Feb 2012 $650 Price/Performance Build GTX 560 Ti

This month, I decided to cut back the CPU a bit for a better GPU, the GTX 560 Ti.

Intel i3-2120 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz Dual Core CPU ($119.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115077
Asrock P67 PRO3 (B3) LGA 1155 P67 Motherboard ($89.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813157230
Gigabyte GTX 560 Ti ($209.99) ($2.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814125401
Crucial 8GB DDR3 1333 MHz ($34.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820148476
Seagate Barracuda 500GB HDD 7200RPM ($69.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148495
Rosewill Blackbone ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($39.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811147023
OCZ ZT 550w PSU Fully Modular ($69.99) ($20 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817341050
LG 22x DVD Burner ($15.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827136240

Total = $650.92 + $2.99 shipping

Once again, tips/comments/advice appreciated. Don't forget to check my signature for builds of other budgets.

------------------------------ i5 2500k at 4.6GHz (1.376v) Hyper 212+ ,
Gigabyte Radeon 6850 (910/1150/1.149v) ,
MSI Z68A-G43 (G3) , 4GB DDR3 1600 G.Skill ,
500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200 , OCZ Fatal1ty 550w , Antec 300 Illusion
Reply to samuelspark

Is the power supply being modular a must have? If not you could jump to an Antecedent NEO ECO 620w for the same price
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371031

Or maybe the 520w for $10 less

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------------------------------ Rebuild comming soon... :bounce:

Reply to Pezcore27

Pezcore27 wrote :

Is the power supply being modular a must have? If not you could jump to an Antecedent NEO ECO 620w for the same price
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371031

Or maybe the 520w for $10 less

I agree with this - I've honestly come to prefer modular PSUs over non modular ones. The couple of modular PSUs I've used have caused nothing but problems. The myth is that having less cables will increase the airflow in your system but that's not always the case. Having the best cable management and routing as many cables as you can behind the motherboard is what will increase air flow.

Modular has one huge benefit:

If you ever need to RMA the PSU or upgrade it, you don't have to pull your system apart.

+1 for going with full modular.

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Reply to vollman1

vollman1 wrote :

Modular has one huge benefit:

If you ever need to RMA the PSU or upgrade it, you don't have to pull your system apart.

+1 for going with full modular.

Then what about the antec bp550
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371016

------------------------------ Rebuild comming soon... :bounce:

Reply to Pezcore27

I use OCZ ZX series in both of my builds. So, I am biased

Reply to vollman1

vollman1 wrote :

Modular has one huge benefit:

If you ever need to RMA the PSU or upgrade it, you don't have to pull your system apart.

+1 for going with full modular.

Can't disagree with that, but I've never had to RMA a PSU to begin with.

Jedi Knight wrote :

OP the build looks good but I would get a Phenom II x4 955 quad core OC cause it is more future resilient more cores is the way of the future.

The i3 beats the x4 955 in most benchmarks.

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------------------------------ Rebuild comming soon... :bounce:

Reply to Pezcore27

Jedi Knight wrote :

OP the build looks good but I would get a Phenom II x4 955 quad core OC cause it is more future resilient more cores is the way of the future.

i3 allows to upgrade to sandy bridge when they get the money. Phenom is a dead end.

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------------------------------ i5 2500k at 4.6GHz (1.376v) Hyper 212+ ,
Gigabyte Radeon 6850 (910/1150/1.149v) ,
MSI Z68A-G43 (G3) , 4GB DDR3 1600 G.Skill ,
500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200 , OCZ Fatal1ty 550w , Antec 300 Illusion
Reply to samuelspark

It would help to know what the OP intends to use the system for I think.

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to vollman1

vollman1 wrote :

It would help to know what the OP intends to use the system for I think.

I make computer builds every month (virtually, I can't afford to make them all and benchmark them) and people can just grab them as use them as their computer builds. But this is for gaming purposes because for workstation, you can buy those.

------------------------------ i5 2500k at 4.6GHz (1.376v) Hyper 212+ ,
Gigabyte Radeon 6850 (910/1150/1.149v) ,
MSI Z68A-G43 (G3) , 4GB DDR3 1600 G.Skill ,
500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200 , OCZ Fatal1ty 550w , Antec 300 Illusion
Reply to samuelspark

I think the OP is just system building for the fun and to help others. It seems to be a gaming PC.

