Mid vs high end build, is it overkill for my use?

[bsm428]

I was looking to build my first computer, so im extremely new to this! (be nice!). Ive been researching and researching until my brain hurts and now im just a little unsure of a few things. I have already bought the HAF 932 full tower case from Cooler Master and am going to start buying parts as soon as im done painting the case and doing some light mods. I am going to install a full loop custom water cooling system (radiator, pump, reservoir, cpu and gpu waterblocks). Im into PC gaming and also will be using the system for AutoCad Civil. My concern is that my high end build will not show significant performance gains over the mid range, at least not enough to shell out the extra cash.

Im fairly new to the hardware scene and would just like some feedback and opinions.
I would like to play games on ultra settings. If there is a moment of lag here or there im not the type to freak out, but i do want my system to run smooth. I will post the two builds I was thinking of. If a combination of the two will work well please let me know which pieces i should shell out the extra $$$ for and which ones are maybe not so important. I already have the other components not listed (Memory, PSU, SSD, Optical Drive) picked out. I just need help deciding if i need to go the extra mile with the cpu, gpu, and motherboard.

The two motherboards are about 200 dollars difference in price and I am unable to see much difference in them. I know the cheaper one has video ports, which is unnecessary since the graphics card will have its own ports right? and the pricier one has dual LAN (not sure of the benefit here). Other than that, are they similar?

will i notice the difference from the i5-2500 and the i7-2600?

and how much of a difference will i notice in the video cards here? I want to run a 27" 1920 x 1080 hd monitor.

Again, I will be playing games on high settings and using it for AutoCad. If the gains from mid to high are only a few seconds of load time or something like that I do not see the need to spend twice the cash.

Thanks for the help!

-Bryan

MID RANGE

Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 Intel Z68 ($160)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=353599&CatId=6975&SRCCODE=LINKSHARE&cm_mmc_o=-ddCjC1bELltzywCjC-d2CjCdwwp&AffiliateID=iFudSkud_Rc-imQmGTrzPqH8aWSYjotjkw

CPU
Intel Core i5-2500K Unlocked Processor ($220)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7073161&Sku=I69-2500K&SRCCODE=LINKSHARE&cm_mmc_o=-ddCjC1bELltzywCjC-d2CjCdwwp&AffiliateID=iFudSkud_Rc-xASODH.Ij0cbMrEpjGOOOQ

Video Card
MSI N560GTX GTX 560 Ti ($230)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7171406&Sku=M452-0560&SRCCODE=LINKSHARE&cm_mmc_o=-ddCjC1bELltzywCjC-d2CjCdwwp&AffiliateID=iFudSkud_Rc-wA54lfDvLUaVaQ_.4YR79A

HIGH END

Motherboard
GIGABYTE Z68X-UD7-B3 Intel Z68 Motherboard ($360)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=339052&CatId=6975&SRCCODE=LINKSHARE&cm_mmc_o=-ddCjC1bELltzywCjC-d2CjCdwwp&AffiliateID=iFudSkud_Rc-mFIJzYzUV5Ek84gvtHqASQ

CPU
Intel Core i7-2600K ($320)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7073159&Sku=I69-2600K&SRCCODE=LINKSHARE&cm_mmc_o=-ddCjC1bELltzywCjC-d2CjCdwwp&AffiliateID=iFudSkud_Rc-3Hjx6_rIWirAiY_ZnMRZyA

Video Card
MSI GeForce GTX 580 (3GB GDDR5) ($600)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=606066&Sku=M452-0582&SRCCODE=LINKSHARE&cm_mmc_o=-ddCjC1bELltzywCjC-d2CjCdwwp&AffiliateID=iFudSkud_Rc-hlMaK.svpf.M0iOitLAXTw

 

[Emelth]

For autocad deffinetly go with the i7 its better

Mobo dont determine much of a performance difference in gaming stick to the $160 go with ASRock Z68

Both GPUs are good how about a middle man? HD6970 or a GTX 570

 

[cadder]

Are you going to overclock or not? The CPU's are pretty close in speed, not much difference for autocad but there might be some difference in gaming. The 2600 can overclock a little more. Most of the time it isn't worth the extra $100 for the cpu. In general Autocad can benefit from as much cpu speed as you can give it, but it only uses one core so the hyperthreading of the 2600k is of no benefit.

