New Build, Looking For Some Advice

[dulouz]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Games (SC2, Dragon Age, and older things like Oblivion), Raytracing (Povray), some modeling with Blender.

2. What YOUR budget is.

US$800 absolute top, (including shipping really, so maybe $750 for parts)

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

U.S.

4. IF YOU have a brand preference.

AMD for processors. For graphics, I have a (probably outdated) notion that ATI does not work well in Linux. I would be willing to have that idea beaten out of me.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

17 inch monitor, dvd drive, case (Antec Sonata from 6 years ago). Current power supply is an Antec True350S. Not sure that will be adequate anymore.

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

Some.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

Have never overclocked, but sounds silly not to nowadays.

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.

Native resolution of monitor is 1280x1024.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

Would like to order within the week.

10. Don't ask for a build configuration critique or rating if you are thin skinned.

Be gentle.

I've been running an AMD Athlon 64 3500+ for about 6 years now. Had a macbook pro that died, don't want to go back to a mac or a laptop. I game casually, but would like it to look nice when doing so.

So the parts i'm mostly unsure about are the graphics card, power, and slightly CPU. Am I crazy for going with NVidia these days? I have been single booting linux for these 6 years, but I will probably install Windows7 dual boot just for gaming. Wine has been "ok", but not great.

Also, I've never been a big Intel fan. The sandy bridge hype almost got to me, but not quite. Is this also silly of me? I noticed that there were a few people in http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2132719 with Phenom II Quad core that were pretty happy with them.

Is the power supply overkill?

I do see myself buying a widescreen monitor at some point in the next year or two.

Thank you for your time.

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX

Motherboard: ASUS M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 AM3 AMD 880G SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL

Graphics: MSI N460GTX Cyclone 768D5/OC GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 768MB 192-bit

Power: SeaSonic X650 Gold 650W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified

Drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s

 

[mnewsham]

all current amd offerings (besides server) are dead sockets, at this point wait for bulldozer or get over it and go intel.

 

[dulouz]

all current amd offerings (besides server) are dead sockets, at this point wait for bulldozer or get over it and go intel.

Is that true (do you have an article for me to read)? EDIT: Oh this, from Wikipedia:
AM3+ is a modification of the AM3 Socket designed for future "Zambezi" CPUs which use the new "Bulldozer" microarchitecture and will retain compatibility with AM3 processors. Contrary to initial design goals, "Zambezi" won't support AM3: AMD claims it's the only way to deliver its full potential. The set of features, which will make the difference, is not known yet.

From some posts it sounded like AM3 would have chips released for a couple years to come.

Interesting info if you are right.

Thanks!

 

[mnewsham]

Is that true (do you have an article for me to read)? EDIT: Oh this, from Wikipedia:
AM3+ is a modification of the AM3 Socket designed for future "Zambezi" CPUs which use the new "Bulldozer" microarchitecture and will retain compatibility with AM3 processors. Contrary to initial design goals, "Zambezi" won't support AM3: AMD claims it's the only way to deliver its full potential. The set of features, which will make the difference, is not known yet.

From some posts it sounded like AM3 would have chips released for a couple years to come.

Interesting info if you are right.

Thanks!

Just trying to keep you from getting stuck in a dead socket.

 

[dulouz]

Just trying to keep you from getting stuck in a dead socket.

And I appreciate it. In my mind, Intel seems to switch sockets so frequently which is one reason why I wanted to stick with AMD.

Unfortunately I don't really want to wait until Q2 of 2011, or whenever AMD releases this, because something in my current system is unstable. It freezes pretty randomly and infrequently. This is another reason why I don't think my current power supply will do, as I suspect it is that which is failing.

So I should maybe suck it up and go with a Sandy Bridge? I'll have to do some research on the differences between the offerings there.

 

[mnewsham]

And I appreciate it. In my mind, Intel seems to switch sockets so frequently which is one reason why I wanted to stick with AMD.

Unfortunately I don't really want to wait until Q2 of 2011, or whenever AMD releases this, because something in my current system is unstable. It freezes pretty randomly and infrequently. This is another reason why I don't think my current power supply will do, as I suspect it is that which is failing.

So I should maybe suck it up and go with a Sandy Bridge? I'll have to do some research on the differences between the offerings there.

The new socket 1155 is confirmed for ivy bridge architecture this time next year, probably haswell too of some sort, you are looking at one to two generations.

 

[superccs]

Regarding the dead platform argument...

Having the fastest cpu for a socket type reaps dividends in the end.

Example: having the fastest cpu for a given socket makes selling it for decent money on ebay later on extremely easy, compared to the first cpu to hit that socket. (AMD single core 3500+ vs dual core 4800+ for 939 socket, or dual core e6850 vs quad q9550 for 775 socket) the latter cpus can sell for almost what they cost new many years later. Just something to keep in mind... I have a 1055t (extremely oc'able btw) in a MSI 890gx for the same reason.

Secondly since you are on a budget it really is about performance / dollar. You can get some steals from AMD right now, and Intel doesn't readily like to offload their cpus or PLATFORMS for what I consider reasonable prices.

