Time for a new build after 8 years!

[fretman]

OK folks...I have settled on at least the following after taking into consideration everyone's postings and comments. Again, my main purpose was to have a machine that would boot up faster, be able to play some of the newer games on low or medium settings, and won't really need another upgrade for a few years.

I know that there will always be better or worst components that are available, but if I don't settle on some things right now, I'll probably never get this build off the ground.

So here goes. This is what I'm sure about getting. After also doing my own research too.

CPU = Intel Core i5-4690
Memory = 8 gb of 1600 ram. I think it's better to go with 2 sticks of 4gb.
Motherboard = Chipset H87. If I go with 4 slots of ram, I can do 2x4gb right now and expand to another 8gb later. If I go with only 2 slots for ram, I can do 1 stick of 8gb and expand later or do 2x4gb which won't leave me any room for expansion. MSI is out of the picture. I'll look mainly at ASUS and Gigabyte.
Storage = Smaller capacity SSD for the O/S and a Harddrive for everything else.
Video Card = GEForce GTX 750Ti
Windows 8.1

I think these are the main components. Everything else I can still pick and choose. Although I would still prefer a Micro-ATX form factor over a Mid Tower ATX factor.

Thanks.

 

[mfenn]

OK folks...I have settled on at least the following after taking into consideration everyone's postings and comments. Again, my main purpose was to have a machine that would boot up faster, be able to play some of the newer games on low or medium settings, and won't really need another upgrade for a few years.

I know that there will always be better or worst components that are available, but if I don't settle on some things right now, I'll probably never get this build off the ground.

So here goes. This is what I'm sure about getting. After also doing my own research too.

CPU = Intel Core i5-4690
Memory = 8 gb of 1600 ram. I think it's better to go with 2 sticks of 4gb.
Motherboard = Chipset H87. If I go with 4 slots of ram, I can do 2x4gb right now and expand to another 8gb later. If I go with only 2 slots for ram, I can do 1 stick of 8gb and expand later or do 2x4gb which won't leave me any room for expansion. MSI is out of the picture. I'll look mainly at ASUS and Gigabyte.
Storage = Smaller capacity SSD for the O/S and a Harddrive for everything else.
Video Card = GEForce GTX 750Ti
Windows 8.1

I think these are the main components. Everything else I can still pick and choose. Although I would still prefer a Micro-ATX form factor over a Mid Tower ATX factor.

Thanks.

You shouldn't get an i5 4690 and an H87 board unless you have a friend that has another Haswell CPU that you can borrow. The H87 board might need a BIOS update to handle the i5 4690, depending on how long it was sitting in inventory. But really, since you're not overclocking, going for the highest-end i5, doesn't really make much sense. You'll never notice a few hundred MHz difference in CPU speed, but you will notice a faster GPU or a bigger SSD.

Speaking of storage, what is your current HDD? Can you reuse it?

 

[chusteczka]

I do not know as much about video cards as others do but I would suggest a video card with at least 2GB memory and a 256 bit memory interface.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...1&name=256-Bit

The GeForce GTX 750Ti has only a 128 bit memory interface.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product..._-na-_-na-_-na

 

[mfenn]

I do not know as much about video cards as others do but I would suggest a video card with at least 2GB memory and a 256 bit memory interface.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...1&name=256-Bit

The GeForce GTX 750Ti has only a 128 bit memory interface.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product..._-na-_-na-_-na

Memory interface width (or really any line-item spec) is a bad thing to base a decision on. What matters is actual performance in the desired usage (i.e. games).

 

[fretman]

You shouldn't get an i5 4690 and an H87 board unless you have a friend that has another Haswell CPU that you can borrow. The H87 board might need a BIOS update to handle the i5 4690, depending on how long it was sitting in inventory. But really, since you're not overclocking, going for the highest-end i5, doesn't really make much sense. You'll never notice a few hundred MHz difference in CPU speed, but you will notice a faster GPU or a bigger SSD.

Speaking of storage, what is your current HDD? Can you reuse it?

Are you saying that there are better I5 chips that are more compatible with the H87 chipset. I didn't want the Z87 or Z97 chipsets because I'm not overclocking nor do I plan on doing any tweaking to the BIOS settings. Wouldn't I just need to flash the BIOS if needed?

My current HD is 500gb. After seven years of usage, I still have 250gb free. I don't plan on reusing it because it's making some strange sounds after having my PC on for longer than 10 minutes. I'm afraid it will go kaput anytime now.

