I'm gonna build a PC soon, need processor advice

[Low Key]

Here's the deal everyone...

After being a console guy all my life, I have decided it's time to build a gaming PC. I am pretty computer literate and I was doing just fine picking out parts until I came to the processor.

I have really been looking into an AMD Phenom II 1100T, but as I've been looking at benchmarks, it seems as if Intel i7-2600K has more throughput despite having less cores and the clock only being 100MHz higher.

The thing is, I know certain processors are designed to do certain stuff. Some do gaming better, while some render video better, and others are better at heavy multitasking. Which one will aid me in the best gaming experience? I don't think I'll be overclocking. Seems like too much work for my first build. Just trying to run most games at very high or maxed with 60+ FPS.

[sub]Note: I know the biggest boost for gaming comes from the GPU and I already have that picked out. (Radeon 5850, maybe 5870 if I can afford it)[/sub]

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[The Cheezy One]

I would personally go for the AMD, mainly because I have found that Intel products, while more powerful, aren't as much built with gaming in mind.
For a first build, this seems awfully overpowered, but hey, if you can afford it, why not? What other parts are you going for here? I built my first PC at the age of 13, and recently upgraded it, so I am always interested in these things

 

[MrTub]

Here's the deal everyone...

After being a console guy all my life, I have decided it's time to build a gaming PC. I am pretty computer literate and I was doing just fine picking out parts until I came to the processor.

I have really been looking into an AMD Phenom II 1100T, but as I've been looking at benchmarks, it seems as if Intel i7-2600K has more throughput despite having less cores and the clock only being 100MHz higher.

The thing is, I know certain processors are designed to do certain stuff. Some do gaming better, while some render video better, and others are better at heavy multitasking. Which one will aid me in the best gaming experience? I don't think I'll be overclocking. Seems like too much work for my first build. Just trying to run most games at very high or maxed with 60+ FPS.

[sub]Note: I know the biggest boost for gaming comes from the GPU and I already have that picked out. (Radeon 5850, maybe 5870 if I can afford it)[/sub]

Thanks in advance for the help.

I would go for the intel i7 2600k since it got HT which fools the computer into thinking it got 8 cores and it also got turbo boost and it's really easy to overclock

 

[markisb]

id put in an i5 to save some cash. but the new line of cpus get released around this time so wait a while till the price drops so u can buy them cheaper.

 

[Low Key]

I would personally go for the AMD, mainly because I have found that Intel products, while more powerful, aren't as much built with gaming in mind.
For a first build, this seems awfully overpowered, but hey, if you can afford it, why not? What other parts are you going for here? I built my first PC at the age of 13, and recently upgraded it, so I am always interested in these things

It'll be my first build, but I am not a tech novice by any means.

Essentially, I want a processor that will last so when it's time to upgrade my GPU eventually, I can do it and my CPU won't turn into a bottleneck.

Nothing is truly set in stone yet and obviously a couple parts will change depending on the CPU, but here's what I'm working with.

Spoiler

Initial AMD Build

Case $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066

CPU $270
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103913

Motherboard $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131647

RAM $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145261

Video Card $260
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103085

Power Supply $120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371024

Hard Drive $90 x 3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533

All in all it'll run me about $1200 which I know is a lot. I've been saving though.

I think I might be getting too much RAM for gaming. 8gigs seems like it might be a lot. I'll probably knock it down to 4gigs by the end.

I also plan on getting 3 of the hard drives and putting them into 6Gb/s SATA RAID 5 for speed, but more importantly, redundancy. I've lost too much data in the past not backing stuff up. RAID 0 would be faster, but the 6Gb/s link should make the difference negligible.

I would go for the intel i7 2600k since it got HT which fools the computer into thinking it got 8 cores and it also got turbo boost and it's really easy to overclock

The boost is the main reason why I am looking at the 2600K if I ever decide to OC, but again, it's not something I intend on messing with for a while. I hear that hyper-threading is actually a hindrance to gaming though (at least for now), but with it turned off the 2600K still appears to have a little more zip. Unfortunately, the benches weren't for gaming.

id put in an i5 to save some cash. but the new line of cpus get released around this time so wait a while till the price drops so u can buy them cheaper.

