Picking up a new PC this May 2012

[Kenadian]

After about 6 years, my E6600 System (Dual Core) just can't keep up anymore so it's time for an upgrade.

I'm currently looking into a Socket 1155 System likely with an Intel 2600K Unlocked CPU, Asus mobo with triple SLI, 8 - 16 GB DDR3, 1 x SSD, 1 x WD Caviar Black Hard Drive (possibly down the road) Case, Fans, and possibly a video capture card to record gaming sessions to my current gaming rig (will be used as a backup).

I'm also going to need one more video card as my N570GTX Twin Frozr III is going into this computer so I'll need a replacement for the backup; likely a N550 or N560 Ti (I will not consider ATI, too many bad experiences in the past).

I'll actually break this down into separate topics later on today because I want to focus on each element and get as much info. on them as possible to make the best choice.

My budget for this build is $1000.00 CDN but I'd love to come in under that if possible; I can't even go a nickle over it.

 

[JohnnyK]

IIRC you said you wanted an ASUS motherboard and Kingkston RAM, correct? If so:
Part list permalink / Part price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Memory Express)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.49 @ Newegg Canada)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($193.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: Kingston HyperX 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($90.99 @ NCIX)
Hard Drive: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($185.92 @ TigerDirect Canada)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.98 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Corsair 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($136.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Total: $912.35
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated 2012-04-02 16:34 EDT-0400)

That leaves you to spend the extra 100 for either upgrading to the i7-2600k (although as I said on TS you won't need the hyperthreading for gaming) or to add a magnetic drive (albeit a slower one mostly for data storage).

That ignores the need for a video card for the old rig though, and the video capture card. You could ask Smack if he would sell you his old 5850 (ATI, I know) if he still has it.

Ivy Bridge CPUs will land soon though, so maybe you will see a price drop for Sandy Bridge CPUs/mobos.

If you are not that fixed on ASUS and are content with being able to double-SLI your video cards (750W is probably cutting it close for triple-SLI anyway) I'd suggest something like this:

Part list permalink / Part price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Memory Express)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.49 @ Newegg Canada)
Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($139.69 @ DirectCanada)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Hard Drive: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($185.92 @ TigerDirect Canada)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.98 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Rosewill 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $767.05
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated 2012-04-02 16:43 EDT-0400)

that leaves you with 150 bucks more for the rest without really sacrificing anything but 8GB of RAM you can always put in at a later point.

 

[Kenadian]

That's a really nice breakdown Johnny, thanks

I've pretty much made up my mind that I'll be going with the I7 either 2600K or 2700K as there will be large amounts of video rendering required on this rig as well as gaming. I hope to start populating our You Tube Channel and I've already had a taste of how cumbersome the rendering process can be.

This actually is the other reason why I want to stick with Nvidia as Adobe has been working with them for years and most of their Software renders quicker on Nvidia. I realize this is more aimed toward the Quadro's but my guess is that an Nvidia Chipset will still render quicker than ATI.

The one and only reason I'm married to Asus is because I've had a P5B overclocked for a long time now and that board has never given me even a hiccup. I love the way Asus disperses heat to the back of the boards and their BIOS overclocking is mindlessly simple.

I also do like the potential to have triple SLI as it pretty much guarantees my bottleneck is never at the video rendering stage. It's more likely that any lag I experience will be due to the SSD or Hard Disk and given this is SATA3 6.0 GB/s, it's current enough to embrace emerging technologies IMHO.

Right now I have an Antec Earthwatts 750 Modular PSU in my rig so that will make it's way into this one; my old NEO HE550 will go back into the current rig which is why a downgrade in VGA is required; hence the 550 or 560TI.

 

[JohnnyK]

All fine and well; but are you sure you will ever have 3 video cards in that rig? You will probably be better off with getting one new state-of-the-art card instead of buying 2 more older cards.

Now I remember we ralked about the PSU, so that definitely leaves more room in the budget. Go with the i7-2600k, it's only 100MHz less stock speed than the 2700k and will OC the same.

Your nVidie/ATI argument confuses me a little though - if you put your 570 in your new rig, you will surely do any post-processing there, right? So the card in the old rig should matter much less.

The video capture card is a luxury with such a rig btw, I did a test recording last night with MSI Afterburner on my new rig and there was no noticeable performace dropoff, so you can definitely record BF3 et al while playing on the same PC. If you insist on the capture card you might want to check out [video=youtube;zCzYQGfsfmY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCzYQGfsfmY[/video] - to me that looks overly complicated for what a standard user would need tbh.

 

[Kenadian]

I'm not sure if I'll ever need 3 way SLI but it never hurts to have it as it's one more potential future upgrade option that does not mean buying a new PC. My hope is that they continue to develop Socket 1155 CPU's and come out with reasonably priced 6 and 8 core options down the road but that may be a pipe dream.

As for the NVIDIA/Adobe relationship; they've been partnered for years and since I use Adobe daily it makes me lean more toward NVIDIA just to save rendering time not just in Premier Pro but AI and Photoshop.

...not to mention I've had mostly bad luck with camp ATI.

I realize that Fraps, guncam and the others probably work good enough to not see much of a performance overhead but not all games are created equal in this regard. I also play ArmA 2 and will be heavily into ArmA 3 and these are huge resource pigs.

If I want any kind of detail in either I have to dummy down everything to get 20 FPS while recording. This will probably improve on the new rig I'm sure but I want as close to a solid 60FPS at the highest possible detail level for 1080p.

I had seen that video before as I'm subscribed to LevelCapGaming, rivalXfactor, Sgt. Enigma (KingKumaForever), frope, Matimio, etc., via Fragtardnet's You Tube Channel (currently in testing/development).

 

[Russm]

Pick a video card with more memory on it rather than a faster card if it comes down to it.

for example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162085
instead of
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162074

I got the first one there for black friday ($180 shipped ). Lets me set all the games to max settings, where with less memory I might not be able to. (The rebate takes about 3-4 months though to get to you)

 

[Kitlope]

My hope is that they continue to develop Socket 1155 CPU's and come out with reasonably priced 6 and 8 core options down the road but that may be a pipe dream.

I think 1155 is already on it's way out as there's a new socket, 2011. But it still pretty fresh and expensive for motherboards & CPU's. My old 5850 I sold on ebay a couple months ago so i'm out of extra video cards although I'll probably have a 5870 available in a couple months but will most likely adorn my "video card wall of geekdom shame".

 

[JohnnyK]

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/04/03/hard-choices-motherboards/