# Need help with new build!



## andrewsmc (Jan 15, 2013)

Some of you may remember me from when I was on TPU about 2 years ago before leaving for the military. Believe it or not, I feel out of the game!! Let me tell you guys what I am looking for and I would love advice from anyone....

First- I am doing a new build(semi-budget gaming) I don't want my hardware to be outdated really quick and i don't want to spend a fortune. I also want room for future upgrades. I would like PCI3.0 and USB3.0. Any ideas for parts or certain things to look for anyone could suggest for me? Anyone mind schooling me on this new AMD processor coming out? I am buying slowly and buying used hardware here on the forums. I am willing to wait on purchasing parts and I can wait a month or two if new products are going to be released.

Basic idea for current build  -- 
Nice processor and mobo
Decent GPU with future for additional GPU (xfire)
Regular 7200rpm HDD
8gb 1600mhz ram

Basic Idea for future--
Same processor and mobo with nice heatsink and overclocked
2 GPUS nvidia or AMD in Xfire
SSD boot drive and reg HDD for storage
16GB ram overclocked.



I know that this is very vague but again any information is a great help and I appreciate it all!


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## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 15, 2013)

Its going to depend on how much you want to spend, but I would wait a few months for Intels new Haswell line of chips to release since it will be on a new socket (LGA1150) rather then 1155 right now that all the chips are on currently, and in that case the 1155 wouldn't allow you to upgrade as there won't be anymore CPUs to release for it in the furtur.


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## andrewsmc (Jan 15, 2013)

Awesome, any information you can link me on these new chips? is there an estimated release date(june)??


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## m1ch (Jan 15, 2013)

Check here http://uk.hardware.info/reviews/3142/fourth-generation-intel-core-preview-all-about-haswell. And yeah, its launch was moved to Q3 afaik. Im also waiting with leaving my aging 775 to jump right on 1150


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## andrewsmc (Jan 15, 2013)

Thanks m1ch, information was very useful.


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## micropage7 (Jan 15, 2013)

if you are not in hurry, you could wait socket 1150

i dunno bout spec that you want, but let start from how much your budget?
then what is your point, for gaming for daily use or something like that so the other could suggest you some

personally i would go to z77 chipset board, core i5 for value and performance ratio, maybe some ssd that paired with 1TB hdd


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## RCoon (Jan 15, 2013)

assuming you're like me and dont want to wait for haswell in Q3 like everybody is saying, an i5 3570k is about the most highly acclaimed gaming processor at the moment. 
That paired with any MSI, ASRock, or Gigabyte Mobo that supports xfire/SLI on a Z77 chipset will do you just fine. MSI big bang, Gigabyte UD5 or UD7, and the ASRock boards are beginning to look better and better. People will tell you Asus is a bad way to go at the moment due to BIOS issues and RMA nightmares.
As for HDD, get a 1TB Seagate (yeah i said seagate, tell somebody who cares about WD, they're practically the same freaking drives anyway).
16GB RAM is what most people will suggest to you for now, as BF3 takes 8GB at an average but 16GB is what most people prefer for a little future headroom. 1600Mhz is a good standard, though 1866 can be attained at not much of an extra cost. I recommend Corsair.

Oh and PCIe 3.0 is nothing special. PCIe x16 is more than enough, and most boards have double x16 lanes at enthusiast level.

Inb4 AMD vs nvidia debate. Get whichever high end card you like the look of, and has reasonably good reviews about cooling and practicality. No cards are clearly better than another at the top end of the scale.


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## andrewsmc (Jan 15, 2013)

Micro and RCoon, Thanks for your input! RCoon, your right I don't want to wait until June for haswell but I might be ready for an upgrade by then !