 

[fretman]

I do not know as much about video cards as others do but I would suggest a video card with at least 2GB memory and a 256 bit memory interface.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...1&name=256-Bit

The GeForce GTX 750Ti has only a 128 bit memory interface.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product..._-na-_-na-_-na

If I went this route, I'll be looking at another $80 in upgrades. With that in mind, I would need to see where else in my build I could save that money. But I do think that the 750Ti is capable of playing the newer games at up to medium settings. That's based on my own research though.

 

[RussianSensation]

If I went this route, I'll be looking at another $80 in upgrades. With that in mind, I would need to see where else in my build I could save that money. But I do think that the 750Ti is capable of playing the newer games at up to medium settings. That's based on my own research though.

What's the reason for the 750Ti? It's a very poor value for price/performance as for barely more money, a $160 MSI Gaming R9 270X is a whopping 39% faster (!) at 1080p. If you can't afford to spend $160, then for $150, an R9 270 is still 24% faster and can be overclocked to R9 270X speeds. The only justification for $140 750Ti over $160 R9 270X is for people who run some budget 300W PSU and have no 6-pin connector for the GPU. I mean people pay $200-300 extra for 15% more performance on the high-end and here for $20, it's nearly 40% more performance plus 2 free games to August 31 2014. Too good to pass that up imo.

You know what, now that I think about it, your system is not build optimally at all. You are going with the 4690 and H87 which means you will hardly be overclocking but you are overspending on components that will hardly benefit in games or booting time. You are paring it with a slow GPU such as GTX750Ti. Spending $ in the wrong places if you want your $ to go far.

Your setup
4690 = $225
GTX750 = $140
Total: $365

vs.

My proposed setup
i5 4460 = $190
MSI Gaming R9 280 = $200
Total: $390

Paying $25 more over your CPU/GPU choice, out of the box you'll get 67% more gaming performance since that R9 280 is a 1Ghz version, 3 free games that you can redeem to Aug 31 and 3GB of VRAM. Performance will blow that 4690/750Ti system out of the water:

Not only that, Tahiti Pro scales extremely well with overclocking and that MSI card is very quiet too. If you ever decide to overclock, my videocard choice will give you GTX770 level of performance, a major increase from what you picked for your system components.

http://www.sweclockers.com/recension/18938-asus-radeon-r9-280-strix/9#pagehead

 

[fretman]

What's the reason for the 750Ti? It's a very poor value for price/performance as for barely more money, a $160 MSI Gaming R9 270X is a whopping 39% faster (!) at 1080p. If you can't afford to spend $160, then for $150, an R9 270 is still 24% faster and can be overclocked to R9 270X speeds. The only justification for $140 750Ti over $160 R9 270X is for people who run some budget 300W PSU and have no 6-pin connector for the GPU. I mean people pay $200-300 extra for 15% more performance on the high-end and here for $20, it's nearly 40% more performance plus 2 free games to August 31 2014. Too good to pass that up imo.

You know what, now that I think about it, your system is not build optimally at all. You are going with the 4690 and H87 which means you will hardly be overclocking but you are overspending on components that will hardly benefit in games or booting time. You are paring it with a slow GPU such as GTX750Ti. Spending $ in the wrong places if you want your $ to go far.

Your setup
4690 = $225
GTX750 = $140
Total: $365

vs.

My proposed setup
i5 4460 = $190
MSI Gaming R9 280 = $200
Total: $390

Paying $25 more over your CPU/GPU choice, out of the box you'll get 67% more gaming performance since that R9 280 is a 1Ghz version, 3 free games that you can redeem to Aug 31 and 3GB of VRAM. Performance will blow that 4690/750Ti system out of the water:

Not only that, Tahiti Pro scales extremely well with overclocking and that MSI card is very quiet too. If you ever decide to overclock, my videocard choice will give you GTX770 level of performance, a major increase from what you picked for your system components.

http://www.sweclockers.com/recension/18938-asus-radeon-r9-280-strix/9#pagehead

Thanks for your advice and suggestions. I went with the 4690 because it was good value for the money. My system will be used 80% for everyday activities and 20% for gaming. Plus it seemed like a CPU that would last me another 5 years and it got an extra 200 clock speed for an extra $15. However, I will take a look at your video card and see what that's all about. I didn't really consider the Radeon cards at first. Anyways, I haven't purchased anything yet, so there's still time to look things over.

