Time to update HW! Recommendations for High/Mid/Low

[AParsh335i]

First of all, with all the reviews out now on sandy bridge CPUs it is obvious that AMD CPUs should be non-existant on the leaderboard until bulldozer.

Recommendations:
High level - stick with the i5-2500k which can be had right now at microcenter for $180. This saves roughly $100 that can be put toward GPU and the performance in gaming between the i5-2500k and i7-2600k is minimal.
My opinion would be to ditch the GTX 570 @ $334 and go with 2x AMD 6950 1GB Crossfire for 2x$225=$450 on newegg ...about $100 more that you saved from the CPU.

Mid Range - bye-bye 6core amd, hello i5-2400 @ $150 (micro center). Bye-bye MSI 890FXA-G70, hello MSI P67A-C43-B3 @ $125 (Micro center). You can go H67 in this build because the i5-2400 is not OCable. You save $125 between the motherboard and CPU, which will DESTROY a 1060T. Now with the extra $125 spend it on 1x AMD 6950 @ $225 on newegg ($45 more than GTX 460) for total savings of $80 and a much much faster gaming computer .

Low Range - The i3-2100 has proved to be faster than the i5-6xx series already (see http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1179-page6.html) and if you compare on the cpubenchmark chart you can see the i3-2100 scores 3900pts vs 3400 for the Athlon 640, i didnt see the 645 on the chart. Reference (http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_look...0+%40+3.20GHz).
With this in mind i would go with the i3-2100 @ $99.99 (micro center) and grab an MSI H67MA-E35 for $85 on newegg to save $11 net. Remember, H67 will be fine for this build because you cannot overclock any 1155 CPUs other than 2500k and 2600k (you can only OC w/ p67 FYI for anyone just getting sandy bridge info).

Some may disagree with this next part, but if this was my computer on the low end i would buy a cheaper PSU, smaller HDD, and cheaper RAM in favor of a better video card.
I would go with an Antec earthwatts 380w $39.99 newegg, Patriot 1333 4Gb (2x2GB) for $39.99 newegg, and Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB Sata Hard Drive for $39.99 newegg, for a net savings of $52. $52 savings here + $11 savings above for total of $63. Currently spending $75 on a 5760, so $75+$63=$138. I'd go with a Sapphire 5770 1GB for $119.99 and pocket the extra $18 or use that somewhere else as seen fit. Remember the Antec earthwatts is only 380w and 1x PCIe power plug, but the 5770 only needs 1 PCIe and the i3-2100 barely uses any power.

Summaries of Final Builds:

High End:
i5-2500k $180
MSI P67A-GD65 $180
2x HIS H695FN1G2M HD 6950 1GB $450
CORSAIR XMS 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 $90
OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD3-2VTX120G 3.5" 120GB $210
Asus Xonar DX Sound Card $80
Corsair TX950 $150
Total: $1340

Mid Range:
i5-2400 $150
MSI P67A-C43-B3 $125
HIS H695FN1G2M HD 6950 1GB $225
CORSAIR XMS3 4GB 1600 CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 $45
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS $70
ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 $90 (**Why is midrange sound more??)
Corsair TX CMPSU-650TX $90
Total: $705

Low End:
i3-2100 $100
MSI H67MA-E35 $85
SAPPHIRE 100283-3L HD5770 1GB $120
Patriot 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 $40
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB Hard Drive $40
Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W $40
Total: $425

Let me know what you guys think.

[Syllabub]

After looking at many reviews and benches for the i3-2100, i5-2400 and i5-2500k I really cannot argue against those suggestions. I suppose a user that had apps that would really eat up the extra cores might still benefit from a hex core AMD but everybody else might as well buy Intel at the moment. I have been planning a new build for some time now and find myself frozen like a deer in the headlights waiting for Bulldozer hoping that it is competitive with Sandy Bridge or that it is at least close enough to merit consideration and puts some price pressure on Intel. I would prefer to buy AMD and keep competition alive but at the current price points there is no way I can justify a Phenom II or Athlon II over any of the Sandy Bridge options.