 

[MisterDonut]

If you're getting a new platform, you might as well get Sandybridge. If it's not price gouged, you can fit it into your budget, with a 5870 (sold around $200 last week) as your GPU. If you don't need something so powerful, go with a GTX460 but get the 1GB version. You can even drop the PSU down to around 450-500w like this one. this is a cheaper alternative to the Seasonic you listed. Antec makes solid PSU's, IMO.

Of course, you should start saving for an SSD . Maybe when you get enough, SF-2000 will have hit the markets.

 

[mfenn]

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX

Motherboard: ASUS M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 AM3 AMD 880G SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL

Graphics: MSI N460GTX Cyclone 768D5/OC GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 768MB 192-bit

Power: SeaSonic X650 Gold 650W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified

Drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s

If this list of parts is within your budget, you'd be absolutely silly not to go with Sandy Bridge. Dropping the X-650 (ludicrous overkill, by the way) down to something more reasonable will get you all of the way there. The Pov-ray and Blender benchmarks should seal the deal.

Sticking with Nvidia for Linux makes sense though.

With that in mind, here's what I would do:
Drop the Phenom for the i5 2500 (or K depending on whether or not you want to overclock) +$50 ($65)
Drop the mobo for the Intel BOXDP67BA + $7
Drop the X-650 for the S12II 520W - $75

This ends up being $18 ($3) cheaper than your current build and will be a decent amount faster. Not to mention that the i5 will be cooler and quieter.

 

[dulouz]

If this list of parts is within your budget, you'd be absolutely silly not to go with Sandy Bridge. Dropping the X-650 (ludicrous overkill, by the way) down to something more reasonable will get you all of the way there. The Pov-ray and Blender benchmarks should seal the deal.

Sticking with Nvidia for Linux makes sense though.

With that in mind, here's what I would do:
Drop the Phenom for the i5 2500 (or K depending on whether or not you want to overclock) +$50 ($65)
Drop the mobo for the Intel BOXDP67BA + $7
Drop the X-650 for the S12II 520W - $75

This ends up being $18 ($3) cheaper than your current build and will be a decent amount faster. Not to mention that the i5 will be cooler and quieter.

Thanks, everyone, for the tips. I read through anandtech's nice preview of the sandy bridge chips since posting this thread.

I'll do a little more research and thinking, but I think I am convinced.

 

[mnewsham]

Thanks, everyone, for the tips. I read through anandtech's nice preview of the sandy bridge chips since posting this thread.

I'll do a little more research and thinking, but I think I am convinced.

Glad we could help persuade you.

 

[DominionSeraph]

If this list of parts is within your budget, you'd be absolutely silly not to go with Sandy Bridge.

+1

I would find it difficult to recommend anything between a sub-$450 AMD build and Sandy Bridge from ~$700. The Phenom quads are just outmatched.

 

[dulouz]

Looking at the motherboards, it has become apparent that my current system is actually really old. Gone is the support for PATA in these 1155 boards (both my DVD drive and HD are PATA. Oh well.) and also gone are PS/2 connectors in most instances (my keyboard sucks anyway).

DVD drives are inexpensive to replace now anyway, and I was only hoping I could use my existing HD just for ease of migration. I can back it up to an external drive and then move the contents over.

Only one Asus board has PATA, but that board doesn't look like it is yet available.

And yes... I still have a 3.5 floppy disk drive. Guess I'll shove that in my pile of collectibles now.

 

[mnewsham]

....wow been awhile eh?

 

[BoomerD]

Looking at the motherboards, it has become apparent that my current system is actually really old. Gone is the support for PATA in these 1155 boards (both my DVD drive and HD are PATA. Oh well.) and also gone are PS/2 connectors in most instances (my keyboard sucks anyway).

DVD drives are inexpensive to replace now anyway, and I was only hoping I could use my existing HD just for ease of migration. I can back it up to an external drive and then move the contents over.

Only one Asus board has PATA, but that board doesn't look like it is yet available.

And yes... I still have a 3.5 floppy disk drive. Guess I'll shove that in my pile of collectibles now.

Heh-heh...I just replaced a P4 Socket 478 system with an i5-760. I also had a floppy drive, PATA Zip Drive & DVD burner...I bought a motherboard that had ONE PATA connection...then ended up buying a SATA DVD burner anyway. So...I went ahead and installed the PATA DVD drive in the system as well.

The ASUS P8P67 LE board also has one PATA connector...but shows out-of-stock ATM. That one would allow you to keep your HDD and one other PATA unit if you choose. (Amazon shows not released yet)

 

[mfenn]

Looking at the motherboards, it has become apparent that my current system is actually really old. Gone is the support for PATA in these 1155 boards (both my DVD drive and HD are PATA. Oh well.) and also gone are PS/2 connectors in most instances (my keyboard sucks anyway).

DVD drives are inexpensive to replace now anyway, and I was only hoping I could use my existing HD just for ease of migration. I can back it up to an external drive and then move the contents over.

Only one Asus board has PATA, but that board doesn't look like it is yet available.

And yes... I still have a 3.5 floppy disk drive. Guess I'll shove that in my pile of collectibles now.

I'd just grab one of these IDE to USB adapters and use it for migration. USB will be slow, but it's not like it will matter much for a one-time thing.