 

[TerryMathews]

Thanks for your advice and suggestions. I went with the 4690 because it was good value for the money. My system will be used 80% for everyday activities and 20% for gaming. Plus it seemed like a CPU that would last me another 5 years and it got an extra 200 clock speed for an extra $15. However, I will take a look at your video card and see what that's all about. I didn't really consider the Radeon cards at first. Anyways, I haven't purchased anything yet, so there's still time to look things over.

Keep in mind your 4690 may not boot on the board you selected without a BIOS upgrade.

 

[RussianSensation]

Thanks for your advice and suggestions. I went with the 4690 because it was good value for the money. My system will be used 80% for everyday activities and 20% for gaming. Plus it seemed like a CPU that would last me another 5 years and it got an extra 200 clock speed for an extra $15. However, I will take a look at your video card and see what that's all about. I didn't really consider the Radeon cards at first. Anyways, I haven't purchased anything yet, so there's still time to look things over.

If you are going to spend $225 on a CPU, might as well go for 4690K and learn how to overclock. It is very easy and some of the Asus/Gigabyte boards will overclock with their Autotuning OC software to 4.4-4.5Ghz. If you are going to keep your system for 5 years, no point in trying to save $20-30 and not getting a Z97 mobo and a K series CPU, and a solid after-market cooler that you can pick up down the line in 2.5 years.

Also, if you are going to be doing 20% gaming but if you plan to use that system for 4-5 years, my CPU/GPU options will give you 40-70% more performance which will come in handy. In your case I'd at minimum step up to the 4690K and at least R9 270X, preferrably 280. You can pick up a Gigabyte Z97 board without going much over $100.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-714-_-Product
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-716-_-Product

 

[fretman]

Keep in mind your 4690 may not boot on the board you selected without a BIOS upgrade.

In that case I would just upgrade the BIOSand everything would be OK...right? Or would there be issues after that? I thought the H87 boards were already compatible with the latest gen processors?

 

[fretman]

If you are going to spend $225 on a CPU, might as well go for 4690K and learn how to overclock. It is very easy and some of the Asus/Gigabyte boards will overclock with their Autotuning OC software to 4.4-4.5Ghz. If you are going to keep your system for 5 years, no point in trying to save $20-30 and not getting a Z97 mobo and a K series CPU, and a solid after-market cooler that you can pick up down the line in 2.5 years.

Also, if you are going to be doing 20% gaming but if you plan to use that system for 4-5 years, my CPU/GPU options will give you 40-70% more performance which will come in handy. In your case I'd at minimum step up to the 4690K and at least R9 270X, preferrably 280. You can pick up a Gigabyte Z97 board without going much over $100.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-714-_-Product
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-716-_-Product

I will investigate your combo as well as CoolPurpleFan's. I'll also have to think about Ken's build again as well as some others that have been posted. Damn, I thought I had it this time. One thing for sure, I'm not going to OC. So any K processor is out of the question. That's why I ruled out the Z chipset boards.

 

[Ketchup]

In that case I would just upgrade the BIOSand everything would be OK...right? Or would there be issues after that? I thought the H87 boards were already compatible with the latest gen processors?

8-series needs an update for the Haswells that were just released. 9-series (H97/Z97) will work with these out of the box.

See the first two pages of this article for more detail:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7963/...eview-core-i7-4790-i5-4690-and-i3-4360-tested

The second page indicating what processors will require the latest chipset for you.

I wouldn't necessarily shy away from these either, as the new chips offer better thermal control and the boards have some new options that may interest you down the road. Newegg also has a nice search for these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ufactory=1314&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=20

 

[fretman]

8-series needs an update for the Haswells that were just released. 9-series (H97/Z97) will work with these out of the box.

See the first two pages of this article for more detail:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7963/...eview-core-i7-4790-i5-4690-and-i3-4360-tested

The second page indicating what processors will require the latest chipset for you.

I wouldn't necessarily shy away from these either, as the new chips offer better thermal control and the boards have some new options that may interest you down the road. Newegg also has a nice search for these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...CE&PageSize=20

Thanks for the article links. Does this mean if I decided to go with the I5-4690, then any H97 chipset board should be compatible?

 

[Ketchup]

Thanks for the article links. Does this mean if I decided to go with the I5-4690, then any H97 chipset board should be compatible?

I won't say that (although I am about 95% sure I could) but what you can do is check the webisite yourself.