Posted when op posted

Message edited by thesnappyfingers on 02-09-2012 at 01:54:27 AM

Reply to thesnappyfingers

I was wondering about that hehe

Reply to vollman1

its great your intention, i fully support it since its monthly... but BTW... everybody is saying that the intel i3 is outstanding, ok it is... but what about the new overclockers? what are they going to fry? I gues that there should be an "stock gaming rig" and a "overclockers enthusiat-gaming rig"

I mean, the Fx 4100 is the only bulldozer processer which can do "something" against intel i3.. the i3 still beat its,but for overclocking its a nice starting and a "good quad core" processor for most people. Also the am3+ mobos are cheaper and sometimes support for nice features that most intel mobos cant offer...

thats just my opinion, dont hate me lol

Reply to horaciopz

Jedi Knight wrote :

stock for stock they are competitive until you OC the Phenom 955 then it is game over for i3 cant OC the i3.

I beg to differ. Even at 4.0 GHz i3 will beat phenom in starcraft 2.

Message quoted 1 times

------------------------------ i5 2500k at 4.6GHz (1.376v) Hyper 212+ ,
Gigabyte Radeon 6850 (910/1150/1.149v) ,
MSI Z68A-G43 (G3) , 4GB DDR3 1600 G.Skill ,
500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200 , OCZ Fatal1ty 550w , Antec 300 Illusion
Reply to samuelspark

Jedi, even if you were right, not that I am denying that you are or are not, the current upgrade path if he bought a Phenom is the Bulldozer AKA faildozer because even the i3 beat it in some tests. However, the i3 opens the path towards the Ivy Bridge computers, which will allow much better overclocking and performance than the Phenom or Bulldozer.

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Message edited by Youngmind on 02-09-2012 at 03:03:03 AM

Reply to Youngmind

is this turning into a "which is better: AMD or Intel" thread?

Reply to vollman1

In gaming stronger cores over more cores will always be the case, i3 is the way to go on this. and like horaciopz said, the fx-4100 is a good chip to play with for overclocking learners, it's generous and easier to overclock than phenom ii (both good overclockers even if BD sucks and gets blown away by a 4ghz phenom ii)

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Jedi Knight wrote :

BF3 plays like ass online if you run a dual core.

If all you do is play BF3 online then sure you may have a problem, just like if all you do is play skyrim/starcraft II then a bulldozer/phenom ii will give problems.

You will have less games crying for cpu power with an i3 is all i'm saying.

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Message edited by omega21xx on 02-09-2012 at 03:21:17 AM

Jedi Knight wrote :

I play all the games maxed no problems on my 955 @ 3.7ghz

Not to be a thorn but I know you don't play ALL games, yes for the most part a phenom ii is fine for most games (95% or more games are fine) I used to have a phenom ii x4 @3.5ghz
The point of the matter is that for the same price of a comparable phenom ii the i3 can do the job just as well without having to overclock and won't have as much issue when you add a second gpu for sli/cfx. Hell even the sandy bridge pentiums beat most phenom ii's and BD chips... I'm willing to admit this being an AMD fan, because it's true.

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Message edited by omega21xx on 02-09-2012 at 03:34:18 AM

Jedi Knight wrote :

Well that's a subjective chart which software's did they run LOL x is faster than z by 110% LOL sounds like BS to me plus games and apps will become more threaded like there are but I suppose we should just all stick with a dual core or maybe lets go back to single core cause that's the way it is heading in the future right.

This is a chart straight from Toms, apps aren't included in that chart. http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] ,3120.html

1. "more cores" doesn't work in this case, games aren't optimized for 8 cores and probably never will be, if they ever do start using 8 then the chip will be too old by that time to be worth the investment.
2. there's no reason to get so defensive about this just because i posted a chart to back up my claims, if you have a problem then provide feedback. Don't provide counterproductive bias rude remarks.
3. Thank you my work is done.

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Jedi Knight wrote :

Well according to the link you posted I am not losing anything tangible to core i3 as far as a few heavily Nvdia and Intel Optimized games go plus I rather take a quad core of the same price of an i3 for future resilience over any dual core.

Phenoms are power hungry.

Message quoted 1 times

------------------------------ i5 2500k at 4.6GHz (1.376v) Hyper 212+ ,
Gigabyte Radeon 6850 (910/1150/1.149v) ,
MSI Z68A-G43 (G3) , 4GB DDR3 1600 G.Skill ,
500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200 , OCZ Fatal1ty 550w , Antec 300 Illusion
Reply to samuelspark

Jedi Knight wrote :

Well according to the link you posted I am not losing anything tangible to core i3 as far as a few heavily Nvdia and Intel Optimized games go plus I rather take a quad core of the same price of an i3 for future resilience over any dual core.

