Thread: Components question

I know that my current PC won't handle BF3, so I am planning a new build in the near future. That being said I know some have mentioned new component releases coming soon. I have I guess two questions, 1. how soon, and 2. will these new releases reduce the prices on current offerings?

I am only planning to use the new build for gaming, and folding, so I was thinking the i5-2500. Not sure about other components, and am open to suggestions.

Bulldozer is coming in the next month or so I think and will let AMD compete with sandy bridge.

Next gen of GPUs will come out in Q1 2012, I think.

From my experiences with processors only the bleeding edge variations show any dramatic drop in price post 10-18 months of being on the market. As there are many stages of CPU release on a single socket type you are unlikely to see any decent processor drop below $150 until it is on the market for years. This is one of the more common components your generic user will go for when upgrading so the demand stays fairly high until a large portion of OEMs move up to the next socket on their 'middle grade' PCs.

I am using a core i5 2500k and it OC's fairly readily even on a stock cooler. It hasn't stood up against any of the more demanding games so the practical results remain to be seen on a personal level. However from what I have read the only BF3 bottleneck you may encounter for processors is not having a quadcore. (so this choice is fine)

The GPU market is a whole different ball game, as most boards these days at least have support of one full x16 PCIe slot and the technology to utilize your purchase. Then of course taking into account a single GPU versus crossfire/SLI solution. Price / Heat / PSU / capable motherboard all come into play here. I've always stuck by a single slot dual GPU high end solution, but that is why I buy nVidia. You should be able to out-perform a single high-mid grade card with crossfire of lower grade cards for virtually the same cost. You have the added advantage of redundancy in case one card fries. (example 2x6950 versus 1x580GTX)

The gaps and deflation of graphics cards cost is huge. This IMO is where you need to keep your eye out. Once the right price-point for any given model hits the market; stock of the product can plummet rapidly. So this will be your chance to nab up a couple lower cost cards to run in cross fire.

On the question of folding@home I will leave that to Heavy. But I hope I am answering your question (even if somewhat vaguely). I am assuming you're trying to gauge when is 'too soon' to purchase some products by upcoming releases. Sorta balancing the tables of going high-grade soon, or waiting for some of the previously next-gen technologies to drop the price of those same products.

I chose to upgrade my PC about a month ago because I cannot foresee any huge changes in cost for my target PC. I spent way more than I needed to for a good case/mobo/SDD and the whole thing still only came up to just over 1500$ w/ shipping. (yes the COSMOS S RC-1100 is a beast of a case, and pricey --- it just dropped 30$ too)

When I was looking at components on newegg I found this combo deal:

• Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
• ASUS P8P67 DELUXE (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
• ASUS ENGTX560 TI DCII/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video ...
• CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9
• COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Advanced Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
• CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power ...
• Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Any thoughts?

Looks blazing man. I'm actually a bit jealous.

Have you considered an SSD though?

I will probably add an SSD and a second GPU down the road.

I am in the process of building my own rig and I did look at that combo. The only problem I have with it is the motherboard. If you read the reviews on it a ton of people have had it dead on arrival or not work in a couple of months. Also, some say ASUS has bad customer support but i don't know about that and how stable the board is.

Dude I got a really nice setup to play Bf3 for a killer affordable price!!

Check it out

AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT90ZFBGRBOX
$169.99


EVGA 01G-P3-1370-RX GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB
Newegg.com - Recertified: EVGA 01G-P3-1370-RX GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
$134.99


ASUS M4A88T-M/USB3 AM3 AMD 880G HDMI USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Newegg.com - ASUS M4A88T-M/USB3 AM3 AMD 880G HDMI USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
$94.99


G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL
$44.99


Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3750528AS 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Newegg.com - Recertified: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3750528AS 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
$32.99

Plus a FREE Deus Ex Human Revolution!


TOTAL: $507.24




PS: If you need a new Power Supply, here

RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-530SS 530W ATX12V V2.2/ EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular LED Power Supply
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!$39.99

Civil, I would really recommend getting a Z68 board.

Welcome, Khalil!