Which build should I go with?

Jake2270

Honorable
Jul 12, 2012
15
0
10,510
Hey guys, im doing my first build and I need a little help figuring some stuff out. Here's what i have so far:

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=19720985

OR

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=24078788

My questions are:

1. Am I going to notice a huge difference in between the two builds?

2. Will I be able to play games like skyrim on Ultra settings? I don't own an HD monitor, unless I used my TV, so my resolution won't all that high. I also want to be able to play all the graphics mods.

3. Am I even going in the right direction? My budget is 850, but if y'all could build me something else and justify the costs, I might go 1000. That being said, if you can do better for cheaper, please do.

I guess what I'm looking for is a kind of Pro/Con or just general guidence. I'm fairly knowledgable about computers, but I've never built my own.


 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator
1. Am I going to notice a huge difference in between the two builds?

They're both about the same.

2. Will I be able to play games like skyrim on Ultra settings? I don't own an HD monitor, unless I used my TV, so my resolution won't all that high. I also want to be able to play all the graphics mods.

No - not with a 480. If you were using a Radeon 7850 yes, but the 480 is nearly 4 generations old and a massive power hog compared to what you can get now.

3. Am I even going in the right direction? My budget is 850, but if y'all could build me something else and justify the costs, I might go 1000. That being said, if you can do better for cheaper, please do.

First off - Diablotek PSUs are absolute crap - one of the worst brands in the industry. Avoid like the plague. Second, Corsair Vengeance RAM is fine as long as you get the low profile version - avoid tall heat sinks. The i5-3450 is definitely a good choice for CPU if you don't plan to overclock. On the first build - on an $850 - spending $120 of it on the case is a bad idea. Spend that on the GPU - get a $50 - $70 case.

For $850 - try this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3450 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus P8H77-V ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($45.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Seagate Spinpoint F3 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($246.97 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 600W ATX12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $840.89
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
 

DeusAres

Distinguished

1. Do you plan on overclocking? If you plan to overclock the 3570k, then yes you will notice a considerable difference. You'll also need an aftermarket cooler if you plan on overclocking. Something like the cooler master hyper 212 will suffice at moderate overclocks of 4.0-4.4.

2. Yes, you'll be able to play Skyrim on max settings with either of these builds. Both your CPU choices are strong, what matters is the GPU at this point. Just take a look at this benchmark...
http://www.techspot.com/review/467-skyrim-performance/page6.html

For the second build, the HAF 922 isn't necessary. The antec 300 will get the job done at a much lower price. You may also want to check out this case...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119227&Tpk=cooler%20master%20elite%20430
Put the saved cash towards a better GPU or an SSD. Skyrim will run much better on an SSD. Read and write speeds on these things are ridiculous. Most of them exceed 500MB/s read and write. Pretty awesome stuff. Try something like this...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441
or...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233223

The Corsair is the faster of the two, but the Crucial is a bit more reliable.

If you plan to increase your budget to $1000, go for a better GPU. Something like this...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125414
or...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125418
 

Jake2270

Honorable
Jul 12, 2012
15
0
10,510
@DuesAres

If I am just gaming, is there a need to overclock? Im extremely tempted by the 3570k, and its not too much more. As for the GPU's, i just don't know if i have a need for a $350 card, when i can order a 480 1536 for $220
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


The Radeon 7850 will be a far, far better choice than the 480 for $20 more. It matches and in most cases beats the GTX 570 for the same price and overclocked versions can match the 580, and it uses 1/2 the power.
 

DeusAres

Distinguished

It all depends on what you're planning to do with your build. I, personally, believe the 3570k would be worth the extra $10 or so. The 7850 and the 7870 would be a far better choice over the 480. Try and stretch that budget a bit. sacrifice what you can to get either the 7850 or the 7870. Both have huge overclocking potential and are very fast. If you plan on adding texture mods and what not to skyrim, then you'll also want that faster gpu to run the game at comfortable frame rates. if you can't fit an SSD in the budget, put all the cash towards a better gpu. You can always upgrade and grab an SSD in the future. That's the beauty of custom building...so many options. :)
 

Jake2270

Honorable
Jul 12, 2012
15
0
10,510
Okay so I updated my lists:

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=19720985

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=24078788

And I decided it wouldn't make sense not go with the overclockable 3570k build for only 35 bucks more. I even added an SSD and better power supply and only went 15 over budget on the 3570k build.

As for the GPU's, a 7870 is out of the question as it's too expensive. Can you break down for me why the 7850 is a better route than the 480? all the benchmarks point towards the 480. I'm not saying your wrong though, I could very well be reading them wrong haha.
 

DeusAres

Distinguished

Here, try this benchmark too...
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7870-review-benchmark,3148-15.html

The 7850 uses a considerably less amount of energy compared to the gtx 480. Gigabyte's version of the 7850 offers huge overclocking potential which will greatly benefit performance over the gtx 480. Not to mention, the 7850 supports pci express 3.0. Since you'll be going with the 3570k, this will be much more beneficial compared to the 480.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125419&Tpk=gigabyte%20hd%207850
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


They're about even in terms of performance - there's a couple of areas where it just narrowly edges out, however where the 7850 excels is that it really does use 1/2 the power that the 480 does: http://www.hwcompare.com/12055/geforce-gtx-480-vs-radeon-hd-7850/
 

DeusAres

Distinguished

Trust me, you'll be much better off with the 7850. Don't let those couple of "fanboy based" reviews scare you. Flash your BIOS to the latest, stable (non beta) release. Then download and install all the latest drivers for the 7850. You'll be just fine. Then when you get the cash, get another one to put in crossfire :D
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


Catalyst 12.7 will correct all those issues. By the way - it's a *VERY* bad idea to rely on stores for product reviews - as DeusAres said 1/2 the reviews on video cards are squarely fanboy based. You want to check professional sources before you buy.

So how about this one?

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/ [...] r=14917509

That build is a lot better but drop one of your DVD burners and I don't see where the SSD is necessary - go with a 500GB mechanical HD for now, add the SSD later.
 

Jake2270

Honorable
Jul 12, 2012
15
0
10,510
Oh i didn't mean to have two burners. As for the SSD, i was thinking the same thing, as that one has absolutely horrendous reviews, and i think i need much more than 128 gb of storage.
 

DeusAres

Distinguished

Yup, I wouldn't go with that SSD. Wait on the SSD. And you don't really need more than 60-120gb. Either one of those sizes will allow you to store your OS and a few games. Just wait it out. I'd recommend getting this HDD for now...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148702

or if you want the 1tb version for only $5 more...

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st1000dm003