help on building new pc

[vultusprime]

I have some questions on choosing the parts for my new PC. The new system will be used mainly for games and perhaps some light video editing but nothing too serious.

1) CPU
Originally, I wanted to get an i7 960, but from what I have read on different forums, it seems that the LGA 1366 is considered to be "old" technology for a new system.
Sandy bridge LGA 1155 appears to be the way to go and the benchmarks do confirm it. The question is which one?
I have my eyes set on the Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) however, a lot of people say that the i5 2500k is more than enough for gaming, but down the line will it not be better go with the more powerful chip?

Another point is regarding the 2600 vs 2600K. I have never done overclocking and I'm not even sure how to go about doing it. If it's an easy-to-do thing, maybe one day......but it's not something that I'll do the moment I get my hands on the new PC. I know that the price difference is quite small but would keeping the 2600K at stock be considered a waste of potential?

Some people say that "the 2600 is better than the 2600k, because they want vt-d virtualization, which the 2600k does not support, (only supports vt-x hardware virtualization)."
To tell you the truth I don't really understand what that is, or how useful it would be to me!

Becuse i will buy a VGA card, should I get the 2600k with the HD2000 instead of the HD3000 to save money, does it have any performance difference?

Lastly, what about the difference between the P67 and Z68?

2) MOTHERBOARD
I will only get a single VGA card, therefore I'm not interested in crossfire/sli. A P67 MOBO is what I want, but not quite sure which one. In the past I've always used Asus and would like to continue, also their mobo have the new ASUS EFI BIOS and TPU/EPU. But their P67 mobo are not cheap. Maybe the only Asus model for me would be the P8P67 LE, the PRO model looks good but it's too expensive. Can you suggest any good P67 motherboards which don't cost an arm and a leg. I'm looking for a good and stable MB without too many frills, not a budget model but good.

3) VGA CARD
I've decided to go with the GTX570

4) OS
Win XP has been very good to me over the years but it looks like win7 is here to stay, I don't really like to change but I will get WIN7 Professional 64 bit. By the way, will the 64 bit be compatible with older softwares and games? Should I get the 32bit?

5) MEMORY
4GB DDR3 RAM. I know it's not much but I'm trying to save a little money. Memory can always be added later on.

My question is: Should I get the DDR3 1333 or the 1600? I heard that If you are not going to be overclocking, get 1333 speed 1.5 volt ram. Why?

I know there is ram especially for sandy bridge and P67 MOBOs. Are these the ones I should buy, will others not work as well? I was considering this:

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBXM
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBXM

I don't know how to choose, any suggestion would be appreciated.

6) POWER
Considering the above system will a 750W be sufficient or should I go with a 850W?

7) Cooler
I'd like to know how good is the 2600k/2500k stock cooler. If I decide to overclock will it be strong enough, or do you suggest to change it?

8) PC CASE
I think a Mid-Tower should be big enough. There is something I'd like to know: why do newer cases have the PSU placed at the bottom? Is it safe with only 1-2cm of space for ventilation, it does't seem like a good idea to me.
Anyway, again here I'm not sure, except that I don't want to spend more than 80/85$.

9) HD
I heard that the Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive, is quite good.
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
This will be my primary and only HD.


Well, this is it, sorry for the long and "demanding" post but as you can see I'm not a computer expert. You can only go so far on your own reading forums and articles, eventually questions pile up and you need to ask.


Thank you for any advice.

[Sourtop]

CPU: The i7-2600k has Hyperthreading which the i5-2500k does not. This won't be of any extra help to you if you're only interested in gaming and everyday work. The i5-2500k would be the best choice. Overclocking the 2500k and 2600k is insanely easy with the new Asus P67 BIOS so if you're willing to put an extra $20 into the CPU go with the k version.

MOBO: I would suggest the Asus P67 or P67 LE. If you're not interested in SLI/Crossfire you don't need the extra PCIe x16 slots.

GPU: GTX 570 will run everything you want on max or near max settings. I would suggest picking an EVGA GTX 570.

