if you had to build a system tomorrow...

[shmadz]

what would you do?

sorry for new thread, but I'm gonna build a system this weekend come hell or high water and I've wasted most of my time trying to decide between amd and intel (been abusing amd since K6-2 and it's hard to break old habits), the new 1090T looks pretty sweet, but I don't do a lot of multithreaded apps, and the 920 or 930's that I see seem to hit 4.0+ pretty easily... this is for my everyday machine so it would be on air, and possibly putting in some water, down the road.

also the X58 seems like a mature platform, while the I've seen some issues with the asus crosshair board that remind me of the headaches my current board had (and still has)

so I'm 90% leaning toward intel, - amd fans please feel free to try to drag me back towards the light - but do I go 920 or 930? been trying to look for a consensus and can't find one.

my general feel from what I've had time to read is that there is little difference between the two. if I'm wrong on this please educate me (links appreciated)

preliminary build: *note, price is less of an issue than availability, as we canadians don't always have local access to every brand available.

MB: Evga x58 SLI (classifieds are all sold out)
CPU: i7 920 ($30 cheaper than 930)
VGA: ?? (leaning ati, but I've seen some results from nVidia parts recently using new drivers that's making me wonder...)
Ram: ?? Patriot Extreme Performance Viper II Series is available in my area at $60 less than corsair dominator... haven't read the reviews yet though.
*storage* not really sure here, current drive is a SCSI at 15K but with old interface, I think ultra160? maybe not even that. it's pretty decent, but it does thrash from time to time, so I'm wondering if a solid state drive for the os and oft-used games and apps would be a worthy upgrade? ( reducing load times in games would be key, and seems to be the time the drive thrashes the most)

the rest will be canibalized from my current machine.

wow sorry about that, I was trying to keep it short, thanks for any and all input.


**P.S.** If I'm fortunate enough to talk my way into the cage and take my pick, is there a certain batch or range I should be looking for?

[trn]

Looks like a good build list; maybe look at the Gigabyte x58 boards, they are good boards with a lot of overclocking features.

[Michowski]

Intel 920
evga x58 classified
ati 5870
corsair hx1000
corsair dominator gt memory
ssd, probly myself would get 2 250gb if I could afford it

If you wanted to build just a really sweet machine I would run 2 video cards. Water cool everything and get a nice mountain mods case. If parts arent in stock just be patient. Good hardware is worth the wait instead of settling for something else.

[erikmorgan]

Intel 920
evga x58 classified
ati 5870
corsair hx1000
corsair dominator gt memory
ssd, probly myself would get 2 250gb if I could afford it

If you wanted to build just a really sweet machine I would run 2 video cards. Water cool everything and get a nice mountain mods case. If parts arent in stock just be patient. Good hardware is worth the wait instead of settling for something else.

Pretty much sounds Perfect!

[shmadz]

Thanks for the input, I've sobered up a bit since I first posted and I guess it won't kill me to wait a few days, or even weeks to make sure I get it right. Still can't find an X58 classified, but I'm now leaning towards the Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R simply for the usb3 capability.

Thanks again for the help

[l0ud_sil3nc3]

Thanks for the input, I've sobered up a bit since I first posted and I guess it won't kill me to wait a few days, or even weeks to make sure I get it right. Still can't find an X58 classified, but I'm now leaning towards the Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R simply for the usb3 capability.

Thanks again for the help

the UD3R is a great board especially for how much it costs and what you get.

[erikmorgan]

Have u looked @ newegg.com

EVGA E760 CLASSIFIED

EVGA E762 4-WAY SLI Classified

[coné]

Hi, I wonder why you dont considder ASUS Rampage III Extreme, I heared some prommising things about it.

ASUS Rampage III Extreme

[Blauhung]

I'll cast a vote in there for the Asus P6X58D-E, though a tad more expensive, it probably has better power regulation to the CPU. I don't have experience with the UD3, but I do know the Asus board is working very nicely for me.

[Movieman]

I guess I shouldn't suggest a SR2?

[sai]

Since I'v been out of the game for a while, a little question on the mobo/cpu choices. Why i7 and not i5? I'm asking because actually I have to build a new system soon.

[zsamz_]

I guess I shouldn't suggest a SR2?

nope it suks 2 overclockin

i'd go rampage extreme III

[ribonzz]

intel i3, nVdia Gforce 9300, , well, the rest is your call. That's enough for me i guess..

