I already posted on this forums saying i needed a new computer soon, because mine acted weird sometimes.

If I were to spend money on good hardware, when will it become replaced by new, better hardware, meaning, when will better stuff come out? I'm thinking about either buying a desktop, or making one with the help of people, maybe end of december or january.

Wait for ivy bridge and the HD7xxx series which is right around the corner and see where prices go

Wait for ivy bridge and the HD7xxx series which is right around the corner and see where prices go

GummiRaccoon

[QUOTE="GummiRaccoon"]

Wait for ivy bridge and the HD7xxx series which is right around the corner and see where prices go

hydralisk86

ivy bridge is a processor and HD7xxx is video cards. If you wait for them to come out, the price of current stuff will drop.

[QUOTE="hydralisk86"][QUOTE="GummiRaccoon"]

Wait for ivy bridge and the HD7xxx series which is right around the corner and see where prices go

GummiRaccoon

ivy bridge is a processor and HD7xxx is video cards. If you wait for them to come out, the price of current stuff will drop.

[QUOTE="GummiRaccoon"]

[QUOTE="hydralisk86"] Is that some kind of processor? What is it? And when is it coming out? If it's new, it might be too expensive for me. Most i can spend is around the $600-$650.hydralisk86

ivy bridge is a processor and HD7xxx is video cards. If you wait for them to come out, the price of current stuff will drop.

If you really want a computer now, you can put together a nice AMD based computer for 600 bucks. AMD is not leaving the desktop market. They just recently became profitible.

[QUOTE="hydralisk86"][QUOTE="GummiRaccoon"]

ivy bridge is a processor and HD7xxx is video cards. If you wait for them to come out, the price of current stuff will drop.

GummiRaccoon

If you really want a computer now, you can put together a nice AMD based computer for 600 bucks. AMD is not leaving the desktop market. They just recently became profitible.

[QUOTE="GummiRaccoon"]

[QUOTE="hydralisk86"] Really?? But isn't it true that AMD is getting out of the Desktop market? Or something like that...I heard that prices of processors won't really drop. When is the ivy bridge coming out? I need a new computer soon, because i'm afraid i'll be writing a paper for school, and then my computer blows out. My computer is very old, like 5 years old, maybe more, and it has problems with my speakers, in that i have to keep changing where i put the speaker cord in the back of my computer. Also, my computer has done this 2-3 times: Keeps itself in the "loading" screen for like a minute, and then i had to restart again.hydralisk86

If you really want a computer now, you can put together a nice AMD based computer for 600 bucks. AMD is not leaving the desktop market. They just recently became profitible.

yes a couple hundred more which would be better spent on a graphics card. I wouldn't suggest a 2500k until you are up in the 1,000 dollar range.

[QUOTE="hydralisk86"][QUOTE="GummiRaccoon"]

If you really want a computer now, you can put together a nice AMD based computer for 600 bucks. AMD is not leaving the desktop market. They just recently became profitible.

GummiRaccoon

yes a couple hundred more which would be better spent on a graphics card. I wouldn't suggest a 2500k until you are up in the 1,000 dollar range.

What AMD processor would you recommend? I might find someone who could put a computer for me together.
When is the stuff you talked about coming out?

I disagree. A 2500k will not cost that much more than an AMD chip. (Maybe like $40 more if you were originally planning on getting a slightly inferior Phenom II, but definitely not a "couple hundred")

Especiacilly if you happen to live near a Microcenter, because they have had some crazy deals on their Intel CPUs. (They're always selling the 2500k at $180, $40 cheaper than newegg; AND sometimes they have deals where if you buy a compatible motherboard along with the 2500k, they take another $60 off the motherboard!!!!)

But I wouldn't build a computer now anyways. Not because of Ivy Bridge coming out, but because Hard Drive prices are jacked so high now because of the flooding in Thailand..

And also, don't buy an AMD Bulldozer CPU. They totally tanked... If you're going AMD, just go with one of their Phenom IIs

[QUOTE="GummiRaccoon"]

[QUOTE="hydralisk86"] I heard people talking on these forums about the i5-2500k processor. if i wanted to use that, would i need more money?hydralisk86

yes a couple hundred more which would be better spent on a graphics card. I wouldn't suggest a 2500k until you are up in the 1,000 dollar range.

What AMD processor would you recommend? I might find someone who could put a computer for me together.
When is the stuff you talked about coming out?

A phenom II 955, it costs about 1/2 as much as a 2500k.

