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Thanks for the input. I want the 500gb SSD as my primary partition generally floats around 300gb and I don't want to run over 70-80% full.
You won't if you use the SSD for your OS and main programs only. Store everything else on your secondary. Spending the extra $200 just for the convenience factor is kinda stupid I will have to admit.
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I can't be bothered to deal with the headache of installing certain apps on secondary partitions or organizing a bunch of data all the time. I used to do this in the past (run a bunch of partitions drives) and i find it annoying. With 500gb, I can keep all my day-to-day files and applications on one drive (with enough free space to keep drive running quick), and my downloads/media stuff on the disc drive.
What kind of day to day files do you use that you need a 500GB SSD for? I can't imagine your Outlook PST file takes up that much room.
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In regards to the I5 3570k vs the 3770k do you think the i5 is really better value? How much slower is the 3570 than the 3770? the price difference is $100. Here in Canada, best prices I can get are: $210 for the 3570 or $310 for the 3770.
Depends on what the primary use is. If it's gaming no. You pay too much for extra threads that you won't use. If it's photo and video editing yes.
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Also, you speced out a 670, do you feel the nVidia 670 is better than the AMD 7970 at the same or higher price point?
670 and 680 are equal in terms of performance. The 670 is $100 less. As far as the difference between the 7970 and the 670, the 670 has CUDA hardware acceleration and Phys X- two things that the 7970 doesn't have. For CAD work and things of that nature you will benefit from having that.
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As far as intel "wiping the floor", for me its really about cost vs performance. Until recently, you had to spend $500+ on a processor to get into the range where AMD could not compete. Spending more than maybe $400 on a processor that will last 2-3 years is out of my price range. This is the first time I've been in the market where it really looks like AMD does not have a competitive offering.
First build I did was in 2007 using a Core 2 Duo E6600 and the CPU only cost me like $250. I've done four full builds and several rebuilds since then. I so far have never had to pay $500 for a CPU. You could use the 3930K but that will be way out of your price range. If you check out benchmarks and performance specifications - since X58 Intel has had a dramatic leap over AMD in every category.
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Also, my primary use will be gaming (more important... the productivity stuff does fine on the current setup) and productivity (CAD work, programming, etc.).
For games you won't use the 3770K to its' full extent so it's not worth purchasing. The 3570K is all you need. For CAD work and programming - I work with rendering and CAD builds on a daily basis and I've got current versions of Autodesk products to run on way less than a 3570K. So yeah you don't need much to run those programs. It helps but you're spending more than you need.