OS: If you want to run the newest games you will need Windows 7 in order to supply the required memory as XP would not give you the full 4 GB. Get 64 bit if you plan to upgrade your ram to 8 Gb.

HDD: Fine

PSU: Fine. Go with Corsair TX 750.

COOLER: If you're interested in overclocking in the future pick up a Cooler Master Hyper 212+. Its the best bang for your buck CPU cooler out there.

MEMORY: Corsair/Kingston/Crucial are the recommended brands of memory on this site. I would suggest the Corsair XMS3 2x2 Gb (or 2x4 Gb) 1333 as overclocking your ram doesn't do much for performance and only decreases the reliability of your memory. I believe it also voids the warranty.

CASE: There are advantages to both. I like the bottom mounted because its easy to manage the cables. You can find a really good case for about $100. Cooler Master, Antec, or Lian Li (I think that's the spelling) for example are all good brand names.

[jdeb]

I have some questions on choosing the parts for my new PC. The new system will be used mainly for games and perhaps some light video editing but nothing too serious. 1) CPU Originally, I wanted to get an i7 960, but from what I have read on different forums, it seems that the LGA 1366 is considered to be "old" technology for a new system. Sandy bridge LGA 1155 appears to be the way to go and the benchmarks do confirm it. The question is which one? I have my eyes set on the Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) however, a lot of people say that the i5 2500k is more than enough for gaming, but down the line will it not be better go with the more powerful chip? Another point is regarding the 2600 vs 2600K. I have never done overclocking and I'm not even sure how to go about doing it. If it's an easy-to-do thing, maybe one day......but it's not something that I'll do the moment I get my hands on the new PC. I know that the price difference is quite small but would keeping the 2600K at stock be considered a waste of potential? Some people say that "the 2600 is better than the 2600k, because they want vt-d virtualization, which the 2600k does not support, (only supports vt-x hardware virtualization)." To tell you the truth I don't really understand what that is, or how useful it would be to me!

The 2600K has an unlocked multiplier and better integrated graphics, if you are not going to overclock and are adding a discrete card then all you need is the 2600. If you have some older XP games and you buy the pro version of windows 7, you will be able to download a free version of a virtual copy of XP (XP Mode)to run those, so a 2600K is what you want.

Becuse i will buy a VGA card, should I get the 2600k with the HD2000 instead of the HD3000 to save money, does it have any performance difference?

Get the cheapest 2600K you can find because you are running a discrete card.

Lastly, what about the difference between the P67 and Z68?

The Z68 chipset enables integrated graphics and processor-based overclocking. Z68 also supports SSD caching—the ability to add a small solid-state drive to a system already running a larger mechanical disk with the purpose of speeding up read performance of data cached to the SSD. If you are not going with an SSD, you can save some money on the board by going with a P67. I am not sold on the advantages of the SSD caching, You could technically buy a larger SSD (120GB or bigger) and a Western Digital Cavair (SataIII) and get better performance than SSD caching. I can see some advantages to it on the enterprise side but not really your situation.

2) MOTHERBOARD I will only get a single VGA card, therefore I'm not interested in crossfire/sli. A P67 MOBO is what I want, but not quite sure which one. In the past I've always used Asus and would like to continue, also their mobo have the new ASUS EFI BIOS and TPU/EPU. But their P67 mobo are not cheap. Maybe the only Asus model for me would be the P8P67 LE, the PRO model looks good but it's too expensive. Can you suggest any good P67 motherboards which don't cost an arm and a leg. I'm looking for a good and stable MB without too many frills, not a budget model but good.

ASUS P8P67 LE (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Newegg.com - ASUS P8P67 LE (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

3) VGA CARD I've decided to go with the GTX570

You want to stick with either EVGA or Asus

4) OS Win XP has been very good to me over the years but it looks like win7 is here to stay, I don't really like to change but I will get WIN7 Professional 64 bit. By the way, will the 64 bit be compatible with older softwares and games? Should I get the 32bit?

Get 64 Bit Pro (because you need XP mode), it will address more than 3.25 gb of RAM and support additional memory in the future. Most 32bit programs will run with 64bit. You will also have XP mode which will address older software.

