Feb 2012 $650 Price/Performance Build GTX 560 Ti

[samuelspark]

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/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115077
Asrock P67 PRO3 (B3) LGA 1155 P67 Motherboard ($89.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157230
Gigabyte GTX 560 Ti ($209.99) ($2.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125401
Crucial 8GB DDR3 1333 MHz ($34.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148476
Seagate Barracuda 500GB HDD 7200RPM ($69.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148495
Rosewill Blackbone ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($39.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147023
OCZ ZT 550w PSU Fully Modular ($69.99) ($20 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341050
LG 22x DVD Burner ($15.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136240

Total = $650.92 + $2.99 shipping

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

 

[Pezcore27]

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/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371031

Or maybe the 520w for $10 less

 

[g-unit1111]

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/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371031

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.

 

[vollman1]

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.

 

[Pezcore27]

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/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016

 

[vollman1]

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

 

[g-unit1111]

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.

 

[Pezcore27]

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.

 

[samuelspark]

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.

 

[vollman1]

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

 

[samuelspark]

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.

 

[thesnappyfingers]

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

 

[vollman1]

I was wondering about that hehe

 

[horaciopz]

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

 

[samuelspark]

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.

 

[Youngmind]

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.

 

[vollman1]

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

 

[omega21xx]

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)

 

[omega21xx]

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.

 

[omega21xx]

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.

 

[omega21xx]

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/reviews/gaming-fx-pentium-apu-benchmark,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.

 

[samuelspark]

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.

 

[omega21xx]

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.

 

[omega21xx]

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

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...

 

[omega21xx]

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.