Future-proof gaming system - PCIe 3.0 or 2.0?

[geer]

I am putting together a new gaming system, and while I'm not too bothered about being able to play everything on the highest settings, I want to get value for my money in the sense that I'll be able to stick with it for years to come.
I'm putting the system together in Denmark, and will be buying from here.
Will not be overclocking a lot, at least not until I have to to keep up.

What I'm looking to get:

CPU: Intel core i5-3570K

Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo

PSU: Corsair TX750 V2 (750W)

Mobo: ASRock Z77 Extreme4

GPU: Radeon HD 7850 2GB (Maybe?)

RAM: Corsair Vengeance low profile 2 x 4 GB

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 2 TB

Case: Cooler Master Silencio 550 (I like the minimalistic style of this case - it should also help keep the gf happy)

My questions:
1. Am I spending my money wisely on a system that has PCIe 3.0? Would I be better off with an i5-2500K and a z68 Mobo? What GPU should I get then?

2. Do you think 750W is enough if I should want to add another GPU down the line?

 

[xtreme5]

I am putting together a new gaming system, and while I'm not too bothered about being able to play everything on the highest settings, I want to get value for my money in the sense that I'll be able to stick with it for years to come.
I'm putting the system together in Denmark, and will be buying from here.
Will not be overclocking a lot, at least not until I have to to keep up.

What I'm looking to get:

CPU: Intel core i5-3570K

Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo

PSU: Corsair TX750 V2 (750W)

Mobo: ASRock Z77 Extreme4

GPU: Radeon HD 7850 2GB (Maybe?)

RAM: Corsair Vengeance low profile 2 x 4 GB

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 2 TB

Case: Cooler Master Silencio 550 (I like the minimalistic style of this case - it should also help keep the gf happy)

My questions:
1. Am I spending my money wisely on a system that has PCIe 3.0? Would I be better off with an i5-2500K and a z68 Mobo? What GPU should I get then?

2. Do you think 750W is enough if I should want to add another GPU down the line?

build is fantastic, stay with 3570k, basically there is no difference between pci-e 3.0 or 2.0 as you can see in the image



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[djscribbles]

If my understanding is correct, current gen video cards (in a single card system) do not need the extra bandwidth of PCIe 3.0, however if you add another GPU to Crossfire/SLI in the future, you will get better performance with 3.0.

 

[mad2]

If my understanding is correct, current gen video cards (in a single card system) do not need the extra bandwidth of PCIe 3.0, however if you add another GPU to Crossfire/SLI in the future, you will get better performance with 3.0.

Ya you get about 4% better performance at 8x with pcie 3.0.

 

[djscribbles]

Ya you get about 4% better performance at 8x with pcie 3.0.

With what card?

edit: The general opinion of the internet does appear to be that PCIe 3.0 doesn't make much of a difference 2xGPU systems, however I wasn't able to find any firm testing on this. A link would be appreciated if you have one.

 

[GPUNoob]

I recently built a similar system. Stay with the i5-3750k. I think it is good value for the money atm, plus you can overclock this chip quite nicely. In fact I have the same CPU cooler and PSU, it all went together great.

If you can step up to the Radeon 7970, I would do it. Prices have dropped recently a bit, and you can comfortably overclock the 7970. I'd buy the cheapest 7970 you can find, as I don't think some of the $500+ cards are worth it. Look up some of the overclocking test reports, there are some good data on all the manufacturers, every card can run higher than stock.

750W is good. Even if you were to later upgrade to, say, a GTX690 when prices fall, I believe the 750W will be sufficient, based on current draw/load reports. But if you want to run two of those cards, that may be an issue. If it were me, I'd stick with the 750W, it's exactly what I put in my new gaming rig, working great, no problems even on first boot-up.

 

[mad2]

With what card?

edit: The general opinion of the internet does appear to be that PCIe 3.0 doesn't make much of a difference 2xGPU systems, however I wasn't able to find any firm testing on this. A link would be appreciated if you have one.

with any card. The pcie 3 lanes give almost 100% performance on 8x where pcie 2 on 8x lanes give like 96% or something around that.

 

[cranked]

If you aren't looking for a crazy OC then go with the I5-3570K. You might as well be as future proof as you can with the PCI-3.0.

 

[voodooking]

I am in the exact same boat as you are in and this is what I have found.

The PCI 3.0 thing is as follows: Manufacturers consider the feature a "check box" item. Meaning almost everyone can't use it but some people have to have it. Ok. The reaosn that I am not even considering it any more is due to the fact that the only "SET" of cards that can use 3.0 are the 690's which are a $1000 a piece. So by the time the price comes down to earth or more cards speed up, years will have passed. After these years there will be all kinds of new features that I will want in my system. that means buying all kinds of new items anyway. So I am blowing off the whole PCIe 3.0 bit.

Your 750 should be way powerful enough to run your stuff.

I recomend researching an SSD. They make a world of difference.

 

[geer]

Thanks for the feedback every one.

I am in the exact same boat as you are in and this is what I have found.

