Help with first time spending >$1000

[mrloggins]

Hello all,

I got a check for christmas earmarked for a anew computer. I don't the savvy to build my own, so was going to buy a pre-built one.

I don't really do a lot of gaming -- mainly casual use (movies, photos, powerpoint, internet, burning CD's, etc). I'd like to get something as future proof as possible (who wouldn't?).

I had narrowed it down to either:

1) Velocity Micro with i5-760 overclocked to 3.6 ghz, GX460 768MG, 4GB RAM, 1TB hard drive for $988.

or

2) digital storm i5-2500 3overclocked to 3.6ghz, GX460 1GB, 4GB RAM, 1TB HD for $1280


My question was with what I do, do I really need the Sandy Bridge CPU, or would the i5-760 be more than enough (I figure the velocity micro set up is more than I need anyway). WOuld it be worth it to spend the extra $300??

thanks in advance

 

[mosox]

This one is better:

http://www.avadirect.com/product_details_configurator.asp?PRID=19541


* COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 II Black/Silver Mid-Tower Computer Case w/ Window, ATX, No PSU, Steel/Aluminum/Plastic
* ANTEC EarthWatts EA650, 80 PLUS®, 650W, 24-pin ATX12V EPS12V, One 6-pin + One 8-pin PCIe
* GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD3, LGA1155, Intel® P67, DDR3-2133 16GB /4, PCIe x16 CF /2, SATA 3Gb/s RAID 5 /4, 6Gb/s /2, USB 3.0 /2, HDA, GbLAN, ATX, Retail
* INTEL Core™ i5-2500 Quad-Core 3.3GHz, HD Graphics 2000, LGA1155, 6MB L3 Cache, 32nm, 95W, EM64T EIST TB VT-d VT-x XD, Retail
* KINGSTON 4GB (2 x 2GB) ValueRAM PC3-10600 DDR3 1333MHz CL9 1.5V SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
* SAPPHIRE Radeon™ HD 6850 775MHz, 1GB GDDR5 4000MHz, PCIe x16 CrossFire, DVI /2, HDMI, DP, Retail
* SAMSUNG 1TB SpinPoint F3, SATA 3 Gb/s, 7200-RPM, 32MB Cache, Retail
* RAID No RAID, Independent HDD Drives
* LG ELECTRONICS GH24NS50 Black 24x DVD±R/RW Dual-Layer Burner, SATA, OEM
* MICROSOFT Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, OEM
* WARRANTY Silver Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts, 3 Year Labor Warranty)

under $1000.

 

[jpmucha]

This one is better:

http://www.avadirect.com/product_details_configurator.asp?PRID=19541


* COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 II Black/Silver Mid-Tower Computer Case w/ Window, ATX, No PSU, Steel/Aluminum/Plastic
* ANTEC EarthWatts EA650, 80 PLUS®, 650W, 24-pin ATX12V EPS12V, One 6-pin + One 8-pin PCIe
* GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD3, LGA1155, Intel® P67, DDR3-2133 16GB /4, PCIe x16 CF /2, SATA 3Gb/s RAID 5 /4, 6Gb/s /2, USB 3.0 /2, HDA, GbLAN, ATX, Retail
* INTEL Core™ i5-2500 Quad-Core 3.3GHz, HD Graphics 2000, LGA1155, 6MB L3 Cache, 32nm, 95W, EM64T EIST TB VT-d VT-x XD, Retail
* KINGSTON 4GB (2 x 2GB) ValueRAM PC3-10600 DDR3 1333MHz CL9 1.5V SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
* SAPPHIRE Radeon™ HD 6850 775MHz, 1GB GDDR5 4000MHz, PCIe x16 CrossFire, DVI /2, HDMI, DP, Retail
* SAMSUNG 1TB SpinPoint F3, SATA 3 Gb/s, 7200-RPM, 32MB Cache, Retail
* RAID No RAID, Independent HDD Drives
* LG ELECTRONICS GH24NS50 Black 24x DVD±R/RW Dual-Layer Burner, SATA, OEM
* MICROSOFT Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, OEM
* WARRANTY Silver Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts, 3 Year Labor Warranty)

under $1000.

If I were putting together a gaming system for someone... with a couple comparable replacements... this would more or less be the build list. That's within $100 of what I'd probably be able to put together myself without relying on too many rebates. Worth the money...

@mrloggins: Either of the systems you mentioned would perform well. A stock 2500 would beat a stock 760, but with the overclock on the 760 it should perform well enough make the i5-2500 not worth the extra $300. If you're not planning on upgrading soon, the LGA1156 platform should be fine. If an upgrade is possible... LGA1155 would have a little more of a future (at least some flavors of Ivy Bridge are predicted at this point)... but Intel's dumping of the 1156 and 1366 chipsets after a single generation necessarily mean there will be a future upgrade path beyond that...

I kinda assume I'll buy a new mobo with my CPU, and hope I can get away w/o having to upgrade my RAM at the same time. The rest of your system (drives, case, PSU) will be compatible with any upgrade for the foreseeable future ... I hope

 

[clarkjd]

This one is better:

http://www.avadirect.com/product_details_configurator.asp?PRID=19541


* COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 II Black/Silver Mid-Tower Computer Case w/ Window, ATX, No PSU, Steel/Aluminum/Plastic
* ANTEC EarthWatts EA650, 80 PLUS®, 650W, 24-pin ATX12V EPS12V, One 6-pin + One 8-pin PCIe
* GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD3, LGA1155, Intel® P67, DDR3-2133 16GB /4, PCIe x16 CF /2, SATA 3Gb/s RAID 5 /4, 6Gb/s /2, USB 3.0 /2, HDA, GbLAN, ATX, Retail
* INTEL Core™ i5-2500 Quad-Core 3.3GHz, HD Graphics 2000, LGA1155, 6MB L3 Cache, 32nm, 95W, EM64T EIST TB VT-d VT-x XD, Retail
* KINGSTON 4GB (2 x 2GB) ValueRAM PC3-10600 DDR3 1333MHz CL9 1.5V SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
* SAPPHIRE Radeon™ HD 6850 775MHz, 1GB GDDR5 4000MHz, PCIe x16 CrossFire, DVI /2, HDMI, DP, Retail
* SAMSUNG 1TB SpinPoint F3, SATA 3 Gb/s, 7200-RPM, 32MB Cache, Retail
* RAID No RAID, Independent HDD Drives
* LG ELECTRONICS GH24NS50 Black 24x DVD±R/RW Dual-Layer Burner, SATA, OEM
* MICROSOFT Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, OEM
* WARRANTY Silver Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts, 3 Year Labor Warranty)

under $1000.

+1 on MOSOX' build. Should be way more "future proof".

 

[Wisecracker]

...

I don't really do a lot of gaming -- mainly casual use (movies, photos, powerpoint, internet, burning CD's, etc). I'd like to get something as future proof as possible (who wouldn't?).

...

Why are folks recommending an HD 6850 for someone who " ... doesn't really do a lot of gaming" ?

For 'casual' use you are substantially over-building. In the Tech World there is no such thing as 'future-proof'.

If you want to be future-proof, spend $550 on a new Intel/AMD rig (which will be more than capable for your needs), and save $550 for a 'future' purchase of a new rig (which in a few years will be far more advanced than anything you may purchase and upgrade today).

 

[mrloggins]

Best answer selected by mrloggins.

 

[Maziar]

This topic has been closed by Maziar