[jungelion]

Case:AZZA HURRICAN 2000
Mobo:ASUS CROSSHAIR 4 FORMULA AM3 890FX
Cpu:AMD PHENOM II X6 1100T 3.3GHZ
Ram:CORSAIR 2 GB DDR3/ 2000 MHZ X4
HDD1:30GB KINGSTON 2.5 IN SATA SSD MLC
HDD2:WESTERN DIGITAL 2TB SATA III 6GB/S 7200RPM 64MB CACHE
VC:AMD RADEON HD6970 2GB DDR5 X2
LC:CORSAIR Hydro H70
PSU: 950 Corsair CMPSU-950TX 80 Plus Power Supply
NC:KILLER 2100 GAMING NETWORK CARD
TD:NZXT SENTRY LX DUAL THERMAL DISPLAY
DD:SAMSUNG BLU RAY 12X BLU-RAY COMBO DVD
OS:WINDOWS 7 ULTIMATE 64 BIT

I just need to know if this build is worth 2k price tag been saving up for a bit dont want to squander my money if possible. Need something that will last me a long time and I dont really want to go the intel route just my preference to stay with amd.This is my first time going for a enthusiast build. Is there any parts i could do without or just replace with something else. I want a killer gaming rig tired of buying cheap computers that cant handle anything. All opinions appreciated. p.s. sorry for all caps on build list just copy pasted lol.

[McGrace]

Whats the price per performance ratio on the CPU?

Go to cpubenchmarks.net and check the benchmark on the CPU you want and a couple of others in that range. Divide the benchmark by the price you can get the CPU for and you'll be surprised. It is literally a bang for the buck calculation.

Of course, the best bang for the buck is not a high performance processor. So what I did is I figured a performance range I could live with then took the best bang for the buck CPU in that performance range. Saved 100 bucks and only got something like 2% less performance. 50% less money, 2% less performance.

I suggest you think this way when assessing a lot of your stuff.

(In business, this would be called return on investment. No top executive makes a decision to spend money without an estimated return on investment. Even if it's just estimated real quick in their head.)

[Theocnoob]

1100T ($200)
Mobo:ASUS CROSSHAIR 4 FORMULA AM3 890FX ($200)

>switch to

Gigabyte GD65 (179, Newegg. FIXED Sandybridge board)

2500K CPU 229, Newegg

(also get 2000Mhz Cas 7 memory)

$9 extra, but WAY higher performance and WAY higher overclock.

+ Faster memory controller guarantees 2000Mhz++ vs 1600(+=crappshoot) on the six core AMD

+ New socket 1155. New CPUs will come out. AM3 will reach EOL in months.

+ Runs cooler

+ Overclocks like snot on a cheap cooler

+ More performance per clock

IMO Sandybridge is the ONLY sane choice to build a PC at the moment. Until Bulldozer comes out I don't think you can beat it. If I had to build a PC tommorow, it'd have a 2600K or 2500K CPU. No brainer for me. I built a 2500K system for my friend. Overclocked in 10 mins to 4.5Ghz super stable. The system is faster than my i7 950 at 4Ghz at most tasks. And the CPU was significantly cheaper.

[jungelion]

@McGrace,The main reason i went with a lot of high end stuff is fear of bottlenecks on performance overall with the build and I have never overclocked before. Very new at this. I have always built or just bought low end comps and trying to get a rig that will not have no issues playing bf3 and similar games. Kinda trying to future proof games that are coming out at the end of this year.i check the site you suggested its like 4% increase from the 1095 to the 1100 i might change still not sure though.@Theocnoob, Definately changing the ram.But am very partial to amd.Never had a intel system before.

[Theocnoob]

Originally Posted by jungelion

@McGrace,The main reason i went with a lot of high end stuff is fear of bottlenecks on performance overall with the build and I have never overclocked before. Very new at this. I have always built or just bought low end comps and trying to get a rig that will not have no issues playing bf3 and similar games. Kinda trying to future proof games that are coming out at the end of this year.i check the site you suggested its like 4% increase from the 1095 to the 1100 i might change still not sure though.@Theocnoob, Definately changing the ram.But am very partial to amd.Never had a intel system before.

