Budget hybrid(gaming/working) build

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J

JC2012

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Hi all,

I've been following these boards for some time now and they were very helpfull so far. I'm posting here for the first time now :)

I'm going to build a new Hybrid rig.
Its meant to be for both gaming and CAD applications.

The games will be mostly wow/wc3/cnc and maybe some of the newer shooter games (like bf3).

I plan to also run Solidworks on this rig.
According to solidworks tech-support team most of its modules are single-threaded. They also recomend getting a faster cpu with less cores rather than getting a bit slower cpu that has more cores.
one more important thing for Solidworks is the amount of memory.

At the begining I wanted to go with the new Bulldozer (FX-8120/8150) but then I saw the benchmarks for its single-thread apps and that made me re-think it, and so now I think I'll go with the PII-955/965, and probably upgrade it in a year or so to Piledriver.

As you can understand, I would very much like this new build to be an AMD based (I know the benchmarks favors the 2600K but its like 3x the AMD price and I would like to keep it under tight budget)

O/C: yes
SLI: yes - in the future.
Monitor: 18" monitor atm, but will get a wide screen in the near future.


My planned buildup:

mobo:
ASUS Crosshair V Formula AM3+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131735
(so I can SLI it in the future and upgrade to either the next version of BD (8170) or to Piledriver)

cpu:
AMD Phenom II X4 965
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

Memory:
2x4GB Corsair DDR3 1600MHz (cmz8gx3m2a1600c9r)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233180
(yes, it has to be red :)

PSU:
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021&Tpk=tx750w

Cooling system:
Stock fan at the begining. then I'll prolly get a Coolermaster V8 heatsink and fan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103055

Case:
Cooler Master sgc-2000-kkni-gp
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196

Any thoughts on this build?
Do u think it will get the job done?
Is it really that wise to get a 2yo cpu?
Are we sure Piledriver will fit into the AM3+ socket? (any official AMD announcement ?)

I would like to keep it all under 1K$ and prices here are about 20-30% higher than in the US. so I guess you guys should think of it as if it was a 700$ build.

Thanks for your help
 
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BohleyK

BohleyK

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I'd grab smaller reference RAM from either Mushkin or G.skill. G.skill is much cheaper but Mushkin has tighter timings at higher bandwidth. The V8 is pretty old, almost two years. Zalman has a new ball cooler out with a red LED that you might be interested in for about $65. Powercooler has a really sweet deal on 6870 for $150 also. Other than that, I wouldn't change a thing. Nice build.

PowerColor AX6870 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131378

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (RED)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311

ZALMAN CNPS9900MAX-R 135mm (RED)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118075
 
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J

JC2012

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Hi,
Thanks for your answer.

I've checked the Zalman data-sheet and its not compatible with the AM3+ cpu's so I won't use it. no point in getting a new cooler for the Piledriver.

I still need to check the others .

thanks :)
 
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J

JC2012

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realy? i didn't know that...

Do u have a reference for that?

(I'm getting that mobo so I can upgrade to piledriver)


---Edit---

If I'm going to get an Intel I would get the 2600K. the only thing is that its 3xthe 955 price and the mobo is almost 2x the price.
total: almost 2x the price of the AMD based config.
thats money I would like to spend on the GPU.
 
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Raiddinn

Raiddinn

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This quote is from the new CEO of AMD

"We're at an inflection point," said company spokesman Mike Silverman. "We will all need to let go of the old 'AMD versus Intel' mind-set, because it won't be about that anymore."

Some people take that to mean that AMD is going to stop selling CPUs, others take it to mean something else.

In any event, Bulldozer is pretty widely considered to be a failure. You might want to avoid planning on getting one of the Piledrivers because this line may not last too long into the future.

If you want to get a Thuban x6 1100T instead of an i5 2500k, I can see that, but I wouldn't get a 965 or 980 now and plan on getting a Piledriver later. It is possible that future Piledrivers will be a lot better than current gen Bulldozers, but it is also possible they won't be.

Whatever you get now, I would plan on sticking with it until time to start again from scratch.

CAD stuff doesn't work well with multiple cores at this moment, but I would bet money that in the next year or two things will change in that regard and the lower speed multiple cores processors will take the lead in the future. It would kinda suck to be poorly positioned when that time comes, but if you intend to keep the current CAD stuff regardless of future versions, this matters less.

- Edit - Typos
 
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J

JC2012

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well.... thats so sad to hear..

makes sense tho... after all those years I've been planning on geting an AMD based pc - they shut it down just a sec before I go ahead and do it :(

/wrists
 
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Raiddinn

Raiddinn

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Actually, Apple is the huge company that everyone gives all their money to these days.

Microsoft was like that in the old millenium though.

Apple has about $110 billion in cash just sitting in the bank because of all those people who love to pay 50% more than a fair cost for Apple hardware.
 
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J

JC2012

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I know...
I did check a mac too but it can't run Solidworks and it was like 2x the price of the intel build.

 
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J

JC2012

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I don't see how they can turn CAD stuff into a multi-thread based app. since its core logic is single-threaded.
I'll explain:
When SolidWorks does the "Rebuild" command which is the most common used action while making 3D models in it, it MUST go thru each step of the part's building tree and rebuild each feature completly before it can go ahead and process the next feature in the building tree. i.e. it can't create a hole before it finished creating the boss where the hole is in.

I hope it wasn't too complecated (and I hope my English didn't get too much in the way of giving a good explanation)


any ways, that is why I think I will go with either 965 or 980 (price is so cheap now) and by next year, when PD will be out - I'll get Win 8 and PD and they say this should be a great combo.

I'm rethinking the mobo tho. I'm think of getting a non-SLI mobo and using the money I save on the mobo to get a top notch GPU (this is kind of insurance policy for the worst case that PD isn't that great... => save on mobo, get better GPU, if PD turns out to be fail - salvage the better GPU next year to an intel based system)
 
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Raiddinn

Raiddinn

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If the Power Color 6870 was what you intended to get originally and if you can save about $70 on the motherboard then that would let you bump up to a 6950 which is a pretty large step up.

I would say go ahead and do it. One GPU is generally good enough for productivity apps, even CAD if it is a high end one which the 6950 is.
 
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J

JC2012

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Hi guys,

After giving it much thought I 've decided to cave-in and go with the intel i5-2500K build.

what do u think about the new build?

i5-2500K


P8z68-V PRO/GEN3 (/w PCIe 3)
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8Z68V_PROGEN3/#specifications


Memory:
http://www.corsair.com/vengeance-8gb-dual-channel-ddr3-memory-kit-cmz8gx3m2a1600c9b.html

TX750
http://www.corsair.com/enthusiast-series-tx750-v2-80-plus-bronze-certified-750-watt-high-performance-power-supply.html


SSD: Corsair 90GB
http://www.corsair.com/ssd/force-series-3-ssd/force-series-3-90gb-sata-3-6gbps-solid-state-hard-drive.html


HD: Samsung HD502HM (SATAIII)

Cooler+H/S: Noctua NH-D14 (some of the reviews says its better than the zalman NPS9900)
http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&setlng=en&products_id=34


Case: Sharkoon T9 - RED (coz its RED :)
http://www.sharkoon.com/?q=en/node/1858


My only concern is that the Noctua won't fit inside the Case. the Noctua is 160mm tall and the case specs says it can hold cooler/HS that are 160mm. shouldn't I have some clearence between them?
(specs and dimensions are available thru the above links)

any of you guys have any XP with this combo?

as usuall, any input is valued and apriciated :)

Thanks everyone :)
 
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