5) MEMORY 4GB DDR3 RAM. I know it's not much but I'm trying to save a little money. Memory can always be added later on. My question is: Should I get the DDR3 1333 or the 1600? I heard that If you are not going to be overclocking, get 1333 speed 1.5 volt ram. Why?

Get 1.5 V ddr3 1333. Crucial, Kingston, Corsair, or ADATA. By default, the 1600 will only run at 1333. 1600 gives you the ability to overclock but you are not. 1.5V is more stable.

I know there is ram especially for sandy bridge and P67 MOBOs. Are these the ones I should buy, will others not work as well? I was considering this:

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBXM Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBXM I don't know how to choose, any suggestion would be appreciated.

We do not recommend GSkill here because of reliability problems in the past. Again, Crucial, Kingston, Corsair, or ADATA 1.5v DDR3 1333.

6) POWER Considering the above system will a 750W be sufficient or should I go with a 850W?

650 watt is all you need. This one is recommended.
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

7) Cooler I'd like to know how good is the 2600k/2500k stock cooler. If I decide to overclock will it be strong enough, or do you suggest to change it?

Stock is just fine, you are not planning to overclock. Besides, the stock will allow for moderate overclocking

8) PC CASE I think a Mid-Tower should be big enough. There is something I'd like to know: why do newer cases have the PSU placed at the bottom? Is it safe with only 1-2cm of space for ventilation, it does't seem like a good idea to me. Anyway, again here I'm not sure, except that I don't want to spend more than 80/85$.

Does not matter, it is preference. Usually with gamer builds, it it advantageous for good cable management to have the power supply on the bottom. Make sure your case has USB 3 ports on the exterior, get what esthetically pleases you and is within budget. Cooler master, Antec, Lian LI seem to have the nicest mid point priced cases.

9) HD I heard that the Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive, is quite good. Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive This will be my primary and only HD.

That is the one you want.

[vultusprime]

First of all I really appreciate all the help from everyone.
I still have a few points to clear up

I seem to be steering towards the 2500K but...

"If you have some older XP games and you buy the pro version of windows 7, you will be able to download a free version of a virtual copy of XP (XP Mode)to run those, so a 2600K is what you want."

I'm interested in virtual xp, but does this mean that only a 2600k will run it? I don't understand. I thought that win7 pro already had the xp virtual inside. Am I wrong?

Many people suggested me to go with a Z68 MOBO over the P67, one of the reasons is this:

"Well the goto sleep and wake up problem stems from the fact that CPU PLL Overvoltage doesn't do well with S3 sleep, its a known intel issue, and that is why many companies were very slow to adopt it, because when you OC with CPu PLL Overvoltage and come back from S3 sleep the OC fails. IDK how intel will deal with it for Z68, but that is just a problem we have to live with for P67."

Is this really an issue?

The one real issue left is the MOBO. Many suggested the folllowing P67 boards:

GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD4-B3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD4-B3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

ASRock P67 EXTREME4 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Newegg.com - ASRock P67 EXTREME4 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

ASUS P8P67 LE (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Newegg.com - ASUS P8P67 LE (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

A last thing:
I heard that using 2 memory slots is always better than using the whole 4. Is there any truth in that?


Any Ideas?

[birddog_61]

The 2600k gives a slight boost in gaming performance in some games.

[vultusprime]