2500K destroys 1100T. 2600K obliterates it. Any i7 beats it up and takes it's lunch money. The AM3 platform, in my opinion, is only for budget systems, and 'team red' people at this point. It has nothing left to offer.

And you changed your RAM to 2000Mhz but kept the AM3 platform. AM3 chipsets don't guarantee 2000Mhz RAM stability like P67. You've chosen one of the best boards for that socket but regardless, it's a crappshoot. See other post. You shouldn't expect more than 1600Mhz out of it. Some get 2000, some don't. It isn't terribly likely.

If you MUST build AMD, you MUST wait for Bulldozer and AM3+. Coming soon to a PC near you.

[jungelion]

Originally Posted by Theocnoob

2500K destroys 1100T. 2600K obliterates it. Any i7 beats it up and takes it's lunch money. The AM3 platform, in my opinion, is only for budget systems, and 'team red' people at this point. It has nothing left to offer.

And you changed your RAM to 2000Mhz but kept the AM3 platform. AM3 chipsets don't guarantee 2000Mhz RAM stability like P67. You've chosen one of the best boards for that socket but regardless, it's a crappshoot. See other post. You shouldn't expect more than 1600Mhz out of it. Some get 2000, some don't. It isn't terribly likely.

If you MUST build AMD, you MUST wait for Bulldozer and AM3+. Coming soon to a PC near you.

Darn thats like 1 month to 2 months away. I need a system right away. I am using my brothers comp cause mine got fried somehow. I am liking what I am seeing from the new chipset and mobo just researched it.

[Theocnoob]

Originally Posted by jungelion

Darn thats like 1 month to 2 months away. I need a system right away. I am using my brothers comp cause mine got fried somehow. I am liking what I am seeing from the new chipset and mobo just researched it.

There was initially a flaw with the chipset. It has been adressed (I think it was minor to begin with IMO).

There are boards coming back (revision 2's) that have the bug fixed. The platform is excellent. I built this system for a friend recently. Gigabyte UD3P. The build quality exceeded anything I'd ever seen at that price. System overclocked stable first shot 8-10 minutes. Zero issues. Most issue free, pleasant build I've ever experienced.


Which leaves more time for other things.


It's so easy to overclock sandybridge it's not even cool any more.

Set it to 4.5Ghz, which is guaranteeable 99.999999999999% of the time, 1.35 the vcore and keep running prime blend and lowering said vcore until you find the lowest stable one. Shazaam. That's about it. I was a bit disappointed. Sort of like the first time you make Rice Krispy squares.

"I'm done?"

Even my friend was like "What? Really?"

Literally after my first ever 8 minute bios run on the thing it ran prime95 blend overnight.

Plus the Intel CPU comes in a nice blue box. Everybody likes blue. And have you experienced push pin cooler mounting? No? You haven't lived! (sarcasm)

You can get a Cooler Master Hyper 212+ for like thirty bucks and that's good enough to OC a 2500/2600K to 4.5Ghz or so. For $30. It's just such an awesome platform and has no (current) peer. Unless you wait for Bulldozer. Which promises to (perhaps) be even faster. If you have to build a PC tommorow, you have to build SB. Otherwise you're looking at two stores selling the same jacket and going in to the one you know sells a much lower performing jacket that takes slower RAM and won't overclock as well as the other jacket .

Also do you know that most 6950s will reflash to 6970? It's not 100% guaranteed but you will get 6970 performance at a 6950 price. If it works. Just so you know.

If you're buying newegg as of today based on what they have available I'd get the MSI P67 GD65

[jungelion]

You almost got me sold on the intel. I have a few friends with intels and from what i seen their comps tend to crash alot compared to what i had but on the same token I don't know what they really do with their comps. I am going to research your suggestion and cook on it for a few days.

[compooter]

Becareful, There is "team blue" folks aswell lol