[coastie65]

LiveBrianD, on 07 May 2012 - 07:22 PM, said:

I don't see any point in spending more on the Crucial ram. I've had good luck with gskill ram (I have a DDR3 2GB module in my laptop, along with the stock 2GB, and I installed a DDR2 gskill set into a friend's older desktop a while ago and he hasn't had any problems with it). On the other hand, Mushkin seems to be recommended around here (I haven't actually used it myself), so I think it's a draw between them.

That motherboard looks good, and I see no reason to get anything more than that.

I agree. I do like Crucial and run it in the Gateway, but have GSkill in here and I love it and as you said, it is cheaper.

[waldojim]

Rommel, on 08 May 2012 - 01:11 PM, said:

Waldojim,

You could had picked up this instore only purchase up for me when you were at the micro center.
$190, wow, you see that coastie?
Its actually $209 after $20 rebate at compusa.
NE is $245, whats wrong with them?
I will add micro center to my stores to visit. Newegg has been running higher than TD and now MC.

Alright, the K versions have no OCing restrictions and the 3550 has "limited" OCing ability.
What exactly does that mean?

The 3550 is a quad, 3.3 stock, turbo boost to 3.7.
Thats no wimp.

Me

Basically, you can lock it in at 3.7Ghz, rather than just turbo up to it.
Intel 3570K - $190

That is a tempting deal.

Also, btw - of the i5's, only the 'K' chip gets the HD 4000 video card, the others get a cut down card. Don't know if QuickSync, or OpenCL are important to you, but they will perform better on the 3570K.

This post has been edited by waldojim: 08 May 2012 - 02:42 PM

[coastie65]

waldojim, on 08 May 2012 - 02:37 PM, said:

Rommel, on 08 May 2012 - 01:11 PM, said:

Waldojim,

You could had picked up this instore only purchase up for me when you were at the micro center.
$190, wow, you see that coastie?
Its actually $209 after $20 rebate at compusa.
NE is $245, whats wrong with them?
I will add micro center to my stores to visit. Newegg has been running higher than TD and now MC.

Alright, the K versions have no OCing restrictions and the 3550 has "limited" OCing ability.
What exactly does that mean?

The 3550 is a quad, 3.3 stock, turbo boost to 3.7.
Thats no wimp.

Me

Basically, you can lock it in at 3.7Ghz, rather than just turbo up to it.
Intel 3570K - $190

That is a tempting deal.

Also, btw - of the i5's, only the 'K' chip gets the HD 4000 video card, the others get a cut down card. Don't know if QuickSync, or OpenCL are important to you, but they will perform better on the 3570K.

Yep, at a $190, that is a good deal. The non K's have HD3000.

[LiveBrianD]

coastie65, on 08 May 2012 - 06:58 AM, said:

Hey Brian, 10k is doable, but like rommel, I hate to part with my money unnecessarily. Contrary to the way it may sound, although money isn't an issue, I will not get anything unless I feel the benefits of doing so will justify the cost.

As I said, I wouldn't even remotely consider (in a serious way) getting a machine like that. You're set for quite a while with a machine like that (the $10K one I came up with).

[LiveBrianD]

Rommel, on 08 May 2012 - 01:11 PM, said:

Waldojim,

You could had picked up this instore only purchase up for me when you were at the micro center.
$190, wow, you see that coastie?
Its actually $209 after $20 rebate at compusa.
NE is $245, whats wrong with them?
I will add micro center to my stores to visit. Newegg has been running higher than TD and now MC.

Alright, the K versions have no OCing restrictions and the 3550 has "limited" OCing ability.
What exactly does that mean?

The 3550 is a quad, 3.3 stock, turbo boost to 3.7.
Thats no wimp.

Me

I've noticed the 'egg's prices getting a bit high on other things too. It's too bad there aren't any Micro Centers too close to me. (the nearest one is at least an hour away)

[LiveBrianD]

coastie65, on 08 May 2012 - 03:57 PM, said:

waldojim, on 08 May 2012 - 02:37 PM, said:

Basically, you can lock it in at 3.7Ghz, rather than just turbo up to it.
Intel 3570K - $190

That is a tempting deal.

Also, btw - of the i5's, only the 'K' chip gets the HD 4000 video card, the others get a cut down card. Don't know if QuickSync, or OpenCL are important to you, but they will perform better on the 3570K.

Yep, at a $190, that is a good deal. The non K's have HD3000.

Who actually uses integrated graphics for their main machines around here anyway?

[Rommel]

waldojim, on 08 May 2012 - 02:37 PM, said:

Basically, you can lock it in at 3.7Ghz, rather than just turbo up to it.
Intel 3570K - $190

That is a tempting deal.

Also, btw - of the i5's, only the 'K' chip gets the HD 4000 video card, the others get a cut down card. Don't know if QuickSync, or OpenCL are important to you, but they will perform better on the 3570K.

