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Optimal Build

K

keoghjacob

Junior Member
Hello,

A bit back I got some help from some of the people here on Anandtech.

I'd like to confirm whether my build which I sorted out is the optimal I can get out of my $500 pre-upgrade base budget for my PC as well other questions.

So, essentially I'd like to ask:

Is this the best I can get for $500?

Will this do what I want? (Playing modern games such as Skyrim, Call of Duty, etc. at High Graphics?

Thanks,
Jacob

Build:
(Processor) Core i3-3220
(Motherboard) Asus P8B75-M LE
(Case, PSU, Cooling) Antec NSK1380
(Video) Sapphire Radeon HD7770
(RAM) Hynix 2x4gb PC3-12800 DDR3-1600 240 RAM
(HDD) 500gb Western Digital HDD
(DVD) Samsung DVD-RW Drive

P.S.: Not that i'm asking you to conform, but I'm a bit of an Asus\Intel fanboy, so if you'd please, suggest Asus\Intel improvements, but I'm totally open to AMD\other mobo improvements as well.
 
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I haven't been in high-end PCs for a while, so right now I'm running a more modest setup with a HP G72-227WM with some extra hardware on it, and an old Dell OptiPlex 320 with a semi-modern graphics card, both the CPU and GPU in the OptiPlex have been overclocked.

So overall I'm a bit behind the times with modern high-end PC use, not like I used to be.
 
[thread=2310044]Here[/thread] is the OP's first thread. Are you still looking at doing Photoshop as well with this system? If it's just for gaming, I'd look at ways to save money to get a 7850.

But come to think of it, did you ever answer [thread=80121]all these other questions[/thread]? Like your monitor's resolution and whether you need an OS?
 
I know I mentioned Audio\Video editiing, but mainly it'll be Audio Editing and Gaming. I'll be using Windows 7 as the OS obviously, and monitor res is 1600x900.

I can certainly do the 7850, but is there a CPU recommendation outside of the 3220?
 
keoghjacob said:
I haven't been in high-end PCs for a while, so right now I'm running a more modest setup with a HP G72-227WM with some extra hardware on it, and an old Dell OptiPlex 320 with a semi-modern graphics card, both the CPU and GPU in the OptiPlex have been overclocked.

So overall I'm a bit behind the times with modern high-end PC use, not like I used to be.
Click to expand...

IDE or SATA hard drives?
 
keoghjacob said:
I know I mentioned Audio\Video editiing, but mainly it'll be Audio Editing and Gaming. I'll be using Windows 7 as the OS obviously, and monitor res is 1600x900.

I can certainly do the 7850, but is there a CPU recommendation outside of the 3220?
Click to expand...

You really don't need an i5 for gaming, unless you want to play your games on enthusiast settings, ie Ultra settings. In that case go with an i5. For High settings an i3 is enough for playability.
 
2timer said:
You really don't need an i5 for gaming, unless you want to play your games on enthusiast settings, ie Ultra settings. In that case go with an i5. For High settings an i3 is enough for playability.
Click to expand...

And I assume the 7850 then of course is best for High Settings as well, and anything more expensive\rated better in performance is for enthusiast use as well?
 
keoghjacob said:
And I assume the 7850 then of course is best for High Settings as well, and anything more expensive\rated better in performance is for enthusiast use as well?
Click to expand...

What types of games are you intending to play? Because:hmm: for most games, in fact, the 7770 is ample enough for High/Ultra settings, especially on games that are CPU bound like Skyrim.

But for heavy FPS's, the 7850 will provide more headroom on high settings. If you want those extra frames on the most modern FPS's then the 7850 is a good choice. It will also require more case airflow and a larger cooler. For everything else, the 7770 is plenty.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/536?vs=549
 
keoghjacob said:
And I assume the 7850 then of course is best for High Settings as well, and anything more expensive\rated better in performance is for enthusiast use as well?
Click to expand...

You should consider if you are planning to upgrade your monitor. I think a HD7770 would be more than adequate for 1600 x 900. Obviously there are a lot of more expensive cards, but I think a HD7770 would be a good fit for that resolution. A 650Ti from nVidia would also be another good choice, or the new HD7790 from AMD.