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## andrewsmc (Jan 17, 2013)

Anyone else BUMP


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## RCoon (Jan 17, 2013)

BUMP for great justice!
7970's are sweet if you're into the multi-monitor gaming thing, they scale great. 670's have fairly awesome 1080p performance and are hopefully going to see a price cut soon since teh 680's got their cuts. I personally run two cards for a single monitor for more frames as opposed to higher res, but that's just preference.
I'm happy with my XFX 7950's but I dont think I'd buy XFX DD again, just not the kind of temps/noise I want.
Budgeting might be a good start, then we know what we're up against.


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## andrewsmc (Jan 17, 2013)

@Rcoon, Considering I am buying slowly and buying good, like new, used parts my budget is very flexible. I will be buying over the course of 2 months(maybe 3). Im not hurting for cash but the wife would beat me if i droped 1200.00 on newegg in one night. know what i mean? I guess i am saying that i dont want a 500.00 GPU and a 400.00 CPU and the most up to date superior products. I want products that I can run new games on max/almost max settings and have some headroom for the future. I can always upgrade a part here and there.


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## RCoon (Jan 17, 2013)

andrewsmc said:


> @Rcoon, Considering I am buying slowly and buying good, like new, used parts my budget is very flexible. I will be buying over the course of 2 months(maybe 3). Im not hurting for cash but the wife would beat me if i droped 1200.00 on newegg in one night. know what i mean? I guess i am saying that i dont want a 500.00 GPU and a 400.00 CPU and the most up to date superior products. I want products that I can run new games on max/almost max settings and have some headroom for the future. I can always upgrade a part here and there.



CPU: i5 3570k
Mobo: ASRock Extreme9 or Fatality, Gigabyte UD5 or UD7, MSI GD80 or MSI MPower(to name but a few z77 1155 boards
RAM: Corsair vengeance 1866 16GB, or Dominator Platinum if you want to stretch to awesomeness.
PSU: Any Gold/platinum rated 80plus from 850w and up (if you want crossfire/sli)Corsair, NZXT, OCZ,(general seasonic built PSU's) check johnny guru for reviews.
SSD: Samsung 840, Crucial M4 are still reasonable drives, Sandisk Extremes are also good, i have tested some myself, OCZ Vertex, corsair Force 3
HDD: Any WD or Seagate
GFX: Gigabytes have got decent cooling, 680's and soon 670's are lowing in price, 7970's and 7950's are great price for performance. Top end GPU's are all very good, though again, people will say no ASUS if you want decent RMA. Personally I love the Asus DCUII TOP coolers, they clock like beasts and are silent.

EDIT: Bump this thread in a few hours when everyone has woken up and/or in from work, you'll get bombarded with more responses then


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## BarbaricSoul (Jan 17, 2013)

RCoon said:


> CPU: i5 3570k
> Mobo: ASRock Extreme9 or Fatality, Gigabyte UD5 or UD7, MSI GD80 or MSI MPower(to name but a few z77 1155 boards
> RAM: Corsair vengeance 1866 16GB, or Dominator Platinum if you want to stretch to awesomeness.
> PSU: Any Gold/platinum rated 80plus from 850w and up (if you want crossfire/sli)Corsair, NZXT, OCZ,(general seasonic built PSU's) check johnny guru for reviews.
> ...



Agreed with everything said, but would like to add. When shopping for your CPU, don't be scared to go Sandy Bridge if you find a really good deal on a 2500k or 2600k. The difference between Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge is minimal. If you can save $50 or more, the Ivy Bridge performance increase isn't worth the premium IMHO.


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## andrewsmc (Jan 17, 2013)

BarbaricSoul said:


> Agreed with everything said, but would like to add. When shopping for your CPU, don't be scared to go Sandy Bridge if you find a really good deal on a 2500k or 2600k. The difference between Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge is minimal. If you can save $50 or more, the Ivy Bridge performance increase isn't worth the premium IMHO.



Anyone else have input on this?