I disagree. A 2500k will not cost that much more than an AMD chip. (Maybe like $40 more if you were originally planning on getting a slightly inferior Phenom II, but definitely not a "couple hundred")

Especiacilly if you happen to live near a Microcenter, because they have had some crazy deals on their Intel CPUs. (They're always selling the 2500k at $180, $40 cheaper than newegg; AND sometimes they have deals where if you buy a compatible motherboard along with the 2500k, they take another $60 off the motherboard!!!!)

But I wouldn't build a computer now anyways. Not because of Ivy Bridge coming out, but because Hard Drive prices are jacked so high now because of the flooding in Thailand..

And also, don't buy an AMD Bulldozer CPU. They totally tanked... If you're going AMD, just go with one of their Phenom IIs

deathxxshark

[QUOTE="deathxxshark"]

I disagree. A 2500k will not cost that much more than an AMD chip. (Maybe like $40 more if you were originally planning on getting a slightly inferior Phenom II, but definitely not a "couple hundred")

Especiacilly if you happen to live near a Microcenter, because they have had some crazy deals on their Intel CPUs. (They're always selling the 2500k at $180, $40 cheaper than newegg; AND sometimes they have deals where if you buy a compatible motherboard along with the 2500k, they take another $60 off the motherboard!!!!)

But I wouldn't build a computer now anyways. Not because of Ivy Bridge coming out, but because Hard Drive prices are jacked so high now because of the flooding in Thailand..

And also, don't buy an AMD Bulldozer CPU. They totally tanked... If you're going AMD, just go with one of their Phenom IIs

hydralisk86

No, he doesn't know what he is talking about, an average 2500k costs about 100 dollars more than a 955, and then the motherboards with similar capabilities are more expensive intel side. The money you save on motherboard/cpu could be spent on a better graphics card (which is what counts most when you game) or pocketed.

[QUOTE="hydralisk86"][QUOTE="deathxxshark"]

I disagree. A 2500k will not cost that much more than an AMD chip. (Maybe like $40 more if you were originally planning on getting a slightly inferior Phenom II, but definitely not a "couple hundred")

Especiacilly if you happen to live near a Microcenter, because they have had some crazy deals on their Intel CPUs. (They're always selling the 2500k at $180, $40 cheaper than newegg; AND sometimes they have deals where if you buy a compatible motherboard along with the 2500k, they take another $60 off the motherboard!!!!)

But I wouldn't build a computer now anyways. Not because of Ivy Bridge coming out, but because Hard Drive prices are jacked so high now because of the flooding in Thailand..

And also, don't buy an AMD Bulldozer CPU. They totally tanked... If you're going AMD, just go with one of their Phenom IIs

GummiRaccoon

No, he doesn't know what he is talking about, an average 2500k costs about 100 dollars more than a 955, and then the motherboards with similar capabilities are more expensive intel side. The money you save on motherboard/cpu could be spent on a better graphics card (which is what counts most when you game) or pocketed.

this is black edition though.

i5 2500k is $219.99. I don't even know what a microcenter is.

Pretty soon, we just got details on what each one will be this week, so 2-3 months?

Pretty soon, we just got details on what each one will be this week, so 2-3 months?

GummiRaccoon

[QUOTE="GummiRaccoon"]

Pretty soon, we just got details on what each one will be this week, so 2-3 months?

hydralisk86

Get a 955 then. You cannot build a worthwhile intel computer for 600 dollars or less. I have 2 different 955 machines that run SC2 well over 60 fps unless there is like 400 units on the screen.

Gummi Raccoon gave good advice :) I will try to do the same.

Any decent dual core s capable of running WoW and Starcraft 2, after all they rely a lot more on your GPU. No need for an i5 2500k if you're only going to be gaming/using word and excel. I myself am only buying an i5 instead of an i3 because I'm greedy :P

I played WoW from TBC to Cataclysm on the same old Intel Pentium E5500 (2 cores @ 2.80Ghz) and it was perfect.

Granted, $650 is a very low amount. Don't expect to be maxing everything. Can you still use your old box or Power Supply? Those two would make things quite cheaper. Decent power supplies tend to be more expensive than one would think.

Phenom II X2 555 or Intel Core i3-2100 Sandy Bridge should be fine.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong guys :)

TC, what GPU do you have in mind? You could try getting a Radeon 6770 or 6850 - they are greatly priced for good performance and they aren't PSU whores. If those are too expensive you could get a 5670 for dirt cheap.

WTB edit button, I take back what I said about the AMD 555.

[QUOTE="hydralisk86"][QUOTE="deathxxshark"]

I disagree. A 2500k will not cost that much more than an AMD chip. (Maybe like $40 more if you were originally planning on getting a slightly inferior Phenom II, but definitely not a "couple hundred")

Especiacilly if you happen to live near a Microcenter, because they have had some crazy deals on their Intel CPUs. (They're always selling the 2500k at $180, $40 cheaper than newegg; AND sometimes they have deals where if you buy a compatible motherboard along with the 2500k, they take another $60 off the motherboard!!!!)

