New Ivy Bridge build ordering soon.

[cikas19]

Approximate Purchase Date: ASAP

Budget Range: $1300 excludes video card

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Streaming video games.

Parts Not Required: I have the EVGA GTX 680 already

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg

Overclocking: Not really maybe a little in the future but not important right now.

SLI or Crossfire: Not in the near future.

Monitor Resolution: 1920 x 1080


I have some parts picked out already but I have a few questions about them.

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced

Monitor: ASUS VW246H Glossy Black 24 inch

HD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB

SSD: Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB

Power Supply: CORSAIR Professional Series HX850 850W

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) or Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo)

MOBO: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77

Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB)

Price: about $1300

Now I was wondering about the i7 vs i5 will the i7 be better for streaming video games? Or will it not make a big difference? I usually run a bunch of programs at the same time especially when I stream games.

Any other suggestions or advice are welcome. Thanks for your time.

 

[g-unit1111]

That looks good - nothing I would change. I'll be ordering the i5-3570K as soon as Amazon gets them in stock (have a gift card).

 

[jrwizbang]

It all looks pretty good to me to be honest. Normally I would have to make a few changes to someone's build but you seem to know what you're doing here. Nice! As far as the i7 vs. i5, normally, I would say just get the i5, if you prioritize gaming, but seeing as you mentioned the fact that you run many other programs in the background makes me say, go with the i7. There is one thing though. I, personally, like Corsair more than G.Skill. Also, I think that it looks nicer
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233186
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144
But it is up to you on that choice. No difference performance wise, just personal preference.

 

[g-unit1111]

It all looks pretty good to me to be honest. Normally I would have to make a few changes to someone's build but you seem to know what you're doing here. Nice! As far as the i7 vs. i5, normally, I would say just get the i5, if you prioritize gaming, but seeing as you mentioned the fact that you run many other programs in the background makes me say, go with the i7. There is one thing though. I, personally, like Corsair more than G.Skill. Also, I think that it looks nicer
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233186
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144
But it is up to you on that choice. No difference performance wise, just personal preference.

You don't need hyperthreading unless you're doing intense multimedia work with programs like CS5 or anything Autodesk makes.

I don't buy products because they "look nice" - I go for the strongest product you can get with the lowest fail rates. I don't like Corsair Vengeance RAM - especially with the tall heat sinks - not only do they not do anything but they make installing any coolers you want to work with difficult.

 

[jaraldo]

If you have the cash, go for the i7. If not, later you could overclock the i5 to get better performance. I had the same decision with the sandy bridge i5 vs i7 and that's basically the conclusion I saw from many topics/reviews.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ivy-bridge-benchmark-core-i7-3770k,3181-24.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/332751-28-bridge
http://www.overclock.net/t/1250033/i5-3570k-or-i7-3770k-ivybridge
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=164938

 

[jrwizbang]

That's why I also linked the LP version. Plus, Corsair has the same "fail rates" that G.Skill has, just more people go with G.Skill because it is generally less expensive. It's all personal preference. As far as the hyper threading with the i7, that could very well help with multitasking while gaming.

 

[g-unit1111]

That's why I also linked the LP version. Plus, Corsair has the same "fail rates" that G.Skill has, just more people go with G.Skill because it is generally less expensive. It's all personal preference. As far as the hyper threading with the i7, that could very well help with multitasking while gaming.

Yeah that's true - it's all personal preference. For RAM I like Corsair, Kingston, G.Skill, Crucial, Mushkin, and PNY - and it has to be low profile, I don't do tall heat sinks unless there's liquid cooling involved.

 

[jrwizbang]

Yeah that's true - it's all personal preference. For RAM I like Corsair, Kingston, G.Skill, Crucial, Mushkin, and PNY - and it has to be low profile, I don't do tall heat sinks unless there's liquid cooling involved.

I agree on the heat spreaders. I don't really care for the tall look. Especially since they don't fit under almost any cpu heat sink, which is pretty obnoxious.

 

[g-unit1111]

I agree on the heat spreaders. I don't really care for the tall look. Especially since they don't fit under almost any cpu heat sink, which is pretty obnoxious.

Not only is it obnoxious but they literally serve no purpose - they actually can obstruct your system's air flow.