Need Advice on a Gaming/graphics Build

[dai_katana]

I am about to build a new rig and need some advice (I sold my last rig off now so need a new one).

My price range is $1000-1200 (not including monitor). Would I be able to meet my price range if I wait for the newer processor?

Edit: I wasn't really intending to ask for a build rig, but since this is what this thread is turning to, now that the build I had in mind is awry, I am going to do the form thing:


Approximate Purchase Date: as soon as possible

Budget Range: $1000-1500 (before and after rebates)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, 3-D animation and rendering ( 3ds Max, Maya, Mudbox, motionbuilder)

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, speakers, OS.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com -- to show us selection & pricing

Country: Its going to be assembled in Turkey, though I might buy some of the parts in the US, so warranty coverage is important...

Parts Preferences: None, though I was warned against AMD products as I am told they are slower and have poorer performance.

Overclocking: Maybe in the future for service life extension

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe in the future for service life extension

Monitor Resolution: 1600x1200, 1680x1050, 1920x1080, 1920x1200 (don't really know which is better and for what monitors)

Additional Comments: going to need a ups as well, as continuous power supply is an issue and I don't want to cause any damage due to a possible power cut-out. I would prefer something that I can use for at least 3-5 years with all the overclocking and such...

I was thinking of going with the i7 2600K CPU and LGA1155 socket motherboard (z68 model) with 8 GB RAM (2x4GB) DDR3 PC1600 cas 7, 120 gb SSD, 2TB 7200 RPM HDD, GTX560Ti (448 core), and an 800W power supply.

However, someone told me to wait for the new mid-range cpu's from the LGA 2011 socket. I think they will be released around April this year. Would I be getting a lot of performance difference if I opt to wait for this new architecture and how would the price-performance ratio compare between the two?

 

[sosofm]

Nobody knows how those cpu's will be.
For graphic you need 16GB ram and the cas doesn't count , important is the quantity.
In your budget don't fit all what you want. If you want all of these you need an 1600$ budget.

 

[AdrianPerry]

I'm fairly sure it would be possible, on a $1200 budget, to squeeze in a new 7970 (~$550) + i5-2500k (~$220) + Z68 Motherboard (~$150) + 8GB RAM CL9 ($50) + 600w+ PSU (850w for Crossfire) ($??)

^^ That would destroy an i7+GTX 560Ti build in gaming. And would in fact even bench higher than an i7 with SLI 560Ti's.

 

[de5_Roy]

use the new builds form:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice
lga 2011 cpus are costly. the only 'mid range' (!) lga 2011 cpu i can think of is core i7 3820 (msrp $290~).
ivy bridge is rumored to launch in april. but it won't be lga 2011 compatible. it will use lga 1155. ivy bridge-e (similar to sandy bridge - sandy bridge-e) might use lga 2011, it's only a rumor right now. ivb-e is very unlikely to debut in april 2012. they're more likely to launch in late q4.

 

[dai_katana]

I'm fairly sure it would be possible, on a $1200 budget, to squeeze in a new 7970 (~$550) + i5-2500k (~$220) + Z68 Motherboard (~$150) + 8GB RAM CL9 ($50) + 600w+ PSU (850w for Crossfire) ($??)

^^ That would destroy an i7+GTX 560Ti build in gaming. And would in fact even bench higher than an i7 with SLI 560Ti's.

Really? I was told that AMD products are said to be inferior to Nvidia in terms of quality, such that on the list of tested cards for 3ds max, Autodesk tests on Nvidia cards and doesn't even bother testing AMD cards (at least that was the case in the latest white paper). That is the reason why I went with a gtx 560ti... but the 7970 is so expensive? I mean at that price, I would be better off getting a gtx 570... based on the performances reported here?

so my question is then: would a gtx 570 beat the 7970? Is there any benchmark or test on it?

 

[dai_katana]

Nobody knows how those cpu's will be.
For graphic you need 16GB ram and the cas doesn't count , important is the quantity.
In your budget don't fit all what you want. If you want all of these you need an 1600$ budget.

That's the thing though... since I want it for both gaming and making 3d animations and games (rendering and such), I need conflicting specfications... the gaming requires speed whereas rendering requires RAM as you pointed out... so are you saying that a cas 9 ddr3 1333 mhz ram @16gb would be better for me (for both usages) than a cas 7 ddr3 1600 mhz ram @8gb?

One of the reasons I was considering the newer cpus was because the architecture supports quad channel memory so I can have 16 gb 1600 mhz cas 7 memory....

 

[dai_katana]

use the new builds form:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice
lga 2011 cpus are costly. the only 'mid range' (!) lga 2011 cpu i can think of is core i7 3820 (msrp $290~).
ivy bridge is rumored to launch in april. but it won't be lga 2011 compatible. it will use lga 1155. ivy bridge-e (similar to sandy bridge - sandy bridge-e) might use lga 2011, it's only a rumor right now. ivb-e is very unlikely to debut in april 2012. they're more likely to launch in late q4.

hmm so I am better off getting a build now then rather than wait?

 

[de5_Roy]

the new build form would help people recommend you parts/build.

 

[dai_katana]

the new build form would help people recommend you parts/build.

I saw your advice the first time too, I am just a slow typer...

