[New System Build] AMD or Intel 1000$ Budget

[Sheresh]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within a month

BUDGET RANGE: 1000$

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, Gaming, Gaming.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Mouse/Keyboard/Monitor/Hard Drive/Optical DvD Drive

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S): Been using newegg, have a Credit line through them.

PARTS PREFERENCES: No brand preference really, however I am someone who would rather spend the money on a good name brand then something that might be junky.

OVERCLOCKING: Probably VERY little, nothing outside of the windows programs. SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Crossfire eventually but one card to start.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1440x900 Widescreen

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Ok so I cannot decide if I should go with the AMD or Intel buid that I have for gaming. I currently use an intel build, which cost me around 600 when I first built it a year ago. It works rather well but with DX10/11 and newer games my rig is starting to feel the pressure. Oh yea, I'm a bit of a cooling freak too so my case choice has LOTS of room and PLENTY of fans. I do also play a wide variety of PC games, MMO's, Strategy Games, FPS, and would like these builds to max or come close to maxing settings in any game I play and last for atleast 3-5 years before upgrades are needed.

The Case, Memory, PSU and OS are the same for both builds. AMD will be first, followed by the Intel.

Case: Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case ($159.99)

PSU: Antec CP-850 850W Continuous Power CPX SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC ($109.99) ((Yes this will fit my case))

MotherBoard: ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD ($139.99)

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor ($160.99)

Ram: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) ($104.99)

Video Card: SAPPHIRE 100282SR Radeon HD 5850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity ($309.99)

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM ($104.99)

Total: $1090.93


Intel

Case: Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case ($159.99)

PSU: Antec CP-850 850W Continuous Power CPX SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC ($109.99) ((Yes this will fit my case))

MotherBoard: MSI P55-GD65 LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard ($159.99)

CPU:Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core ($194.99)

Ram: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) ($104.99)

Video Card: EVGA 01G-P3-1282-TR GeForce GTX 280 Superclocked 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI ($349.99)

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM ($104.99)

Total: $1184.93

 

[Sheresh]

Bump, anyone??

 

[Alvin Smith]

Forget the nVidia card, unless u want to wait till summer for directx 11.
An Ati card will work fine, w/INTEL build.

I believe you can get a triple channel DDR3 mobo for that rockin' 3.2GHz Quad.

I am really glad I got an HDTV as a monitor ... 1080p/120Hz+ and analog audio out.

You are on the right track ... Using NewEgg power search and searching the DIY and Combo deals is a slam dunk.

Lots of extremely similar threads to this one, on this forum page, every day.

I have been here for 1 week and seen the same conversation many times each day.

Serious ... look for a thread that "sounds like you", there is nothing new under the sun.

= Al =

 

[Alvin Smith]

Also, you may want to get a beefier video card (now) for that single 16x slot than to add a second card later. I keep hearing folks say that the gpu matters at least as much as the CPU for gamers ... at least 50% of the (cost for) main compute components should be the GPU, for gamers.

 

[blackjellognomes]

Also, you may want to get a beefier video card (now) for that single 16x slot than to add a second card later. I keep hearing folks say that the gpu matters at least as much as the CPU for gamers ... at least 50% of the (cost for) main compute components should be the GPU, for gamers.

Beefier? The guy's running 1440x900. Both the 5850 and the GTX 280 are designed for a res more like 1920x1080. They're overkill. I hope you plan on upgrading that monitor, Sheresh. And btw, you'll want to avoid the 280. The 275 is a better card, and ~$100 less. But I wouldn't even consider Nvidia ATM.

This first build looks better. 5850 > 280, 955 = 750. The AM3 platform also has a longer life expectancy. But get this board instead. Basically the same specs and price but with USB 3.0 and SATA III.
One other thing. I'm assuming you will CF with that 850W PSU in there, so you might want to look at a board with full x16 bandwidth on two PCI-E 2.0 lanes.

 

[Alvin Smith]

Beefier? The guy's running 1440x900. Both the 5850 and the GTX 280 are designed for a res more like 1920x1080. They're overkill. I hope you plan on upgrading that monitor, Sheresh. And btw, you'll want to avoid the 280. The 275 is a better card, and ~$100 less. But I wouldn't even consider Nvidia ATM.

This first build looks better. 5850 > 280, 955 = 750. The AM3 platform also has a longer life expectancy. But get this board instead. Basically the same specs and price but with USB 3.0 and SATA III.
One other thing. I'm assuming you will CF with that 850W PSU in there, so you might want to look at a board with full x16 bandwidth on two PCI-E 2.0 lanes.

Oh ... True, dat (all) ... point taken ('nless he goes to higher rez, in the next year or two.

Never mind, on the beefier card, then.

= Al =

 

[whitefang]

If you cut down on the case, and PSU (psu is overkill atm) and get this Mobo GA-MA790GPT instead of yours. You can pop in a 5870.