LOL, forgot to post link.
THX WJ and sry coastie.

Yeah, I read the 3570 had better graphics but didn't recall the exact details.

Looking at asus boards at MC, some offer a big discount if you purchase a 3570 cpu.

One is the pro with a $50 discount if combo purchased.

[waldojim]

LiveBrianD, on 08 May 2012 - 04:39 PM, said:

coastie65, on 08 May 2012 - 03:57 PM, said:

waldojim, on 08 May 2012 - 02:37 PM, said:

Basically, you can lock it in at 3.7Ghz, rather than just turbo up to it.
Intel 3570K - $190

That is a tempting deal.

Also, btw - of the i5's, only the 'K' chip gets the HD 4000 video card, the others get a cut down card. Don't know if QuickSync, or OpenCL are important to you, but they will perform better on the 3570K.

Yep, at a $190, that is a good deal. The non K's have HD3000.

Who actually uses integrated graphics for their main machines around here anyway?

The issue here isn't the integrated graphics for graphics. The issue is in QuickSync and OpenCL. OpenCL will show up more and more in games - and this IGP could take a serious load off BOTH the CPU and Dedicated GPU. That alone could prove to be worth the 'K' series.

[waldojim]

Rommel, on 08 May 2012 - 04:46 PM, said:

LOL, forgot to post link.
THX WJ and sry coastie.

Yeah, I read the 3570 had better graphics but didn't recall the exact details.

Looking at asus boards at MC, some offer a big discount if you purchase a 3570 cpu.

One is the pro with a $50 discount if combo purchased.

That certainly helps ease the wallet a bit, doesn't it?

[Rommel]

waldojim, on 08 May 2012 - 05:52 PM, said:

Rommel, on 08 May 2012 - 04:46 PM, said:

LOL, forgot to post link.
THX WJ and sry coastie.

Yeah, I read the 3570 had better graphics but didn't recall the exact details.

Looking at asus boards at MC, some offer a big discount if you purchase a 3570 cpu.

One is the pro with a $50 discount if combo purchased.

That certainly helps ease the wallet a bit, doesn't it?

Yes it does but can't pull the trigger yet.
Trying to justify this.

Heck, reading your nice "cheap" build, what do I really need.

My SSD has shipped. If I purchase everything I'll do it all at once but if I get cold feet for better deals (?) I'll just install the SSD for now.

That Asus pro for 170 is nice but thats $170 for the board, $250 for the 3570 = $420.
I bet you could build a nice PC for that, in fact, I know someone who did for a little over $300.
Wow, two components VS an entire build.

[waldojim]

Rommel, on 08 May 2012 - 06:01 PM, said:

Yes it does but can't pull the trigger yet.
Trying to justify this.

Heck, reading your nice "cheap" build, what do I really need.

My SSD has shipped. If I purchase everything I'll do it all at once but if I get cold feet for better deals (?) I'll just install the SSD for now.

That Asus pro for 170 is nice but thats $170 for the board, $250 for the 3570 = $420.
I bet you could build a nice PC for that, in fact, I know someone who did for a little over $300.
Wow, two components VS an entire build.

Yes, that cheap build was a nice build. Relatively. You have to remember that everything in life is relative.

So lets be frank a minute. An AMD Phenom X4 is a great chip, for certain tasks. When you have limited funds they can, in a pinch, handle many games quite well. But like everything in life, there are different levels of power, and quality. Is the extra money to move from an AMD Phenom to an Intel i5 worth it? Yes. I have done this, and seen the results myself.

More importantly though, while I am impressed with how well that cheap Asus was designed, that is based on experiences with other similarly cheap products. Would I compare a $50 entry level Asus board with a $200 Z77 board? Nope. Not even close. Just as I wouldn't put MSI or EVGA in the same league. There are differences in design and craftsmanship that make the extra cost worth it. I am talking of course, both physically, and logically (bios, firmware, etc).

So while it is possible to build extremely cheap, extra money, spent wisely, can also add not only to performance but quality as well - both worth the added cost.

[coastie65]

Hey Rommel, With what you have and what you are looking at, the performance boost would be well worth and justify the cost of the upgrade hands down.

[Rommel]

Is there anything this board is lacking that the more expensive ones have that I'll possibly regret not getting?

I know some versions have wifi but I honestly don't see me using that at all or much if I had it.

??

http://www.asus.com/...1155/P8Z77V_LX/

[waldojim]

Rommel, on 09 May 2012 - 07:30 AM, said:

Is there anything this board is lacking that the more expensive ones have that I'll possibly regret not getting?

I know some versions have wifi but I honestly don't see me using that at all or much if I had it.

