Hi.


Are my parts good?

/e I was recommended an i7 in place of my AMD 8-core, but the only one that's even remotely in my price range is a quad-core. Thoughts?

Post has been edited 3 time(s), last time on Mar 24 2013, 8:22 pm by Pr0nogo.

Wouldn't 8 cores be terrible for games like sim city 5 that can only use 1?

I'm also looking for a good AMD quad core to upgrade into.

Go into Task Manager, right-click on the simcity process, hit set affinity, and click away. Magic. SCII offloads 1% of its stress to core 1 and keeps the rest on core 0, so that's what I do with that, as well.

Bulldozer instead of Trinity or an Intel processor which performs way better even with half the "cores".

$225 RAM. $180 GPU.

I don't even.

Midrange grahpics card, an unfitting case for a high end machine, and no SSD, but $225 on RAM? Is this a joke? o_o

Agreed. Get 1x8GB stick (or 2x4 or w/e) and spend the extra $150 elsewhere. If you were just burning cash on a $2000 machine spending 225 on RAM might be worth it because hey, lulz, why not.

I need 16GB+ RAM. Going to be doing a lot of 3D modelling, recording games at 1920x1200 resolution, etc.

I've never done this before so I expected lulz.

which you need 8-12GB for.

which you need 4-8GB for.

Yeah those things need GPU and phat CPU, not RAM. Recording games is CPU intensive, 3D modelling is GPU intensive. If you've got 8 GB RAM then you're basically fine, if you manage to max that out before maxing your GPU or CPU out then I'll be somewhat impressed. In which case you then buy 8GB more.

The programmes will be open often simultaneously because of dual monitors. I'll knock it down to 16GB. What CPU and GPU should I be investing in?

Ugh. Pr0n I was hoping you were trolling, you have made some horribly bad choices and I really wish you were trolling at this point. God damn man.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($213.98 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($32.08 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($144.42 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($100.04 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($96.28 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($315.63 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($94.57 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($21.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1092.98
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-25 00:30 EDT-0400)

Notes:
Made it a gaming build instead of a 'LOL I DUNNO WAT I'M DOIN' build. Seriously man. BD drive? 8 core? 32GB? And then you cut down on the GFX? Are you fucking serious?
No matter what you set core affinity to, it does not change the fact that coding is having a VERY hard time catching up to hardware's multicore and multithread advancements. If I were to build a new PC tomorrow I would still not go above a 6 core, and thats if I didn't get something with hyper threading. Get your mind off of the MORE CORE IS BETTER shit, because all its going to do is have you slacking on your GPU when that should be your main focus. In a gaming PC if your RAM costs more than your GPU you're doing it wrong. Plain and simple man.

No game I know of is going to take a 3.3GHz quad lightly and you also have the potential to OC that sucker pretty damn high. My i7 920 is sitting at 3.8GHz and I couldn't find a game to pin it if I tried.

I didn't put in a case as I leave that to you. Personally I recommend the Fractal R4 or NZXT H2 with some quality fans, aka not the 5$ 120mms with free shipping. v.v I can get you some recs on fans if you like.

I tried to come in around your original price point but still keep it as a high end gaming build. No corners have been cut. Every part in there is well rated and reputable.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Mar 25 2013, 4:41 am by Excalibur.

Are the i5s no longer cheaper at Microcenter?

Might be but not a place I usually buy from. Its always good to price check before buying.

That SSD will be useful since I'm going for recording. I'll also be getting a K-series i7 instead of an i5.

I'll opt for a case that supports multiple internal HDDs.

Recommendations for cooling would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Going to the i7 is a mistake when you can OC but hey its your money.

EVERY case supports at least 4 HDDs and that's if its a micro tower. Mid and fulls go from 5-8 usually.

The CPU cooler I recommended should be fine, and the Fractal R4 has really great thermals. Grab one of them and some Scythe GTs http://pcpartpicker.com/part/scythe-case-fan-d1225c12b5ap15 and you'll be good.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Mar 25 2013, 2:14 pm by Excalibur.

My current case supports only two HDDs, but this computer was assembled in India back in 2007.

Why would I rely on OC when I can not bother with it and just use an i7? I'm obviously not well-versed in hardware so don't feel too offended if I don't take everything you say at face value.

The entire reason you buy a K series cpu is that it has more OCing options. The entire reason K series CPUs and OCing exist is to get better performance off of a lower priced CPU. Its about value, and I don't care if you're a millionaire, value is a key consideration of any component choice.

When Intel went into their next gen core CPUs they locked the base clock and multipliers and tied the base clock to all the normal functions (USB, ect) so that upping it can result in corruption. Only K series CPUs have an unlocked multiplier which is what you need if you want to OC on the newer platforms. I think the X58/P55 platforms were the last CPUs you didn't need an unlocked chip to safely OC. Or that is my understanding as I'm still on my i7 920/X58 build.

i7 is slower than i5 when gaming unless you're on a laptop.

Since this is a mid range build, not high end, I'd stick with an 8 core 8350 for $170.

I'd also get the cheapest ram possible. Ram prices have doubled since november.

I noticed the RAM prices.

This was intended to be high end but clearly that's not the case.

heh, case

free ram is back on a few motherboards.