1000$ System Build Suggestions?

[Bestestnoob]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FX7b

1000$ (including shipping)
I already have
- 2 x 500 GB Seagate 7200RPM
- 1 TB USB 2.0 external drive
- Keyboard
- Mouse

Comments
- I need 6-8+ USB ports on the back, I currently use all 6 on my system
- would like to use Intel for the CPU + 4x cores
- would like to keep to well known parts
- would like the build to last 2-4 years minimum
- ATI or Nvidia

Any suggestions? different parts? cheaper parts?

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

Look into the 7870le or the 7950 instead of a 660ti.
Both perform just ahead of a 660ti and the le is way cheaper.

 

[kkita727]

As someone who was thinking of purchasing the AsRock mobo is there are reason you would recommend against it? With the free Ram that is currently offered in the newegg combo, is the difference worth an extra ~$60? Thanks.

 

[excella1221]

I don't see anything wrong with the Pro4, it has all the necessary ports he needs and has OC capabilities.

The only advantage I can see from the Gigabyte linked is the ability to correctly support SLI/Crossfire GPUs.

 

[michxymi]

ASRock MB-970EX4 Socket AM3+/ AMD 970/ AMD Quad CrossFireX& nVidia SLI/ SATA3&USB3.0/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard

AMD FX-8320 Eight-Core Processor Black Edition AM3+ FD8320FRHKBOX

Patriot Memory Viper 3 Series Venom Red DDR3 8GB 1866MHz (PC3 15000) Memory Kit PV38G186C9KRD

COUGAR Solution Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with 12cm COUGAR TURBINE HYPER-SPIN Bearing Silent Fan and USB 3.0

LEPA N Series N500-SA 500W ATX12V Power Supply

Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 OC with Boost 3GB DDR5 DL-DVI-I/SL-DVI-D/HDMI/DP PCI-Express Graphics Card 11197-03-40G

Samsung 840 Series 2.5 inch 120GB SATA III internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-7TD120BW

That's a way better gaming setup for under 1000$ (without OS)

 

[ilysaml]

The only advantage I can see from the Gigabyte linked is the ability to correctly support SLI/Crossfire GPUs.

?

 

[ilysaml]

@michxymi;
Building around AMD for gaming isn't the best idea, Intel is better and more capable.
Also, you picked some quite cheap and low quality components such as the PSU.

@OP, you definietly need a CPU cooler, and what about SSD? Do you want to buy the OS?
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($31.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($55.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($21.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $944.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-26 10:18 EST-0500)

In case you're not familiar with this GPU, here it is;
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/tahiti-le-7870-7930-benchmark,3401-7.html

 

[michxymi]

First of all AMD FX 8320/8350 and i5 3570k have identical perfomance and trade blows slighty depending on the game/program.

Secondly the PSU is a high quality 80+ Bronze made by Enermax, the best PSU manufacturer after Seasonic!

Also 8320+7970 is way better that 3570k+7870XT in pretty much every game!

 

[ilysaml]

FX 8350 is sweet in multi-tasking procedures and good competitor for i7 3770K itself when it comes to multi-tasks but not for gaming.

I read once by chance a review by Techpowerup of the 700W unit of this brand "LEPA" and the cons were as following;

* Low price/performance ratio (with normal price)
* Terrible performance of both minor rails at Advanced Transient Response Tests
* Loose voltage regulation on the minor rails
* Low efficiency at 5VSB

Pretty enough to make terrible impression about it, but I just saw right now the review of some 500W units of this brand and it seems to be okay.

At first, Thermaltake were making very crap PSUs until it came with the ToughPower series and it's one of the bests out there. At first their Smart series were very crap and failed in many tests, right now they adjusted it and it got many recommendations from many reviewers. Enermax isn't the best as you claim, they are just growing up in the PSU market, and hardwaresecrets.com didn't confirm lots of their PSUs at the past, for example this one;
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Enermax-Liberty-DXX-500W-Power-Supply-Review/303/10

 

[ilysaml]

That's the point, in CPU intensive games, the AMD CPUs fail hugely;

Even in the latest titles it can't maintain a solid 60 FPS, which will hold back a card like HD 7970 from achieving a solid 60 FPS in a game like HA.

The rule goes for Multiplayer FPS and RPG games with huge maps, these games said to be bringing down top end CPUs to their knees, folks with i7 3770K were confused from the several drops in BF3 multiplayer as the game is very CPU intensive and fills out the threads.

 

[michxymi]

That's the point, in CPU intensive games, the AMD CPUs fail hugely;
http://media.bestofmicro.com/Y/R/357651/original/skyrim 1920.png
http://media.bestofmicro.com/Z/2/357662/original/world of warcraft 1680.png
http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/608/bench/CPU_01.png

Even in the latest titles it can't maintain a solid 60 FPS, which will hold back a card like HD 7970 from achieving a solid 60 FPS in a game like HA.

I see different results here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu8Sekdb-IE

As for the PSU all I see is positive reviews from the ones who buy it...

