Thread: Building a PC in the near future

Originally Posted by Ryan

Does anybody see anywhere I could SAVE some money with the same real world performance OR VERY similar performance? I want something that can handle any game today and in the near future.

Not for a gaming rig; the fact that they get pushed, and you are getting an unlocked processor (which means the right mobo can really push it) means you want the grade of parts you are getting.

Handling games today and tomorrow will be no problem with your CPU and RAM, but that video card, while good enough to run most games on medium/high mixed today, will be working hard a year plus from now.


If you never intend to overclock you could get a different mobo and CPU combo that will work fine. Any i5/i7 greater than 2.6ghz is going to rock for a few years; it comes down to your GPU for gaming mostly.

Originally Posted by SapiensErus

Not for a gaming rig; the fact that they get pushed, and you are getting an unlocked processor (which means the right mobo can really push it) means you want the grade of parts you are getting.

Handling games today and tomorrow will be no problem with your CPU and RAM, but that video card, while good enough to run most games on medium/high mixed today, will be working hard a year plus from now.


If you never intend to overclock you could get a different mobo and CPU combo that will work fine. Any i5/i7 greater than 2.6ghz is going to rock for a few years; it comes down to your GPU for gaming mostly.

Would a 560Ti make a huge difference?

Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

This for example

I will get an SSD if it's around the same cost of $80. Was looking through these.

Newegg.com - Computer Hardware, Hard Drives, SSD, Internal SSD, $75 - $100, 120GB

Any suggestions?

Originally Posted by Ryan

Would a 560Ti make a huge difference?

In current games it would be noticeable... but really the 448 core models (which cost almost as much as a 570) are the target... A bit much compared to your 560. It may be worthwhile to get your 560 now for <200 and in a year or so buy a big newer card (the 660ti is super beef compared to the 560ti, but not released yet).

The card you linked below is one of the 384 cores with 1gb of memory, I am running two in SLI and I run everything on maximum settings, so one should be fine. That being said, if I were picking up a ti right now I would go for a 2gb or a 448 core model, but in the case of the 448 core you are getting close to a 570 in terms of cost: Which is a fine card...

My single 560ti (1gb 384 core)was running BF3 on high with AA and AF... You could get a mobo that supports SLI and pick up a single 560 or 560ti and plan to go SLI in a year... meh...

Originally Posted by Ryan

I will get an SSD if it's around the same cost of $80. Was looking through these.

Newegg.com - Computer Hardware, Hard Drives, SSD, Internal SSD, $75 - $100, 120GB

Any suggestions?

I never bought an Adata SSD, but interestingly they have very positive reviews, and in the case of one almost all are highest out of 64. I might give it a shot if I were on a budget...

Although considering your GPU dilemma this money might be better spent on increasing your GPU (the single biggest factor for gaming).

If building in the "near future" (like not ordering in the next two days), prices and component levels change daily... you should build an all new cart the day you order to maximize dollar versus performance. So what you are looking at now is going to be quite different in two weeks probably, let alone a month. It's a good exercise to get your price range down though.

Originally Posted by Ryan

I will get an SSD if it's around the same cost of $80. Was looking through these.

Newegg.com - Computer Hardware, Hard Drives, SSD, Internal SSD, $75 - $100, 120GB

Any suggestions?

Yep, this is what I have and zero probs and doesn't require trim. Very nice drive Newegg.com - Plextor M3 Series PX-128M3 2.5&#34; 128GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive &#40;SSD&#41;

I'm probably going to upgrade to this in the near future. AnandTech - Plextor Releases M5 Pro SSD: Say Hello to Marvell 88SS9187 and 19nm Toshiba NAND

Or go Ivy Bridge now. Instead of the 2500K, get the 3570K. It is a bit more expensive, but not much, and it out performs the 2500K. Everything else looks like you would have a pretty solid multi-purpose PC.

Originally Posted by HeavyG

Or go Ivy Bridge now. Instead of the 2500K, get the 3570K. It is a bit more expensive, but not much, and it out performs the 2500K. Everything else looks like you would have a pretty solid multi-purpose PC.

It was my understanding that the ivy bridge cannot OC like the sandy bridge (yet)... and that at 4.8ghz my i5 will outperform the 4.2ish that i could get out of a ivy bridge with the same cooling? speculative, yes... but if he gets a more expensive ivy bridge now, why upgrade later when they OC better?

But as I put forward before... Do you (Ryan) intend to OC? If not you could settle on a great ivy/sandy bridge processor that is not for OCing like the K series is. And in that case definitely get an Ivy and a z-77.