Building a gaming PC now, good or bad idea?

[BoomerD]

Don't tell me you don't know how to read benchmarks either?

 

[Numenorean]

I'll take that as a no.

 

[BoomerD]

I'll take that as a no.

So tell us all where we're wrong...

 

[Numenorean]

So tell us all where we're wrong...

Just look at the numbers. SB is faster, yes. But it doesn't blow the previous chips out of the water in anything but a few specific benchmarks.

 

[BoomerD]

Just look at the numbers. SB is faster, yes. But it doesn't blow the previous chips out of the water in anything but a few specific benchmarks.

OK, I'll go along with that...in some categories, it's MUCH faster...and dollar for dollar, it's an impressive improvement in overall performance.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Just look at the numbers. SB is faster, yes. But it doesn't blow the previous chips out of the water in anything but a few specific benchmarks.

OK, I'll go along with that...in some categories, it's MUCH faster...and dollar for dollar, it's an impressive improvement in overall performance.

It all depends on what you're doing. If you're doing one of those benchmarks where there is a huge difference (video encoding as an example), then that's different from games where you go from 100 fps to 120 fps (as a bs example).

Also, cost and purchase time frame are important in this as well. If you're ok with waiting ~3 months, then wait for SB v2 (on the z68 chipset). If you want it now, then get current 1156 offerings. If you're gaming, there won't really be a difference between the two options. Also, if you would be spending ~$356 (current newegg price) on an i7 860, then IMHO you should just wait and spend slightly less on the SB cpu. IIRC SB 2600K was <$300 at Microcenter.

 

[Numenorean]

Boomer that's pretty much all I was getting at. Yeah there is a difference, but it's not enough that if you had an older i7 would be worth it to upgrade unless you did a few specific things. Or if you need something right now that you need more than 2 hard drives on, the older i7 would make sense since the new SB stuff isn't readily available anymore, as well as not fully working properly.

So for business or photo editing or anything that reliability is important, I would recommend a previous version i7.

For gaming, SB makes sense because it's cheaper and at least as fast or faster than an older i7. If you don't have a lot of data storage needs, etc. then it should be fine.

 

[BoomerD]

I agree...if you have one of the 1156 i7's or especially one of the 1366 i7's, it really doesn't make sense to switch to the Sandy Bridge platform. The gains in MOST areas will be minimal at best.
Hell, IMO, it doesn't make sense to change if you're running one of the 1156 i5-7** processors either...but then again, I've never been one of the "OMG! There's a new processor and platform out. I have to rebuild NOW!" kind of people...

 

[Numenorean]

I agree...if you have one of the 1156 i7's or especially one of the 1366 i7's, it really doesn't make sense to switch to the Sandy Bridge platform. The gains in MOST areas will be minimal at best.
Hell, IMO, it doesn't make sense to change if you're running one of the 1156 i5-7** processors either...but then again, I've never been one of the "OMG! There's a new processor and platform out. I have to rebuild NOW!" kind of people...

Yup. That was the basic thing with the endlessmike guy. I was trying to get him to see that even though a benchmark may say a CPU is 20% faster, in the real world you saved 3 seconds among a large number of operations. You wouldn't notice the performance difference unless you sat there with a stopwatch.

I really dislike the reviews which make a big deal about the %, and don't talk about the real world differences. And synthetic benchmarks can even be worse to compare to a real world situation.

To me, if SB cut the time it takes to do something in half, and did that in a variety of benchmarks, then that would be blowing everything else out of the water.

 

[sour07]

what do you guys think about this CPU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115213

it costs 300 on newegg but I saw it yesterday at my local frys for 275.

 

[Numenorean]

It's a very good CPU if you wanted to go that route there's nothing wrong with it.

 

[BoomerD]

Very good processor.
I personally wouldn't spend that for a gaming rig though. If you don't want to wait for the Sandy Bridge fix, take a look at the i5-760.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115067

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/107?vs=191

In MOST categories, they're neck & neck...yes, in some, the i7-870 is quite a bit faster, but not many...and the difference in price more than makes up for it IMO.

 

[mfenn]

Very good processor.
I personally wouldn't spend that for a gaming rig though. If you don't want to wait for the Sandy Bridge fix, take a look at the i5-760.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115067

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/107?vs=191

In MOST categories, they're neck & neck...yes, in some, the i7-870 is quite a bit faster, but not many...and the difference in price more than makes up for it IMO.

:thumbsup: This. I would not pay the premium in a gaming rig.

 

[mfenn]

We'll never know the OPs real intention, if the he/she buys one GPU today and decides to add another in the future at a cheap price then power to the OP.

While you are right that we don't have a crystal ball that can accurately predict whether or not the OP will buy a second card, but statistics say that it is not terribly likely. Interests and cash flow are always subject to unexpected changes.