But I wouldn't build a computer now anyways. Not because of Ivy Bridge coming out, but because Hard Drive prices are jacked so high now because of the flooding in Thailand..

And also, don't buy an AMD Bulldozer CPU. They totally tanked... If you're going AMD, just go with one of their Phenom IIs

GummiRaccoon

No, he doesn't know what he is talking about, an average 2500k costs about 100 dollars more than a 955, and then the motherboards with similar capabilities are more expensive intel side. The money you save on motherboard/cpu could be spent on a better graphics card (which is what counts most when you game) or pocketed.

[QUOTE="GummiRaccoon"]

[QUOTE="hydralisk86"] So should i buy a computer that has been built already, like from Best Buy? I mean, isn't it more expensive?deathxxshark

No, he doesn't know what he is talking about, an average 2500k costs about 100 dollars more than a 955, and then the motherboards with similar capabilities are more expensive intel side. The money you save on motherboard/cpu could be spent on a better graphics card (which is what counts most when you game) or pocketed.

I did, but you gave awful advice and it needed to be pointed out.

[QUOTE="deathxxshark"][QUOTE="GummiRaccoon"]

No, he doesn't know what he is talking about, an average 2500k costs about 100 dollars more than a 955, and then the motherboards with similar capabilities are more expensive intel side. The money you save on motherboard/cpu could be spent on a better graphics card (which is what counts most when you game) or pocketed.

GummiRaccoon

I did, but you gave awful advice and it needed to be pointed out.

[QUOTE="GummiRaccoon"]

[QUOTE="deathxxshark"] Did you even read my post before essentially calling me computer-retarded?... Sigh....deathxxshark

I did, but you gave awful advice and it needed to be pointed out.

All of it considering his budget.

Okay, let me clarify...

I was suggesting that if Hydralisk DID happen to live near a MicroCenter Store, then a 2500k build is definitely not that much more expensive than a Phenom II x4 build..

On newegg, a Phenom x4 is $125, and an okay motherboard would be about $100.

At Microcenter, a 2500K is $180, and a comparable motherboard would be about $150, and Microcenter takes off $60 when the 2500K and any board is purchased together.

Roughly $225 vs $270 for the Phenom x4 and 2500k respectively. I would say the price difference is well worth it because the 2500K puts out less heat, requires less power, and is easily overclockable if OP ever decides to experiment with that in the future.

But obviously, since OP has never heard of a microcenter, it's safe to say he should just go with the Phenom II.

Okay, let me clarify...

I was suggesting that if Hydralisk DID happen to live near a MicroCenter Store, then a 2500k build is definitely not that much more expensive than a Phenom II x4 build..

On newegg, a Phenom x4 is $125, and an okay motherboard would be about $100.

At Microcenter, a 2500K is $180, and a comparable motherboard would be about $150, and Microcenter takes off $60 when the 2500K and any board is purchased together.

Roughly $225 vs $270 for the Phenom x4 and 2500k respectively. I would say the price difference is well worth it because the 2500K puts out less heat, requires less power, and is easily overclockable if OP ever decides to experiment with that in the future.

But obviously, since OP has never heard of a microcenter, it's safe to say he should just go with the Phenom II.

deathxxshark

Comparing the price of a 2500k at microcenter to the price of a 955 on newegg. Nice.

Because Microcenter isn't even selling the Phenom II 955 anymore... Though they are selling the Phenom II 970 for $140. But seriously, this proves you haven't even looked up Microcenter, yet you're writing my advice off as awful...deathxxshark

You are suggesting a chain that only has 23 locations, that doesn't make sense on a site that serves a much wider range of people. and you can get an 840 for 60 bucks from them.

I kinda feel worried I'm not getting the best for my money. GummiRaccoon, when will ivy bridge and the HD7xxx series come out? Do you know?hydralisk86

Well Most sites Claim that IvyBridge will be our somewhere April, AMDs 7xxx series should i theory be out in January.

Best bet for you overall with the cost in mind, would likely be to go with an AMD processor, they are less effective then then Intel ones, but they are still anything but bad. With games the GPU is more often then not the deciding factor, so I would atleast wait till the 7000 series is out, and see what priceranges they are in, if too expensive it will always give the possability of buying something like the 6900 series for alot cheaper then they are now.

Basicly it seems a logical and fairly g ood way to do things.

