This computer build that much better than current
I have a laptop that is supposed to be decent but I don't get that great of frame rate when it comes to intense action or lots of particle effects. My current laptop only gets 40-30fps with BF3. Playable but not smooth. I might wait a month to build one if I do.
Current Laptop:
Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
System Model: Dell System XPS L502X
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2670QM CPU @ 2.20GHz (8 CPUs), ~2.2GHz
Memory: 8192MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 7084MB RAM
Page File: 4443MB used, 10023MB available
Display Devices
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce GT 525M
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0DF5&SUBSYS_04B61028&REV_A1
Display Memory: 4050 MB
Dedicated Memory: 978 MB
Shared Memory: 3071 MB
Current Mode: 1920 x 1080 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Model: ASUS VS247
Monitor Id: ACI249A
Output Type: HDMI
HD Model: WDC WD7500BPKT-75PK4T0 ATA Device
System Devices
Name: Intel(R) 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 6 - 1C1A
Name: 2nd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) processor family PCI Express Controller - 0101
Dream Build? Looking to keep it under 1,200 usd. Improvements would be much appreciated. I don't know how much is propaganda or real but would a build with a I7 3770k compared to an Amd 8350.
A expermental build that I made: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/fex/saved/1uS0
A amd/ati build recommended by a friend:
<img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/5019629/uploads/FileUpload/cc/85f6d66d93aa141a8df719559467a9.jpg" />
Would I notice an hugely noticeable difference if I did the upgrade? I plan to use the computer for programs like Autodesk Maya and Photoshop as well as games.
Current Laptop:
Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
System Model: Dell System XPS L502X
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2670QM CPU @ 2.20GHz (8 CPUs), ~2.2GHz
Memory: 8192MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 7084MB RAM
Page File: 4443MB used, 10023MB available
Display Devices
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce GT 525M
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0DF5&SUBSYS_04B61028&REV_A1
Display Memory: 4050 MB
Dedicated Memory: 978 MB
Shared Memory: 3071 MB
Current Mode: 1920 x 1080 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Model: ASUS VS247
Monitor Id: ACI249A
Output Type: HDMI
HD Model: WDC WD7500BPKT-75PK4T0 ATA Device
System Devices
Name: Intel(R) 6 Series/C200 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port 6 - 1C1A
Name: 2nd generation Intel(R) Core(TM) processor family PCI Express Controller - 0101
Dream Build? Looking to keep it under 1,200 usd. Improvements would be much appreciated. I don't know how much is propaganda or real but would a build with a I7 3770k compared to an Amd 8350.
A expermental build that I made: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/fex/saved/1uS0
A amd/ati build recommended by a friend:
<img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/5019629/uploads/FileUpload/cc/85f6d66d93aa141a8df719559467a9.jpg" />
![https://us.v-cdn.net/5019629/uploads/FileUpload/cc/85f6d66d93aa141a8df719559467a9.jpg"](https://us.v-cdn.net/5019629/uploads/FileUpload/cc/85f6d66d93aa141a8df719559467a9.jpg"){kind=link}
Would I notice an hugely noticeable difference if I did the upgrade? I plan to use the computer for programs like Autodesk Maya and Photoshop as well as games.
Comments
Your first build actually looks pretty good, the AMD build much less so. I can offer some pointers and explanations in both instances, but we need to answer another question first: Can you hold off on the new build until Haswell gets introduced some time around June? These new intel chips should offer something like a 10% performance increase over Ivy Bridge at the same price points, and it's looking like they might be a bit more OC-friendly.
There are also some rumors that nvidia will be launching its 700 series cards some time in the next few months, so I'd say it's worth waiting on both counts.
http://www.logicalincrements.com/
Thanks Much!
Edit: Do computer parts have releases almost like the once a year like photoshop and other programs?
Corsair PSU's have become the defacto for PC builders, but there are quite a few alternatives that are better/cheaper: http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx
I'm also fond of doing a SSD = OS/Frequently used programs, HDD = All other programs/General data setup, as the SSD loading times are fantastic. However, its something you can forgo if that's not a big concern for you.
I think I'm confused as to what the question is here. >.>
That's correct, your laptop CPU is from the Sandy Bridge generation, which isn't too far behind. The biggest thing hurting you there is that it's the mobile variant, which is clocked much lower than its desktop counterpart by default, and further cannot really be overclocked. Even for the faster desktop chips, NS2 is so demanding on the CPU that you pretty much have to overclock to not be bottlenecked in performance by your processor. You don't have to OC to play it, but it's going to limit what your graphics card is capable of otherwise.
Are you talking about the Radeon part designations, like 7xxx compared to the Nvidia 6xx cards? If so, then it's not even a specification like a megapixel is for a camera, it's really just the name of the card and doesn't denote anything except where it falls in each manufacturer's product stack. In both cases, the first number is for the company's current 'generation', and then the following digits tell you where it falls in the scale, from entry level to high end enthusiast hardware. There is no relevant comparison of names between manufacturers though. An AMD 7970 is slightly faster than a nvidia 670, which is faster than an AMD 7870, which is faster than an nvidia 560 Ti, which is faster than an AMD 6850, and so on. A good general point of reference you can use to see where these cards fall in relation to eachother is here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html
Motherboard choice can indeed be tricky. If you're going to wait til Haswell and you're planning to overclock (as mentioned before, you'll probably want to if you play a lot of NS2), then you're going to be looking at the Z87 chipset motherboards. A lot of motherboard choice at that point will come down to extra features, most of which will likely be irrelevant to you. You ought to be able to get a fairly basic Z87 board to suit your needs for ~$100 or so. ASUS and Gigabyte are my brands of choice, but Asrock is becoming popular as well.