[PatRaceTin]

depend on your budget

[SoulsCollective]

I'm going to go against pretty much everyone here and say that if you're only going to be gaming and running single- or lightly-multi-threaded apps, an X58 setup is an absolute waste of money.

• CPU: Phenom II 965BE
• Mobo: Spoilt for choice here. Try and grab something 890-based.
• RAM: 2*2GB DDR3-1600 CAS-7 or lower (in my experience AMD-based systems respond a lot better to tighter timings than to higher speeds)
• VGA: 2*ATi HD5850 (Crossfire)
• PSU: Again spoilt for choice. 850W+, 1kW if you can fit it in the budget to reduce system noise due to PSU load
• SSD: Something Sandforce-based. OCZ Vertex II, etc.
• HDD: At least a 1TB drive, my personal preference is for WD drives
• Cooling: 2xZalman ZF-1000 applied to 5850 cores (see eg. this thread) or equivalent, large tower-style CPU heatsink

As the owner of an i7 920 @ 4GHz system and system builder doing a lot of gaming builds, I can honestly say that if the only thing I was doing with my rig was gaming, office work and single-/light multi-threaded apps, I'd have wasted my money. On the many AMD-based systems that I've built as gaming rigs and compared to my i7 system, I've noticed no gaming performance difference whatsoever between the 920 @ 4GHz / 6GB DDR3-2000 and a 965BE @ stock / 4GB DDR3-1600 - but with the AMD system you save enough money to afford another graphics card and an SSD for performance boosts where it counts.

[Movieman]

nope it suks 2 overclockin

i'd go rampage extreme III

Be quiet you drunken Frenchman!

I'm going to go against pretty much everyone here and say that if you're only going to be gaming and running single- or lightly-multi-threaded apps, an X58 setup is an absolute waste of money.

• CPU: Phenom II 965BE
• Mobo: Spoilt for choice here. Try and grab something 890-based.
• RAM: 2*2GB DDR3-1600 CAS-7 or lower (in my experience AMD-based systems respond a lot better to tighter timings than to higher speeds)
• VGA: 2*ATi HD5850 (Crossfire)
• PSU: Again spoilt for choice. 850W+, 1kW if you can fit it in the budget to reduce system noise due to PSU load
• SSD: Something Sandforce-based. OCZ Vertex II, etc.
• HDD: At least a 1TB drive, my personal preference is for WD drives
• Cooling: 2xZalman ZF-1000 applied to 5850 cores (see eg. this thread) or equivalent, large tower-style CPU heatsink

As the owner of an i7 920 @ 4GHz system and system builder doing a lot of gaming builds, I can honestly say that if the only thing I was doing with my rig was gaming, office work and single-/light multi-threaded apps, I'd have wasted my money. On the many AMD-based systems that I've built as gaming rigs and compared to my i7 system, I've noticed no gaming performance difference whatsoever between the 920 @ 4GHz / 6GB DDR3-2000 and a 965BE @ stock / 4GB DDR3-1600 - but with the AMD system you save enough money to afford another graphics card and an SSD for performance boosts where it counts.

Can't argue that logic and the AMD 940 system I have is excellent for exactly what you describe.

[SoulsCollective]

Can't argue that logic and the AMD 940 system I have is excellent for exactly what you describe.

It's a shame we've all been bitten by the WCG bug. My wallet surely feels the pain, I'm struck with an inexplicable urge to check PPD production on my Blackberry when I should be paying attention in Uni, and the others in the house would certainly appreciate less of the heat and noise

[Movieman]

It's a shame we've all been bitten by the WCG bug. My wallet surely feels the pain, I'm struck with an inexplicable urge to check PPD production on my Blackberry when I should be paying attention in Uni, and the others in the house would certainly appreciate less of the heat and noise

I hear ya.. You should see my house with 5 dual socket machines and 2 singles.
There's a simple answer. EVERYONE on XS run one machine and then no one has to endure high electric or heat..

[LennyRhys]

What's in my sig is what I would build - it's more PC than I need and I love having all that power to spare, and for once in my life I honestly think I'll keep the same system for at least a year LOL.