My point was that more cores doesn't always help if you are outdated by the time they are used -_-

I'd put money into a system with an upgrade path, yes there might be piledriver on AM3+ but estimated performance increase only makes it competitive to the 1st gen i3/i5/i7
at least with the i3 you have a future that doesn't require a windows reinstall and a new board immediately.

Message quoted 1 times

Jedi Knight wrote :

Well Phenom II x4 955 has been around allot longer as a value proposition than i3 and like you say i3 is newer so it should just rape on an Phenom II x4 but it doesn't because cores count more and more everyday .

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/88?vs=289
:non:
When put side by side in multithreaded apps, the phenom ii does not disgrace the i3 in any way shape or form, the i3 is behind yes, but for a dual core standing that well next to a quad? really...

Message quoted 1 times

Jedi Knight wrote :

I never said a phenom II x4 is all faster than an i3 by a bunch

You implied it throughout your responses, i'm only saying that an i3 has more possibilities and future than a phenom ii x4 in game due to upgrades, yes phenom ii is good (i had one) but when comparing price there isn't much difference between the two. This of course only applies to people building right now, for most there is no reason to drop the phenom ii and switch like i did.

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Jedi Knight wrote :

an i3 has less value and possibility cause is Can not be OCed like the Phenom IIs and why by a CPU based on years down the road upgrading LOL I payed $95 for my Phenom II B55 a year ago so the value is far better than i3 plus the future is still up in the air LOL things change massively quick in the PC world LOL

I'm tired of trying to make sense of what you're saying, you obviously are just trying to contradict everything being said or too stubborn to understand what I'm saying.

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Whose daddy can beat up the other?

Reply to vollman1

Jedi Knight wrote :

i3 is a good CPU but if I was upgrading an existing AM3 platform today i3 is not worth it to side grade to when you can just pop in Deneb Phenom II x4 chip likewise you cant upgrade from 775 to 1156 which means for AMD users Phenom II x4 is far far better value and for Intel users i3 is a expensive upgrade cause they have to invest into a whole new platform. People looking to upgrade from 775 AMD is a better option right now if they were looking at an i3 rig cause with AMD they get 4 cores.

Whoa, what are you talking about? I never said that an I3 is an upgrade option for an am3 or am3+ board. What I've been saying this whole time is for a brand new build there's hardly a reason to go with a phenom ii or fx. If you are looking to build a cheap pc and dont care to upgrade the CPU later then you're fine, I was pointing out that going for a 1155 socket board is for someone who wants a cheap pc with a sizable upgrade path, on am3 right now and the foreseeable future there is not upgrade path since bulldozer is a side grade and piledriver won't be much of an upgrade.

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I had many AMD setups in my life, but I must admit some facts now.
Basically for games, the best is Intel

Useful quotes:
"...sub-$100 Pentiums performing so well, Intel's $125 Core i3-2100 easily beats more expensive Phenom II and FX models...the $190 Core i5-2400 dominates the sub-$200 landscape without challenge...we're almost-shockingly left without an AMD CPU to recommend at any price point."

"AMD’s Phenom II X4 955 and FX-4100 could certainly appeal to buyers who insist on the ability to handle four threads at a time...however, they’re too close to the Hyper-Threaded Core i3-2100 to earn a distinguished recommendation...we showed that the Core i3-2100 can match AMD's Phenom II X4 955, even while background tasks run in parallel with a game. So, we couldn't even speculate that Intel's Core-i3 2100 might disappoint in a real-world environment with applications running in the background."

"For $190, a stock Core i5-2400 gets you more gaming prowess than any AMD CPU can hope to deliver right now, even overclocked."

Source: AMD Or Intel: Which Offers Better Gaming Performance?

EDIT: Without mentioning the HUGE CPU upgrade path you have with the LGA 1155. We can't say the same about the AM3/AM3+ sockets.. bulldozer is at maximum a sidegrade concerning gaming (considering you buy a Phenom). And Piledriver will be just a revision and AFAIK won't share the same socket, would need a new motherboard.

Message edited by vitornob on 02-09-2012 at 11:42:28 AM

------------------------------ Core i7 2600k, Asus P8Z68 Deluxe, 16GB Patriot DDR3, 2TB HD , SLI GTX 460 1GB, XFX 750W BE, 3D Vision, CM 690 II Advanced
Reply to vitornob