$700 to spend on MB, cpu, ram, vid card. suggestions?

[nysulli]

I'm looking to build a new system, but I'm not starting from scratch, here's what I'll carry over from my old system

corsair 800D
corsair 850TX PSU
wd black 1TB drive
wd 150gig raptor

I'll be overclocking, probably going back to water in the next few months as I'm just a radiator and waterblock upgrade away. system is used for a mix of gaming and some cad/simulation work.

I've been planning on an i7-860/evga ftw mb build for a few months now, but things have come up that delayed it, now we're only a few months from sandy bridge, and i see 6 core phenoms and tons of price cuts on the amd side along with usb3 support.

what would be my best bang for the buck in my price range, I don't mean to just put it out there as a blank slate, but I've done loads of research, maybe to much, and my heads spinning with all the different setups i've thought about.

my one clear thought is that in my price range, a 5770 is probably a good place to start if I go for a higher end cpu, if I back off the cpu a bit, i could swing a 5850, but I'm thinking saving on a 5770 will leave me with more to upgrade to an ssd sooner rather than later

[SoulsCollective]

$700 of what currency mate? No location field filled in means we've no idea whether you're talking about Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singaporean, etc. dollars, and therefore can't really help with recommendations.

[nysulli]

good old american dollars

I almost forgot how diverse a user base there is here

[metalop1g]

May I recommend you to take a look at the for sale section on XS once you have 100 posts?

[SoulsCollective]

What resolution do you game at, and what CAD etc programs are you running? For a daily driver and gaming machine running few really demanding multi-threaded apps an AMD-based build is much better value-for-money than an Intel setup, even if you drop down to i5. For example, and going by Newegg prices (Newegg is the only USA store I'm familiar with, so you may be able to go cheaper again by shopping around) -

• CPU: Phenom II X4 965BE - $180 w free shipping, $15 "promotional gift card"
• Mobo, RAM: Bundle - Gigabyte GA-890XA-UD3 (SATA 6gbps, USB3.0) and 2*2GB Corsair DDR3-1600 CAS8 - $280
• VGA: HIS HD5850 - $300 w. free shipping (apparently this is a "24hr special, while stocks last")

Total: USD $760 + shipping costs (only for the Mobo/RAM bundle)

Drop down to a 5770 and you come in under $700, drop CPU and mobo down to something without USB3.0 or SATA 6gbps and you can probably afford a 32GB SSD for an OS drive.

[nysulli]

I'm running 1680x1050, and using solidworks for cad and matlab for simulations

usb 3 is something i'd grab for sure if i was buying an amd setup, its something i'll take advantage of down the road

[SoulsCollective]

At 1680x1050 an HD5850 will allow you to max-out graphics settings in pretty much every game released to date, while an HD5770 will allow you to run with everything but AA/AF maxed - it's up to you, but if you have the budget I'd go with a 5850 for the extra headroom.

I'd say the above AMD-based setup would be your best option - Solidworks and MATLAB are both multi-threaded in their latest incarnations and will take advantage of the four cores of the 965BE, but aren't hugely CPU-cycles intensive so I doubt you'd notice a significant performance increase by going instead with an Intel-based system. Apart from comparing CPU architecture, the 3.4GHz stock speed of the 965BE will probably offer you similar performance compared to the 2.6GHz stock speed of the i5 750, the 965BE's nearest price-point competitor at only USD $20 more (I know, I know, comparing stock speeds is sacrilege on XS Although if we're talking about OCing, the unlocked multi on the 965BE is fun to play with). In terms of gaming performance, you'd see no performance gain whatsoever from moving to an Intel system - games these days are almost entirely GPU-bound.

Playing around with NewEgg prices, the cheapest Intel-equivalent sytem with SATA 6gbps and USB3.0 (using a Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3, i5 750 and the same 2*2GB DDR3-1600 and HD5850) comes to just over USD $800, not including shipping.