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## BarbaricSoul (Jan 17, 2013)

andrewsmc said:


> Anyone else have input on this?



see for yourself

2500k compared to the 3570k- http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/288?vs=701

2600k compared to the 3770k- http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/287?vs=551

Ivy Bridge is the faster of the two architectures, but it's only about 10% faster. Sandy Bridge CPUs do run cooler, meaning higher OC potential. With OC'ing, Sandy Bridge is capable of matching Ivy Bridge performance.


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## SirKeldon (Jan 17, 2013)

BarbaricSoul said:


> Agreed with everything said, but would like to add. When shopping for your CPU, don't be scared to go Sandy Bridge if you find a really good deal on a 2500k or 2600k. The difference between Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge is minimal. If you can save $50 or more, the Ivy Bridge performance increase isn't worth the premium IMHO.



Agree also with BarbaricSoul, also as far as i read the Sandy Bridge chips tend to be more easily high clockable without getting as hot as the Ivy Bridge does. Mine is getting a 4,2GHz stable almost on stock voltage (1,26V) 

For the SSD i'll go with a OCZ Vertex 4, best price/performance IMHO now. Pair it with a 1TB WD Caviar Black or Caviar Blue if you're going to use the storage drive with more media than files used directy by software in your OS.

For the graphics card i'll go with ATI, without a doubt, always a great price/performance balance. Though that, i'll take a good airflow cabinet in order to cool the 7950/7970, specially if you're doing X-Fire.

About the DirectCU solutions that RCoon says, they're good, it's true, and anything down 50% of speed fan will be tolerable ... after that it pitches like a b*tch. Mine was keeping the card on the low 70's under very high stress at 1920x1080. In my case, ASUS did not place together the VRM heatsink that was perfectly pictured in some reviews at internet. Never tried to RMA'd it or complain, preferred to stick full copper heatsinks, but be aware when purchasing a DirectCU solution that the VRM's are properly cooled, mine were getting really hot naked, even they were "airflowed".

Hope to be helpful


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## brandonwh64 (Jan 17, 2013)

I would find a used 2500K and Z68 motherboard before going all out on Ivy bridge. They clock and perform close to each other. This would save you money until new chips are released.


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## kysg (Jan 17, 2013)

I agree partly on the SSD

For 128gb actually I would argue the OCZ agility 4 despite it's slightly nerfed nature it still handles itself well.

at 256Gb this is when I argue in favor the vertex4 with the corsair series drives following behind it.  

those are the only drives I would go with.

oh yea you may want to hit pcpartpicker and amazon. Those will give you an idea of pricing.  And yes there is ebay if you really want to stretch the budget.

Do you live in a place where they charge sales tax?
I know they do here in CA.


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## currahee440 (Jan 18, 2013)

First off, *thank you for your service! *

Second, name your price range and I'll start picking parts to give you a good basic build.


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## tongey54 (Jan 23, 2013)

3570K (will OC in future)
Asus P8Z77-V (will SLI in future)
Corsair Vengeance 2x 4GB (buy another pack to upgrade to 16GB in future)
GTX 660Ti/670
Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 1/2TB


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## MxPhenom 216 (Jan 23, 2013)

Definitely agree if your not willing to wait, I would look for a good deal on a 2500k or 2600k, and a z68/z77 motherboard. If you have a Frys near you, they have 2500k and 2600k's for pretty cheap if you can't find used. I would stay away from Asus boards and look at Gigabyte/MSI/Asrock. Minimum of 8GB 1600mhz memory.


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## tongey54 (Jan 23, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Definitely agree if your not willing to wait, I would look for a good deal on a 2500k or 2600k, and a z68/z77 motherboard. If you have a Frys near you, they have 2500k and 2600k's for pretty cheap if you can't find used. I would stay away from Asus boards and look at Gigabyte/MSI/Asrock. Minimum of 8GB 1600mhz memory.



Any reason for avoiding Asus boards? In my experience they are better built and more stable than MSI and ASRock.


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## brandonwh64 (Jan 23, 2013)

From what I have been told, ASUS is made by ECS now and ECS doesn't take the care as Pegatron did. Just word of mouth though.


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