Advice and thoughts on new build

[realism51]

Hey guys, So thinking of just revamping my PC, Solved an issue causing stuttering (turned out SSD is going bad) SO I had thought about switching from AMD to INTEL - Seems intel lasts longer by comparison I guess.
Current Build:
Phenom II 6X 1090T
Hyper 212 plus cooler
Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3
4x4 GB Corsair Vengence RAM 9-9-9-24
Gigabyte Radeon HD 7870 Ghz 2GB edition http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814125418

700W Thermaltake PSU
Kingston Hyper X 3K SSD (240 GB) RMAing for a new one
1TB Western digital for Logical
And we can skip the rest of junk

*Note on use. Primarily this is for gaming, internet browsing, sometimes video movies, youtube, Microsoft office. Not many application software that needs much. I am not an over clocker and when it comes to games, I do like to play them at mostly max settings although I dont really ever push AA and all that up, usually just the details and stuff. I play FPS mainly with some RPG stuff thrown in. But below are my thoughts for use with building a different one.

CPU: Intel i5 3570K - I keep hearing this is one of the best because of the Ivy bridge. I want a CPU that will last and do well for gaming since with AMD I dont really need 6-8 cores.

Cooling: since I already have four case fans I will probably stick with the Hyper 212 plus, unless someone can really convince me to go water cooled. I just dont OC and the risk of it leaking always scares the tar out of me. Although I did find computer insurance that I might put on it. the cost for piece of mind may be worth it.

MOBO: not wholly sure about this one, I've heard that there is little to no difference in the "gaming" mobo vs. normal. I am up for suggestions on this one. Was looking at GA-Z77x-UDH3. when compared to the z77 sabertooth, I just dont see any real differences. And honestly Im not going to overclock with maximum intent

RAM: thinking of sticking with the RAM I have, Corsair vengeance is good and at 16GB I dont think I will need more anytime soon. Latency is decent for me

GPU: Really thinking hard about this, I heard that Nvidia works best with Intel whereas AMD works best with Radeon. Paid out $250 for the 7870 last month. Not sure how well it will work in the system. I know its not as powerful as the two Im eyeballing: MSI GTX 660ti or the GTX 670 FTW. I keep hearing really good things about the 670 FTW model. Both are better than the 7870 and smaller which is a plus, Dang AMD card takes up way too much space. Im not going to SLI crossfire or link two cards together, too much cash for little performance boost
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130787
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127696

Looking at downgrading PSU to a 650W but might go 850 because of the decibels. Both are Corsair:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139011
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139005

I like modular, I just want it to be quiet. I hate hearing fans going loud. I keep my case fans at 50% and dont have issues with cooling

Keeping the SSD Hard drive set up, just will use the replacement from kingston, (not really a fan of them but it was a decent one compared to samsung 830 840 at the time)

That is pretty much it in a shell. I am open to suggestions and comments of all type for feedback.

 

[DistraughtSysop]

If you're not going to overclock then you might as well get the i5-3570 unless you can find a 3570k for less. You also won't need water cooling. In fact, you'd probably be okay with the stock heatsink. If you've already got the 212+ then you might as well slap it on, though.

The GA-Z77 is a good choice. You don't need the Sabertooth. My choice of PSU would be a Corsair TX650 if you want to stick with Corsair; I also like Seasonic. If you've got the money for it, go for the GTX 670. Price is the only reason to go lower.

You know, with all the changes you want to make, it might be worth it just to go with a new build. It sounds like you would only be re-using the case, RAM and storage from your old rig. You could split the RAM (8GB is plenty) and all you would need is a new case and HDD (in addition to all the stuff you're already planing to get), maybe another SSD (or just leave out the SSD for the old machine). Just a thought.

 

[PP Mguire]

Links are broken.

Honestly, your current rig is fine. If all you do is game then upgrading to the Intel setup wont grant you much performance. You could put more money into getting a 680 which will grant you more performance than getting a 3570k.

I have to agree with this other guy in that you don't need a K CPU if you wont be overclocking and because of that your 212 will be fine. I also agree on the motherboard, although I wouldn't get a Gigabyte. Go with a cheaper Asus or an ASRock.

If your PSU is a Toughpower then you don't need to upgrade that either. Seasonic and Corsair PSUs are great but the TT is enough wattage and will last a long while too.