PSUs are selling at a great price, especially the recent modular PSUs that are posted on hot deals are bronze, silver, even gold 80+ efficient. Motherboards on the other hand really depends on the OPs CPU choice. IT is possible to get a great SLI/X-fire capable machine within the OPs budget.

Possible, yes. Optimal, probably not.

Even if you can get SLI/CFX-capable PSUs and mobos at a good price, they are still going to be more expensive than non-SLI/CFX capable PSUs and mobos. With the density of GPU choices in the $200-$400 range, the money is IMHO far better spent on getting better performance today as opposed to the off chance that the OP may buy a 2nd GPU later on.

 

[sour07]

would there be a huge difference in speed if i decide to wait for the Sandy Bridge fix?

PC is going to be strictly for gaming.

 

[mnewsham]

would there be a huge difference in speed if i decide to wait for the Sandy Bridge fix?

PC is going to be strictly for gaming.

no but it will be good for CPU bottle necked games once overclocked to 4.4Ghz and will allow you to upgrade the gpu (without being cpu bottle necked) for a long while. if you CAN wait i would go ahead and wait, (hell maybe even save up more money) and get SB

 

[BoomerD]

Depends on what you compare...the i5-2500K is considerably faster than the i5-760,
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/288?vs=191

and as we've already discussed, it's a bit faster than the i7-870, and way faster than the AMD offerings.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/288?vs=203

Is it worth the wait? Only YOU can decide that.

If you're comfortable with what you have now...sure, why not wait?
However, if you have the upgrade itch...and need to scratch it NOW...then the socket 1156 i5-760 would probably be your best choice. Good speeds, proven performance and overclocking, lots of proven motherboards to choose from, not as picky about RAM as the 1155 processors, (but you still have to pay attention...not all RAM is created equal)

 

[sour07]

Yea im comfortable waiting, Killzone 3 and Marvel Vs Capcom are coming out this month for PS3 so ill just game on that until March/April

I might aswell save enough to get both video cards at once. Thanks for all of the advice guys.

Ill revive this thread in March so you guys can help me out when I start building it.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

I'm not a fan of SLI/CF either, but (if you're looking at $500 for the GPU) two 560's right away maks more sense than one 580. Most boards now come with two PCIe x16 slots anyhow.

 

[mnewsham]

I'm not a fan of SLI/CF either, but two 560's right away maks more sense than one 580. Most boards now come with two PCIe x16 slots anyhow.

Most boards come with 2 x8 slots not x16 it is still x16 or x8/x8

 

[Patrick Wolf]

Most boards come with 2 x8 slots not x16 it is still x16 or x8/x8

Well, yes. But if you're getting at a peformance hit, hardocp says no biggie.
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/08/23/gtx_480_sli_pcie_bandwidth_perf_x16x16_vs_x8x8/1

 

[BoomerD]

I was over at the ASUS forums earlier and the rumors there are May or June for the new boards. Of course, being rumors, I don't know how accurate that is.

 

[endlessmike133]

Yea im comfortable waiting, Killzone 3 and Marvel Vs Capcom are coming out this month for PS3 so ill just game on that until March/April

I might aswell save enough to get both video cards at once. Thanks for all of the advice guys.

Ill revive this thread in March so you guys can help me out when I start building it.

TBH, I think you should get SB now.

Just buy a mobo and CPU from Amazon/NCIXUS..hook up your HDD and Optical Drive to SATA Ports 0 and 1 and you'll be skippy.

 

[Emultra]

hook up your HDD and Optical Drive to SATA Ports 0 and 1 and you'll be skippy.

Are those the uppermost black ones? There's two white slots as well in my P67 EVO.

 

[jterrell]

various comments:

OP: If you are willing to wait 2-3 months you will likely see a more stable "goto" build out.
On the other hand if you are using some ancient system then an upgrade will still zoom past what you have and leave little to be desired. My personal situation is I have an ancient build that would see a big upgrade form any modern choice but I am going to wait at least a month. If the improved SB isn't out by then I'll build out anyways. Admittedly this is partially because I prefer doing my hardware toying before spring when i can be outside enjoying the weather.

870 versus SB 2500 or 2600: If everything were working ideally you'd buy the 2500/2600 hands down. It is more efficient(cheaper to run) with better numbers across the board in performance. Yes, on a test of 40 factors there may be an outlier or two but it is consistently better. But no it is not enough better to scrap a recent build. Almost no single generation improvement is.

endlessmike: i have been a member here a long time and can never remember seeing a troll such as you. consider it a congrats on being able to pot stir and troll this long without catching a ban. this area of the forum affects people's actual purchases and is generally limited to grown up responses not red bull addled nerd raging. i love red bull and can nerd rage with the best of them but really this isnt the place.