Looking for advice on new PC

[JeromeBaker]

Guys,

I am looking to build a new PC that will carry me through the next couple years playing games on high settings and able to max out on games currenlty out like Shogun 2. Here is the system I was thinking of putting together that fits into my budget. Please let me know if you have any suggestions/concerns with the direction I am heading. This computer will be built primarily for Shogun 2, Battlefield 3, and the next Total war game that comes out.

Intel Core i7 2600K 3.4 GHz LGA 1155 95W Quad Core
G Skill Sniper 8GB (2x4GB) 240 Pin DDR3 SDRAM 1600
(2) EVGA GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Superclocked Cards
ASUS Sabertooth P67 ATX Intel MOtherboard

It has been a long time since I really followed the latest techs comming out, I put together this list by reading recommendations on newegg.com.

Thanks

[Beirut]

I'm no tech-wizard, but from what I am hearing, I'd go with one better quality card instead of a lower SLI setup. Also, a 560GTX card that costs the same as a 460 is said to be as much as 33% faster. (That's just something I read, take it with a grain of salt.) I just installed a GTX 560 Ti card running at 900mhz for $250 and it works like a charm. Hell, if you have $500 to spend on a video card, get a GTX580. You'll be in dreamland with that card.

In any case, your setup is great, but the 460 is "yesterday's card", so I'm not sure I see the merit in spending the money to buy two of them.

Check out this link for some good stats.

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

[JeromeBaker]

Thanks Beirut, I will check out the GTX580 and 560. Graphix cards was probably the part I knew least about when I started thinking about the new rig. Your reply is much appreciated!

[Beirut]

Thanks Beirut, I will check out the GTX580 and 560. Graphix cards was probably the part I knew least about when I started thinking about the new rig. Your reply is much appreciated!

My pleasure.

Unilt a few weeks ago, I was completely out of the loop. I had been running an E6700 dual-core/8800GTS rig for a few years and lost touch with tech-reality. But when I decided to upgrade, I read a ton and checked out all the stats and asked a hundred questions on the flightsim forums. Flightsims, especially FSX, are the nastiest programs to run (some guys are running FSX with 500GB+ installs) and they really know their stuff. These guys are tweaking everything to the max just to squeeze out another 5 to 10FPS when using some of the specialized sceneries.

In any case, my i5-2500/GTX560 rig (probably the best bang-for-the-buck setup) runs really well. If you end up with an i7-2600k and a GTX580, you're pretty much running the best rig available. Unless you're planing on taking over the world with your computer, you don't need anything more.

[JeromeBaker]

Only planing to take over the world on Total war games!

I never really had the extra money or could justify having a top end setup before despite being an avid gamer. After many years of running games on middle/average settings I figured it was finnaly time for an upgrade so I can see how awesome the games comming out really look. When I was looking at people posting pics/videos of S2TW with nice systems, I was shocked how much better some of the vids/screen shots looked compared to what I was seeing on my computer. Then I looked at what Crysis 2 looked like and decided it was time for an upgrade.

[Lemur]

I do not believe an SLI setup is justified for a TW game, unless you are running it on multiple high-rez monitors. Second Beirut's opinion that a single good card is a better investment than two downmarket cards. The video card is the first part you're going to replace in a couple of years, anyway. I usually go through three video cards before upgrading my entire rig (but then I like to get an unreasonable 5-6 years out of each build).

[JeromeBaker]

10-4, thanks Lemur. I am going to go the route both you and Beirut are suggesting.

[Furunculus]

always better to get one good card than two average ones.

if i was buying right now i'd get:

£160 - AMD 990FX motherboard (AM3+)
£230 - AMD 6970 2GB graphics
£70 - AMD Phenom II X4 840 (fine for now, stick an 8 core bulldozer for £150 in eight months time.

[Lemur]

always better to get one good card than two average ones.

We seem to all be singing from the same hymnal ...

[Tellos Athenaios]

But that said, it is often better to get a mid range card rather than a high end one because few high end cards stand the test of time (by which I mean that they can compete with the mid range two to three generations down the line, sometimes they don't even last a single generation).

[Lemur]

Sure, of course, never buy top-of-the-line; the premium on price is not reflected in performance. I usually buy a card of CPU that's a couple of notches below the top-grade. In other words, if the ACTIONMAX 9 MILLION is the top gaming card, but they're selling the ACIONMAX 8 MILLION for a couple hundred less, the purchase is obvious.

You don't want to step too far down the value tree, though; once you get to videocards meant for consumers and home theaters, you start to miss out on good stuff.

[Beirut]

£70 - AMD Phenom II X4 840 (fine for now, stick an 8 core bulldozer for £150 in eight months time.

Ahh, the endless AMD vs. Intel debate. Good fun.

I've used AMD CPUs and they were always great, and the price for their top of the line 6-core is ridiculously reasonable. http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16819103913

That said, given the reading I was doing - and keeping in mind I am a flightsim-head and my hardware goes in that direction - it seems the Intel Sandy Bridge CPUs have the edge. And there is (apparently) room to grow with the 1155MB.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html

But then again an AMD system is going to be wallet-friendly and I'm sure a rig built with that AMD CPU I linked to above would be stinky fast.

[Crazed Rabbit]

I find the Ars Tech system guide to be a very good starting place for info on basically every piece of hardware;

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/guide...11-edition.ars

A couple months out of date, but a good primer.

CR

[naut]

But then again an AMD system is going to be wallet-friendly and I'm sure a rig built with that AMD CPU I linked to above would be stinky fast.

They certainly are. I wouldn't get an AMD if I was running a PC designed for SETI cosmos data crunching. But, the price/performance nature of AMD CPUs make them great for your average tasks/games. Plus, you don't feel bad when it comes time to upgrade, because the cost of replacement isn't so steep.

[Furunculus]

But that said, it is often better to get a mid range card rather than a high end one because few high end cards stand the test of time (by which I mean that they can compete with the mid range two to three generations down the line, sometimes they don't even last a single generation).

true, when the top-end commands premium prices.

however, the 6970 at £230 is nothing less than a stellar bargain for the price.