I don't plan on building it till about the spring, maybe early summer. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for dropping prices.

But which i5 do you suggest I look at?

 

[Skorpyo]

Personally, whenever I do a build with gaming in mind, I go for AMD.

There are concrete reasons for it. Higher BUS speed (throughput), larger on-chip caches (used for redundant processes, which games use a lot of), and the fact that they are much more easily tweaked and over-clocked.

Intel is known for reliability, compatibility, and the ability to handle basic processes well. For games, they aren't exactly top fliers.

 

[Brutus03]

Go for the AMD as you wanted. In my opinion the advantages of the AMD over Intel is not raw processing power its the versatility of it. AMD CPU sockets can handle different versions of their processors. Example an AM3 CPU socket can support a AMD dual Core, triple core, or Quad core. All different speeds and cores. If a newer version comes out that is faster, you can upgrade with less hassle.

Making your first computer Future proof would be a very good start.

 

[markisb]

I would personally go for the AMD, mainly because I have found that Intel products, while more powerful, aren't as much built with gaming in mind.
For a first build, this seems awfully overpowered, but hey, if you can afford it, why not? What other parts are you going for here? I built my first PC at the age of 13, and recently upgraded it, so I am always interested in these things

It'll be my first build, but I am not a tech novice by any means.

Essentially, I want a processor that will last so when it's time to upgrade my GPU eventually, I can do it and my CPU won't turn into a bottleneck.

Nothing is truly set in stone yet and obviously a couple parts will change depending on the CPU, but here's what I'm working with.

Spoiler

Initial AMD Build

Case $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066

CPU $270
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103913

Motherboard $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131647

RAM $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145261

Video Card $260
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103085

Power Supply $120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371024

Hard Drive $90 x 3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533

All in all it'll run me about $1200 which I know is a lot. I've been saving though.

I think I might be getting too much RAM for gaming. 8gigs seems like it might be a lot. I'll probably knock it down to 4gigs by the end.

I also plan on getting 3 of the hard drives and putting them into 6Gb/s SATA RAID 5 for speed, but more importantly, redundancy. I've lost too much data in the past not backing stuff up. RAID 0 would be faster, but the 6Gb/s link should make the difference negligible.

I would go for the intel i7 2600k since it got HT which fools the computer into thinking it got 8 cores and it also got turbo boost and it's really easy to overclock

The boost is the main reason why I am looking at the 2600K if I ever decide to OC, but again, it's not something I intend on messing with for a while. I hear that hyper-threading is actually a hindrance to gaming though (at least for now), but with it turned off the 2600K still appears to have a little more zip. Unfortunately, the benches weren't for gaming.

id put in an i5 to save some cash. but the new line of cpus get released around this time so wait a while till the price drops so u can buy them cheaper.

I don't plan on building it till about the spring, maybe early summer. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for dropping prices.

But which i5 do you suggest I look at?

i think it would be more beneficial to you if u also posted on other computer fourms as i think there will e more people that could help you.

 

[Neuromaster]

Three general pieces of advice:
1) Your graphics card is much more important for graphical performance than your CPU. If you have extra cash burning a hole in your pocket, spend it on a better GPU, not CPU.
2) If you hate long loading times, consider purchasing a solid state hard drive to install games & applications on and a conventional drive for other files & media. No CPU in the world will speed up that loading bar.
3) While it's a couple months old now, Ars Technica usually puts out some really well-written system guides [http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/guides/2010/09/the-ars-system-guide-september-2010-edition.ars]. A quick read through might prove helpful.

 

[MrTub]

Go for the AMD as you wanted. In my opinion the advantages of the AMD over Intel is not raw processing power its the versatility of it. AMD CPU sockets can handle different versions of their processors. Example an AM3 CPU socket can support a AMD dual Core, triple core, or Quad core. All different speeds and cores. If a newer version comes out that is faster, you can upgrade with less hassle.

Making your first computer Future proof would be a very good start.

