Debating on a new build, please advise.

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Hello everyone, my old system is showing it's age and while this new build is lacking some parts I plan to use some of my older/new stuff to build this system.

My old system is an Emachines ET1331G-03
2.71Ghz AMD 235e processor,
6,144MB's or 6GB's of DDR2 800 memory
750 GB HDD
Antec Earthworks 650 WATT PSU
(New) Lancool PC-K62 case
XFX 5770

My future build is,
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=26753288

Reusing the case which was recently purchased for this build and the 5770 and possibly the PSU. If I buy a new PSU it will be the same as what I have and only because I plan to upgrade the video card soon-ish. That is why it's included in the wishlist.

Overall I would love to keep the total price under $800, I can get Win 7 for $10 so ignore that, $10 is pocket change compared to $800. If you guys can suggest a better system or other options which would save some money it would be helpful.

I would like to be able to push BF3 to higher than high settings, but of course a new video card would help there, but my current processor is not helping much. I also play minecraft and will be doing some video editing/rendering in the near future. I play Skyrim too, which I do play more than BF3 since I picked it up at Walmart for $39.95 vs. the $63 is I spent on BF3.

I would like a future proof computer, my current one does still serve my needs but I want some more pep. Thanks for the help :)

If the above link doesn't work I will put it this way as well.

Processor: 2500K 3.3Ghz quad core, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
CPU cooler: StarTech FAN1156PWM 95mm, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835230047
HDD: Western Digital 1TB, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136942
SSD: Mushkin Enhanced Callisto Deluxe 40GB OS, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226168
MOBO: ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z/GEN3, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131806
Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB), http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231468
Thermal Paste: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007
PSU: Antec EarthWatts EA-650, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371044
Rom Drive: LG DVD Burner. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136236

Newest possibility,

CPU Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Mobo Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157270

Memory Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178382
Total: $354.30 with shipping.


Subtotal: $775.91 plus $13 and change for shipping.
 
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Should be working now, I edited a little while ago and believe it may have been when you were trying to click it.
 
How old is the psu? And I would definitly keep the hard drive from the old build, unless its showing signs of failure. Would use that money and maybe money from selling parts for a new gpu.
 
The PSU was purchased with the XFX 5770, the video card was RMA'd and replaced a month or two ago for overheating, from the nearest bestbuy about 40 minutes away going on two years ago I believe in or around Feb 2010.

I have voided the warranty on the PSU by removing the screws to blow out dust bunnies, overall the $80 I spent on it I believe it is a capable unit but I could always buy a new green one since mine is silver and use the old one as a backup spare.

I was going to revert the old, again, Emachines back into stock form, tiny 300watt PSU, stock case, and built-in 6150SE video and either keep it or sell it off.

If I don't revert it back, I would be willing to part with the 5770 which I should have registered but who cares because my step-brother may be willing to purchase it for around $65-75 but he would have to get his own PSU, can get a 6770 for around $109 new which = the 5770 so that price seems fair enough :D
Then I could re-use the 750 GB Seagate either way it would get a reformat and fresh install of Win 7 if I cannot get it to run with all the new hardware. Heard about issues coming up with that.

I could trim off the SSD and the HDD for now while I reuse the old HDD, which would open up around, $194.98 which can be used on the video card. Reuse my old DVD Burner which opens up another $16.99, 211.97 for video card.

I compared several video cards on I believe, one of those comparison sites. So I'm at odds on which GPU to get. Something better than the 5770 but I honestly don't want to spend the $211.97 on a card that yields only a 10-15% gain in performance.

I also have a thread in the CPU/Overclocking forum regarding the best price Vs performance processor. I know it won't have the power to the I5 2500K and I do not plan to overclock for the time being, but it would open up another $100-200 or more for a weaker quad or six core AMD counterpart. It's always an option and most likely the main reason Emachines always mainly offered AMD CPU's in their machines.
 
The 560Ti is a considerable improvement over a 5770. Actually, the gtx 460 is a considerable improvement over the 5770, and the 560Ti mops the floor with the 460. I suppose it's possible that the framerate difference is around 15% for a couple scenarios, but even that seems very low. The actual performance difference (as in power and speed) between a 5770 and 560Ti is a lot more than 15%.

The bottom line is that the 560Ti has great price/performance at $211. If you're a gamer, it would be worth it over a 5770. The only question is how much you're willing to spend.
 
Yeah in the benchmarks the 560 was the clear winner over the 6870 and those two are priced right around one another.

I'm in the process of trying to piece together a capable AMD system which of course won't compare to the I5 2500K but another option for that system would be the, I3 2100 which would allow me to still upgrade later to the 2500K.

On the AMD system I'm stuck between picking the FX6100 or the Phenom II 1045T, same price on Newegg. So far benchmarks of the two are few and far between. The 6100 is newer which should mean it would last longer, but since I cannot find a good benchmark comparison I cannot even compare it to the I3 2100 or I5 2500K.

It won't kill me to build a lesser system now, and upgrade in another year to a faster processor. Just trying to pinch some pennies since I'm out of work and trying to justify this new system build when the money could be used elsewhere. I've been in and out of work long enough that unemployment is a thing of the past and most of what I do would be considered self-employment.
 
Quad core AMD at stock speeds is equal to the i3 2100.

The FX series only beat the phenoms by sheer clock speed while overclocked.

Out of them, I'd say 6100, but get a good cooler so you can overclock it around 4.5ghz or more.

If not interested in overclocking, go for one of these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103923
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103893
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103935
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103924
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103995
^^ That one can be unlock to a 6-core, possibly, but it is out of stock.

And be aware that the ones that are OEM do not come with a heatsink or fan.

