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Would it be worth waiting for a few more months to buy a SandyBridge build?
DDR3 prices seem to have hit rock bottom (2x4GB sometimes for $20 AR!) and the i5-2500k can often be had for $150 at MicroCenter
I am thinking of buying:
1. i5-2500k
I wanted to ask if the IGP inside this is enough to play CounterStrike and Quake 3TA?
I don't intend to do a lot of OC.
2. A reliable Z68 MB.
Intend to buy the Z68 not to overclock but with hope that it would be more reliable than a P67 as the MB makers would have sufficient time to learn from their mistakes last time around?
Got the Asrock Z68 Gen3 or Gen4 Extreme on my radar, but have been a die-hard Gigabyte fan (Could not get a decently reviewed Z68 from them, but do recommend if you know one)
I am a bit worried about this Asrock MB as I really want to use the IGP inside the i5, but read a review that said this MB becomes unstable when doing so and only using external GPU makes that go away!
Never used an Asrock before, and their CS does leave a lot to be desired, but seems like a good sub $200 deal.
Of course, a HSF, SLI GPU (thinking of 2x 560 Ti) will come later, but not now if I can do with the IGP.
(As an aside, the upgrade would be done to play BF3, Rage and possibly DOOM4!)
Please suggest if using these parts for a build will allow me the upgrade path I want.
Here are my typical uses :
1. Virtual machines (running either full Windows XP SP4 or Ubuntu under Win7 host)
2. DOOM3/HL2 (I am old :-) ) will be running, occasionally, in the evening, specially during weekends
3. A BIG IDE will always be running - either Visual Studio 2010 or Eclipse/Netbeans
4. Dragon Naturally Speaking will always be running
5. SkyPe will always be running
Detailed usage scenarios:
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming and machine learning (CPU + RAM bound + VM)
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Max: 2k. Ideal: 1.2k (specially with BF and sales this quarter)
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
USA - Tustin, California - Egg, Frys and Microcenters abound :-D
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Decided on parts but not bought yet: CPU: i5-2500k
Now (need feedback/recommendation on): MB, RAM, Case, Monitor (> 20"), UPS
Later: GPU, HSF, Cooler (no heavy OC though), SSD
{Why later: Gaming will be sparse and that too maybe HL2 or Doom3. i5 IGP should handle it? No OC for now. Maybe when I get the GPUs}
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Static wristwrap, soldering iron (?), powertools (?), cables (PSU, SATA2, USB2)
6) Will you be overclocking?
Very little - only because the i5-2500k makes you want to OC a bit ;-)
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
I have been happy with my dual 19" CRTs at 1024x768 setup of 7 years, but they are gonna die soon I think (random dimming of tube).
In short, never used LCDs at home, but gonna buy one with a LED backlight when I get one.
Need atleast a dual monitor setup (can the Z68 IGP support dual monitors?)
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
NOW! (Whenever a part comes on sale during this quarter)
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.
nVidia Fan: appreciate SLI
USB 3
If the MB has RAID controller than can do RAID0 (OS only) reliably (no toy RAID), that would be a big plus. Otherwise, planned on SSD later
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Win7 64bit, Ubuntu, SuSE
DDR3 prices seem to have hit rock bottom (2x4GB sometimes for $20 AR!) and the i5-2500k can often be had for $150 at MicroCenter
I am thinking of buying:
1. i5-2500k
I wanted to ask if the IGP inside this is enough to play CounterStrike and Quake 3TA?
I don't intend to do a lot of OC.
2. A reliable Z68 MB.
Intend to buy the Z68 not to overclock but with hope that it would be more reliable than a P67 as the MB makers would have sufficient time to learn from their mistakes last time around?
Got the Asrock Z68 Gen3 or Gen4 Extreme on my radar, but have been a die-hard Gigabyte fan (Could not get a decently reviewed Z68 from them, but do recommend if you know one)
I am a bit worried about this Asrock MB as I really want to use the IGP inside the i5, but read a review that said this MB becomes unstable when doing so and only using external GPU makes that go away!
Never used an Asrock before, and their CS does leave a lot to be desired, but seems like a good sub $200 deal.
Of course, a HSF, SLI GPU (thinking of 2x 560 Ti) will come later, but not now if I can do with the IGP.
(As an aside, the upgrade would be done to play BF3, Rage and possibly DOOM4!)
Please suggest if using these parts for a build will allow me the upgrade path I want.
Here are my typical uses :
1. Virtual machines (running either full Windows XP SP4 or Ubuntu under Win7 host)
2. DOOM3/HL2 (I am old :-) ) will be running, occasionally, in the evening, specially during weekends
3. A BIG IDE will always be running - either Visual Studio 2010 or Eclipse/Netbeans
4. Dragon Naturally Speaking will always be running
5. SkyPe will always be running
Detailed usage scenarios:
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming and machine learning (CPU + RAM bound + VM)
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Max: 2k. Ideal: 1.2k (specially with BF and sales this quarter)
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
USA - Tustin, California - Egg, Frys and Microcenters abound :-D
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Decided on parts but not bought yet: CPU: i5-2500k
Now (need feedback/recommendation on): MB, RAM, Case, Monitor (> 20"), UPS
Later: GPU, HSF, Cooler (no heavy OC though), SSD
{Why later: Gaming will be sparse and that too maybe HL2 or Doom3. i5 IGP should handle it? No OC for now. Maybe when I get the GPUs}
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Static wristwrap, soldering iron (?), powertools (?), cables (PSU, SATA2, USB2)
6) Will you be overclocking?
Very little - only because the i5-2500k makes you want to OC a bit ;-)
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
I have been happy with my dual 19" CRTs at 1024x768 setup of 7 years, but they are gonna die soon I think (random dimming of tube).
In short, never used LCDs at home, but gonna buy one with a LED backlight when I get one.
Need atleast a dual monitor setup (can the Z68 IGP support dual monitors?)
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
NOW! (Whenever a part comes on sale during this quarter)
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.
nVidia Fan: appreciate SLI
USB 3
If the MB has RAID controller than can do RAID0 (OS only) reliably (no toy RAID), that would be a big plus. Otherwise, planned on SSD later
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Win7 64bit, Ubuntu, SuSE
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