I would recommend going with the Earthwatts 750 + antec 300 case. Then you'll have a killer video card

 

[whitefang]

Here's an option. Since your build is $90 more then the build below you could switch the 925 to the 955 like you had.

http://i48.tinypic.com/24l9etz.png

 

[blackjellognomes]

Here's an option. Since your build is $90 more then the build below you could switch the 925 to the 955 like you had.

http://i48.tinypic.com/24l9etz.png

A 5870 for 1440x900?? That's ridiculous. Even if he upgraded to a 1920x1200 res, a 5850 would be just fine. Also, the 5870 does not fit in the Antec 300 Illusion that you listed.
And Sheresh mentioned CF as a future possibilty, so that 650W PSU would be insufficient. A better idea would be to get the 5850 in place of the 5870, and use the money to get a better CPU (955), PSU (~850W), and mobo that supports CF and possibly USB 3.0 and SATA III. That way he'd have one hell of an upgrade path; in maybe 4 years he could get another 5850 and upgrade that CPU to a hexacore when they're released.

 

[Sheresh]

I'm keeping the case and the psu because I want the room to upgrade, and that is pretty much the whole idea behind the new build, is upgradeability in the future instead of boxing myself in so to speak like I did with my previous build. I appreciated all the feedback I'm getting and I will probably go with the AMD build but I'm still a little heasitant since everyone else around me, (mainly friends) are all saying go Nvidia

 

[whitefang]

Didn't see his resolution. Your first option is fine imo.

Don't go nvidia.

 

[Alvin Smith]

don't go nVidia .. ditti ... least not now (DirectX 11)

 

[Alvin Smith]

rather .... "Ditto" on the "Nix nVidia" (no DX11)

 

[blackjellognomes]

I'm keeping the case and the psu because I want the room to upgrade, and that is pretty much the whole idea behind the new build, is upgradeability in the future instead of boxing myself in so to speak like I did with my previous build. I appreciated all the feedback I'm getting and I will probably go with the AMD build but I'm still a little heasitant since everyone else around me, (mainly friends) are all saying go Nvidia

I get the impression that you think if you get an AMD CPU, you also have to get an ATI graphics card, and if you get an Intel CPU, you have to get an Nvidia card. This is not true. If I were to build a new PC today, I would go Intel/ATI; they do work together.
But because I feel that you think they need to be matched as stated, you should rethink your options. Because of your budget, the best CPU options for you are the i5-750 and the PII X4 955; LGA 1366 and its i7s are out of your range. They are identical in performance, but the 955 is $30 less and uses a more "future-proof" platform. P55 is expected to be EOL in ~2 years. AM3 won't reach its EOL for at least 4 years. This means AM3 will most likely see hexacore CPUs, while P55 will not. So in your case, you should go for the 955.
ATI is universally recommended ATM, except by Nvidia fanboys, because for the past year or so, they've been dominating the market across the board in terms of performance per dollar. Nvidia is also a generation (or two...) behind ATI; the newest ATI 5xxx series supports DX11, HD audio bitstreaming, Eyefinity, etc.
Though this happens to leave you with AMD/ATI, you could also go with AMD/Nvidia or Intel/ATI if you wanted.

 

[Sheresh]

I get the impression that you think if you get an AMD CPU, you also have to get an ATI graphics card, and if you get an Intel CPU, you have to get an Nvidia card. This is not true. If I were to build a new PC today, I would go Intel/ATI; they do work together.
But because I feel that you think they need to be matched as stated, you should rethink your options. Because of your budget, the best CPU options for you are the i5-750 and the PII X4 955; LGA 1366 and its i7s are out of your range. They are identical in performance, but the 955 is $30 less and uses a more "future-proof" platform. P55 is expected to be EOL in ~2 years. AM3 won't reach its EOL for at least 4 years. This means AM3 will most likely see hexacore CPUs, while P55 will not. So in your case, you should go for the 955.
ATI is universally recommended ATM, except by Nvidia fanboys, because for the past year or so, they've been dominating the market across the board in terms of performance per dollar. Nvidia is also a generation (or two...) behind ATI; the newest ATI 5xxx series supports DX11, HD audio bitstreaming, Eyefinity, etc.
Though this happens to leave you with AMD/ATI, you could also go with AMD/Nvidia or Intel/ATI if you wanted.

Yes, I was under the impression that if I went AMD I had to go ATI, nice to know that I don't have to.

So you are saying that I should get the X4 955 and keep the ATI card? I definitely wouldn't mind saving myself some cash. I guess then I'm going to go with my AMD build, I was definitely leaning that way to begin with anyway. I appreciate all the feedback.

 

[blackjellognomes]

So you are saying that I should get the X4 955 and keep the ATI card? I definitely wouldn't mind saving myself some cash. I guess then I'm going to go with my AMD build, I was definitely leaning that way to begin with anyway. I appreciate all the feedback.

Yes. Basically, go with the AMD build you listed in your first post. I would consider this RAM, for its faster timings; and this mobo or, if you can fit this in your budget, this mobo, for the USB 3.0 and SATA III features. The first mobo will allow x8/x8 CF, the second will allow x16/x16 CF. There isn't a huge performance difference as far as I know, but that may change, and often it's a good idea to invest in a mobo with more features.

 

[willclarke]

Thank you blackjellognomes! Nice detailed description helped me a lot.