[AParsh335i]

After looking at many reviews and benches for the i3-2100, i5-2400 and i5-2500k I really cannot argue against those suggestions. I suppose a user that had apps that would really eat up the extra cores might still benefit from a hex core AMD but everybody else might as well buy Intel at the moment. I have been planning a new build for some time now and find myself frozen like a deer in the headlights waiting for Bulldozer hoping that it is competitive with Sandy Bridge or that it is at least close enough to merit consideration and puts some price pressure on Intel. I would prefer to buy AMD and keep competition alive but at the current price points there is no way I can justify a Phenom II or Athlon II over any of the Sandy Bridge options.

I agree with you, and thats exactly why i said the HW leaderboard is due for an update. The HW leaderboard is made to give the best performance/$ at each price point for today, not tomorrow. So it really should be updated so someone doesnt go buy X part when today better parts are available. Let's face it, when someone wants to build a computer...they want to build it today!

[Activate: AMD]

your high-end build is far too conservative. If its going to be high-end, you might as well actually make it high end. 2600k, 6970's or gtx 580, new-gen Intel or Vertex 3 SSD's, 80Plus Gold PSU etc

[molestedbyasus]

Of course it is due for an update, it has been a month since I last updated it; and what a month! Sandybridge has only been a viable option since the B3 revision which was just becoming available as I updated it last month. Now that I have rebuilt it on the new site I will be updating it with more recent components.

I love the suggestions as it helps me peg down exactly what people are looking for in the way of components. I do like the AMD hexa core as neither the mid-range nor budget build are aimed at gamers but rather people who use a PC for the wide variety of other applications and are unlikely to want to upgrade anytime soon.

Keep your eyes peeled for the update and keep the suggestions coming.


I take it you like the two Dream system alternatives though.

[Activate: AMD]

Keep your eyes peeled for the update and keep the suggestions coming.

What about an HTPC build?

too specialized I guess

[Keven]

your high-end build is far too conservative. If its going to be high-end, you might as well actually make it high end. 2600k, 6970's or gtx 580, new-gen Intel or Vertex 3 SSD's, 80Plus Gold PSU etc

quoted for truth

[molestedbyasus]

quoted for truth

The 2600K is going in, but the new gen intel SSDs don't belong in a high end system, they just ain't that high end ... the 320 might, depends on price/availabilty. The Vertex 3 does qualify but the cheapest one around is twice as expensive as the current SSD which puts a huge hole in the $1500 ceiling for the build. It will be in the Dream system though as that baby is a dream.

Dual HD6950's have a real good chance of showing up; but I am not sure why you don't like a PSU that is indeed 80Plus, NVIDIA Triple SLI certified with a 5-year warranty and has 24/7 support?

As to the HTPC ... a 5670 (soon to be 6670) ain't good enough to run your Blu-ray?

Maybe tonight I'll get a chance to start updating

[AParsh335i]

your high-end build is far too conservative. If its going to be high-end, you might as well actually make it high end. 2600k, 6970's or gtx 580, new-gen Intel or Vertex 3 SSD's, 80Plus Gold PSU etc

I understand what you are saying but also understand that each system has a price point. My goal was to spend roughly the same amount of money while improving performance. I believe i was able to put together builds that are faster by a large margin in fact.

[molestedbyasus]

A lot of what you suggested on the high end is what I was thinking ... and since 2 HD6950's could be had for $420 after rebate they are pretty much guaranteed to replace the 570 after GIMP downloads here on my buddies PC.

Now, the mid and low are always tough, they change a lot because at that price range a $10 price variation is noticeable and maybe the X4 will get dumped ... but I don't know about the video cards. Sure they are faster at gaming but for an HTPC system they don't add much except extra noise and heat. Those two systems are more workhorse systems, they aren't intended to do any one thing particularly well they are intended to do everything reasonably well. That is one of the reasons the AMD hexa-core is such a good deal. It won't win races but when Farmville goes multi-core you'd better look out. OK, not necessarily Farmville but what about google apps or that cheap suite that came with a digicam someone bought?

Now, update the Leaderboard or watch the Canucks ... hmm.

