New Xmas build for my Stepson

[zypho]

Its not the best, but it blows that 3870k away. Even with it being under minimum system requirements I have the 2400 running guild wars 2 on low graphics in my nephews computer. You wouldn't have an issue with the games your step son would play and you would be getting a better performing machine. Anyways... Just my suggestion to get more for your money out of this build.

[great_big_abyss]

Sigh, for an IGP solution, No, the i5 does not 'blow' the 3870K away. Quite the opposite, in fact.



3870K is about double the framerates of the i5-2500K. That is at stock clock with 'slower' RAM than I'm speccing.

[LarkStarr]

Zypho - you smokin' rocks! :P

the integrated video in the AMD APUs absolutely smoke anything intel currently has to offer.

[zypho]

Sorry but I go by what I actually see vs benchmarks. Benchmarks also told me I wouldn't be able to overclock my i7 3820 past 4.3Ghz without intense water cooling setup.. Running 24/7 stable currently at 4.8Ghz. In Guild wars 2 the i5 gets about 25-30 FPS, which is playable. You want to get poor parts.. go AMD, you want quality that will last get Intel. Again, you came here for suggestions, I gave mine. Don't need to spend 20 posts convincing you. Either way it will be an awesome present for your step son!

[great_big_abyss]

It's universally accepted that AMD is the king of IGP.

However, you're right, and IGP is far from the ideal system.

Maybe you could recommend something such as this:

ASUS P8H61-M LE Motherboard - $64.99
Intel Core i3 2120 Dual Core Hyperthreading Processor 3.3GHZ - $129.52
ASUS RAdeon HD 7750 - $107.99
Stock Cooler - Will add Coolermaster Hyper 212 after build is complete
G.Skill Ripjaws X 2x4GB DDR3 - 1866 RAM $54.64
WD Caviar Blue 250GB HDD $61.88
Bitfenix Shinobi Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case - $69.99
XFX 450W Core Edition 80Plus Bronze Powersupply - $59.99
LG E2242C-BN 21.5" MonitorLCDMonitor[/URL] - $109.99
Logitech M110 Mouse - $19.99
Logitech K120 Keyboard - $16.99

Total: $695.97. This would be a much more suitable build than an i5 IGP. However even this lowly dual core setup is currently over budget, hence why I'm going with an IGP build for now.

[LarkStarr]

Roflmao. Intel troll / PR rep I'd guess

AnandTech - The Intel Ivy Bridge (Core i7 3770K) Review

You're welcome to assess the HD4000 review from Anandtech. Not all benchmarks are completely correct but I'm sure you can research additional benchmarks on these products, and commonly find that the APU outstrips even the latest Intel in gaming performance. How about you put your words into action and prove to us that Intel is the superior product in this regard? Your word means nothing to us. I don't care what you 'see' :)

Curiously, have you 'actually' seen an 3870K in action?

[great_big_abyss]

Okay, okay, let's get back on topic now. This isn't an Intel vs AMD debate.

I'm still looking for some ideas re. the powersupply and the HDD/SDD. I think even though the 250Gb Caviar Blue that I picked is the cheapest, it's by far nowhere near the best buck/GB out there. Anybody else have some suggestions on that front? Again, I'd love to just use a 120Gb SSD and nothing else...

[frontier204]

SSD: Keep an eye out for sales on the Kingston V200, especially since you have a lot of time: Kingston SSDNow V200 128GB 2.5IN SATA3 Solid State Disk Flash Drive - Kingston - SV200S37A/128G
The price for the 120GB version hovers VERY close to your 250GB HDD, and despite being a low-end SSD (to the point where SATA 6Gbps is not needed), we can both agree it will smoke a low-end hard drive :).
Stick a Price Alert notification on it and jump on it if there's a sale.

EDIT - PSU: Look at sub-450W Antec units. That APU will bottleneck higher end cards anyway, so using a 400W will be fine for the GPUs require 1x PCI-E like the Radeon 7850. I ran a my main's i5 2500k + GTX550Ti (both stock) folding for a month off an Antec EarthWatts 375W.
Antec EA-430 Green 430W ATX12V V2.3 EPS12V Active PFC 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply 120MM Fan - Antec - EA-430 Green
Antec High Current Gamer 400W 30A 24PIN ATX12V V2.3 Active PFC 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply 135mm Fan - Antec - HCG-400
(The HCG is "regular price" right now, but it pops in and out of sale.)
One warning about the Antec EarthWatts though - the older models have a LOUD 80mm fan.

[Bond007]

Sorry for no links I am on my phone, in ncix current sales there is i3 2120 with Asus motherboard for 150, Hitachi 500gb for 50, acer 21.5" for 100, Antec 300 for 50, gigabyte hd 7770 for 115, 2x4gb ram for 37, xfx 550w Psu for 55. Total 556... Add your mouse and keyboard to that. It comes with dirt 3, and a couple MIR totaling 45.

[great_big_abyss]

Originally Posted by frontier204

SSD: Keep an eye out for sales on the Kingston V200, especially since you have a lot of time: Kingston SSDNow V200 128GB 2.5IN SATA3 Solid State Disk Flash Drive - Kingston - SV200S37A/128G
The price for the 120GB version hovers VERY close to your 250GB HDD, and despite being a low-end SSD (to the point where SATA 6Gbps is not needed), we can both agree it will smoke a low-end hard drive :).
Stick a Price Alert notification on it and jump on it if there's a sale.

EDIT - PSU: Look at sub-450W Antec units. That APU will bottleneck higher end cards anyway, so using a 400W will be fine for the GPUs require 1x PCI-E like the Radeon 7850. I ran a my main's i5 2500k + GTX550Ti (both stock) folding for a month off an Antec EarthWatts 375W.
Antec EA-430 Green 430W ATX12V V2.3 EPS12V Active PFC 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply 120MM Fan - Antec - EA-430 Green
Antec High Current Gamer 400W 30A 24PIN ATX12V V2.3 Active PFC 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply 135mm Fan - Antec - HCG-400
(The HCG is "regular price" right now, but it pops in and out of sale.)
One warning about the Antec EarthWatts though - the older models have a LOUD 80mm fan.

Great suggestion with the Kingston V200. Yes, it will smoke any mechanical storage out there. I wonder when the Crucial V4 will be available for sale. If they had one of those in 120Gb format, I'd be sold!

Originally Posted by Bond007

Sorry for no links I am on my phone, in ncix current sales there is i3 2120 with Asus motherboard for 150, Hitachi 500gb for 50, acer 21.5" for 100, Antec 300 for 50, gigabyte hd 7770 for 115, 2x4gb ram for 37, xfx 550w Psu for 55. Total 556... Add your mouse and keyboard to that. It comes with dirt 3, and a couple MIR totaling 45.

This is the kind of i3 recommendation that I'm looking for. Thank You. I will check it out on NCIX for sure. This system would outperform an AMD IGP across the board. It wouldn't even come close!