For example, let's say you are going to get a Gigabyte GA-H97-D3H. You can go to the Gigabyte site and see on this page:

http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=4962 (under Support and Downloads, BIOS)

that the 4690 was supported since BIOS F3, which according to this page:

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4962#

was the first BIOS released for this board. So you are good. The last step normally being unnecessary except that, for some reason, the first official release was not labeled F1, as it is on most of their boards.

You might also have noticed that there is already chip on that page that requires the F4 BIOS, so it is always a good idea to take a minute to check.

Also, you might want to take the build complete line out of the title, since it looks like you are still hashing out some details.

 

[fretman]

I won't say that (although I am about 95% sure I could) but what you can do is check the webisite yourself.

For example, let's say you are going to get a Gigabyte GA-H97-D3H. You can go to the Gigabyte site and see on this page:

http://www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=4962 (under Support and Downloads, BIOS)

that the 4690 was supported since BIOS F3, which according to this page:

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=4962#

was the first BIOS released for this board. So you are good. The last step normally being unnecessary except that, for some reason, the first official release was not labeled F1, as it is on most of their boards.

You might also have noticed that there is already chip on that page that requires the F4 BIOS, so it is always a good idea to take a minute to check.

Also, you might want to take the build complete line out of the title, since it looks like you are still hashing out some details.

Good points...I'll do that now.

 

[crashtech]

I don't think there are 8-series boards that won't boot with Haswell Refresh CPUs, unlike the situation with Ivy Bridge and 6-series chipsets. In this case the stepping is the same, just the multipliers are different. So the worst that happens is that it's not properly recognized until a BIOS update, which can be performed with no need to locate an older CPU.

 

[mfenn]

You know what, now that I think about it, your system is not build optimally at all. You are going with the 4690 and H87 which means you will hardly be overclocking but you are overspending on components that will hardly benefit in games or booting time. You are paring it with a slow GPU such as GTX750Ti. Spending $ in the wrong places if you want your $ to go far.

Your setup
4690 = $225
GTX750 = $140
Total: $365

vs.

My proposed setup
i5 4460 = $190
MSI Gaming R9 280 = $200
Total: $390

Paying $25 more over your CPU/GPU choice, out of the box you'll get 67% more gaming performance since that R9 280 is a 1Ghz version, 3 free games that you can redeem to Aug 31 and 3GB of VRAM. Performance will blow that 4690/750Ti system out of the water:

Not only that, Tahiti Pro scales extremely well with overclocking and that MSI card is very quiet too. If you ever decide to overclock, my videocard choice will give you GTX770 level of performance, a major increase from what you picked for your system components.

http://www.sweclockers.com/recension/18938-asus-radeon-r9-280-strix/9#pagehead

Yes, thank you! This is what we've been trying to convince the OP of the whole thread. However, your pricing is slightly off, the OP is Canadian and you linked to Newegg.com instead of Newegg.ca.

 

[mfenn]

Thanks for your advice and suggestions. I went with the 4690 because it was good value for the money. My system will be used 80% for everyday activities and 20% for gaming. Plus it seemed like a CPU that would last me another 5 years and it got an extra 200 clock speed for an extra $15. However, I will take a look at your video card and see what that's all about. I didn't really consider the Radeon cards at first. Anyways, I haven't purchased anything yet, so there's still time to look things over.

If you think about things in terms of "but I could get X for only $Y more", then you're guaranteed to overspend. The whole product stack is designed to get you to offer incremental upgrade upgrades between models for only a few dollars difference. This creates mental stepping stones whose goal is to get you to buy a more expensive product than you otherwise would have.

In this case, sure, the it 4690 gets you 300 more Mhz for $32 more. However, you're not going to notice the difference outside of benchmark results. It definitely isn't going to make your machine last longer. There's never going to be a point where the sub-10% difference between the chips moves the bar from "not adequate" to "adequate".

 

[chusteczka]

I have reviewed all the recommendations, researched the options, and learned a whole lot about the current Intel platform that I was not aware of before due to my bias for AMD as the underdog. Anyway, here is what I came up with.

CPU
$160 Intel Core i3-4350 Haswell Dual-Core 3.6GHz (No Turbo) LGA 1150
$206 Intel Core i5-4460 Haswell Quad-Core 3.2GHz Turbo 3400 LGA 1150
$220 Intel Core i5-4590 Haswell Quad-Core 3.3GHz Turbo 3700 LGA 1150
$240 Intel Core i5-4690 Haswell Quad-Core 3.5GHz Turbo 3900 LGA 1150

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html
Anandtech.com - The Intel Haswell Refresh Review

Basically, all CPU recommendations are going along the new Haswell Refresh line.