I received this long suggestion and I'd like to know what you think

look m8, i know i sound like i'm telling you what to buy, but having obsessed over the hardware during the last six months, i more or less know *exactly* what to get - of course some people would be better off with a diffrent choice of hardware, but those come from rather unique situations.. on good example is the HT function on the 2600k, it slows down the CPU and really works only for applications which require multiple cores.. and by that i mean *more than 4 cores*, so unless you are running a weather simulation software, or other math-intensive application, it's better to have it off. mobos for example , a P67 is about $15-$50 cheaper than a Z68 at most, but the Z68 is worth it, always. P67 will OC better than Z68, but *only* because the BIOS (hermm.. UEFI) steppings are relatively new, later BIOS releases will perform better, and even now we are looking at 100Mhz difference tops. here is a lovely OC guide Intel - General - Overclock.net - Overclocking.net ... -p67a.html - note how simple and easy it is.. and your CPU will most likely give you 4.4Ghz .. minimum. seriously, press delete, change 3 settings in your UEFI, and you got a 4.4 processor.. that on stock speed, performs better than any Conroe ever has - you are looking at what, 3 times the computing power of a Netburst PER HERTZ. if you feel you are a n00b, here is a protip : buy a CPU cooler with preattached thermal paste - not only you save another $20 from buying the TIM and cleaners, but you avoid the one step which has given me the most hardships. PC cases (this is one instance where you get *what you want* instead of *what you need*) : go to your local retailer (not etailer) and look at them - you don't have to buy it from them, just play with it a bit, i'm 100% sure you'll know what you want if you do that. video card ... this is a painful subject. generally speaking, (since VGA cards cost money) you want something that plays every game out there for the smallest money; VGAs depreciate both in actual value and in computing power too, so double depreciation - a XT1900 isn't just old, it also lacks SM3.0, DX10, etc.. example. if (and i stress *if*) you were to buy a 5770, *for example*, ($99) instead of a 570 ($350), you would have enough graphics power to play 1)everything at 1680x1050 high - fro the next 2 years, 2)most titles 1680x1050 ultra high - for the next 2 years, and 3) a few games on high after the 2 years. two years from now you will still be able to play most new games on decent settings, and you could stretch that card's life by up to another 2 years. example, is someone today owns a 8800GTS, they would still be able to play Brink on medium, which looks practically identical to ultra-super-high, less a few2 minor details .. nothing that will make you spit at the screen. AND all this still leaves you with more than enough money to actually just throw away that 5770 whenever you feel like it and buy THE SAME CARD AT PRICE POINT, BUT TWO YEARS LATER. if you instead go with a £350 card, that card will also stretch maybe 4 years, but not really any more than that. then you have to spend another $350. in the end, it's the same as if someone had a 8800GTX and used it until now, and instead someone who bought a 8800GTS (half the price), and then a 370GTX. they are actually better off in the second "two year" section, and they never, ever have any problem getting their games to work flawlessly. the only difference is that having a more expensive video card "actually makes our dick bigger"; smaller VGAs also draw less power .. save anotrher $50 every year.. it all adds up. and think of the satisfaction of never having to "save for a week" to buy a new piece.. i'm at a loss at finding an adequate comparison, but try to think of it as hunting small game, and wanting a huge caliber gun just for the sake of things.. as long as the bullets are big enough to kill the thing, you can only do worse by getting a "bigger gun". you might have an argument for buying a large power supply, although i have found in real life experience that PCs never really need more than 500W, and also nowadays power consumptions are going down, instead of up. However, multiple VGA setups will, and since Xfire/SLI scaling is something serious these days (not liek a few years back) then sure, if you want to, go ahead. after all, next year you will be able to buy a 5770 from eBay for like, $40; nice way to double your GPU power. larger power supplies though cost a stupid amount of cash, and they only do so because the market is all "enthusiasts", which reads "morons" in any other language; you can read, for example, this : http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/power-sup ... 32187.html which will tell you that power supplies are actually all made by the same bunch of companies, and what you are paying for is really just branding, so, while it's entirely possible to buy a total piece of **** (beware, don't buy a cheap PSU), it's also possible by careful examination, to buy a high quality PSU unbranded, ending up with the same stuff you get in a Odin 1100W but paying a fraction of the cost for it. now.. for the bit where we shout and insult each other ... don't buy a SSD; if all, wait until the hybrid HDD come out, even though they are just an idea now, i reckon this will be the future of storage .. basically, what you will get is a normal HD, where instead of say, 64MB of cache, you will have 16Gb of cache. yes, they will still have moving parts, and yes, their performance will not be as awesome as a pure SSD, but they will be cheap, and seriously, when was ever a HD the bottleneck in a computer ?? even the shittiest HD can read 80MB/s, and that's a lot of data for a CPU to crunch. ok so, Windows, where you have to read a gazzillion microscopic files.. hmm, so, if you buy a SSD, you boot up in 10 seconds instead of 25. wow. and you pay $500 for the privilege, when my PC gets rebooted maybe once a week, no tnx, i'm ok with my normal HDDs. PC case .. let me say this again, cases, buy the nicest case you can find - you'll have to live with it, so make sure you love it. cable management is something i overlooked early on and now i regret it, the insides of my PC are a mess, while a nice, clean looking PC is a beauty to look at. removable motherboard tray is also something you really, really want, even though you'll maybe use it five times in the life of a PC, when you do, you will be glad you forked out that extra $10. tell ya, if i were to choose today, i'd get the 600T, and f**k the temps. love it. and maybe get it to the paint shop and have it aerographed with a mean ass stormtrooper. or a rising sun. thats it, i guess i covered everything a coputer has inside it, so good luck and happy overclocking. oh yeah one last thing -don't buy a CPU cooler where the fan is held in place by those horrid flimsy metal brackets .. buy one where the fan locks solidly in place to the heatsink; and go 100% with a cooler that has a backplate, they are sooo much better.

