Verify My Build Before I Buy Things?

AbyssPWNS · **Posted:** Fri Jan 27, 2012 4:37 pm

So I'm building a gaming pc this year and I figured that I'd ask people with more knowledge.

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 20extreme3
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231428
CPU: Intel i5 2500k at 4.5 Ghz
GPU: http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?nam ... 1G&show=p#
Power Supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139021
Heatsink (will be adding another fan to it): http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyp ... B002G1YPH0

Found the guide on Reddit (not discussing that in this thread), so I figured I'd check for validity. Seems like a pretty good guide to me, but I'm not overly intelligent with computer stuff.

Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Bush · **Joined:** Fri Nov 27, 2009 11:42 pm **Posts:** 1478

I would recommend different RAM; you should be able to find a 2x4GB kit for around $30, as well as a different GPU. I have the 2GB version of that, and I paid less than that price. I would suggest looking for either a cheaper 1GB card or a similarly priced 2GB card. The 6950 itself is a great card, I unlocked mine to a 6970, which you can do on the PowerColor cards for sure.

AbyssPWNS · **Posted:** Fri Jan 27, 2012 7:03 pm

Thanks for the help. I'll look around some more.

samjc3 · **Posted:** Sat Jan 28, 2012 10:07 am

Id stick with that RAM. Most any 2x4gb kit is gonna be 1333, not 1600, and you'll never complain for having bought too much RAM. Absolutely worth the extra $16. The GPU, however, is an awful price. With a quick bit of looking, I see that you can get the 2gb version for the same price with a rebate from several places, such as this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131393

If you arent set on the 6950, I would recommend an Nvidia 560 ti instead. They benchmark very very similar and cost about the same, but, the Nvidia card will always have better drivers, and more features. Unless you want single card eyefinity, the nvidia has a better feature set, and gets a bigger performance boost if you go SLI in the future. (you'll need an SLI rated board though)

Thats a fine power supply, but this would more than suit your needs (I have one, running my 560ti @ 1ghz and my i5 2500k at 4.4ghz) :
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371031

Mako321 · **Joined:** Tue Oct 27, 2009 5:36 pm **Posts:** 3401

samjc3 wrote:

If you arent set on the 6950, I would recommend an Nvidia 560 ti instead. They benchmark very very similar and cost about the same, but, the Nvidia card will always have better drivers, and more features. Unless you want single card eyefinity, the nvidia has a better feature set, and gets a bigger performance boost if you go SLI in the future. (you'll need an SLI rated board though)

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
While the 6950 is generally only about 2% faster than the 560Ti(Slightly faster for pretty much everything), it can still unlock the a 6970 and OC nicely. Also, Nvidia's 5XX series scaling is flax compared to HD6XXX cards in crossfire.
But yeah, drivers.
Also, refer to this for up to date buying guide stuff. Not the best, but a good start.
http://www.tinyurl.com/falconguide/
Lastly, POWERCOLOR ARE YOU KIDDING MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

J.D · **Posted:** Sat Jan 28, 2012 11:07 am

herp derp

>attempting to disprove Nvidia

The 6950 is okay, but like Sam said, Nvidia cards have a much better feature set, better drivers, et cerera.

Zero · **Joined:** Sat Aug 01, 2009 8:52 pm **Posts:** 2635

No, Mako is right.

Yes, the Nvidia drivers/control panel are a lot nicer, but you can unlock the 6950 to a 6970 and it will piss all over the 560ti. Iirc Thursty did that with two of them and was getting some crazy performance.

Nvidia is a really good company and brand loyalty is nice and all, but don't let it blind you either. Just because something says Nvidia doesn't automatically make it better. You have to do research.

So no, it's not "okay", it's superior in this case.

bic · **Posted:** Sat Jan 28, 2012 11:55 am

I wouldn't touch an AMD video card with a 10-foot pole until they whip their driver team back into shape. Their drivers are a heavily forked, unstable mess.

Mako321 · **Joined:** Tue Oct 27, 2009 5:36 pm **Posts:** 3401

bic wrote:

I wouldn't touch an AMD video card with a 10-foot pole until they whip their driver team back into shape. Their drivers are a heavily forked, unstable mess.

Funny how I just had my Nvidia drivers crash, then.

Nothing from my 5770 in months, though.

bic · **Posted:** Sat Jan 28, 2012 1:53 pm

GTX 260 216, no driver issues in over 2 years.

Anecdotal evidence FTW :awesome:

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