I'm pretty sure that Bulldozer will be using a new socket aka u need a new mobo for it.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Making your first computer Future proof would be a very good start.

I'm pretty sure that Bulldozer will be using a new socket aka u need a new mobo for it.

Yeah, Bulldozer will use socket AM3+ and there's no word yet if the 22nm CPUs that should drop 12-18 months after Bulldozer will keep the same socket.

OTOH, if I was looking to drop the most hardcore, stupidly high performance CPU I could into a rig, I'd wait until socket R i7 CPUs get released.

 

[Kabutos]

I'm afraid I'm quite late to the party, but if you haven't already ordered, I would really recommend ditching that CPU and either going for an i5 2500k or Phenom II X4 955 if you're on a budget.

Hexacores aren't worth it; especially when you could be saving the money for a better GPU.

Also you only need 4GB of RAM.

 

[vxicepickxv]

I'm afraid I'm quite late to the party, but if you haven't already ordered, I would really recommend ditching that CPU and either going for an i5 2500k or Phenom II X4 955 if you're on a budget.

Hexacores aren't worth it; especially when you could be saving the money for a better GPU.

Also you only need 4GB of RAM.

Okay, now it's time to confuse 'em some more.

If you get a 64 bit Operating System(which you should because in my experience they're more stable) then you can get more than 4GB of RAM.

Make sure you're getting a Motherboard and CPU that match. If you're getting the selected board, you NEED TO get a matching AMD CPU. You CANNOT use an Intel CPU with that motherboard.

Newegg is nice, if ALL of your parts work from one order. Otherwise, each part must be individually repackaged and set back together for a refund/replacement of a single part.

If you want to search for a better deal for parts, I would go with http://www.pricewatch.com because it allows you to search dozens of sights for the exact same part. Find the best price, and enjoy a couple more bucks for games(In the case of the video card, I found one for 195.99 vs Neweggs 259.99, so that's already some major steam fun right there).

 

[Low Key]

I'm afraid I'm quite late to the party, but if you haven't already ordered, I would really recommend ditching that CPU and either going for an i5 2500k or Phenom II X4 955 if you're on a budget.

Hexacores aren't worth it; especially when you could be saving the money for a better GPU.

Also you only need 4GB of RAM.

I won't be building this for at least another month or two. But you don't think a 1gig 256-bit Radeon 5850 is good enough? My budget is about $1200 total. I don't think with that money I'm skimping on anything. But I do believe you are right about the RAM. I think I was a bit overzealous with 8gigs. The motherboard I am thinking of getting is expandable to 16gigs, so if I need to upgrade in the future, I certainly can.

Okay, now it's time to confuse 'em some more.

If you get a 64 bit Operating System(which you should because in my experience they're more stable) then you can get more than 4GB of RAM.

Make sure you're getting a Motherboard and CPU that match. If you're getting the selected board, you NEED TO get a matching AMD CPU. You CANNOT use an Intel CPU with that motherboard.

Newegg is nice, if ALL of your parts work from one order. Otherwise, each part must be individually repackaged and set back together for a refund/replacement of a single part.

If you want to search for a better deal for parts, I would go with http://www.pricewatch.com because it allows you to search dozens of sights for the exact same part. Find the best price, and enjoy a couple more bucks for games(In the case of the video card, I found one for 195.99 vs Neweggs 259.99, so that's already some major steam fun right there).

Guys (not just vxicepickxv), trust me when I say this, I DO know computers. I'm almost finished with my degree in network administration. I just haven't built a computer before. The only question I had was about the processor and it's primary function, you know, whether or not it's made for gaming or something else like rendering and editing video. I know about socket compatibility, operating systems, all of that stuff.

Thank you though for the link to Pricewatch. I'll definitely check it out. The only reason everything I posted was from Newegg is because it was just easier. I've also been looking at TigerDirect and Micro Center.

i think it would be more beneficial to you if u also posted on other computer fourms as i think there will e more people that could help you.

Way ahead of you. lol

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

But you don't think a 1gig 256-bit Radeon 5850 is good enough?