[nysulli]

your line of thought is exactly what I was thinking a few days ago, I've always had amd systems, but haven't put a new one together in 4.5 years (before core duo handed amd their ass) so something has kept bringing me back to building an intel system just for the sake of seeing what its all about (well that and the i7-860 setup i built for my officemates cad pc really impressed me all around)

for an amd board, I was thinking of just going with an asus crossfire IV, seems like a very popular choice for high end overclocking

the intel route i was leaning towards was an evga ftw board with an i5-750 or i7-860, or possibly i7-930 with another evga board, but like you said, more money involved, but looking at a potential 4+ ghz overclock, and seeing that 4-4.2ghz seems to be the high end for phenom's, I'd think the i5/i7's would yield more processing power, not that I need it, but if I didn't want it, why would I bother overclocking

Its not like I can't afford to go over $700, I'm just looking to keep the budget reasonable to leave some money leftover for a few goodies on my STi, stage 2 is calling my name

[SoulsCollective]

for an amd board, I was thinking of just going with an asus crossfire IV, seems like a very popular choice for high end overclocking

Very much so, although you'll pay for it - that'll definitely blow you out over $800.

but looking at a potential 4+ ghz overclock, and seeing that 4-4.2ghz seems to be the high end for phenom's, I'd think the i5/i7's would yield more processing power, not that I need it, but if I didn't want it, why would I bother overclocking

Nehalem is a more powerful and efficient architecture clock-for-clock than the Deneb, no question, and without sub-ambient cooling a higher OC is easier to attain on an i5/i7 system. The question is, though, will that actually do anything for what you're using the system for - and in your case I'd say any differences would be very minor. Having built a number of AMD-based gaming systems for clients and comparing those with my i7-based PC (sig rig), I can say that in terms of gaming performance there was no difference between my i7 920 at 4GHz and a Phenom II 955BE @ stock. An i7 or i5 system at 4GHz is unquestionably more computationally powerful than a Phenom II system at either 4GHz or stock speeds - but that extra heat, power consumption and cost won't give you better FPS or significantly boost productivity in Solidworks or MATLAB.

I'm no AMD fanboi, both of my past two personal system builds have been Intel-based (Q9450 and now i7 920), and if you were spending a lot of time running Photoshop, Maya, 3DSMax, doing modelling or other scientific work, or video editing I'd say an i7-based system would definitely be worth the extra cost. But from what you're telling use you're using your system for, an i7 or i5 system would just be a waste of money that could better be spent elsewhere.

a few goodies on my STi, stage 2 is calling my name

STi? "stage 2"?

[Helloworld_98]

agreed with the above setup but I'd pay the little bit extra for the 1055T x6

also I'd swap the mobo and memory for this and this to save $15 plus you get a better chipset

[SoulsCollective]

agreed with the above setup but I'd pay the little bit extra for the 1055T x6

The 1055T is very good value, but for the OP's stated purposes I'd warrant that four cores at 3.4GHz would be superior to six at 2.8GHz.

also I'd swap the mobo and memory for this and this to save $15 plus you get a better chipset

Have to disagree with this. The 890 chipset is nice, yes, but I've had nothing but trouble from Asrock boards and support is dodgy, while the G.Skill RAM is only CAS-9.

[Helloworld_98]

The 1055T is very good value, but for the OP's stated purposes I'd warrant that four cores at 3.4GHz would be superior to six at 2.8GHz.
Have to disagree with this. The 890 chipset is nice, yes, but I've had nothing but trouble from Asrock boards and support is dodgy, while the G.Skill RAM is only CAS-9.

does latency really make a difference in games and CAD? last time I checked it doesn't and is that much extra $ really worth it?

again, CAD usually works better with more cores, and he can OC it anyway, and if his CAD programs only used 2 or 3 cores it turbo's to 3.3GHz anyway so the only way the 965 would have an advantage is if his CAD program was limited to 4 threads.

while I agree that asrock is dodgy, there are also 890GX boards for $134.99

[nysulli]

i'm not worried about anything quad core handling solidworks, again the system i put together at work was the cheapest reputable, full sized p55 board i could find, asus p7p55 lx, an i7-860, and 4 gigs of ram, at stock speeds it doesn't miss a beat (granted the quadro fx590 card I put in it probably has something to do with that as well), frankly solidworks doesn't even begin to stress it until you start doing some actual modeling in solidworks.