 

[sosofm]

If you choose an 1T HDD a 64gb SSD and a 650W power supply it will fit somehow.
Yes its true for rendering and graphic you need more ram. The new architecture socket 2011 is more expensive than socket 1155.
Here is a build with what you asked , the diference is HDD 1T , SSD 64GB and PSU is 650W.
MOBO : ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271
CPU: I7 2600K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070
RAM : CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233197
GPU : EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 448 Cores Classified 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130739
HDD : HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.C 0F10383 1TB 7200 RPM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145304
SSD : Crucial M4 2.5" 64GB SATA III
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441
PSU : CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650M 650W 80 PLUS BRONZE Modular High Performance
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139031
DVD-RW : ASUS 24X DVD Burne
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
CASE : COOLER MASTER HAF 912
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233
OS : Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986
TOTAL : $1,361.90 without rebates.
Its my bad i didn't see you have OS. Without OS is 1261$

 

[dai_katana]

If you choose an 1T HDD a 64gb SSD and a 650W power supply it will fit somehow.
Yes its true for rendering and graphic you need more ram. The new architecture socket 2011 is more expensive than socket 1155.
Here is a build with what you asked , the diference is HDD 1T , SSD 64GB and PSU is 650W.
MOBO : ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271
CPU: I7 2600K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070
RAM : CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233197
GPU : EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 448 Cores Classified 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130739
HDD : HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.C 0F10383 1TB 7200 RPM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145304
SSD : Crucial M4 2.5" 64GB SATA III
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441
PSU : CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650M 650W 80 PLUS BRONZE Modular High Performance
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139031
DVD-RW : ASUS 24X DVD Burne
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
CASE : COOLER MASTER HAF 912
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233
OS : Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986
TOTAL : $1,361.90 without rebates.
Its my bad i didn't see you have OS. Without OS is 1261$

hmm... ok thanks. I was wondering how an AMD 7970 (as a previous person suggested) or an AMD 6950 2gb flashed to a 6970 (is that still possible?) would fare compared to this system? would cutting down the processor to a i5 2500k make a huge difference in price?

Also, I noticed you did 4x4GB ram for 16 GB. While I am O.K. with that, isn't the sandy bridge architecture designed for dual channel memory? Wouldn't I be lowering the performance of the ram by placing memory in all 4 slots?

 

[de5_Roy]

filling up slots won't degrade performance. make sure that the rams have same specs.

 

[dai_katana]

filling up slots won't degrade performance. make sure that the rams have same specs.

Hmm ok thanks... the dual channel stuff got me a little confused is all... what about the graphics card? would you say a 6950 2gb flashed to 6970 is better than a gtx 560 ti or gtx 570? How would the price performance of the 6950 fare against a gtx 570, for example?

 

[fire r a g e]

I believe the 570 is still better.

 

[AdrianPerry]

7970 - if it could fit into budget, benches higher than a single GTX 580 and higher than SLI 560Ti's.

http://news.softpedia.com/newsImage/AMD-Radeon-HD-7970-Benchmarks-Make-Appearance-Easily-Surpasses-GTX-580-4.jpg/

As for the other cards:
6950 and GTX 560Ti are fairly evenly matched
6970 and GTX 570 are fairly evenly matched

 

[dai_katana]

7970 - if it could fit into budget, benches higher than a single GTX 580 and higher than SLI 560Ti's.

http://news.softpedia.com/newsImage/AMD-Radeon-HD-7970-Benchmarks-Make-Appearance-Easily-Surpasses-GTX-580-4.jpg/

As for the other cards:
6950 and GTX 560Ti are fairly evenly matched
6970 and GTX 570 are fairly evenly matched

would a crossfired 7970 beat a sli'd gtx 580? How are the crossfire vs sli performances these days?

 

[dai_katana]

hmm ok so...

MOBO : ???? I want something that is good for cross firing for future upgradability
CPU: I7 2600K ... (how much would the performance be effected by a i5 2500K?)

RAM : I decided to go with CORSAIR DOMINATOR 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) instead of the CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

GPU : PowerColor AX7970 3GBD5-M2DHG Radeon HD 7970 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

HDD : none planned

SSD : 3x OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-60G 2.5" MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) or 3x OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-90G 2.5" 90GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

PSU : CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650M 650W 80 PLUS BRONZE Modular High Performance

DVD-RW : ASUS 24X DVD Burner

CASE : COOLER MASTER CM Storm Series Trooper (SGC-5000-KKN1) Black Steel / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case or COOLER MASTER HAF 912 (I don't know which is better)

 

[AdrianPerry]

would a crossfired 7970 beat a sli'd gtx 580? How are the crossfire vs sli performances these days?

Crossfire and SLI are effectively exactly the same thing.

Crossfire refers to two AMD cards, SLI refers to two Nvidia cards.

If a single 7970 outperforms a single 580.....it's safe to assume that two 7970's are going to beat the performance of two 580's.

"The 7970 is currently the most powerful single GPU on the market today" as AMD like to make the statement They also consume less power than a 580 I believe.

 

[dai_katana]

Crossfire and SLI are effectively exactly the same thing.

Crossfire refers to two AMD cards, SLI refers to two Nvidia cards.

If a single 7970 outperforms a single 580.....it's safe to assume that two 7970's are going to beat the performance of two 580's.

"The 7970 is currently the most powerful single GPU on the market today" as AMD like to make the statement They also consume less power than a 580 I believe.

Hmm and how about the performance of the 6970 vs gtx 580... also how would the price performance ratio compare? would a xfired 6970 be a good price conscious choice?

 

[azeem40]

The 2 6970s will beat 1 580.

 

[AdrianPerry]

You can use Tom's Hardware graphics card hierarchy chart to get a better idea of what places where. http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/gaming-graphics-card-review,review-32352-7.html

Generally from best to worse it goes:
7907
GTX 580
6970/GTX 570
6950/GTX 560Ti

 

[dai_katana]

I was just informed by a friend that the ram I selected was quad channel ram and would not run on my system? Any truth to this?

 

[hellfire24]

no,quad channel will run in dual channel mode.

 

[dai_katana]

Best answer selected by dai_katana.