Are you using 32bit or 64bit OS? The video cards really don't make much difference with autocad civil and 32bit OS, but with 64bit OS you have a hard time getting drivers that will work if you don't run a card that is certified for use by autocad. I run autocad with the 32bit version of Windows and there are plenty of slowdowns when it reads from the hard drive. My next build will have a SSD for the OS, and probably will use 64bit Windows.

 

[Outlander_04]

what features does the $360 motherboard have that you might use?
The answer will be "none"
and the performance will be the same .

2500k for gaming and general use , 2600k for high end productivity uses .

Check some benchmarks of the 560 ti and the 580 . Even the 560ti will run all games at 1080p .

 

[bsm428]

Are you going to overclock or not? The CPU's are pretty close in speed, not much difference for autocad but there might be some difference in gaming. The 2600 can overclock a little more. Most of the time it isn't worth the extra $100 for the cpu. In general Autocad can benefit from as much cpu speed as you can give it, but it only uses one core so the hyperthreading of the 2600k is of no benefit.

Are you using 32bit or 64bit OS? The video cards really don't make much difference with autocad civil and 32bit OS, but with 64bit OS you have a hard time getting drivers that will work if you don't run a card that is certified for use by autocad. I run autocad with the 32bit version of Windows and there are plenty of slowdowns when it reads from the hard drive. My next build will have a SSD for the OS, and probably will use 64bit Windows.

Thanks for the info! I want to leave the window for overclocking open. Im not sure if i will yet, but i want the option to down the road if i decide to. I will definitely be on 64bit windows 7 and am planning on getting a ssd.

 

[bsm428]

what features does the $360 motherboard have that you might use?
The answer will be "none"
and the performance will be the same .

2500k for gaming and general use , 2600k for high end productivity uses .

Check some benchmarks of the 560 ti and the 580 . Even the 560ti will run all games at 1080p .

thanks for the reply, this was short sweet and to the point. I assumed the mobos were about the same, so this is good news. As for the processor, they seem close enough to where i can get by with the 2500k. I wouldnt place myself in the "extreme" computing field.

I will definitely check out the benchmarks. im curious now, What are the actual differences in the two motherboards and the gpu's for the price?

 

[bsm428]

For autocad deffinetly go with the i7 its better

Mobo dont determine much of a performance difference in gaming stick to the $160 go with ASRock Z68

Both GPUs are good how about a middle man? HD6970 or a GTX 570

thanks ill check out those cards after work. are you sure the autocad will benefit from the i7 2600k? ive read (and someone posted here) that it cant benefit from it much?

 

[Emelth]

if your going into 3D stuff and what not the i7 is what you want, if your just doodling as small hobby then get the 2500k. Two people have advised the i7 for AutoCad one person said not, Im pretty sure others would advise the i7 as well. In the end its always up to you

 

[hellfire24]

a gtx 560ti is enough for 1080p but some more demanding games such as metro 2033 and crysis(maybe BF3 too)eat up 1400+mb of VRAM.
for autocad i would suggest going with a 1.5 or "more" VRAM.

 

[DelroyMonjo]

I'd say overkill if you think you need watercooling unless you run Folding 24/7

 

[cadder]

thanks ill check out those cards after work. are you sure the autocad will benefit from the i7 2600k? ive read (and someone posted here) that it cant benefit from it much?

Almost all of Autocad is single threaded, meaning it only uses one core out of a quad core and the hyperthreading of the 2600k will be of no benefit. If you were an architect and doing rendering, then you could use more than one core for the rendering but this is such a small part of what their machines do that it is even questionable whether it is of use to an architect.

If you overclock, the 2600k will likely go 5% or so faster than the 2500k, and you probably can't tell this much difference.

