Maximum PC

Hey there, quick brainstorm idea....how does a APU and Radeon combo sound?
Particularly the A8-3870K and just one 7970 instead of crossfire?
Just wondering is all really, exploring all options out there. I say only one GPU because 2 would not fit into the budget but any ideas I'm open to .
I know the performance difference between AMD and Intel are monumental lol but considering that I won't be pushing serious apps and maybe a harsh game or two, would it really be that bad going the AMD way?
Or should I stick with my original decision of Intel and SLI?

The A4/A6/A8 APU series is nothing more than AMD pairing their current X2/X4 line up with a budget gpu core such as the 6410, 6530 or the 6550. They offer a good solution for budget minded folks who don't want to add a discrete card, but want to play some games on their laptop or small box like a HTPC. Technically Intel's Intel cpu's with their HD 2000 or 3000 graphics are considered an APU but its actually a term coined by AMD so Intel doesn't exactly use it.

While they offer a good value, adding a discrete card like the 7970 would disable the gpu core in the APU and wouldn't be worth wild. You could add another low level/budget gpu to do an async crossfire mode, I find it more problems than anything and won't be very powerful at all. Stick with Intel's cpu's since your budget allows for it.

As for the SLI/Xfire or not to; its up to you. Going with one card does simplify matters and the 7970 is damn powerful for sure, but mind you that price/performance isn't as high as grabbing two mid range cards for half the price. Two 560ti's in SLI performs close the 590 monster, of which the 7970 still can't reach. In most games, the 560 in SLI will beat the 7970. The only game that seems to be lacking is metro 2033.

Oh okay, so two 560's would also reach the performace of a single 580?
Because I was considering a 580 by itself but if indeed the 560's reach the same performance then I'll stick to the original SLI and Ivy plan.

And It might be skeptical but I got some supposed leaks to the release dates to the Ivy's and 600 series of Nvidia and if indeed these dates and prices are around correct then I was hoping to aim for Core i7-3770K ($332) or Core i5-3570K (no price but I assume that it will be around the 2500K).

In the 600 series, while prices of other components on my list drop, I would hope to aim for 2 GTX 660's in SLI ($319) or if not then 2 GTX 650ti's($249). Obvioulsy in this point in time the 650's would fit the budget a lot better.

Here are the links to these "leaks" because I would love to get some input on these as well :
Price range of Ivy's:
http://hexus.net/tech/news/cpu/33121-in ... date-leak/
Strength of Ivy's:
http://www.maximumpc.com/files/u46173/i ... ations.png
Price range/Performance of 600 series:
http://www.expreview.com/img/news/2012/ ... -600-2.jpg

It beats the 580 easily, it comes close to the 590, which is nothing more than two 580's clocked at slower speeds since its on the same PCB. Time will only tell of what the Kepler's will do in performance within their respected price bracket.

Also, the "list price" of the ivy bridge is usually in reference to bulk orders of 1000 chips and won't reflect actual launch day prices. Just like the original i7's or sandy bridge i7's, they'll probably be 20-50 above the MSRP for a while. I'd stick with looking at the 3570K since its listed at $225.

CPU world ivy bridge prices

And what is your take on the 600 Series? Since Nvidia and Intel will be releasing their respective products around the same time, would it be good to wait for both? Especially considering that the 600 Series supposedly outperforms 500 by a good margin.

if you can wait, wait. if you can't, you can't.

Take their claims with a grain of salt. Not going to talk out of my ass on paper benchmarking for products that haven't seen the light of day.

Well again if they are coming out at around the same time, then I'll wait for both and then try to get the wattage recommendations for the PSU's.

So with the SSD, should I partition it? I never had one so I'm just asking. If I can partition it then should I partition enough space for the OS and then leave the rest to other files that are used? How much space should I partition?

I wouldn't even bother with doing multiple partitions on an SSD, could cause problems with garbage collection if the partition becomes too full. But then again, I'm not entirely sure if the partition would physically reduce the GC for each virtual partition.

Hey all...it's been a while. And since then the 600 GTX series and Ivy Bridge have been released and prices have dropped on many components, I also was able to find a buyer for my old system so I will now be building an entire new one from scratch. I have now come up with a new list of parts for my build and am open to all opinions into this matter because of the money going into it. The Max amount of money I think I can do has been bumped up only to $1600.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gnHo
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gnHo/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gnHo/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($23.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($102.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($42.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($96.49 @ B&H)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Video Card ($479.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHBS112-04 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Samsung S24B350HL 23.6" Monitor ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Other: Lepa 700W PSU ($144.99)
Total: $1575.95

^ Overall solid build ^

I would suggest a couple of switcheroos, all imho of course:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gomi

- Samsung 8 GB x 2 sticks rock. Google it. Then buy them. Then Google "Custom heat spreaders". Then make them however you want to display in your windowed Carbide.
- 3 TB for $140 is a steal! Just noting it.
- Swapped Plextor 128 GB SSD over Samsung because, well, it's a Plextor and because it's nice to be different once in a while.
- GTX 670 GPU instead of GTX 680 because the premium in price between the two is only marginal performance. Heck, if you are gaming at 1080p on that 24-inch Sammie, you could do well enough with a GTX 660 Ti at about $300. Otherwise, the GTX 670 for the longer term. Wait for a sale on a good variant that suits your needs though - Gigabyte Windforce is cool and near silent, EVGA for customer service and to exhaust heat outside case, Superclocked, FTW, 4 GB version, etc.
- Consider an ASUS mobo at about $20-40 more. Right now, ASUS is pretty much at the top on mobos. Nothing wrong with that ASRock, but if you have the budget, why chance reliability and customer service?

