Maximum PC

hey guys.. Here in about 5 weeks i will be dropping anywhere from 1k to 1.5k on a new computer. I will only need to build the tower i have the rest or can pick it up later.
This rig is for one thing.. games.. mostly guild wars two and diablo 3..

please tell me what you think.. If i saved a bit longer i could probably do 2k but i am not sure if i want to.. we will see.

Any particular reason you went with the AMD? I chose AMD for a budget build. Won't an Intel be a better choice in terms of performance?

Honestly because its cheaper.

From what i can tell i can save a ton of money buying an 8 core amd processor..

in terms of performance hell i don't know.. i was hoping someone could give me some input on what is better..

I do like amd and have used them for a very long time.. but im willing to go Intel if the price is right and the performance increase is significant enough to justify the price jack.

anyone got any ideas on how this amd processor matches up against an Intel of similar price?

FWIW, I love AMD. Good products at good prices. However, if you want raw horsepower Intel rules the roost. You can get an i5 3570K for not a lot more than the Bulldozer and get a healthy boost in performance. You could go with something like the ASRock Z77 Extreme4 and the 3570K for about the same money. The mobo doesn't have the bells & whistles of the Sabertooth. But like Han said about the Falcon "she may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid." Food for thought.

If this is for gaming, cores do not matter. Most games don't even take advantage of more than 2 cores, including Battlefield 3 (well, I hear up to 3 sometimes, but this is on the highest possible settings). I think the only game that ever scaled with cores was Supreme Commander. Other than that, most programs you'll be using are I/O bound anyway. It's really hard to justify any more than four cores these days.

Other than that, AMD's Bulldozer has lackluster IPC performance compared to Phenom II. So if you're gaming, you could get a Phenom II X4 or X6 and call it a day.

stuff like this is good to know.. how do you guys know this stuff?

ok... can someone give me a good combo of

cpu
motherboard
ram
videocard

that will run gw2 at 1080p at max settings...

cause i know nothing of these things.. and could really use some advice.

the Guild Wars 2 system requirements says "iQ6400 / Phenom Q9650, 4Gb, GTS450 2G/5670 1G" which today is a mid-range build / a relatively low end card. But, with your budget you can far surpass that - what I would get:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Biostar TZ77XE3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($137.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($399.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($52.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total (before mail-in rebates): $1097.46
Mail-in Rebates: $-30.00
Total: $1067.46
(Using your selected merchants and only including nearby in-store pickup prices)
Lowest Possible Total: $1037.46
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-05-20 15:52 EDT-0400)

This would pretty much make every game out there run very nicely @ 1080. Standard i5-2500k+hyper 212, that biostar is the best Z77 bang-per-buck, 13-phase power & sli/crossfire for $140 , the gskill sniper, high quality can OC at 1:1 or less, Corsair TX650 was a good price / quality point, same w/ the HAF912 nice case to build with, roomy, clean & cool. 7950, expensive but you get what you pay for. The 560ti-448 is a good choice too if you want to have below $1k.

Well hope it gives you some ideas.

cheers!

Did Some build revamping.. saved some money.. you think this will run diablo 3 max and guild wars 2 max? also what do you know of the components i chose? any better choices for the price range?

thanks a ton for the response.. lol you reponded right as i was asking about my revamp.. thats a great list.. man i have some decision making set out ahead of me.

THE MORE I LEARN, THE LESS I KNOW

AMD processors are indeed cheaper than Intel processors. But in terms of speed, Intel is more faster than AMD. I would still prefer Intel processor for a computer. Right now I'm using a laptop that has an Intel processor(Intel core i3), and I'm contented with its performance and speed. Don't just settle for a cheaper one, go with a high quality and good performance computer because of its processor.

I find AMD good for a short-term (<= 2 year) solution when cost/performance is key. Intel however, is better for longer term solutions. And I think Intel might have better thermal performance too, but I forget.

However with the Sandy Bridge based Pentium series, Intel is creeping into the sub-$150 processor range where AMD normally reigns.