087[/url] Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit OEM: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116762[/url] Grand total comes around $1,600 give or take. As I said, I threw this together today after being talked to about the pros/cons of Intel/AMD, Nvidia/ATI from multiple people. I thought I'd give AMD a try. Just thought I'd see how much of this I could get for Christmas as my currently aging computer croaked about a month or two ago. So what do y'all think? Open to suggestions/changes. Most concerned about the mobo as said before.

Why the hell would you waste money on any version of Windows besides Home Premium? [editline]20th December 2010[/editline] Or a Phenom X6? Waste of money unless you are rendering loads. [editline]20th December 2010[/editline] And a blu-ray drive. [editline]20th December 2010[/editline] Gah, this whole setup is crap, I call Do-over. [editline]20th December 2010[/editline] Also we need a budget, what games you are going to play, and what monitor resolution you will be playing them at. If the budget is that gigantic, an i7 870/930 and a GTX 570 or 580 are easily doable.

[QUOTE=MacTrekkie;26818593]Why the hell would you waste money on any version of Windows besides Home Premium? [editline]20th December 2010[/editline] Or a Phenom X6? Waste of money unless you are rendering loads. [editline]20th December 2010[/editline] And a blu-ray drive. [editline]20th December 2010[/editline] Gah, this whole setup is crap, I call Do-over. [editline]20th December 2010[/editline] Also we need a budget, what games you are going to play, and what monitor resolution you will be playing them at. If the budget is that gigantic, an i7 870/930 and a GTX 570 or 580 are easily doable.[/QUOTE] Good question about the Windows. Just threw it in there. Are there any noticeable differences between Home Premium and Ultimate? What would be a reasonable replacement for the processor? As for the bluray, that's staying. I watch bluray movies quite often, 99 bucks won't break the bank. As for budget.... $2,000 (I'd prefer to stay around $1,500-1,700) would be pushing the envelope. I'll be playing any PC game that comes out from here on to whenever the PC need's an upgrade. Current monitor (which I'll probably be staying with) is a 24" HP at 1920 x 1200.

[QUOTE=OvB;26818709]Good question about the Windows. Just threw it in there. Are there any noticeable differences between Home Premium and Ultimate? [b]None that any normal user will ever see, other than the box is black[/b] What would be a reasonable replacement for the processor? [b]i7 870 would be my personal recommendation[/b] As for the bluray, that's staying. I watch bluray movies quite often, 99 bucks won't break the bank. [b]Okay, I just thought you threw that in there to burn cash.[/b] As for budget.... $2,000 (I'd prefer to stay around $1,500-1,700) would be pushing the envelope. I'll be playing any PC game that comes out from here on to whenever the PC need's an upgrade. Current monitor (which I'll probably be staying with) is a 24" HP at 1920 x 1200. [b]an i7 870 and GTX 580 are easily doable with a $1700 budget. You will be able to play literally anything that comes out from now to 2015 at maximum(probably)[/b][/QUOTE] :h:

He wants this to last for a while, wouldn't it make sense to wait for Sandy Bridge first?

[QUOTE=Xybjj;26819165]He wants this to last for a while, wouldn't it make sense to wait for Sandy Bridge first?[/QUOTE] Yes. I was going to say that but somehow slipped my mind.

Probably won't be able to go to $1,700.(let's keep it around 1,500) Will sandy bridges affect AMD prices that much? From what I understand it's only an Intel thing. I have an Intel core 2 quad in my computer right now that runs fine, along with 4 gigs of DDR2 ram(though I'd prefer going to DDR3 if the difference is that noticeable.). Perhaps I could use that in this rig? That would drop the prices enough to get a reasonable graphics card. How is that motherboard?

Uhh when Sandy Bridge is out we will most definitely get you an Intel build. You just have to wait for now. But yeah, AMD prices will probably drop. Your budget is adequate, but going as high as possible gets you a better build. If your old computer still works you can probably use it as a file server/HTPC if you want to. [editline]21st December 2010[/editline] Also DDR3 is the standard now, DDR2 is now more expensive so logically speaking, DDR3 is the way to go.

I would get a 6970 or a GTX 570, as they've got better price:performance. And if you go for a motherboard with two PCI-E 2.0 x16 slots, crossfire the 6970 later on, as crossfire scaling seems to have improved alot.

If you're doing a $1600 build, you should go for a better processor, because quite frankly, the x6 is sucks. Even though you are moving away from Intel or whatever, wait for the Sandy bridge, or go for the i5-760 or the i7-950, or i7-875K (for overclocking). Get a 6970 or a GTX 580. Why the hell get such expensive RAM? Get 2x4GB G.Skill or something. Get a Samsung F3 spinpoint. Again, wait for the all-mighty Sandy Bridge.

If I switch out the Processor and the Graphics card for these, how will that be: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727[/url] [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102916&cm_re=6970-_-14-102-916-_-Product[/url] In what ways is Intel superior when you're on a budget? How will all this last me If I was to get these parts with what I had in the OP? I might just scrap the SSD all together.

Your budget is actually quite high, Intel would definitely be better. Check out the other builds in the section and you can get a reference as to how big your budget is.

Basically this is how I see it: AMD CPUs = $400-700 Intel CPUs = $700+ You're obviously in the $700+ league. There is no reason to not go for a superior product. The i5 is amazing. AMD's processors have good bang for their buck, but Intel just beats them in performance, and the i5s still have good bang for their buck. AMD's top tier processors can't compete with Intel's Strictly speaking, you're not really on a budget since it is so high. ~$400-700 would be a budget. Oh yeah, I'll just say this one more time, no matter how annoying it is: Wait for Sandy Bridge. Why? To get performance of the i7-980x in gaming for 1/5 the price, or $190. (In case you don't know, the i7-980x is the world's fastest non-server CPU. [editline]20th December 2010[/editline] Also, get a GTX 580. It will last you a [b]long[/b] time, and with this budget, it is definitely an option.

[QUOTE=Flubadoo;26827886]Basically this is how I see it: AMD CPUs = $400-700 Intel CPUs = $700+ You're obviously in the $700+ league. There is no reason to not go for a superior product. The i5 is amazing. AMD's processors have good bang for their buck, but Intel just beats them in performance, and the i5s still have good bang for their buck. AMD's top tier processors can't compete with Intel's Strictly speaking, you're not really on a budget since it is so high. ~$400-700 would be a budget. Oh yeah, I'll just say this one more time, no matter how annoying it is: Wait for Sandy Bridge. Why? To get performance of the i7-980x in gaming for 1/5 the price, or $190. (In case you don't know, the i7-980x is the world's fastest non-server CPU. [editline]20th December 2010[/editline] Also, get a GTX 580. It will last you a [b]long[/b] time, and with this budget, it is definitely an option.[/QUOTE] I don't agree. Other than the "Wait for Sandy Bridge-thing", of course.

[QUOTE=Flubadoo;26827886] (In case you don't know, the i7-980x is the world's fastest non-server CPU. [editline]20th December 2010[/editline] [/QUOTE] Syntax Error.