CPU-GPU trade off

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roibecker

Junior Member
Jan 4, 2012
6
0
0
Hi all,

- I'm looking into building a new gaming (only) machine.
- The screen resolution will be 1920x1080 at most (when I'll save for a new screen...).
- I'm ordering parts in the US.
- I rather not overclock at all.

I have about 400$ to spend on CPU + GPU.
My question is how to split the money to get the best (gaming) results.
The two options I see are:
1) ~220$ CPU, ~170$ GPU (say, core i5 2500, Radeaon 6870).
2) ~130$ CPU, ~250$ GPU (say, core i3 2120, geforce 560 ti).

Can you tell which is better for me?
Do you think of a better solution all together?

Thanks!
 
R

roibecker

Junior Member
Jan 4, 2012
6
0
0
No overclocking for me (I just don't feel comfortable with it).

The parts i have so far:
Mother Board - Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 (Mainly since i built a few other machines for friends with it, so i know I'll get the assembly right).
RAM - G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) Ripjaws X Series DDR3 1600MHz
SSD - Crucial 64 GB m4
HDD - Probably an old 5400 I have (1-2 games on the ssd is enough for me).
Cooling - Standard.
Case, PSU - Haven't decided yet, Nothing fancy though (Probably front and rear fans and ~600W).

(Thanks for the quick replies!)
 
Belegost

Belegost

Golden Member
Feb 20, 2001
1,807
19
81
So I suggest 1 of two things:

If you are absolutely dead set against even the mildest overclocking, then the z68 board is overkill. Go with an H67 board, like the Asrock H67M - save 40 there use it to buy an i5-2500 and a 6950/560ti.

If you're willing to do a very limited safe overclock, then get the Z68 board and an i5 2300, I saw one at buy.com for 175ish a few days ago. This should save enough to get the better video card. And the 2300 can do limited overclocking 4 multiplier levels, giving you roughly the same speed as a stock 2500.

Really the only advantage of going the Z68 route is the option of using that 64GB SSD as a cache drive later. Which, having tried to live with Win7 and a 64GB SSD, is more valuable than you might think, because 64GB just doesn't last long.
 
M

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
roibecker said:
Hi all,

- I'm looking into building a new gaming (only) machine.
- The screen resolution will be 1920x1080 at most (when I'll save for a new screen...).
- I'm ordering parts in the US.
- I rather not overclock at all.

I have about 400$ to spend on CPU + GPU.
My question is how to split the money to get the best (gaming) results.
The two options I see are:
1) ~220$ CPU, ~170$ GPU (say, core i5 2500, Radeaon 6870).
2) ~130$ CPU, ~250$ GPU (say, core i3 2120, geforce 560 ti).

Can you tell which is better for me?
Do you think of a better solution all together?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

3) i5 2400 $190 + H67M $80 + 6950 2GB $250

That's the same overall price as what you're paying for mobo, CPU, and GPU but gives you all around better performance and doesn't sacrifice anything that you were planning to do.

Also, how much are you paying for the RAM? Anything over $40 is too much.
 
F

fastamdman

Golden Member
Nov 18, 2011
1,335
70
91
So I / we can convince him to overclock. And the z68 is so he can go IB later on and overclock then and because they are better boards =P
 
M

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
fastamdman said:
So I / we can convince him to overclock. And the z68 is so he can go IB later on and overclock then and because they are better boards =P
Click to expand...

Why would he ever upgrade from Sandy Bridge to Ivy Bridge? Spending another $200 on a processor that is 20% faster wouldn't make much sense.
 
F

fastamdman

Golden Member
Nov 18, 2011
1,335
70
91
Oh I didn't realize that you had the NDA with intel and already had the processor and had all the facts for it, my bad.
 
GoStumpy

GoStumpy

Golden Member
Sep 14, 2011
1,211
11
81
mfenn said:
Why would he ever upgrade from Sandy Bridge to Ivy Bridge? Spending another $200 on a processor that is 20% faster wouldn't make much sense.
Click to expand...

Quoted for truth.

People don't upgrade for a 20% performance increase... If he's building a new computer now, he'll be fine for 3-5 years, long after IB, Haswell, yadda yadda...

Lets concentrate on the here and now that we know instead of the maybe possible future...
 
F

fastamdman

Golden Member
Nov 18, 2011
1,335
70
91
I dunno, I am the type of person that would sell my chip and upgrade to the next one for next to nothing for that 20%+ speed.
 