The PCI 3.0 thing is as follows: Manufacturers consider the feature a "check box" item. Meaning almost everyone can't use it but some people have to have it. Ok. The reaosn that I am not even considering it any more is due to the fact that the only "SET" of cards that can use 3.0 are the 690's which are a $1000 a piece. So by the time the price comes down to earth or more cards speed up, years will have passed. After these years there will be all kinds of new features that I will want in my system. that means buying all kinds of new items anyway. So I am blowing off the whole PCIe 3.0 bit.

Your 750 should be way powerful enough to run your stuff.

I recomend researching an SSD. They make a world of difference.

So what is your solution?
I might add a SSD later, but right now I can't blow too much money at one time. Also delaying getting a monitor that can do my new system justice.

 

[mad2]

Thanks for the feedback every one.



So what is your solution?
I might add a SSD later, but right now I can't blow too much money at one time. Also delaying getting a monitor that can do my new system justice.

Go 2500k and z68. I can't see spending the money on ivy bridge at this point. The performance is so close to sandy bridge.

 

[nightshift23]

No way, Z77 and I5-3570k all the way. If you already had Sandy its not worth upgrading, but the price difference is so small there's no way to justify not building it out Ivy.

I would step up the video card as well, but not the 7970, the GTC 670 goes toe to toe with it and costs around 80 less (for the cheapest 7970). That card will keep you gaming for a while. The gigabyte 670 is knocking out the best scores at the moment, and is the same price as the reference boards but comes overclocked from the factory.

 

[mad2]

No way, Z77 and I5-3570k all the way. If you already had Sandy its not worth upgrading, but the price difference is so small there's no way to justify not building it out Ivy.

I would step up the video card as well, but not the 7970, the GTC 670 goes toe to toe with it and costs around 80 less (for the cheapest 7970). That card will keep you gaming for a while. The gigabyte 670 is knocking out the best scores at the moment, and is the same price as the reference boards but comes overclocked from the factory.

The only advantage that means anything is faster ram. Ivy bridge doesnt overclock as well, and is more expensive. Pcie 3 is a waste to worry about at this point. Ivy was made more for power consumption. Go sandy and wait for the next big upgrade which will be next.

 

[voodooking]

So what is your solution?
I might add a SSD later, but right now I can't blow too much money at one time. Also delaying getting a monitor that can do my new system justice.

What I did was just look at the Toms guide for SSd's. they do it monthly and have the best buys for the money. They do it often and when you are ready to buy then look for the best one in your price range. That's what I did. Tom's gave OCZ Vertex 3 the prize one month. I picked it up and can't be happier.

I am getting close to purchase and I just don't see a reason to get an Ivy bridge setup. I am just going to go with the best SB one.

 

[Why_Me]

I don't know about Denmark prices, but here in the US you can build a IB set up for just as cheap as a SB set up. Now if this is a new build then it makes about zero sense not to go with an IB build.

Anyone making a new build and using a SB set up instead of an IB set up must be getting some killer black market prices to have a good reason not to go with an IB build.

And yes I do remember when PCI 1.6 moved onto PCI-E 2.0 and lots of people back then said it would be a decade or two before PCI-E 2.0 would be a noticeable benefit. The card makers apparently thought different and proved it so.

 

[cranked]

The only advantage that means anything is faster ram. Ivy bridge doesnt overclock as well, and is more expensive. Pcie 3 is a waste to worry about at this point. Ivy was made more for power consumption. Go sandy and wait for the next big upgrade which will be next.

There is no reason to not go IB at this point unless you are looking to OC to like 4.8-5.0 and the original poster already said he doesn't plan to OC much if at all.

I don't know why people keep saying "IB doesn't OC as well". So what. Yes, it runs hotter, but for most people who aren't trying to set some record, it's perfectly within reason. OC isn't for everyone anyway. Most people who ask for advice here don't plan to OC a ton and if they know enough about what they are doing from that aspect, they probably aren't asking for build advice here anyway.

If you are building a brand new system, go IB. Why limit yourself to PCI-E 2.0? What if they start releasing PCI-3.0 cards in a year or two? I doubt the OP is going to want to entirely revamp his system to take advantage when you could have the capability from the get go.

 

[Why_Me]

O/C a 2500K past 4.4 - 4.5Ghz nets you a big nothing in regards to more FPS in gaming. Anything past that for a gaming build is for bragging rights only. I mean seriously who wants to throw more volts into their cpu for no gain?

 

[voodooking]

Go sandy and wait for the next big upgrade which will be next.

That brings us to which board to get. The key is the die size on the Haswell chip and will it work with the current boards. Which ones will it work with. That could give us some insurance in reguards to future proofing.

Thanks.

PS. maybe that should be a separate question on the CPU boards.

 

[cranked]

Haswell will be an entirely different chipset and won't work with the 1155 socket. You would have to get a different mobo at that time.

 

[voodooking]

Haswell will be an entirely different chipset and won't work with the 1155 socket. You would have to get a different mobo at that time.

Thank you +1