A do it all PC - thoughts please?

[Gorrillasnot]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for.
Encoding my DVD and Blu-Ray collection, streaming media, some light gaming. It will be my main do everything PC.

2. What YOUR budget is.
$600ish.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
U.S.A.

4. IF YOU have a brand preference.
No preference.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
OS, KB, mouse, speakers, monitor, and my long in the tooth 9800GT-EE (for now).

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
some.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Yes I would like to overclock.

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.
1080p

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
In a month or so if funds permit. Most likely after Bulldozer is released.

Here's what I've come up with so far.

Case

PSU

Motherboard

CPU

RAM

HDD

Blu-Ray burner

CPU Cooler

Total $754.92

Or would I be better off compromising and going with one of the bundled combos and then upgrade later on?

Combo Price $519.50

Generally speaking how much faster would a 2500K OC'd to 4.7GHz or so be compared to my current rig ( specs in sig). Twice as fast?
My specific interest would be the time it would take to encode a DVD into xvid.

thanks for any and all opinions.

 

[mfenn]

That combo doesn't look too bad except for the Seagate HDD. However, you can do better. Try this:
i5 2500K + G.Skill DDR3 1333 8GB $297
ASRock Z68 PRO3-M $115
Samsung F3 1TB $65
LG BD-R $85
Hyper 212+ $40
Corsair 500CX $40 AR
Antec Three Hundred $45 AR
Total: $647 AR

You can drop the BD-R to get under $600. A 9800GT only has a 105W TDP if its one of the later models, so a 500CX is plenty of power, even overclocked.

I'd guess that a 2500K @ 4.7GHz would be somewhere around 3 times as fast as a C2D @ 3.2GHz.

 

[aphelion02]

Are you gaming needs so light that you can use the iGPU?

Edit: nvm, I learnt to read.

^ you can save some money compared to mfenn's system by using this RAM and getting the same mobo and cpu in a combo.

 

[SandyM]

Are you gaming needs so light that you can use the iGPU?

Edit: nvm, I learnt to read.

^ you can save some money compared to mfenn's system by using this RAM and getting the same mobo and cpu in a combo.

When did that combo appear? I looked for one a couple of days ago and couldn't find a 2500k combined with anything! Damn!

 

[Gorrillasnot]

thanks for the info.

Should I upgrade my current rig to a core2quad and wait for Bulldozer and/or IvyBridge or just bite the bullet and upgrade now?

 

[Puppies04]

There is always something faster around the corner. You will most likely not be able to tell the difference between a sandy CPU and an ivy one considering the tasks you want the machine for. Pull the trigger

 

[Davidh373]

So you're gaming on this? What are your needs there?

Should I upgrade my current rig to a core2quad and wait for Bulldozer and/or IvyBridge or just bite the bullet and upgrade now?

Upgrade now.

i5 2500K + G.Skill DDR3 1333 8GB $297
ASRock Z68 PRO3-M $115
Samsung F3 1TB $65
LG BD-R $85
Hyper 212+ $40
Corsair 500CX $40 AR
Antec Three Hundred $45 AR
Total: $647 AR

:thumbsup:

EDIT: OP, your build you're spending too much on RAM and that HDD is too much as well.

 

[fffblackmage]

Should I upgrade my current rig to a core2quad and wait for Bulldozer and/or IvyBridge or just bite the bullet and upgrade now?

Isn't Bulldozer coming in a month or so? I wouldn't even bother upgrading to the C2Q, if you plan on waiting for BD.

Of course, buy now if you need it now though.

 

[mfenn]

When did that combo appear? I looked for one a couple of days ago and couldn't find a 2500k combined with anything! Damn!

Don't feel too bad, combo deals come and go pretty frequently.

thanks for the info.

Should I upgrade my current rig to a core2quad and wait for Bulldozer and/or IvyBridge or just bite the bullet and upgrade now?

I wouldn't upgrade to a C2Q unless you could get one for very cheap (under $50). Sandy Bridge is a very fast platform, but if you're OK with your current setup, then you can wait.

My philosophy is: if you need it now, buy it now; if you don't need it, wait.