As for the CPU, I would suggest an AMD quad core (Dual cores are on thier last legs nowadays, they still chug along just fine sure, but Since I suspect that hte pc will have to work (and well) for atleast 3-4 years? I would suggest a quad.

And you should not be afraid that AMD is not capable of gaming ^^ they are quite sturdy, plenty fast. The thing basicly is that when Intel released the Sandybridge Processors (the updated Ivyvridge, is an advanced version of that, basicly) They made a true monster of a processor, and took a huge leap over what AMD offered.

The result is that the new Intel processors made AMDs processors seem weak, but in truth they made ANY kind of consumer processor weak (even thier own 1st gen i7).

something like the... hmm 955 I think was talked about on this thread, yes? will run games prtty muchflawless.

Processors advances really fast, but the need for them does not follow. Old processors 4 years ago, are just starting to feel oldnow, it took 4 years. and even what that is said these old processors still just about outright murder all but the most advanced games. So you should not be as concerned for the processor you pick, as the graphicscard (which in turn is very important, and ages a deal faster, but thanks to the currentconsole generation, still lasts a good while longerthen they used to.

If you can scrape together enough for an i5 2500K processor and or wait for IB, then it would certainly be a plus, but it is not something critical by any means, just further futureproofing. If you are worried tho (next console generation being around 2 years away give or take, it might be worthwhile for you to try to get 100-200$ more, and go for the SB 2500k, (since it sounds like the old pc you have is giving up its spirit :P). If nothing else then for peace of mind.

[QUOTE="deathxxshark"]Because Microcenter isn't even selling the Phenom II 955 anymore... Though they are selling the Phenom II 970 for $140. But seriously, this proves you haven't even looked up Microcenter, yet you're writing my advice off as awful...GummiRaccoon

You are suggesting a chain that only has 23 locations, that doesn't make sense on a site that serves a much wider range of people. and you can get an 840 for 60 bucks from them.

Yeah Maddie_Larkin, my Pentium D PC has been acting weird a few times. I remember i posted the temperature of my computer on a forums, and i think one guy told me it was pretty hot. I didn't mention this before, but my dad got this new laptop to replace the old one my sister gave him. If my PC burns out, I might be able to use that old laptop for a little while, and save up. Call me greedy, but I like the idea of having a nice computer. I guess I'll think about this. You guys are saying AMD quad cores do pretty much fine for gaming, right? How much should i spend on a graphics card? How often would i buy a new one, if ever? I've said this before, but i know barely about computer hardware. hydralisk86

For gaming what you spend on a graphics card should always be more than what you spend on the CPU

Yeah Maddie_Larkin, my Pentium D PC has been acting weird a few times. I remember i posted the temperature of my computer on a forums, and i think one guy told me it was pretty hot. I didn't mention this before, but my dad got this new laptop to replace the old one my sister gave him. If my PC burns out, I might be able to use that old laptop for a little while, and save up. Call me greedy, but I like the idea of having a nice computer. I guess I'll think about this. You guys are saying AMD quad cores do pretty much fine for gaming, right? How much should i spend on a graphics card? How often would i buy a new one, if ever? I've said this before, but i know barely about computer hardware. hydralisk86

Well this depends.

outside of performance there is a very good reason why alot of people here is looking farwards to the 7000 series from AMD. Basicly it does not get very hot it seems, and uses very little power. Why this is impotent Ill explain below, so it might be a bit confusing :P

A GPU is the thing you need to think about the most really, well that and maybe HDD. A GPU usually lasts 2-3 years, however due to consoles, We see GPus from 2007 still fairing somewhat well (meaning that they can still play most games, altho on low now).

Graphics cards tend to be the single hottest thing on a pc, and its the componant that gets worn our the fastest, due to the continous rise and drops in temps. So on average, Id say a GPU lasts a few years, the one I have in my now (a Nvidia 260) is around 3 I think, still works wonders, just old, and not very powerful.

The 7000 series from AMD however, is based on a 28 nm archetecture, while I could get really tecnical now, I will suffice to say that in theory this card will not get really hot, and it will use alot less power then they used to. So I suspect that these cards may themselves live somewhere in the 5 year range on thier own without dying.

They will be fairly expensive tho as far as I gathered, the rumors put them somewhere above what the amd cards usually costs, with the card I suspect you should be targeting costing a whooping 349$ (remember its only a rumor)

You could however ask yourself, if it would not be wiser in your case, to buy one of the last gen cards tho. The price for a 6950 is around 250-300$ now, and will drop when the new series comes out. It will likely live for a much shorter time, but most gamers tend to swap out thier cards fairly often. This way it will be more cost efficient in the long run (sounds kind of silly saying this :P)

That is the likely pricerange for a GPU you should be looking at, its not thehighest end cards, but they tend to be the best cost/performancewise, and they really do pack a whole lot of power for thier respecitble priceranges.