You might want to look at the 6800 models then. They're roughly on par with the 5800 models but with some numbers shifted (the 6850 is equiv to the 5830 and the 6870 is equiv to the 5850, and no, I have no idea why they did that). 6870 would give you the same processing power but with the added features of a next generation chipset, so compare the prices of the two.

But I do believe you are right about the RAM. I think I was a bit overzealous with 8gigs.

Yeah, if you only intend to game then 8Gb is overkill.

If, on the other hand, you start to get into digital art, movie editting or digital composing then stuff your box with as much RAM as your mobo can handle.

 

[Kabutos]

If you get a 64 bit Operating System(which you should because in my experience they're more stable) then you can get more than 4GB of RAM.

You can, but if you're building a gaming PC, you don't need more than 4GB.

I won't be building this for at least another month or two. But you don't think a 1gig 256-bit Radeon 5850 is good enough? My budget is about $1200 total. I don't think with that money I'm skimping on anything. But I do believe you are right about the RAM. I think I was a bit overzealous with 8gigs. The motherboard I am thinking of getting is expandable to 16gigs, so if I need to upgrade in the future, I certainly can.

The 5850 is a fine card, but there's no use buying one now, especially with the 6xxx line out. My main point is that hexacores aren't worth it, and the money spent on them could be better spent on other things, such as a GPU.

As an aside, you can get an i5 2500k and two HD6850's (or GTX 460's) for about $1000 USD. Which I think is pretty neat.

 

[vxicepickxv]

If you get a 64 bit Operating System(which you should because in my experience they're more stable) then you can get more than 4GB of RAM.

You can, but if you're building a gaming PC, you don't need more than 4GB.

I won't be building this for at least another month or two. But you don't think a 1gig 256-bit Radeon 5850 is good enough? My budget is about $1200 total. I don't think with that money I'm skimping on anything. But I do believe you are right about the RAM. I think I was a bit overzealous with 8gigs. The motherboard I am thinking of getting is expandable to 16gigs, so if I need to upgrade in the future, I certainly can.

The 5850 is a fine card, but there's no use buying one now, especially with the 6xxx line out. My main point is that hexacores aren't worth it, and the money spent on them could be better spent on other things, such as a GPU.

As an aside, you can get an i5 2500k and two HD6850's (or GTX 460's) for about $1000 USD. Which I think is pretty neat.

Arguing about the need for more than 4GB of RAM is kind of silly. There's actually a conversion patch for most software to convert it from a 32 bit base to a 64 bit base. Most of the time you don't notice anything, but sometimes it helps(In particular when you start heavily modding games like Oblivion and Fallout 3). http://www.ntcore.com/4gb_patch.php Yes, it works.

 

[Low Key]

After tons and tons of revisions, I think I have my final build ready to go. I'm going to order next Saturday. For anyone who is still curious, here are the specs.

Spoiler

Case - $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066

CPU - $208.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115067

Mobo - $94.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121396

GPU - $369.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103182

RAM - $59.98 (4 1GB Sticks)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145252

HDD - $194.97 (3 1TB HDDs)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

PSU - $64.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817339003

Cooling - $19.47 (3 Fans)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998121

Cables - $25.94 (3 SATA, 1 HDMI)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812189200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812816001

DVD Drive - $28.19 (External)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136184

Total cost + shipping: $1157.54

I decided to go with an Intel i5-760, I lowered my PSU wattage to 650, and I went with 4GB of RAM instead of 8GB. Thanks to the cash I saved, I decided to upgrade to a Radeon 6970. That should be perfect for my 1680x1050 monitor.

I chose not to go with Pricewatch.com simply because after factoring in all of the shipping and handling, Newegg offers the best deal. I did a comparison build only saved like $5. It's worth that much to me that my parts arrive at the same time and it'll be better for RMA if I get dead parts.

Now all I need to do is figure out how to set up a dual boot between Windows 7 and Linux in the same RAID. But that's for another time after I finish putting everything together.

 

[Kabutos]

After tons and tons of revisions, I think I have my final build ready to go. I'm going to order next Saturday. For anyone who is still curious, here are the specs.