 

[michxymi]

That's the point, in CPU intensive games, the AMD CPUs fail hugely;
http://media.bestofmicro.com/Y/R/357651/original/skyrim 1920.png
http://media.bestofmicro.com/Z/2/357662/original/world of warcraft 1680.png
http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/608/bench/CPU_01.png

Even in the latest titles it can't maintain a solid 60 FPS, which will hold back a card like HD 7970 from achieving a solid 60 FPS in a game like HA.

The rule goes for Multiplayer FPS and RPG games with huge maps, these games said to be bringing down top end CPUs to their knees, folks with i7 3770K were confused from the several drops in BF3 multiplayer as the game is very CPU intensive and fills out the threads.

The benchmarks you showed me are for laughs....CPU intensive games are 1? 2 maybe? As for WoW the benchmark is done at 1680x1050 a resolution no one play...

 

[ilysaml]

You take assumptions from a channel on youtube? You can review toms, anandtech, techpowerup, guru3d, hardwareheaven, legitreviews and so and you'll find the same results.

1 or 2 still shows the fact that Intel is superior, and they are not 2, Far Cry3, HA, Starcraft 2, World of Warcraft, CIV 5, Skyrim, Battlefield 3, GTA 4, Flight Simulators, Bad Company 2, basically most modern RPG, RTS, and free roaming games. And a side note, single player is different than multi-player. Multi-Players have huge and long maps with lots of effects and thus a lot of rendering is done by the CPU.

As for WOW;

 

[excella1221]

?

The Pro4's 2nd PCI-E slot only runs @x4 bandwidth, that's going to bottleneck the 2nd GPU.

I see different results here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu8Sekdb-IE

As for the PSU all I see is positive reviews from the ones who buy it...

Haven't really looked up the PSU you're both arguing about, but I'd like to point out that consumer reviews are the last thing you should look at when buying the right PSU.

 

[Proximon]

There are no reviews of the LEPA N series. It is NOT 80plus certified, a red flag. It has a voltage switch on the back, another red flag.

Lepa reviews in general
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page22979.htm

I have a lot of respect for AMD machines under some circumstances. I don't think this is one, especially after the OP has made his preferences clear.

Back to the PSU, you COULD save some there with a Rosewill Capstone. Hard to argue with the Seasonic at that price though.

 

[michxymi]

There are no reviews of the LEPA N series. It is NOT 80plus certified, a red flag. It has a voltage switch on the back, another red flag.

Lepa reviews in general
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page22979.htm

I have a lot of respect for AMD machines under some circumstances. I don't think this is one, especially after the OP has made his preferences clear.

Back to the PSU, you COULD save some there with a Rosewill Capstone. Hard to argue with the Seasonic at that price though.

Whatever guys. I think It's a good unit though. Of course If he has the money he can go for the Seasonic.

 

[Bestestnoob]

I haven't checked this forum in AWHILE, and just got an e-mail about it.

The plan I had was to be getting a very low-management computer, good solid quality parts with low TDP and good long termivness.....

Thank you all for replying, however there are still many questions I have.
1. (might sound dumb) but, what is the difference between 7870 & 7870 LE? are they the same? or is it like 660 v. 660 TI?

2. I know NOTHING about PSU's other than wattage and slightly performance. Can someone link a good infomational video/text? or benchmarks?


Comments:
3. I do NOT plan on buying a aftermarket cooler WITH the rig. My plan is farther down the road i will then overclock, since overclocking degrades the part and reduces the lifespan, and is a slight hassle.

4.As said before, current AMD chips do not seems "stable" in my opinion, i watch TekSyndicate and do know about the 8xxx beating the i7, but even though i love logan, i still am going with the majority. However, the i5-3570k seems like a quality cpu with good support.

5.I do not PLAN on using a 2nd GPU at all. crossfire/sli comes with its drawbacks, and by the time i upgrade again there will be GTX Titans for 500$.

6.I will be purchasing the OS, (hopefully windows gets its act together and releases windows blue without shitty "tiles").

7. I currently run 2x 1680x1050 monitors (3360 x 1050) and prefer to run games in windowed mode while multitasking/ watching videos on the other screen

 

[Bestestnoob]

oops, double post

 

[Proximon]

1. They are not the same. The LE is newer and you can find many reviews on it.

2. The guide in my signature.

 

[Bestestnoob]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/I0IA
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/I0IA/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/I0IA/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($97.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($55.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card ($234.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 550W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($90.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($18.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Other: 8GB vengence 1x8GB 51$ value for pro4 MB
Total: $828.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-06 19:33 EST-0500)

"Current" Set-Up
also looking into Asus P8Z77-V LK
SSD's in my line of work are not as effective as getting good quality parts.
How does this look?

 

[Proximon]

Good list.
There are good quality SSDs... like the 160GB Intel SSD I have been using the last 2 years.

If you really want reliability in a drive look to the WD RE4 drives. Enterprise level hard drives.

 

[Bestestnoob]

I currently have some 500GB seagate drives, and a TB external for all my files.

What I ment was that having an SSD isn;t as important as having a better GPU or CPU or PSU or RAM

 

[Proximon]

Ah, OK.

 

[Bestestnoob]

Best answer selected by Bestestnoob.