AMD vs. Intel vs. $$$

Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version

Greetings All,

Thought I would post this here looking for some general advice. ANY opinions or suggestions are greatly appreciated!

1. My Budget:
This is my main issue. I have a $1400 budget ($1390 to be exact) that I've saved but that INCLUDES tax, which in California is considerable, at least $125 for even the most low budget DS system. Shipping is not a problem, I have the good fortune to live near DS so will do a local pickup. 

2. Expectations:
I need/expect something that will last 5 years, stability and some basics: HD, optical drive. I expect it to be able to handle some casual MMO gaming and a few single player games on high or at least decent settings.

3. Usage:
I will be using it primarily for MMOs (probably Rift), some single player games on the side, and as a general home computer (heavy web surfing, some music, document storage.) I already have the monitor and all peripherals I need, I just need the desktop now 

4. Special Needs: I could use a reasonably quiet computer as it will be in a public area of my condo, but it's not critical.

The build I'm considering is below:

Ticket Number: 485117
Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master CM 690 II Advanced
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 970 (3.5GHz) (Quad Core) (8 MB Cache) AM3 Socket
Motherboard: ASUS M4A88T-M LE (AMD 880G Chipsets) (Socket AM3)
System Memory: 4GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 750W Digital Storm Certified (Dual SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition Recommended)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (64MB Cache) (Model: Black Edition WD1002FAEX)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 1GB (Includes PhysX) (EVGA SuperClocked 01G-P3-1372-TR)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: High Performance Cooler (Compatible With i5/i7/AMD Processors)
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended)

Simply put, I can't afford any of the Intel systems unless it's an i3, and for some reason I just don't want to accept the idea of anything less than an i5. With the above, do you think I could acheive my goal: a decent budget system on an AMD chip? Maybe I could reduce the power supply to 500W and get a slightly better AMD chip? Otherwise, I'm reasonably happy with the above. 

Once again, advice/opinions greatly appreciated!

Edited by firstknight117 - 08 Feb 2011 at 2:57pm

Author	Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version
firstknight117 Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 28 Oct 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 6	Quote Reply Topic: AMD vs. Intel vs. $$$ Posted: 08 Feb 2011 at 2:19pm
	Greetings All, Thought I would post this here looking for some general advice. ANY opinions or suggestions are greatly appreciated! 1. My Budget: This is my main issue. I have a $1400 budget ($1390 to be exact) that I've saved but that INCLUDES tax, which in California is considerable, at least $125 for even the most low budget DS system. Shipping is not a problem, I have the good fortune to live near DS so will do a local pickup. 2. Expectations: I need/expect something that will last 5 years, stability and some basics: HD, optical drive. I expect it to be able to handle some casual MMO gaming and a few single player games on high or at least decent settings. 3. Usage: I will be using it primarily for MMOs (probably Rift), some single player games on the side, and as a general home computer (heavy web surfing, some music, document storage.) I already have the monitor and all peripherals I need, I just need the desktop now 4. Special Needs: I could use a reasonably quiet computer as it will be in a public area of my condo, but it's not critical. The build I'm considering is below: Ticket Number: 485117 Specifications: Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master CM 690 II Advanced Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 970 (3.5GHz) (Quad Core) (8 MB Cache) AM3 Socket Motherboard: ASUS M4A88T-M LE (AMD 880G Chipsets) (Socket AM3) System Memory: 4GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) Power Supply: 750W Digital Storm Certified (Dual SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition Recommended) Expansion Bay: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (64MB Cache) (Model: Black Edition WD1002FAEX) Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x) Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 1GB (Includes PhysX) (EVGA SuperClocked 01G-P3-1372-TR) Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: High Performance Cooler (Compatible With i5/i7/AMD Processors) H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans Internal Lighting: - No Thanks Enhancements: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - No Thanks Noise Reduction: - No Thanks Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended) Simply put, I can't afford any of the Intel systems unless it's an i3, and for some reason I just don't want to accept the idea of anything less than an i5. With the above, do you think I could acheive my goal: a decent budget system on an AMD chip? Maybe I could reduce the power supply to 500W and get a slightly better AMD chip? Otherwise, I'm reasonably happy with the above. Once again, advice/opinions greatly appreciated! Edited by firstknight117 - 08 Feb 2011 at 2:57pm

dadyrghluv Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 08 Feb 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 21	Quote Reply Posted: 08 Feb 2011 at 2:42pm
	750w power supply seems like overkill unless your going to upgrade to crossfire x or SLI in the future. if not, i would suggest less power. if so, then your all set there. you can save money on the HDD as well, by choosing a single 250gb or even a 500gb version. just trying to save you some money so u can put it toward something else, or even keep it in your pocket

firstknight117 Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 28 Oct 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 6	Quote Reply Posted: 08 Feb 2011 at 8:02pm
	Thanks! I did order a rig similar to the above based on your suggestion, with a reduced power supply. I know on DS we don't talk about AMD, although I am going to OC the chip and got a performance after market cooler for it so it should be no problem. Money is money, and for my needs it should be perfect. I probably won't post one of those "look at THIS rig" stories, but I'm very happy with my purchase right now & looking forward to getting it. I had purchased at the end of December another gaming rig (from a computer maker COUGH Alienware COUGH who shall not be named) which turned out to be an epic disaster. I won't go into the boring details here, but let's just say the story ends with me getting a refund and buying instead from DS. Edited by firstknight117 - 08 Feb 2011 at 8:02pm

dadyrghluv Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 08 Feb 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 21	Quote Reply Posted: 08 Feb 2011 at 9:07pm
	glad i could help you save some money. just seemed like overkill if no SLI or crossfire was to be used or implemented in the future. i hope its everything u expect and wanted in a system for your needs. i too was thinking of buying an alienware, and did my research into them, and they have an awful reputation and bad buisness practices, which DSO does not, and stands behind their product and their customers. thats what loyalty is based on and i for one have become a huge fan of this company, and look forward to buying my rig within the week.

Muddy Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 03 Feb 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 126	Quote Reply Posted: 10 Feb 2011 at 4:57am
	Congrats on your purchase, I myself will be ordering a rig soon, thanks to the help of the guys here. I almost purchased from iBUYPOWER.com , before I went to their forum and saw nothing but complaints about customer service and machine stability.

AMD vs. Intel vs. $$$

About Us

Community

Support

Company

Contact Us

Follow Us