But simply put, there is alot of unknowns about the 7XXX series, and some rumors has it that the 7950 is so powerful, that you might not want to swap it out for a long long time. (some of the more suspicious ones Ive read being that it could be around as powerful as a 580 or so).

Basicly we know very little about those cards, and how they perform. So my advice is to wait till they are out. and remake this thread, when they are out ^^ AS of nowall anyone really can do is guess. Its only a month(give or take).

So to beexplain(in a really confusing way, sorry about that). The average GPU for your needs is around 270-350$and lasts 2-3 years. but the 7xxx series might improve on the lifecycle ofcards.

Not really the answer you wanted to hear I bet, the GPU's are frightenly expensive

[QUOTE="hydralisk86"]Yeah Maddie_Larkin, my Pentium D PC has been acting weird a few times. I remember i posted the temperature of my computer on a forums, and i think one guy told me it was pretty hot. I didn't mention this before, but my dad got this new laptop to replace the old one my sister gave him. If my PC burns out, I might be able to use that old laptop for a little while, and save up. Call me greedy, but I like the idea of having a nice computer. I guess I'll think about this. You guys are saying AMD quad cores do pretty much fine for gaming, right? How much should i spend on a graphics card? How often would i buy a new one, if ever? I've said this before, but i know barely about computer hardware. GummiRaccoon

For gaming what you spend on a graphics card should always be more than what you spend on the CPU

Kind of funny way to look at it ^^ and not really wrong either ^^

A GPU is the thing you need to think about the most really, well that and maybe HDD. A GPU usually lasts 2-3 years, however due to consoles, We see GPus from 2007 still fairing somewhat well (meaning that they can still play most games, altho on low now).

Maddie_Larkin

Liez! My 4850's are still 1337

[spoiler] :P [/spoiler]

tbh if you want a PC now whats the point to wait in waiting 5 months for Ivy? you could always make the excuse of waiting 5 months, because tbh every 5-6 months a huge new tech will be out, that will never change, so waiting IMHO is pointless get the best of whats out now. and then upgrade later when you need to.

tbh if you want a PC now whats the point to wait in waiting 5 months for Ivy? you could always make the excuse of waiting 5 months, because tbh every 5-6 months a huge new tech will be out, that will never change, so waiting IMHO is pointless get the best of whats out now. and then upgrade later when you need to.

theshadowhunter

955BE is an amazing base for a gaming pc on a budget. To actually create a noticable bottleneck you'd need to spend a huge amount on a gpu.

[QUOTE="GummiRaccoon"]

[QUOTE="hydralisk86"] Is that some kind of processor? What is it? And when is it coming out? If it's new, it might be too expensive for me. Most i can spend is around the $600-$650.hydralisk86

ivy bridge is a processor and HD7xxx is video cards. If you wait for them to come out, the price of current stuff will drop.

AMD Bulldozer, a surprisingly sell out sales success

"AMD's Bulldozer architecture was not the success it had hoped, but despite that it it selling out as soon as it comes into stock, which also goes for Llano"(APUs)

[QUOTE="hydralisk86"][QUOTE="GummiRaccoon"]

ivy bridge is a processor and HD7xxx is video cards. If you wait for them to come out, the price of current stuff will drop.

ronvalencia

AMD Bulldozer, a surprisingly sell out sales success

"AMD's Bulldozer architecture was not the success it had hoped, but despite that it it selling out as soon as it comes into stock, which also goes for Llano"(APUs)

[QUOTE="ronvalencia"]

[QUOTE="hydralisk86"] Really?? But isn't it true that AMD is getting out of the Desktop market? Or something like that...I heard that prices of processors won't really drop. When is the ivy bridge coming out? I need a new computer soon, because i'm afraid i'll be writing a paper for school, and then my computer blows out. My computer is very old, like 5 years old, maybe more, and it has problems with my speakers, in that i have to keep changing where i put the speaker cord in the back of my computer. Also, my computer has done this 2-3 times: Keeps itself in the "loading" screen for like a minute, and then i had to restart again. hydralisk86

AMD Bulldozer, a surprisingly sell out sales success

"AMD's Bulldozer architecture was not the success it had hoped, but despite that it it selling out as soon as it comes into stock, which also goes for Llano"(APUs)

It does poorly in synthetic benchmarks, but in real world scenarios it does incredibly well. Most times the 8150 and the 2500k are very close to each other in performance. the only problem is the 8150 is about 25 dollars more.