If you buy a non-CAD video card for use with autocad and 64bit OS, be sure you can return it if it doesn't work. I've been there and done that. We have run autocad on any piece of hardware made using 32bit OS, but when we went to 64bit OS it was very difficult to find video card drivers that would work. We had the best luck with the ATI FireGL and Nvidia Quadro cards, and they can be had for under $150.

We do an awful lot of work with autocad and 32bit OS, but we also run a little bit of Revit and it requires 64bit OS to work with the size of models that we get. I have seen some pretty big civil drawings in autocad so maybe 64bit would benefit you.

Autocad will definitely benefit from more cpu power, so overclocking is a given for us. All it takes is to get a good aftermarket cpu cooler. Our overclocked CAD machines with good aftermarket coolers run cooler than our non-CAD machines running at stock speeds with stock coolers, so in our case it is more dangerous for the cpu to NOT overclock.

 

[bsm428]

if your going into 3D stuff and what not the i7 is what you want, if your just doodling as small hobby then get the 2500k. Two people have advised the i7 for AutoCad one person said not, Im pretty sure others would advise the i7 as well. In the end its always up to you

ya i think ill get the i7, its only $100 not really that big of deal, as i will be doing 3D stuff.

I'd say overkill if you think you need watercooling unless you run Folding 24/7

watercooling was not in debate here, because keeping my temps cool is the one thing i would not mind "overkill". the cooler the better, period.

Almost all of Autocad is single threaded, meaning it only uses one core out of a quad core and the hyperthreading of the 2600k will be of no benefit. If you were an architect and doing rendering, then you could use more than one core for the rendering but this is such a small part of what their machines do that it is even questionable whether it is of use to an architect.

If you overclock, the 2600k will likely go 5% or so faster than the 2500k, and you probably can't tell this much difference.

If you buy a non-CAD video card for use with autocad and 64bit OS, be sure you can return it if it doesn't work. I've been there and done that. We have run autocad on any piece of hardware made using 32bit OS, but when we went to 64bit OS it was very difficult to find video card drivers that would work. We had the best luck with the ATI FireGL and Nvidia Quadro cards, and they can be had for under $150.

We do an awful lot of work with autocad and 32bit OS, but we also run a little bit of Revit and it requires 64bit OS to work with the size of models that we get. I have seen some pretty big civil drawings in autocad so maybe 64bit would benefit you.

Autocad will definitely benefit from more cpu power, so overclocking is a given for us. All it takes is to get a good aftermarket cpu cooler. Our overclocked CAD machines with good aftermarket coolers run cooler than our non-CAD machines running at stock speeds with stock coolers, so in our case it is more dangerous for the cpu to NOT overclock.

thanks a bunch cadder! your info was extremely helpful, especially since you obviously deal with autocad yourself. I think i have decided on the i7, even if i dont use it now, i would like to know my processor wont be outdated anytime soon, especially since its only $100 more.

as for the gpu, i think 3GB is a bit much, so ill try to get a card with around 2GB
the Mobo i think ill get the cheaper version. It has the same speeds but just not as many fancy ports in the rear. not worth the extra cash in my opinion.

 

[bsm428]

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=555358&Sku=E145-1566

hows this card for gaming? will it hold up in the high demand games?

 

[hellfire24]

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=555358&Sku=E145-1566

hows this card for gaming? will it hold up in the high demand games?

i guess you are attracted by the "2gb" thing.
get this one-
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=93094&csid=_21
it is far better IMO.

 

[Emelth]

^+1

 

[bsm428]

I think I decided on a gtx 570. If I need more down the road I'll just go sli. This seems to be a good middle ranged card.

 

[hellfire24]

gtx 570 is a beast card NOT A MIDDLE RANGED CARD.

 

[bsm428]

Middle range "price"

 

[Emelth]

Good choice it will keep you happy for many years to come especially in SLI

 

[bsm428]

uh oh! this caught my eye as i was about to check out at tiger direct. I strayed away from the 580 at $600 but the evga one is $500!

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6942892&Sku=E145-0582

score