I've thought about the 6 core deal, but if I'm going amd, I'm thinking go with a solid board, and a quad core, save a few bucks and put it towards a vertex II ssd (or an agility II if I see a deal on one) and have an excuse to drop in the next gen chip if in fact they are compatible

[nysulli]

STi? "stage 2"?

subaru impreza STi, my other hobby, stage 2 is a turbo-back exhaust and a tune, add an intake, and your somewhere between 375-400 hp

[SoulsCollective]

Ah. Cars. As long as it can make the speed limit, doesn't break down, has a reasonable turning circle and can brake in time at the lights, I couldn't care less.

[nysulli]

ok, coming up with a parts list, what do you guys think

motherboard msi 890fxa-gd70 $180 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130274

cpu phenom II x4 965 $180
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103727

ram, still on the fence, I'll probably grab some mushkin redline if newegg has any in stock, or some blackline otherwise, always had great luck with their memory

vid card, probably a 5770, asus or msi, depends on newegg's pricing

that should be me around 660, maybe a bit cheaper with rebates and combo's, cheap enough that i'll probably swing over to frozen cpu and grab the last few things i need to get my wc loop completed and fall in with less then 850 spent (need triple 120 rad xspc RX360, figure something out for cpu block

[nysulli]

ordered some parts last night, budget went all to hell, but I'm posting on XS, should anyone be suprised

I made the mistake of playing with my old pc and my overclock now that I've gone back to air, got my 3700+ san diego core back up to 2.9ghz, prime stable overnight, realized how much I missed overclocking while doing it, so my build plans changed

ended up with my originally planned build, should serve me well, and be a fun project at the same time

EVGA p55 FTW board ($180 shipped after rebates)
i7-860 ($263 shipped after combo deal)
Mushkin Enhanced Ridgeback 2 x 2GB DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) 996902 ($165 after rebates)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820226132

so I really didn't blow my budget that badly, I'm still torn on the vid card, the reasonable part of my says a 5770 will do, but parts of my just says screw it, get the 5850 and say screw your budget.

and with the evga board, i'll be grabbing my radiator this week as my old apogee gt will mount up to it, i'd rather put the $100 towards a watercooling rig that will surely outperform any air cooler I could grab for 50-75 bucks

loop will be an xspc RX360 3x120, 3 panaflo H1A's at 5-7v swiftech 355 pump, 3/8" tubing, and the apogee GT, i'll upgrade the block sometime down the road, but it should be a very capable loop to start with.

[bobisgod]

You could have gotten the i7 for 200 bucks at micro center last time i checked

[iboomalot]

i concur MicroCenter 655 Merrick Ave, Westbury, NY (516) 683-6760

I7 930 should be 199.99 at MC

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-423-_-Product ---- 209.00 with SATA3

[nysulli]

wrong side of the state for me, mapquest puts drive time at 6 hours 37 minutes one way

never been a fan of gigabytes boards either, built a few systems for friends with them as a budget option, bad idea, all 3 died within a year, replaced with budget asus boards, all 3 running strong 2+ years later

although i did just order one of them a replacement psu yesterday (3 years on the one we put in originally), that antec neo 620watt for 40 bucks from the egg, can't go wrong at that price

[nysulli]

parts are in, comps put together, just have to wrap up installing few things and I'll be ready to do a light OC on the cpu before I put my WC loop together.

so nice to have excess processing power again, can't wait to see what it does with a new vid card and SSD down the road