I want to clear this up, GPUs don't perform "better" with a certain processor setup. Been a myth and will always be a myth. What is fact, is AMD drivers are terrible for what you get. I don't care what kind of fanboy wants to come in here spewing otherwise. AMD graphics drivers are absolutely terrible and they have been since they were ATI. For this, I stand by my previous statement about a 680, but if you decide to go with upgrading your GPU then at least get a 670. Just again for clarification, the FTW is the exact same as any other reference model just with slightly higher clocks.

 

[Skorpian]

Your current rig is perfectly fine for gaming in my opinion. You won't see much of a jump from an 1090T to a 3570k as much as upgrading the GPU, tho I believe that the 7870 is enough for single monitor 1080p. If you wanna upgrade the GPU and not in much of a hurry, wait for the new cards from Nvidia and AMD.

 

[realism51]

Broken links must mean the sale is over.
The reason Im focusing on the K version is that everything I've read points to it being more reliable than the non K version, plus tons better reviews.
My old PSU started making bearing noises so I pulled the TT out of the HTPC and put it in my rig and put the screech machine in the HTPC since its set up for sound blocking. Going to need to replace it at anypoint.
I would only replace the MOBO if I get a different CPU: main reason is that I keep looking at the benches between 1090T and 3570k. Even compared to non game use the intel is faster and pushes out higher FPS. I know the GPU does most of the work, but the little push the CPU gives is great too. I ran into the problem with AMD not giving the Phenom much support now with the newer chips out, that well kind of suck anyways, 1090T is better than the dozer line up. And I went to get a MOBO and had to go with what I got because I could not find on Newegg or Amazon a board that fit the 1090T, seems they are getting scarce. (I have bad luck with MOBO lately, 2 dead and 1 Ethernet went out, all in one year.) And honestly there isnt much price difference between K and non K.
I hear the 670 FTW is just as powerful as the 680, and the EVGA FTW comes with teh 680 cooling. Having way too many issues with AMD drivers for vid cards.
I had thought the 7870 was about mid range card.

Bottom line from my way of thinking is that AMD has a bad habit of dropping support for stuff after two years, in my case this is very true [cant even get tech support]. And the quality just doesnt seem to last as long as Intel. I Keep seeing builds running 3+ years on same intel chip and board before deciding to upgrade without having so much as a burp of problems.

AMD and Intel remind me of Apple and Microsoft. Steady and often unchanging but reliable versus, customization and whole lots of head aches

 

[realism51]

PS If i Drop $500 on a vid card for the 680 Ill never get a chance to use it, the wife will kill me

 

[PP Mguire]

The the difference between games and faster CPUs is like 2-5fps where as a faster GPU can bring 10-15 sometimes 20fps. To put it in perspective I have a 3960x in my closet I was running at 4.5GHz and I'm now using my old i5 750. 2fps tops in any game. Literally. Sure, it is faster but if what you say is "true" then your wife will kill you for spending almost 500 anyways on a 670FTW then another 300+ for the CPU setup when a 680 slapped in your current rig would do just the same.

Also, a 680 has more cores than the 670. The only reason they perform "similar" is because the 670FTW is clocked higher than normal. The difference between the 4GB 670 FTW and the 2GB 680 reference is 30 bucks. You can always overclock the 680 if you really want more performance but really it isn't needed at all.

The 3570 and 3570k are the exact same CPU except one is unlocked. They are equally as stable and reliable. It gets tons "better" reviews because people buy more of it rather than a non overclockable chip. Even people who don't overclock buy the K version.

You can plop your CPU in any AM3 or AM3+ board. If you want a new motherboard for your current CPU you can buy any 990FX board which are readily available.

The 7870 is a midrange card to this generation, but it's comparable to my 580. That isn't a midrange card. The 7870, 7950, 580 and 660ti are pretty much in the same "class".

 

[realism51]

I havent tested it out on Far Cry 3 yet, But I do plan on getting Crysis 3 when it comes out. I like to run on max settings, minus AA, I usually never use it, and if I do its at 2x. Do you know if the 1090T causes bottle necking at what level?

 

[PP Mguire]

1080p+ the CPU wont cause a bottleneck unless you're running an old dual core CPU. I run Crysis 3 and Farcry 3 both fine on this i5 750.