If you are planning to upgrade to 1080p, then I think something like a HD7850 would be best, as someone else suggested.

Personally, I have a HD7770 and can run Skyrim at high/ultra at 1080p, although I only get about 35fps at ultra. Call of Duty should be less demanding. For more demanding games at 1080p the 7770 is a bit slow though.
 
Until 4/30 newegg has a combo deal for the i5-3570k and the asus p8z77-v lk for $289.98 ($274.98 AR). Might be out of your price range but it is a damn good deal.
 
Can you list out the prices that you're getting for each component? Whether each part is good or not really depends on how much you're paying.
 
If I (painfully) increased my budget to about $700 or $800 (which would render my upgrade budget for 2013 at $0)

Would the i7-3770k and the 7870 Tahti (comparable to the HD 7970) be a nice investment?
 
keoghjacob said:
If I (painfully) increased my budget to about $700 or $800 (which would render my upgrade budget for 2013 at $0) Would the i7-3770k and the 7870 Tahti (comparable to the HD 7970) be a nice investment?
Click to expand...
Upgrading to an i5 would be worth it...you do not need an i7. The 7870 will be a good card for you, especially since you are running 1600x900. Lower resolutions require less gpu horsepower.

The newegg combo for the i5-3570k and the asus p8z77-v lk for $274.98 after rebate (combo deal lasts until 4/30) and a 7870 for would probably be your best bet. That system will slay games at your resolution, especially with a respectable overclock on both the cpu and gpu.
 
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keoghjacob said:
If I (painfully) increased my budget to about $700 or $800 (which would render my upgrade budget for 2013 at $0)

Would the i7-3770k and the 7870 Tahti (comparable to the HD 7970) be a nice investment?
Click to expand...

You could get a nice build for $700:

i5 3570K + GA-Z77-HD3 combo $265 AR
Crucial DDR3 1600 8GB $58
7850 2GB $170 AR
Seagate 7200RPM 1TB $70 AP
Lite-ON DVD Burner $18 AP
Corsair CX500M $50 AR
NZXT Source 220 $50
Total: $681 AR AP

If you go up to $800, you can get a substantial bump in graphics performance by going with a 7950 3GB.
 
When it comes to the hierarchy of the graphics cards it seems the 7870 LE is right up there with the 7950, so I don't think i'll spend the extra money on the 7950. Definitely will do the i5 combo.

Let me ask, how would this perform on 1080p HD?
 
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Depends on what games you're playing.

You mentioned Skyrim. From personal experience, backed by a strong CPU, I'm seeing the 7870 pushing >60fps on Skyrim (no additional graphic intensive mods) on the highest settings, with a ton of AA, at 1920x1200.

Should look and feel wonderful at 1080 too.
 
The most intensive games I see myself running are the Crysis titles.

I've kind of weeded out the fact that I don't need the power of the i7-3770K, and should step down to the i5-3570K, even for CPU intensive games.

As well as i've found that the 7870 LE is on the same level as the 7950 and should suit my gaming needs for the graphics department, even on 1080p.

Is anything on this wrong?
 
The 7870 and 7950 aren't powerful enough to do Crysis 3 on high details and with decent framerates. The 7970 is better, but you really need Crossfire/SLI to get the most out of that game. Any of the cards are fine for Crysis 1 and 2 though.
 
mfenn said:
The 7870 and 7950 aren't powerful enough to do Crysis 3 on high details and with decent framerates. The 7970 is better, but you really need Crossfire/SLI to get the most out of that game. Any of the cards are fine for Crysis 1 and 2 though.
Click to expand...

If the 7870 LE can run Crysis 3 with medium settings and an acceptable FPS, and other games like Minecraft, Skyrim and Call of Duty with high settings and great FPS, paired with the i5, i'm good with it.
 
Take a look at the benches.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/548?vs=550

I don't know about CoD specifically but here's a side-by-side for the 7870 and the 7950 for a bunch of games. It's not exactly high-precision science, but it should give you a good feel for where you'll be at.

Edit: Unfortunately Anandtech only has benches for Crysis Warhead. If I had to make a WAG, I'd wager on the 7950 putting up 40ish fps on moderate settings at 1920x1080.
 
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