[Frogeye]

Truth Amd and gaming = more bang for your $$

I'm going to go against pretty much everyone here and say that if you're only going to be gaming and running single- or lightly-multi-threaded apps, an X58 setup is an absolute waste of money.

• CPU: Phenom II 965BE
• Mobo: Spoilt for choice here. Try and grab something 890-based.
• RAM: 2*2GB DDR3-1600 CAS-7 or lower (in my experience AMD-based systems respond a lot better to tighter timings than to higher speeds)
• VGA: 2*ATi HD5850 (Crossfire)
• PSU: Again spoilt for choice. 850W+, 1kW if you can fit it in the budget to reduce system noise due to PSU load
• SSD: Something Sandforce-based. OCZ Vertex II, etc.
• HDD: At least a 1TB drive, my personal preference is for WD drives
• Cooling: 2xZalman ZF-1000 applied to 5850 cores (see eg. this thread) or equivalent, large tower-style CPU heatsink

As the owner of an i7 920 @ 4GHz system and system builder doing a lot of gaming builds, I can honestly say that if the only thing I was doing with my rig was gaming, office work and single-/light multi-threaded apps, I'd have wasted my money. On the many AMD-based systems that I've built as gaming rigs and compared to my i7 system, I've noticed no gaming performance difference whatsoever between the 920 @ 4GHz / 6GB DDR3-2000 and a 965BE @ stock / 4GB DDR3-1600 - but with the AMD system you save enough money to afford another graphics card and an SSD for performance boosts where it counts.

[C4PPY]

AMD
CPU: Phenom II 965BE
Mobo: ASUS Crosshair IV Formula
RAM: 2*2GB DDR3-1600 CAS-7
VGA: Sapphire ATI 5870 ( Vapor-X or Toxic )
PSU: Corsair HX850
SSD: Kingston SSD Now+ 2.GEN
HDD: At least a 1TB drive
Cooling: Noctua NH-U12P SE

Intel
CPU: i5 750
Mobo: ASUS Maximus III Formula
RAM: 2*2GB DDR3-1600 CAS-7
VGA: Sapphire ATI 5870 ( Vapor-X or Toxic )
PSU: Corsair HX850
SSD: Kingston SSD Now+ 2.GEN
HDD: At least a 1TB drive
Cooling: Noctua NH-U12P SE

For the Intel or AMD man in all of us

[slaveondope]

If I was building from the ground up today I would do an i7 build yes I know blasphemy.
Never done an Intel build been all amd since K6 so Im curious as to whats going on over there sometimes.
With what components I couldnt tell ya..

[johnnymossville]

For a gaming rig and general use PC?, AMD Quad or 6Core with a couple great graphics cards and an SSD.

For Intel, Microcentre's under $200 prices for the i7-930 are a pretty good place to start.

[shmadz]

Hi, I wonder why you dont considder ASUS Rampage III Extreme, I heared some prommising things about it.

thanks for the heads up. I've experienced quirky problems with my current ASUS board, and after 4 years, and countless bios updates, they were never addressed. so, after 10 years of all asus/amd builds, I've decided to go another route this time, variety is the spice and all that

[shmadz]

I guess I shouldn't suggest a SR2?

Hello Movieman Absolutely loved your SR2 review/saga

unfortunately, it's a little beyond my sub 2000 limit

EDIT ----
Thanks for all the replies and input, no flames but solid arguments for both AMD and intel sides.

Here's what I came up with, bought bits and pieces here and there over the past week, plan to build it this long weekend

• CPU = i7-920 D0 <- under $300 CDN - stepping 3916B089 - looks like good results from most of the late model 920's
  
• MB = Gigabyte X58A-UD3R <-has USB 3 and SATA 3
  
• RAM = Patriot Viper 1600 6G set <- low end ram, but the price was right, and the color scheme matches the board
  
• HD = Patriot Torqx 64G <- not the best, but I'm cheap
  
• PSU = Corsair HX1000 <- I cheaped out on a lot of parts but after a few bad experiences, I refuse to cheap out on PSU.
  
• GPU = ASUS 5850 DirectCU TOP <- bang for buck? I hope? maybe a second one down the road?

came to $1682 CDN total, including OS (win7 pro) and tax - not including $40 bucks worth of mail-in rebates, which I hate, but hey, it's a couple cases of beer to keep me going while I OC this mutha

Thanks again for all the support and tips