??

http://www.asus.com/...1155/P8Z77V_LX/

Well, you have the obvious:
No VRM Heatinks. This will severely limit the overclocking potential (right down to the "don't bother" point).
Second, was the audio, limited to 5.1 and relatively cheap audio codec.
Third was Firewire. Not sure if you need it or not...

Then the not-so-obvious:
second PCI-e slot is only 4x, so no SLI.
only a 4 phase power delivery, higher ends get 8 or 12 phases for added stability.


Now then, how much of that really matters? I know personally, I care about the VRM more than anything else on this list. Add your own heatsinks, and then you can at least run a mild OC fairly safely. But you aren't likely to get far with only a 4 phase unit, as it will have too much variance in the voltage when you start drawing too much power.

[coastie65]

Rommel, on 09 May 2012 - 07:30 AM, said:

Is there anything this board is lacking that the more expensive ones have that I'll possibly regret not getting?

I know some versions have wifi but I honestly don't see me using that at all or much if I had it.

??

http://www.asus.com/...1155/P8Z77V_LX/

Hey Rommel, I am not real comfortable with that MOBO due to the lack of heat sinks as has been stated. This one should do fine : http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813131820 It has the heatsinks around the on the stuff that needs it. The one you linked to has no heat sinks at all. This one doesn't have Bluetooth as does the VPro, but everything else.

[Rommel]

coastie65, on 09 May 2012 - 08:51 AM, said:

Rommel, on 09 May 2012 - 07:30 AM, said:

Is there anything this board is lacking that the more expensive ones have that I'll possibly regret not getting?

I know some versions have wifi but I honestly don't see me using that at all or much if I had it.

??

http://www.asus.com/...1155/P8Z77V_LX/

Hey Rommel, I am not real comfortable with that MOBO due to the lack of heat sinks as has been stated. This one should do fine : http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813131820 It has the heatsinks around the on the stuff that needs it. The one you linked to has no heat sinks at all. This one doesn't have Bluetooth as does the VPro, but everything else.

Thanks guys for pointing that out.

I asked because at MC that board is $90 and the 3570 is $190 when purchased together.
Just under $300.

It would had be worth taking the drive.

Ok.

[coastie65]

Rommel, on 09 May 2012 - 10:08 AM, said:

coastie65, on 09 May 2012 - 08:51 AM, said:

Rommel, on 09 May 2012 - 07:30 AM, said:

Is there anything this board is lacking that the more expensive ones have that I'll possibly regret not getting?

I know some versions have wifi but I honestly don't see me using that at all or much if I had it.

??

http://www.asus.com/...1155/P8Z77V_LX/

Hey Rommel, I am not real comfortable with that MOBO due to the lack of heat sinks as has been stated. This one should do fine : http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813131820 It has the heatsinks around the on the stuff that needs it. The one you linked to has no heat sinks at all. This one doesn't have Bluetooth as does the VPro, but everything else.

Thanks guys for pointing that out.

I asked because at MC that board is $90 and the 3570 is $190 when purchased together.
Just under $300.

It would had be worth taking the drive.

Ok.

Yeah, but my best guess is that you would be handcuffed with that MOBO for the reasons stated.

[coastie65]

Ok. Another entry from Nvidia: http://benchmarkrevi...d=916&Itemid=72

[Rommel]

The last piece to decide on is the RAM.

I asked earlier between 3 choices.

Another question.
This will be 1600 at 2X4GBs.
Don't believe I need 16GBs.

Anyway, 1600 ram with timings of 7 7 7 24 runs around $60-70.

Naturely gets cheaper with higher timings.

MC has RAM on sale at $30 and 9 9 9 24 timings.

Between the price differance and the timings, which is best?
I'm leaning toward the $30 expense being I have a good tally spent so far.
Will the differance in timings really be a big deal?

Tomorrow I pick up my i5 IV cpu and Asus pro V mobo at MC.
The ride is worth the savings.
My SSD should be home by now.
It was transferred to reg mail so I can no longer track but today is the expected delivery date.

[coastie65]

Rommel, on 11 May 2012 - 12:39 PM, said:

The last piece to decide on is the RAM.

I asked earlier between 3 choices.

Another question.
This will be 1600 at 2X4GBs.
Don't believe I need 16GBs.

Anyway, 1600 ram with timings of 7 7 7 24 runs around $60-70.

Naturely gets cheaper with higher timings.

MC has RAM on sale at $30 and 9 9 9 24 timings.

Between the price differance and the timings, which is best?
I'm leaning toward the $30 expense being I have a good tally spent so far.
Will the differance in timings really be a big deal?

Tomorrow I pick up my i5 IV cpu and Asus pro V mobo at MC.
The ride is worth the savings.
My SSD should be home by now.
It was transferred to reg mail so I can no longer track but today is the expected delivery date.

Hey Rommel, This should do just fine: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820231445