Spoiler

Case - $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066

CPU - $208.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115067

Mobo - $94.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121396

GPU - $369.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103182

RAM - $59.98 (4 1GB Sticks)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145252

HDD - $194.97 (3 1TB HDDs)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

PSU - $64.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817339003

Cooling - $19.47 (3 Fans)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998121

Cables - $25.94 (3 SATA, 1 HDMI)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812189200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812816001

DVD Drive - $28.19 (External)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136184

Total cost + shipping: $1157.54

I decided to go with an Intel i5-760, I lowered my PSU wattage to 650, and I went with 4GB of RAM instead of 8GB. Thanks to the cash I saved, I decided to upgrade to a Radeon 6970. That should be perfect for my 1680x1050 monitor.

I chose not to go with Pricewatch.com simply because after factoring in all of the shipping and handling, Newegg offers the best deal. I did a comparison build only saved like $5. It's worth that much to me that my parts arrive at the same time and it'll be better for RMA if I get dead parts.

Now all I need to do is figure out how to set up a dual boot between Windows 7 and Linux in the same RAID. But that's for another time after I finish putting everything together.

Get a different CPU and mobo; 1156 is outdated, but you might have a hard time finding 1155 boards.

And go 2x2GB instead of 4x1GB for your RAM.

Also, I'm confused as to why you have an external ODD. And a 6970 is overkill for 1680x1050.

 

[Low Key]

After tons and tons of revisions, I think I have my final build ready to go. I'm going to order next Saturday. For anyone who is still curious, here are the specs.

Spoiler

Case - $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066

CPU - $208.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115067

Mobo - $94.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121396

GPU - $369.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103182

RAM - $59.98 (4 1GB Sticks)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145252

HDD - $194.97 (3 1TB HDDs)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

PSU - $64.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817339003

Cooling - $19.47 (3 Fans)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998121

Cables - $25.94 (3 SATA, 1 HDMI)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812189200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812816001

DVD Drive - $28.19 (External)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136184

Total cost + shipping: $1157.54

I decided to go with an Intel i5-760, I lowered my PSU wattage to 650, and I went with 4GB of RAM instead of 8GB. Thanks to the cash I saved, I decided to upgrade to a Radeon 6970. That should be perfect for my 1680x1050 monitor.

I chose not to go with Pricewatch.com simply because after factoring in all of the shipping and handling, Newegg offers the best deal. I did a comparison build only saved like $5. It's worth that much to me that my parts arrive at the same time and it'll be better for RMA if I get dead parts.

Now all I need to do is figure out how to set up a dual boot between Windows 7 and Linux in the same RAID. But that's for another time after I finish putting everything together.

NO NO NO NONONO
Do not get the last generation Intel CPUs! They are not worth the money given the low price points of the newer generation Core CPUs. 1156 is a dead motherboard socket. Get a core i5 2400 or 2500 instead. The problem is that it's hard to get a hold of the 1155 socket mobos because they are going under a recall type thing now. If you can track one down get one with a bunch of SATA 3.0 ports and then RMA it when the new mobos are getting shipped.

EDIT: Well fuck me, 1155 socket stuff isn't on newegg anymore.

And a Radeon 6970 is a top end card. Good job.

Yeah, the first 2 weeks I was checking parts they had the Sandy Bridge and I really thinking of getting a 2600K, but every time I added one to the cart, the next day it would be out of stock.

Get a different CPU and mobo; 1156 is outdated, but you might have a hard time finding 1155 boards.

And go 2x2GB instead of 4x1GB for your RAM.

Also, I'm confused as to why you have an external ODD. And a 6970 is overkill for 1680x1050.

I chose to go the way of external optical because I don't want to waste a SATA slot (I'm going to get 3 more drives eventually and put them in RAID), and I don't want to hook it up to an IDE power source because I'm preemptively trying to go for cable management. Plus, I'll also be getting a rather cheap laptop in the next few months as well, and having something that could be used on both the PC and the laptop would be good.

As for the graphics card, I'll be upgrading my TV pretty soon as well and I want to hook my PC up to that.