and this too:

I don't mean to confuse you even more, and I offer this strictly as my opinion because I admittedly haven't researched it fully and many will disagree with me, but if I were building right now I would go with s1366 x58 i7. Even Intel themselves say that x58 is still the choice for enthusiasts. Sandy Bridge was never meant to replace x58 as the enthusiast platform, but rather a step below x58. That is not to say there is anything wrong with SB and it is a great choice for the budget minded, but I still like x58 for high end performance for several reasons. One, it supports triple channel ram. Two, it is tried and true where SB boards still seems to have certain issues including the confusion about certain features being available or not, like VT-d, with certain CPU/board combinations. Three, although the benchmarks show SB beating out x58 for the majority of uses it is only by the smallest margins and for some reason I just don't trust those benchmarks to be absolutely correct in real life situations. Four, I haven't looked thoroughly but it seems SB boards do not support dual x16 PCIe slots, but run in x8 mode with multiple GPU's. Many X58 boards support dual x16 mode. Again, this is my opinion and a bit of a gut feeling. If I were to go SB I would go Z68. From what I have read about it it so far is supposed to combine the features of H67 and P67 as well as some additional features. I highly recommend a full tower case. You just can't get the same airflow in a mid tower. And cable management is so much easier in a full tower, which also leads to better airflow. But look to spend at least $100 on a good full tower.

comments?

[jdeb]

You can use either CPU for virtualization but you alluded that you may overclock so the 2600K is the one you want.

I chose the Asus over all the others for known reliability and stability. That model I recommended is not an enthusiast model, it is about as plain a P67 as your going to find. I personally do not see any value with all the bells and whistles, that is a pet peeve of mine. Why should I pay for features that I or the customer will never use.

The problem you alluded to with S3 sleep states is only an issue when overclocking. I am not sure if the Z68 chipset fixed this or not. Again, I am not big on bells and whistles. OC'ing is an enthusiast thing. If you look at the customer build in my signature, it is a Celeron socket 775 CPU and it absolutely flies for what he needs it for. The customer is looking for a stable and reliable budget machine to replace (still working) an ASUS, Pentium Socket 4 478 build I did years ago (2000). Simple, stable, and reliable.

A last thing:
I heard that using 2 memory slots is always better than using the whole 4. Is there any truth in that?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual-channel

I say a good rule is to put the maximum amount of ram you can afford into two sticks. This gives you head room for upgrade (2 available slots) in the future if you need it.

[glc]

All you really need is the plain i5-2500 on the P8P67 LE. That is the most bang for the buck in a non-overclocked gaming machine. Stock cooler is fine.

[vultusprime]

Well....

I think that I am 80-90% sure on what I want to get but there's still a nagging thought about the whole sandy bridge - P67 -Z68 system that bothers me.