So, if interested in overclocking, go for the 6100. If not, go for the highest clock speed on the ones posted above.

And I'd suggested a higher clocked quad over a lower clocked hexacore any day for gaming.
 
Anyone know how well the 6100 overclocks compared to the 980BE?

Just going by what is in stock on Newegg even though the build won't start for several weeks. Trying to get everything lined out before the money is here so I'll be ready.
 
AMD system thus far is,

CPU: AMD FX-6100 Zambezi 3.3GHz.
CPU Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103962

Motherboard: ASUS M5A97 AM3+ AMD 970.
MOBO Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131767

Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
Memory Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231315

Possible GPU Option #1: MSI R7850 Twin Frozr 2GD5/OC Radeon HD 7850 2GB GDDR5
Possble issue PCI E 3.0 card in PCI 2.0 slot, surely backwards compatible.
Possible GPU Option #1 Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127663


Overall I can justify spending the extra $30 for 16GB's of slower speed memory instead of the higher cost OC'd memory. Now if I can expect the same performance from 8GB's of higher speed memory at or near the cost of 16GB's of lower speed memory I would go that route.

Overall this system appears to be looking like a better overall option compared to the I5 2500K system.

Heat sink and fan for AM3 CPU: ZALMAN CNPS9900ALED 120mm 2 Ball Low-noise Blue LED CPU Cooler
Link for HS&F: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118046

Also went with a higher priced GPU, I am a MSI fan when it comes to their Twin Frozr. Also, considering this system is comprised of newer higher end parts compared to the Intel system, more memory, better GPU, I can see this system lasting for more than my average of two years on lower end systems.

Any comments/thoughts? Total price thus far, $$644.79 counting the $4.84 for shipping, sounds low :(
 
fx cpus sorta stink stock, but they overclock like a mofo and with a simple cooler you'll be hittin 4.5+ easy, which then they get a good performance boost making them comparable to like a 980 which with the same setup, might be at 4.1/4.2
 
Thanks for the information.

Since I plan to reuse my PSU, Antec 650Watt Earthworks and old 750GB HDD. I was thinking, if I have to reformat because of the hardware changes, I also have a Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 80GB HDD I could buy Sata cables for and use for the OS. It is a Sata 3GB drive I picked up from a local community college for $2.

It's blank but the ATA drive I bought had XP professional on it so I stuck it in my old W3052 Emachines roughly five year old PC.

I cannot tell you what the 750GB Sata drive is, it came with my current setup which = Emachines ET1331G-03

Sandra and google shows that the 750GB HDD is also a SATA 3 drive. Any major performance increase compared to the Sata 6 which the new motherboard will support?
 
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be aware overclocking any of the FX cpus will increase their wattage draw significantly, honestly for performance, id get a socket 1155 system, and upgrade to ivy bridge when you have some money to do so, however the dual core i3 to me is the best buy you can do on the cheap, or get a cheaper i5 quad core..
 
FuryRosewood said:
be aware overclocking any of the FX cpus will increase their wattage draw significantly, honestly for performance, id get a socket 1155 system, and upgrade to ivy bridge when you have some money to do so, however the dual core i3 to me is the best buy you can do on the cheap, or get a cheaper i5 quad core..
Click to expand...

Yeah, you can get an i5-2400, or if there's a microcenter or you know someone near one, get them to ship you a combo with 2500k and a good mobo.

No mechanical HDD even touches 3gb/s, so there is absolutely no diff from sata II to sata III
 
Went back to the drawing board for an I3 2100 build. It's similar to the AMD FX build just a few things changed.

CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz
CPU Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115078

Mobo: ASRock H61ICAFE LGA 1155 Intel
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157246

CPU cooler: StarTech FAN1156PWM 95mm Ever
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835230047

Memory: CORSAIR XMS3 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233190

Grand Total: $579.93
Shipping is figured in @ $10.98

FX build came to, $644.79 counting the $4.84 for shipping.

If I cut out the video card and suffice with my 5770 for a bit longer, where I think I will still see improvement in CPU intensive gaming the totals are.

I3 System: Grand Total: $318.61 counting shipping.
FX System: Total: $379.96 Not counting shipping.

Ivy Bridge should be released in a matter of months, so it would be more than worth the wait to hold off since my current build is still in good condition.

Otherwise these are my two current options. Oh how things can change :D

If I don't hold off I will most likely get the cheaper of the builds. I can continue cutting and slicing all day long. For me to build any system, one of the first things to go would be the video card. Even if I did get the 7850 2GB model MSI. But I would rather have a well all around build so I won't have to do that. Who knows.
 
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FuryRosewood said:
be aware overclocking any of the FX cpus will increase their wattage draw significantly, honestly for performance, id get a socket 1155 system, and upgrade to ivy bridge when you have some money to do so, however the dual core i3 to me is the best buy you can do on the cheap, or get a cheaper i5 quad core..
Click to expand...

Took me a bit to locate some overclocked power draw stats on the FX 6100 paired with dual 6950 video cards it pulled....

639 watts overclocked to 4.45Ghz.

Can see the information here, just select the power and temp section.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fx-overclock-crossfire-ssd,3098-13.html

I may end up with the I3 2100 system. Will look into lower I5's before making the final stamp of approval but I still have a week or more before I'll have the funds to build the system.
 
Pieced together this build.

CPU link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
Mobo Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157286
Memory Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231422

Total: $312.97 for an 2500K build. :D
Was a surprise therefore I didn't post the other information just the links. Went with a lesser mobo which could be switched out at a later date. Then again I could be able to sell off this rather easy if I decide to go Ivy Bridge in the future.

Thoughts?
 
you're going to need either a P or Z chipset motherboard to overclock that processor. They're a little more expensive but well worth the dosh. Nice build either way.
 
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