NEED HELP for New build!

[GamerMagnet]

So this is my first post on here, but I have been around computers for the better part of my life. I can put everything together but I am coming here seeking advice on a new build I should put together. This build is going to be mainly for gaming. I want something that will last me a good 2 years til the time comes to get another Rig. I have been doing alot of research on what to get and have a build in mind. I'm kinda bias towards AMD because I haven't had an Intel since the Pentium days but I'm having doubts after reading these reviews on Bulldozer. So, I'm just coming here seeking advice from those with more knowledge than me.

My Budget is $1500 and I will more than likely be purchasing the parts from newegg. So with that in mind if anyone has the time to give me some input.

The items I will be obtaining are:

1) CPU
2) Motherboard (with SATA III)
3) GPU (No SLI/Crossfire)
4) RAM
5) PSU
6) SSD
7) Case (MID or Full Tower)
8) Case Fans if needed, don't want Water Cooling
9) Aftermarkter Heatsink and Fan

The build I put together, but seriously doubting the future proof of it
1) CPU: FX-8120
2) Motherboard: Sabertooth 990FX
3) GPU: HD 7870
4) RAM: 8GB 1866mhz G.SKILL Ripjaws Dual Channel Kit
5) PSU: Antec Earthwatts 650 watt
6) SSD: OCZ Agility 3 240gb
7) Case: HAF 922
8) Case Fans: 200mm for Side fan and 140mm for bottom
9) Hyper 212 EVO

I had those in my shopping cart at Newegg and almost purchased but I wanted to ask some professionals. I read these forums alot but this is my first post. The build I linked came to about $1200 but I just don't know if AMD is the way I wanna go. I'm debating on going Intel with an Ivy Bridge but I've also read articles that they get hot once you start to overclock them. So without making this big wall of text any longer I will end it here. Thanks again for any help

ps...sorry if this is the wrong section

 

[EvilJoker]

Well AMD is for sure cheaper. But Intel is more future proofing, Now everything you have selected will make a great Build. Im not sure if the new *AMD PileDriver* uese AM3+ socket (I think its going to) Intel will be faster, But you WILL PAY for it.. I say "Go With Your Gut"

EDIT: The only thing i would change is your CPU Cooler. THe FX series puts off alittle more heat Ether go closed loop(water) Or full water.. Or a little more higher priced AIR cooler.

 

[Operant]

Do you live near a microcenter? (I see there is one in northern virginia/fairfax) I will put together a newegg build but if you live near that microcenter it could help lower the price even more.

Here is my initial build:




I didn't include fans since some people have preferences on those. You can totally swap out the Source 210 for the HAF 922 if you do not like the look of it. The 670 should also beat the 7870 nicely. With rebates and the promo code, your total is $1108.92 plus shipping. Microcenter will bring that down another $60 for just the motherboard and cpu.

 

[Knufire]

What are you using the rig for?

 

[Operant]

What are you using the rig for?

He said mainly for gaming in the first post

 

[Knufire]

Then what games and what resolution?

 

[PolePosition]

My Budget is $1500 and I will more than likely be purchasing the parts from newegg. So with that in mind if anyone has the time to give me some input.

I'd say take a look at my signature below. With the exception of the case, the build cost around $1500, but the upgrade potential is great, since in 2 years if I want to move up to a six core processor or 32 GBs more of RAM, I won't have to strip my case and start over. I paid probably more for my case than any builder ever has spent on a case, but it is the absolute best in style, construction, and ease to work in plus will handle ANY size motherboard on the market, including E-ATX and server boards. It was selected with the idea to never need another case, but thats just me and probably me only. It comes with 5 very silent case fans and totally tooless design. The PSU mounts in the front too for much room for all the VGA cards you'd want to add.

I had misconceptions about water cooling too since water and electricity don't mix too well and the idea of a future leak, well you get the idea, but I would rather that than some gigantic heatsink tower taking up ALL the room over my motherboard, making it very hard to add or switch RAM modules. For high performance gaming, a sealed water cooling cpu cooler is the only way to go.
My system never gets over or reaches 40 C with the coolest running motherboard on the market plus all the other additional cooling and thermal radar where I can tweak the system if need be.

Yeah, AMD costs much less, and they certainly give Intel good competition on performance, but I guess I'm guilty of Intel "fanboyism"

 

[GamerMagnet]

Microcenter is a little out of my reach.. It is almost 300 miles away and the gas price alone would equal the newegg price. This Rig is def for gaming. I would love to get the nvidia card but that seems to be the biggest part of the build.

I've checked out the gpu heirarchy and the 670 is 2 steps above the 7870. It would be nice. Also, I've heard that the new Ivy Bridge cpu's tend to get a bit hot when Overclocking and that is something I plan on doing.

I will be linking a new build to see what you guys think. I also will probably be basing my system around the FX-8120 unless the FX-4170 reviews are true and it is better for gaming. Thanks for all the advice you guys have been giving me.

One last thing is, does the amount of CUDA cores/stream processors mean that it is a beefier card?


and before I forget. do the i5 Ivy bridge processors have hyper threading like the i7 models. or is it only the i7

 

[Knufire]

There's no reason to go AMD for gaming. Intel simply just performs better. And you can afford it no trouble.

Hyperthreading is the main difference between i5s and i7s. i5s don't, i7s do.

 

[Conumdrum]

Yes, more cores/streams is better. But you can't compare that between AMD and Nvidia GPUs, the way they do things is fully different.