I'd actually never seen that website before, but it looks to me like a really good reference actually. You'd want to tweak your part selections in individual categories by shifting up or down the chart in order to suit your needs - for example, at the 'Outstanding' tier you might want to shift your CPU and HSF choices to higher up the chain in order to cover your productivity suite and overclocking needs, but you could shift your motherboard choice much farther down to compensate - but at a glance, I'm not seeing any bad suggestions anywhere, and overall looks like a great guide to follow.
ATI actually no longer exists as a company, AMD bought them up and now produces all the Radeon graphics cards. I assume you mean AMD GPUs with AMD CPUs though, and the answer is no. You can mix and match between the three manufacturers without issue, but right now Intel just flat out makes better CPUs for gaming. Funnily enough, AMD graphics cards are actually a little more finicky about their host platform, so if you wanted to go with an AMD CPU, you're better off pairing it with an nvidia GPU than a Radeon:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/crossfire-sli-scaling-bottleneck,3471.html
Short answer, yes. There are some exceptions though, things like cases and power supplies tend to follow a much slower revision process.
Some other general thoughts:
In your first build you have a 750W power supply selected, which is overkill for any system with a single graphics card. I don't recommend SLI except in rare usage cases, so a quality 500-600W unit would be more than enough.
I'd also echo Scardybob's recommendation for picking up an SSD. It does take some management, particularly depending on what capacity you get, but it makes a huge difference in the general responsiveness of your PC. If the budget is really tight though, you can skip it in the short term without affecting your in-game FPS, and plan on adding one later as an upgrade.
Depending on how much you're planning to use things like Autodesk and other productivity software will determine whether you need an i5 or a more expensive i7 CPU. They're functionally equivalent for gaming, but the i7 handles the heavily multithreaded productivity stuff better. As a compromise, if the multithreading is pretty important to you and there just isn't room in the budget to fit everything you want, the AMD FX 8350 fits right into that very specific niche, but otherwise I'd stick with Intel.
If money is tight trying to get everything you want into the build, you can start with 8GB of RAM and simply add more later on. 8GB should be sufficient for the time being, and it's one of the easiest things to upgrade after the fact. You could also start with just the SSD for storage initially (and skipping the HDD at first might let you get a bigger SSD anyway) and then add more secondary storage down the road. Extra drives are also very easy to install at a later date.
Hope all this helps. Feel free to ask if you have any more questions or need clarification on anything.
I think I might consider the ssd as the new ram upgrade that would happened in the past. I see so many articles on extreme tech that are about new ways to store data I forget the specific examples but something about a biological something or other drive. ha ha
I have some guesstimate prices for parts if you have an opinion on them. + or - 30$ to 40$ per part
Processor: 200$
Ram: 80-90$
Graphics: 300$
Power Supply:80-90$
Hard Drive: 70-80$
Motherboard: 70-80$
Case:40-60$
The processor and graphics are swapable. Seems that a dvd drive does not require that much thought. I'll probably go for the Asus Drw-24, unless blu ray magically goes down to that price.
PS: Was there that much of an improvement of the UEFI over the traditional DOS/ish bios for misc performance with computers?
I was reading how to unlock a processor from one posting I guess you can bend some pins or something but I'm guessing that might void the warranty. It was posted in 2001 if the tech has changed in the past couple of years. Its kinda funny how having an unlocked one adds another price bracket.
I can't help to notice that phat wad of wires in that I hear that modular PSUs have much less clutter I would think having so many unused chords might restrict some air flow or make it hard to move around in a case. I'm hoping most component manufactures include their own power chords?
You'll never have to worry about your FPS again. Follow this guide: http://www.overclock.net/t/1198504/complete-overclocking-guide-sandy-bridge-ivy-bridge-asrock-edition and just slide that multiplier over to 45 and call it a day.
Thanks for the recommendation! I might hold off for haswell.
He's making fun of fex905's ambiguous title. It was a bit hard to understand!
Smaller HDD
Add 64 or 128gb SSD (trust me on this one, SSDs will change your life)
Don't spend more than $60 on RAM
Don't get a power supply >600watts; 520W at around ~60-70$ is good
The rest is fine, though I'm prior to cases that are less flamboyant.
I'd also recommend Intel over AMD. Last I checked Intel still had the best power/$ ratio.
If I were to get ssd should I put photoshop, maya and other heavy programs into it?
Damn alienware saying 10 lbs of plastic makes things cool.
- Corsair 200/300/400r
- Cooler Master HAF 912/922/932
- Pretty much anything by Fractal Design
I am not personally on the intel train. Intel absolutely runs cooler, and their chips beat out amd sure - but amd has the price point and the 8350 really isn't as far off as people pretend. Plus, if you need 8 true cores, that's a plus. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fx-8350-core-i7-3770k-gaming-bottleneck,3407-3.html
Also people are correct, nvidia supposedly is releasing a 700series before the end of the year, from what everyone seems to be hyping up.
For cases I'm a big fan of the Antec 1100. It looks sleek, usb3.0 on the front, and it doesn't have as much ugly mesh as the HAF 912+ cases have. The Corsair cases are nice, too, though.