A little advice for a new build

dampat

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My son is preparring for his 1st computer build. he has 2 questions:
Originally he was looking at using a Intel core i5 3570, but is it worth considering a i5 4670 with a corresponding mother board.
Second, he is thinking of using 2 GTX650 video cards, but would it be better to go with a single newer GTX660 or GTX670? His budget is tight, so 2 GTX660 is out of the question. Thanks for any feedback.
 
Solution
It would appear to me that your combined budget for the cpu and graphics cards is on the order of $450.
The graphics card is the most important component for a gaming pc.
I would allocate $150 for the cpu and $300 for the graphics card if you want a balanced gamer.

My pick would be a i5-3350P @180 The "P" indicates no interated graphics.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116782
and a card like a EVGA superclocked GTX760 @$ 250: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130934
Most any B75 motherboard will do and be inexpensive.
Here is my canned argument against dual cards:
-----------------------------Start of rant----------------------------------------------------
Dual graphics cards vs. a good...

dampat

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Thanks guys for the quick responses. Any suggestions for a good motherboard for the 4670? He may eventually go to a second graphics card, and would probably start off with 8 gb memory and expand later on.
 
It would appear to me that your combined budget for the cpu and graphics cards is on the order of $450.
The graphics card is the most important component for a gaming pc.
I would allocate $150 for the cpu and $300 for the graphics card if you want a balanced gamer.

My pick would be a i5-3350P @180 The "P" indicates no interated graphics.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116782
and a card like a EVGA superclocked GTX760 @$ 250: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130934
Most any B75 motherboard will do and be inexpensive.
Here is my canned argument against dual cards:
-----------------------------Start of rant----------------------------------------------------
Dual graphics cards vs. a good single card.

a) How good do you really need to be?
A single GTX650/ti or 7770 can give you good performance at 1920 x 1200 in most games.

A single GTX660 or 7850 will give you excellent performance at 1920 x 1200 in most games.
Even 2560 x 1600 will be good with lowered detail.
A single gtx690 or 7990 is about as good as it gets.

Only if you are looking at triple monitor gaming, then sli/cf will be needed.
Even that is now changing with triple monitor support on top end cards.

b) The costs for a single card are lower.
You require a less expensive motherboard; no need for sli/cf or multiple pci-e slots.
Even a ITX motherboard will do.

Your psu costs are less.
A GTX660 needs a 430w psu, even a GTX780 only needs a 575w psu.
When you add another card to the mix, plan on adding 150-200w to your psu requirements.

Even the most power hungry GTX690 only needs 620w, or a 7990 needs 700w.

Case cooling becomes more of an issue with dual cards.
That means a more expensive case with more and stronger fans.
You will also look at more noise.

c) Dual cards do not always render their half of the display in sync, causing microstuttering. It is an annoying effect.
The benefit of higher benchmark fps can be offset, particularly with lower tier cards.
Read this: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995.html

d) dual card support is dependent on the driver. Not all games can benefit from dual cards.

e) cf/sli up front reduces your option to get another card for an upgrade. Not that I suggest you plan for that.
It will often be the case that replacing your current card with a newer gen card will offer a better upgrade path.
The Maxwell and amd 8000 or 9000 series are due next year.
-------------------------------End of rant-----------------------------------------------------------

Lastly splurge a bit and build using a SSD. Everything you do will be so much quicker.
120gb will hold the os and a handful of games. With 240gb, you may never need a hard drive at all. It is easy to add a hard drive later.
Look for a Samsung EVO.

Plan on a 8gb(2 x 4gb) ram kit of ddr3 1600. Faster is not helpful.
 
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Dark Lord of Tech

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dampat

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Why the i5-3350p instead of a i5-3570 or i54670?
 
Just for budget balance.
A 3350p IS $180
A I5-3570 is $210
A 4670 is $220.
Saving on the cpu gives you a stronger graphics card which is more important.
If you live near a microcenter, they will sell you a 3570K for $190 or a 4670K for $200.
The "K" lets you overclock, giving you about 20% more compute power. I recommend a "K" if your budget permits.
You may not be comfortable with overclocking but it need not be done initially.
You would need a Z77 or Z87 based motherboard.