Motherboard
$95 GIGABYTE GA-H97M-D3H LGA 1150 Intel H97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX
Reasons: H97 Gigabyte (personal preference), 4 RAM slots, Micro ATX, Maximum 1600MHz RAM

$120 GIGABYTE GA-Z97M-D3H LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX
Reasons: Z97 Same as above + ability to overclock + can handle 1866MHz RAM

Memory
1600MHz (2x4GB) CL9 1.5v ($80 - $100)
1600MHz (1x8GB) CL9 1.5v ($90 - $100)
1866MHz (2x4GB) CL9 1.5v ($75 - $100)
1866MHz (1x8GB) CL10 1.5v ($90 - $106)

Video Card
GTX 750 Ti ($140 - $200)
R9 270 ($160 - $202)
R9 270X ($180 - $260)
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_value.html (GTX 750 Ti, R9 270, R9 270X)
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html (R9 270X (4523), R9 270 (4226), GTX 750 Ti (3641))

SSD
$65 128GB
$110 Crucial MX100 256GB

HDD
$61 Seagate 1TB 7200 RPM
$70 WD 1TB Green

DVD Burner
$22 LG DVD Burner
$23 Samsung DVD Burner
$25 LITE-ON DVD Burner

Total Price
Optimal: $1068 = $220 CPU + $120 MB + $100 RAM + $200 Video + $110 SSD 256GB + $70 HDD + $60 Case + $60 PSU + $23 DVD + $105 Win8.1
Minimal: $867 = $160 CPU + $95 MB + $80 RAM + $150 Video + $65 SSD 128GB + $70 HDD + $60 Case + $60 PSU + $22 DVD + $105 Win8.1

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/

 

[chusteczka]

A comparable AMD system would be:

CPU
$147 AMD FX-6350 Vishera 6-Core 3.9GHz Socket AM3+ 125W
$165 AMD FX-8320 Vishera 8-Core 3.5GHz (4.0GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W
$205 AMD FX-8350 Black Edition Vishera 8-Core 4.0GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W

Motherboard
$100 GIGABYTE GA-970A-D3P AM3+/AM3 AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX
$100 GIGABYTE GA-970A-UD3P AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX

PassMark Benchmark Ratings
AMD FX-6350 = 7041
AMD FX-8320 = 8093
AMD FX-8350 = 9038

Intel i3-4350 = 5456
Intel i5-4460 = 6812
Intel i5-4590 = 7328
Intel i5-4690 = 7623

Value Rating = PassMark Rating / Price
AMD FX-6350 = 7041 / $247 = 28.50 / dollar
AMD FX-8320 = 8093 / $265 = 30.53 / dollar
AMD FX-8350 = 9038 / $305 = 29.63 / dollar

Intel i3-4350 = 5456 / $260 = 20.98 / dollar
Intel i5-4460 = 6812 / $306 = 22.26 / dollar
Intel i5-4590 = 7328 / $320 = 22.90 / dollar
Intel i5-4690 = 7623 / $340 = 22.42 / dollar

This value rating does not take into account power usage, so is pretty much useless. These AMD cpu's use 125 watts while the Intel i3 cpu uses 54 watts and the Intel i5 cpu's use 84 watts.

Comparing the power ratings and electricity cost, the Intel processors payback the price difference within a year.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

 

[fretman]

I don't think there are 8-series boards that won't boot with Haswell Refresh CPUs, unlike the situation with Ivy Bridge and 6-series chipsets. In this case the stepping is the same, just the multipliers are different. So the worst that happens is that it's not properly recognized until a BIOS update, which can be performed with no need to locate an older CPU.

I'm starting to understand now. It means that if I get a board/CPU combo that doesn't even boot, then I'm dead in the water because I don't even have the means to upgrade the BIOS at this point...correct? In which case, I have to find a CPU that will boot and then be able to do the BIOS update and then switch back to the other CPU?

 

[fretman]

If you think about things in terms of "but I could get X for only $Y more", then you're guaranteed to overspend. The whole product stack is designed to get you to offer incremental upgrade upgrades between models for only a few dollars difference. This creates mental stepping stones whose goal is to get you to buy a more expensive product than you otherwise would have.

In this case, sure, the it 4690 gets you 300 more Mhz for $32 more. However, you're not going to notice the difference outside of benchmark results. It definitely isn't going to make your machine last longer. There's never going to be a point where the sub-10% difference between the chips moves the bar from "not adequate" to "adequate".