[AParsh335i]

Of course it is due for an update, it has been a month since I last updated it; and what a month! Sandybridge has only been a viable option since the B3 revision which was just becoming available as I updated it last month. Now that I have rebuilt it on the new site I will be updating it with more recent components.

I love the suggestions as it helps me peg down exactly what people are looking for in the way of components. I do like the AMD hexa core as neither the mid-range nor budget build are aimed at gamers but rather people who use a PC for the wide variety of other applications and are unlikely to want to upgrade anytime soon.

Keep your eyes peeled for the update and keep the suggestions coming.


I take it you like the two Dream system alternatives though.

I didn't want to get into the dream system because if it is truly a dream system the price wouldn't matter. Based on the fact that there is only 1 video card i would assume this is not truly a dream system. Here is my dream system.

i7-2600k $280
ASUS Maximus IV Extreme B3 RoG Edition Motherboard $370
G.SKILL Ripjaws X + Fan Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2200 $630
3x ASUS ENGTX580 DCII/2DIS/1536MD5 GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 1536MB $1500 (3x$500)
OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-480G 2.5" 480GB $1900
2x Seagate Barracuda St320005N1A1AS-RK 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s (raid 1 or w/e you want) $310
EVGA Classified SR-2 100-PS-1200-GR 1200W $370
Creative PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion $173
=$5163

[molestedbyasus]

aww, you don;t like the duallie Xeon alternative

[Keven]

I believe i was able to put together builds that are faster by a large margin in fact.

That is HIGHLY subjective.

Now, update the Leaderboard or watch the Canucks ... hmm.

What is the Canucks? Is that a sitcom or something?

[Activate: AMD]

The 2600K is going in, but the new gen intel SSDs don't belong in a high end system, they just ain't that high end ... the 320 might, depends on price/availabilty. The Vertex 3 does qualify but the cheapest one around is twice as expensive as the current SSD which puts a huge hole in the $1500 ceiling for the build. It will be in the Dream system though as that baby is a dream.

Dual HD6950's have a real good chance of showing up; but I am not sure why you don't like a PSU that is indeed 80Plus, NVIDIA Triple SLI certified with a 5-year warranty and has 24/7 support?

As to the HTPC ... a 5670 (soon to be 6670) ain't good enough to run your Blu-ray?

Maybe tonight I'll get a chance to start updating

You misunderstood. I was speaking to the OP's suggested rig. I thought it was too conservative. Have to say I might agree with your statement about the Intel SSD's performance relative to their contemporaries, but in other measures they warrant a look. They're equivalent to the best SF-1200's and the C-300, but becuase of the inconsistency of the SF-1200 drives (see OCZ Vertex 2 fiasco) and the price of the new drives, combined with that famed Intel reliability that everyone is so hard up for means it was worth a suggestion.

And for the HTPC.. your low-end rig is far from relevance to anyone building an HTPC. The only things in it I'd carry might be the ram and the GPU. Thats ok though, its a niche market.

aww, you don;t like the duallie Xeon alternative

I DO! (see sig)

I didn't want to get into the dream system because if it is truly a dream system the price wouldn't matter. Based on the fact that there is only 1 video card i would assume this is not truly a dream system. Here is my dream system.

i7-2600k $280
ASUS Maximus IV Extreme B3 RoG Edition Motherboard $370
G.SKILL Ripjaws X + Fan Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2200 $630
3x ASUS ENGTX580 DCII/2DIS/1536MD5 GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 1536MB $1500 (3x$500)
OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-480G 2.5" 480GB $1900
2x Seagate Barracuda St320005N1A1AS-RK 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s (raid 1 or w/e you want) $310
EVGA Classified SR-2 100-PS-1200-GR 1200W $370
Creative PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion $173
=$5163

Theres a difference between putting together a list of things that people would actually want to realistically buy, and putting together a random assortment of poorly considered parts that have the highest price tags. Guess which category this list falls in?

What is the Canucks? Is that a sitcom or something?

hockey?

[AParsh335i]

aww, you don;t like the duallie Xeon alternative

I dont see it