$1,350 AMD build

You could hand-build a much more effective rig than that for the same price using an Intel processor. Go with a 560 ti, i7 2500k, noctua u-12p, the whole hog in fact, even with a 1TB drive and maybe even a 40GB SSD to pop in there.

Here, unfortunately though, I don't think it's possible because of the premium price incurred from purchasing a custom built provider and that you are also restricted to 4GB RAM for some reason.


Edited by ablahblah - 08 May 2011 at 11:07pm

I am sure there are ways to make this better so I'd wait for some other opinions like DST4ME's however this is a better build than what you had IMHO. I only put a 500gb drive there to keep you in budget. It's easy to add another later or you could put the terabyte drive in there now and be only 40 dollars above budget.

Ticket number: 538147 Cost: $1363

Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master Elite 430
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Processor: Intel Core i5 2500K 3.30GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core)
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Edited by AndydViking - 09 May 2011 at 2:13am

Thanks for the replies everyone. It looks like everyone recommends that I go with the i5 2500K. I'm aware that the 2500k edges out the 1100T's performance by a small margin, however, with the graphics, the 6950 edges out the 560's performance by just a small margin as well.

I dunno... I guess these differences are quite negligible. Obviously the Sandy Bridge architecture is much newer and nicer than anything AMD has, however it doesn't really matter if they perform about the same, regardless of how new/old they are.

Also everyone is recommending the Noctua CPU cooler. If it's really that nice then I might just go with it. Oh, and don't forget about the Wireless PCI card, which adds a few bucks to my build as well. :)

Is the Coolermaster Elite 430 a pretty solid case? I know it's the cheapest, but the Coolermaster CM 690 II looks to be considerably nicer for not a whole lot more. I realize the chassis doesn't play an absolutely critical part of the computer's performance, but I don't want my PC to feel flimsy either.

The Noctua is a great cooler and I'd definitely go with it. Also like DST4me said the Intel's run cooler and overclock awesome so you have to add that to the performance equation when comparing the two processors as well (gives the i5 2500k even more bonus.

On the case, I watched a bunch of youtube video's before I posted my config and it looks like a solid case to me. Your cable management might come out looking better on the 690 or the 922.

Just my opinion the Intel stock cooler is terrible. Not so much because of performance but because of the way it's mounted. Cheap plastic clips/push pins. I'd really get the Noctua and even if you don't overclock right now you can do it down the road when your PC is older and up the performance of it.

Also, if your not into building your own it's one of the more difficult things to do if you change your mind down the road. Not hard per se but harder than installing a GPU or RAM. It'll still be a good system with the stock cooler but the Noctua would make it better IMHO.

Ok, thanks guys. You've been a big help!

Regards,

Dan