I hope there is a Asus mobo that has the colors either black or red lol It does sound silly but I'm trying to get the build to match because the last one was so fruity..had green, orange, blue fan led's and a five color keyboard. But when I checked...I didn't any of their mobo's in that price range of either color. Most if not all were bluish. It's funny you mention Asus because my fruity build has a Asus mobo. I would go with the Sabertooth Asus if it weren't for the price and design...not a huge fan.

With your input the build now looks like the following:
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gpcJ
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gpcJ/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gpcJ/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($23.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($102.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Samsung 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Plextor M5S Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($389.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHBS112-04 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Samsung S24B350HL 23.6" Monitor ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Other: Lepa 700W PSU ($144.99)
Total: $1476.45

Also since it does fall under my budget, I guess I could stretch for a $200+ performance mobo, but is it worth it?

Doesn't sound silly at all. Color coordination, shapes, lighting, etc. are all potentially valid reasons to buy things in general, so why not when it comes to putting a PC together? I recall when beige was the only color of computer cases period.

And yeah, blue is the default ASUS mobo color. However, perhaps you will consider this ASUS Maximus Gene mobo, as it is black and red:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131830

Sweet eh? Only potential issues are the ~$200 price tag and the fact that it is of the micro-ATX form factor. I don't think it will be an issue in your build though, but you will have to take a look at the specs and see for yourself. For example, it has limited PCI-E slots (though it can SLI). It has plenty of a lot though, and it is a favored overclocking board for gamers.

Otoh and on a personal note, part of me thinks red + black is done so much, that the ASRock green + black might be a nice option, too

Why such a hefty price tag on a Micro atx mobo? is it because of the SLI option on it? It is a very nice looking board though, the only reason I was scared to use a micro board though was a spacing issue between the PCI 3.0 slots. However since I can't see myself doing SLI because it would throw me over budget, then I should be ok with one PCI slot. I think I'm being greedy but I kinda wish the ratings were a little better on it though. As for a black and green and black mobo, I was actually thinking about the Gigabyte Sniper board:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128551

That Gigabyte Sniper should do well, too. But it is m-ATX, too (just in case you did not realize). There is an extended-ATX version that is more expensive as well.

Imho, once you get to "Enthusiast" level boards, it's your call. But from my knowledge of things, lately ASUS is tops when it comes to mobos. And its "Maximus" boards get high praise from gamers. I am sure that Sniper board is comparable, but this is progressing excellent!

Now you have narrowed down a few boards based on your specific preferences and needs. Google reviews. Off-hand I can tell you that the Maximus V Gene I suggested is a great board but after reading a few trustworthy reviews, you may think the Sniper will better suit your needs.

But going back to basics, I don't believe there will be much real world differences in comparable $200 - $250 mobos. Even at about $150, most people will get all the motherboard they need. But ASUS knows probably knows this, so they color their boards $150 boards blue. But they also make a few attractive $200+ red ones lol. They can charge a premium for these, call it ROG, and add features that gamers will like (not necessarily need). And so on. ASUS can do this, because they are an established brand in the market. Otoh, ASRock is not so well known. They need to compete on price, like trying to own the green, $100, value gaming board that seems a good option for many.

I can mumble on, but at the end of the day, it's your call

Lol I don't mind the mumble, at least it lets me explore the other options out there. My other concern and I hope I'm right here is the chipset. I was going after the Z77 because I keep hearing it's the most recent performance chipset which I hope should mean that my machine should kick some serious cans. Is there another chipset I should consider?

I am lazy and don't feel like reading thru all the old posts, but do you plan on overclocking at all? If not you can stick with the cheaper ASRock mobo and even drop the K off your processor to save about 20$. Like stated above, you won't see any real-world difference between MOBOs unless you are running Quad-SLI or overclocking to 4.5GHz+. Just make sure the MOBO you choose has enough SATA/USB 3.0 ports (most should) and you will be good to go.

Nope. For your purposes (gaming + general computing) and the rig you are putting together (moderate to high-end gaming build), the 3570K Ivy bridge CPU plus an enthusiast-level Z77 mobo is what you want.

If interested, here is a decent and basic primer on newer chipsets:
http://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2012/0 ... ifference/

Sweet, thanks for the link. Def looks like Z77 is what I want. I know that the CPU's are supporting 1600 MHz standard RAM but I was considering but afraid of going to a higher MHz. Bad Idea or should I explore the option?

Don't pay for the extra MHz on your RAM, most ~50$ 2x4GB sets can OC pretty well, and the Samsungs that I think are linked a couple posts up OC like a beast.