First of all early this year Intel recalled a large number of "faulty" SB CPUs, are the new ones ok? Are some of the faulty batch still around?

Second, Regarding the asus p67 boards P8P67 - P8P68 LE/PRO. From what I heard Asus were still dealing with a few bugs early this year, have they been resolved, are their P67 MOBOs alright now. Maybe a Gigabyte MB would be better.

On the whole S3 issue and restart issue, which some people have with their p67/z68 MB. Is this a win7 problem or a P67 mobo problem, I remember reading is some forum that after OC the SB on P67 if the cpu temp went below a certain number it would freeze.

Are Z68 mobo better/more reliable/bug free/work better than the P67?

What I am really asking is if this whole Sandy Bridge P67 technology is actually ready yet or still in the "experimental" mode.

[jdeb]

Originally Posted by vultusprime Well.... I think that I am 80-90% sure on what I want to get but there's still a nagging thought about the whole sandy bridge - P67 -Z68 system that bothers me. First of all early this year Intel recalled a large number of "faulty" SB CPUs, are the new ones ok? Are some of the faulty batch still around?

I never heard or experienced any faulty CPU's. I assume you are referring to the faulty chipsets. Those have been dealt with and problems have gone away. Just make sure you are buying a REV 3 board and you are good.

Second, Regarding the asus p67 boards P8P67 - P8P68 LE/PRO. From what I heard Asus were still dealing with a few bugs early this year, have they been resolved, are their P67 MOBOs alright now. Maybe a Gigabyte MB would be better.

All board manufactures have had the same or similar bugs due to the chipset and the EFI BIOS. Asus is probably more mature when it comes to EFI. Asus also has built Surge protection into their boards and use the highest quality capacitors for stability. Gigabyte is a good brand.

Are Z68 mobo better/more reliable/bug free/work better than the P67?

That is yet to be determined. The Z68 just came out less than a month ago. In some circles it is said Z68 is what P67 should have been. I do not buy into that. Motherboard manufactures jumped on Intel's bandwagon to produce a more expensive board and are marketing it towards mainstream when in reality, it is an enterprise solution. In my opinion, Z68 is all hyped up to give you a bunch of features you may not need but will definitely pay for.

What I am really asking is if this whole Sandy Bridge P67 technology is actually ready yet or still in the "experimental" mode.

It is fine. It was never experimental. Intel has egg on their face, big deal. That's what happens when you have real good technology and you rush it to market. Guarantee some people lost their jobs over that one.

It was mentioned in one of the posts about an X58 chipset, be careful there my friend, you may get more than you bargained for. Talk about an enthusiast chipset, it is all that and then some.

[vultusprime]

thanks for the quick reply, ehmmm just a little question...what exactly is a Rev3 motherboard, and how do I know one when I see it?

[birddog_61]

It will say Rev 3 on the box. It is the revised chipset that intel released after the problems at launch, the CPU was never an issue and was never recalled, it was the sata controller on the board.

BTW who ever gave you the advice you quoted earlier, their argument for buying a 2 year old card is moronic and wrong. First of all if you are going to be gaming at 1680x1050 then stop worrying about video cards and just buy something cheap like a gtx 460. Here is an example of crysis on different graphics settings.
http://www.pclabs.com.tr/2007/10/29/...k-with-8800gt/
Also you will notice in that benchmark that an 8800gt will not max crysis out at 1024x768 and run over 30fps.
Here is the card he is harping on the 5770,
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...70,2446-7.html
at 1680x1050 almost maxed out it reached a whopping 34.4 FPS.
The GTX 570 everything completely maxed out at 1680x1050 is going to run around 42fps, if you drop it to 4x AA like the other test it will jump the FPS by a large amount. He also told you that if you buy a 2 year old card it will last 4 more years, then he tells you that if you buy a new card it will only last 4 years, so in his mind older tech last longer(6 year life) than modern tech(4 year life). He also says an 8800 gt will play every game on high at 1680x1050 for the next two years, I already showed you a game that came out in 2007 that it wont. He also says it will play most game on ultra for the next 2 years, the 8800 gt is the minimum card for games like metro2033 and just cause 2, which means you can play them ok on the lowest settings.