R

roibecker

Junior Member
Jan 4, 2012
6
0
0
Good advices.
I guess the H67 will allow me to squeeze an i5 2500 and the 560 ti in the budget.

The whole thing did get me interested in the more general form of my question though:
Given a price point, how much would you spend on the CPU and how much on th GPU for best gamin experience?
I specifically can't figure out if a dual core with a better GPU will be a better choice than a quad core with a cheaper GPU (again, assuming the total sum is the same for both).
 
T_Yamamoto

T_Yamamoto

Lifer
Jul 6, 2011
15,007
795
126
roibecker said:
Good advices.
I guess the H67 will allow me to squeeze an i5 2500 and the 560 ti in the budget.

The whole thing did get me interested in the more general form of my question though:
Given a price point, how much would you spend on the CPU and how much on th GPU for best gamin experience?
I specifically can't figure out if a dual core with a better GPU will be a better choice than a quad core with a cheaper GPU (again, assuming the total sum is the same for both).
Click to expand...

GPU over CPU.
 
lehtv

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
74
91
Yep. For a pure gaming PC, the GPU should in general be more expensive. i3-2120 + H67 + 6950 2GB would give the best immediate gaming performance. However, given that the GPU is always easier to upgrade and that new GPUs are around the corner... It wouldn't be too bad of an idea to go with i5-2500K + Z68 + 6850/6870, then upgrade the GPU sometime later this year. Both plans are good, depends on whether you want to focus on longevity of the platform or immediate gaming performance.
 
T_Yamamoto

T_Yamamoto

Lifer
Jul 6, 2011
15,007
795
126
lehtv said:
Yep. For a pure gaming PC, the GPU should in general be more expensive. i3-2120 + H67 + 6950 2GB would give the best immediate gaming performance. However, given that the GPU is always easier to upgrade and that new GPUs are around the corner... It wouldn't be too bad of an idea to go with i5-2500K + Z68 + 6850/6870, then upgrade the GPU sometime later this year. Both plans are good, depends on whether you want to focus on longevity of the platform or immediate gaming performance.
Click to expand...

Pretty much what I said. Gpu over cpu
 
monkeydelmagico

monkeydelmagico

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2011
3,961
145
106
Over the years I've spent probably twice as much on GPU's as CPU's and motherboards combined. The balance, for gamers is always heavy towards GPU and the replacement cycle is typically faster.

For example, I would recommend a combo of an i3 + 6850 on a solid z68 board. Then in about 18 months to two years I will yank out the 6850, ebay it, and apply the proceeds to something like a 6970. Two-three year mark I pull the i3 and get a 2500k/2600k. Then in 4-5 years another GPU upgrade, and efforts to OC the snot out of current CPU. After about 6-7 years it's time for an operating system upgrade so I will typically start over with a new mobo/cpu combo. So over the span of 7 years that's one mobo, one OS, two CPU's and three GPU's. Sometimes the GPU will carry over to the next build.

I always try to stay previous generation and pick up on sales/clearance/refurb/used stuff. I usally time the build to coincide with a new microsoft mothership operating imperitive release. Over the past 8 years that has worked out to about $150-200 per year I spend on computer stuff/upgrades.

It's a monkey system, YMMV. Some folks like to put all the $$$ upfront and not have to fuss with it. That would mean an i5 and the 560ti for you with maybe one GPU upgrade later on down the road. I can't keep my paws out of the case for that long.
 
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ther00kie16

Golden Member
Mar 28, 2008
1,573
0
0
Wait a bit for AMD 7000 series GPUs to bring better bang for buck. Also, does anyone think Ivy Bridge will do the same on CPU side?
If you live near a Fry's or Microcenter, look for their ridiculous CPU/MB deals, especially an i5.
 
T

ther00kie16

Golden Member
Mar 28, 2008
1,573
0
0
fastamdman said:
IB will be priced about the same as the current SB line more then likely.
Click to expand...

Sure, but would it bring better performance/price ratio. Specifically, would you expect the 3300 or 3450, which should surpass 2500 in performance, to cost $177 & $184 as the lowest SB i5 did? And will the 3570k cost $216 with plenty of Frys/Microcenter bundle deals to boot? If so, it's definitely worth it to wait 3 months.

If you can't wait, get a 2500k with intention of reselling it for IB upgrade in 3 months.
 
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