Yes, that is my thinking. And you are correct. Sometimes it just seems like a sweet deal for just a few dollars more. I will go back to a lower end CPU and upgrade the video card.

 

[fretman]

I have reviewed all the recommendations, researched the options, and learned a whole lot about the current Intel platform that I was not aware of before due to my bias for AMD as the underdog. Anyway, here is what I came up with.

CPU
$160 Intel Core i3-4350 Haswell Dual-Core 3.6GHz (No Turbo) LGA 1150
$206 Intel Core i5-4460 Haswell Quad-Core 3.2GHz Turbo 3400 LGA 1150
$220 Intel Core i5-4590 Haswell Quad-Core 3.3GHz Turbo 3700 LGA 1150
$240 Intel Core i5-4690 Haswell Quad-Core 3.5GHz Turbo 3900 LGA 1150

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html
Anandtech.com - The Intel Haswell Refresh Review

Basically, all CPU recommendations are going along the new Haswell Refresh line.

Motherboard
$95 GIGABYTE GA-H97M-D3H LGA 1150 Intel H97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX
Reasons: H97 Gigabyte (personal preference), 4 RAM slots, Micro ATX, Maximum 1600MHz RAM

$120 GIGABYTE GA-Z97M-D3H LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX
Reasons: Z97 Same as above + ability to overclock + can handle 1866MHz RAM

Memory
1600MHz (2x4GB) CL9 1.5v ($80 - $100)
1600MHz (1x8GB) CL9 1.5v ($90 - $100)
1866MHz (2x4GB) CL9 1.5v ($75 - $100)
1866MHz (1x8GB) CL10 1.5v ($90 - $106)

Video Card
GTX 750 Ti ($140 - $200)
R9 270 ($160 - $202)
R9 270X ($180 - $260)
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_value.html (GTX 750 Ti, R9 270, R9 270X)
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html (R9 270X (4523), R9 270 (4226), GTX 750 Ti (3641))

SSD
$65 128GB
$110 Crucial MX100 256GB

HDD
$61 Seagate 1TB 7200 RPM
$70 WD 1TB Green

DVD Burner
$22 LG DVD Burner
$23 Samsung DVD Burner
$25 LITE-ON DVD Burner

Total Price
Optimal: $1068 = $220 CPU + $120 MB + $100 RAM + $200 Video + $110 SSD 256GB + $70 HDD + $60 Case + $60 PSU + $23 DVD + $105 Win8.1
Minimal: $867 = $160 CPU + $95 MB + $80 RAM + $150 Video + $65 SSD 128GB + $70 HDD + $60 Case + $60 PSU + $22 DVD + $105 Win8.1

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/

Thanks for taking the time to summarize the entire thread. This definitely helps put a perspective on things.

 

[fretman]

A comparable AMD system would be:

CPU
$147 AMD FX-6350 Vishera 6-Core 3.9GHz Socket AM3+ 125W
$165 AMD FX-8320 Vishera 8-Core 3.5GHz (4.0GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W
$205 AMD FX-8350 Black Edition Vishera 8-Core 4.0GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W

Motherboard
$100 GIGABYTE GA-970A-D3P AM3+/AM3 AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX
$100 GIGABYTE GA-970A-UD3P AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX

PassMark Benchmark Ratings
AMD FX-6350 = 7041
AMD FX-8320 = 8093
AMD FX-8350 = 9038

Intel i3-4350 = 5456
Intel i5-4460 = 6812
Intel i5-4590 = 7328
Intel i5-4690 = 7623

Value Rating = PassMark Rating / Price
AMD FX-6350 = 7041 / $247 = 28.50 / dollar
AMD FX-8320 = 8093 / $265 = 30.53 / dollar
AMD FX-8350 = 9038 / $305 = 29.63 / dollar

Intel i3-4350 = 5456 / $260 = 20.98 / dollar
Intel i5-4460 = 6812 / $306 = 22.26 / dollar
Intel i5-4590 = 7328 / $320 = 22.90 / dollar
Intel i5-4690 = 7623 / $340 = 22.42 / dollar

This value rating does not take into account power usage, so is pretty much useless. These AMD cpu's use 125 watts while the Intel i3 cpu uses 54 watts and the Intel i5 cpu's use 84 watts.

Comparing the power ratings and electricity cost, the Intel processors payback the price difference within a year.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

These look like good numbers for the AMD compared to the Intel numbers. I wonder since I use my machine about 10hrs/week if the power consumption increase really has a big affect.