In conclusion you can buy an 8800gt for around 150$ new, then you can enjoy playing at medium settings on a low resolution, and then as newer games come out either lower the settings or the resolution, you can get 2 years until the card wont even reach the minimum requirements. Or you can buy a gtx 570 for 350$ and you can enjoy playing at max settings up to 1920x1080 for any game out right now, and then as things get more intensive in the next few years you can drop down to high and medium for some games, and if you just don't have the cash to upgrade then you could squeeze out another 2-3 years after that.

[David M]

Another reason that getting Windows 7 for a gaming machine is that some games will not play running under Windows XP.

I have Windows 7 Pro 64 and have yet to find a need for Windows XP mode. You can buy Home Premium now and if you ever find you have a need for XP Mode then buy the Professional upgrade.

64 bit operating systems will run 32 bit software. You can see this by looking at what software is in a Windows 64, x86 folder.

You will want Windows 64 so that your computer will be able to utilize more than 3.5 gigs (approximately) of RAM.

[vultusprime]

ok i see, but I have noticed that some boards are B3 while others are (B3), while gigabyte are UD3 - UD4 - UD5 - UD7.

are these all rev 3 boards or are there some differences?

in this website:

Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Computer Accessories, Networking, Electronics, and more! - SuperBiiz.com

you see that they separate north bridge intel P67 boards in B3 and (B3) or only intel p67.
what does it mean? how can I know which is really rev 3 and which one is the old faulty chipset?

[birddog_61]

If you are buying from newegg or a reputable store then there won't be any faulty boards there.

[vultusprime]

Thank you for the help, now I understand and have decided what to get. I'm just in the process of choosing a Mobo which fits my budget.

By the way, is it necessary to have the sp1 version of win7 pro?

Thank a lot guys

[glc]

No, but you should get SP1 via Windows Update after you do the initial install, get your drivers installed, and get connected to the Internet.

For a single video card, for the money it's hard to beat an Asus P8P67 LE. The only reason to get a more expensive board is if it has features that you need. The performance is not going to be noticeably better!

[vultusprime]

This is what I have on my list so far:

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

CORSAIR Vengeance 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ4GX3M1A1600C9B
(but even a 1333 will do just as well)

ENGTX570/2DI/1280MD5 GeForce (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support
(if I go over my budget I could swap it for the Palit GeForce GTX 560 Ti Sonic OC) The performance seems impressive for its price, about 100$ less than the 570
Miraserver Message ... c-review/1

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
(I'm not interested in SSD for now)

Sony CD/DVD Burner +R - SATA (they are so cheap either one will do)

750W Corsair TX 80% plus ( again, if necessary I can get the 700W)

Cooler Master 690 II Advanced (but I'm still considering other options as well....again, budget)
YouTube - ‪Cooler Master 690 II Advanced Video Review‬‏

Win7 PRO 64Bit

You may have noticed that I've left the Mobo for last, that's because I'm still deciding, my options are:

Asus P8P67

Asrock P67 Extreme4

Gigabyte P67A UD3P

They all are at the limit of my budget, I can't afford anything better. I was also considering the MSI C43-C45-GD55-GD65 but the other three seem to be better (I think).
The only thing that worries me is getting a buggy mobo, to me stability is more important than anything else, unfortunately every motherboard comes with it's horror story which makes choosing difficult.

As stated before my overall budget is around 1350$ but that's not really in US$. I forgot to mention that I'm English but have been living in Taiwan for the past 5 years. Here hardware costs around 15-20% more than in the states.
Even Asus, which is in Taiwan, costs more.
For example the asus P8P67 LE which you can get for 135-145$ here costs 5590nt$ = 194$
The P8P67 model US 160$, here 211$.
So when I say 1350$ I mean 1150$, that's why I don't really care about prices on newegg or other sites, those are not my prices.

[glc]

You should buy ram in matched pairs, not single modules, so they will run in dual channel mode. Go for the Asus motherboard.