Building A Computer Advice - Topic

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Feb 22 2015 04:04pm

Hey all,

So I have a fair bit of experience in terms of Computer Hardware (I know a lot of the basics and a fair bit more), but when it comes to putting together a rig myself, ehhh.

When you guys put together a system what are you looking for?

Example: Let's say I have a 1k budget. What makes you pick this CPU over that CPU? Is it just in terms of processing power/what is appropriate to their needs? Is it because this CPU works better with this mobo and how would you be able to tell that? Compatability issues etc. I personally would just go on cpubenchmark.net to find something price appropriate, and then structure the rest of the build around that.

Any advice or pointers in the right direction would be appreciated.

Rapture

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Feb 22 2015 04:39pm

Primarily its about getting the most performance for the dollars spent.

Effaced

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Feb 22 2015 05:17pm

Quote (Rapture @ Feb 22 2015 06:39pm)

Primarily its about getting the most performance for the dollars spent.

Right. But how do you determine performance other than just going to cpubenchmark or Gpubenchmark and saying: HAH that score is higher than this one!

Secksii

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Feb 22 2015 06:18pm

The price.. Per perf

For example,
The titan brack will have a good score but costs close to 1k..
970 is slightly worse yet still gfg and it's only 330.
290/x is pretty much a wash with the 970 and it's even cheaper.

Rapture

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Feb 22 2015 06:44pm

Quote (Effaced @ Feb 22 2015 07:17pm)
Right. But how do you determine performance other than just going to cpubenchmark or Gpubenchmark and saying: HAH that score is higher than this one!

you look up benchmarks for your task. synthetic benchmarks help you understand how powerful a processor is relative to other processors in some cases, but ultimately looking up specific program benchmarks or video game benchmarks are going to show you the most truth.

edit: for the most part on a 1k build you'd be looking at either an i5-4690k or an AMD FX-8320/8350
They're some of the best performers for the dollars, at least in gaming/higher power tasks

This post was edited by Rapture on Feb 22 2015 06:46pm

Effaced

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Feb 22 2015 11:26pm

Quote (Rapture @ Feb 22 2015 08:44pm)

you look up benchmarks for your task. synthetic benchmarks help you understand how powerful a processor is relative to other processors in some cases, but ultimately looking up specific program benchmarks or video game benchmarks are going to show you the most truth.

edit: for the most part on a 1k build you'd be looking at either an i5-4690k or an AMD FX-8320/8350
They're some of the best performers for the dollars, at least in gaming/higher power tasks

So pretty much just do what I've been doing, select the best for the dollar (depending on budget) using benchmarks.

What about for Motherboard/RAM/PSU etc? Just find one that's 500W or whatever and call it a day?

Secksii

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Feb 22 2015 11:40pm

Quote (Effaced @ Feb 22 2015 10:26pm)

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mgXC99

Rapture

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Feb 23 2015 11:54am

Quote (Effaced @ Feb 23 2015 01:26am)
So pretty much just do what I've been doing, select the best for the dollar (depending on budget) using benchmarks.

What about for Motherboard/RAM/PSU etc? Just find one that's 500W or whatever and call it a day?

yes, but just to reiterate, the CPU market is not exactly very competitive. A lot of people here could tell you what processor is the best for price/performance for what task [as there are only a select few that get relied on], so you may not have to go through a lot of work to find the right cpu

as for motherboard it's about picking what features you want. How many Sata ports, Integrated Wifi, Quality of integrated Sound, Ram, SLI/Crossfire capabilities, etc.

Ram is pretty much all the same. the only exception is for video editing tasks in which speed of ram and timings can really change the speed of completion on those tasks. get 2x 4gb sticks and call it a day.

PSU is usually more brand reliant. You want to pick a high quality PSU in terms of the parts that made it. Unless you want to do the research, I would probably just accept the recommendations of PSU's in this forum, as you don't usually see anyone recommending a particularly bad PSU.
But otherwise yes just choose a high enough wattage so that you wont need anymore in the future. if you aren't going to SLI/crossfire you should be good with 500-550. I would get a 650 watt if you wanted a 290 or other high power requirement card, just to be on the safe side [going the extra 100 watts costs like 10-15 bucks anyway]

Effaced

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Feb 23 2015 02:16pm

Thanks for the assistance guys, I love knowing things and this was one I wanted to get Ironed out.

Seems like I was more or less on the right track, just a few things. Final question, you see people talk about compatability etc. Is that REALLY a concern? I mean, if I choose a GTX 770 or something, will it agree with one motherboard or CPU over another because they are more compatabile? (Similar brands or what not) or is it pretty much just plug and play compatability is more or less irrelevant.

Rapture

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#10

Feb 23 2015 02:31pm

Quote (Effaced @ Feb 23 2015 04:16pm)
Thanks for the assistance guys, I love knowing things and this was one I wanted to get Ironed out.

Seems like I was more or less on the right track, just a few things. Final question, you see people talk about compatability etc. Is that REALLY a concern? I mean, if I choose a GTX 770 or something, will it agree with one motherboard or CPU over another because they are more compatabile? (Similar brands or what not) or is it pretty much just plug and play compatability is more or less irrelevant.

It's not usually a huge concern but it does exist. If and when doing a whole new computer build, you don't often have to worry about it and PCpartpicker actually tells you any possibilities of incompatibility when putting it all together there.

The main thing to watch for in terms of compatibility is Mobo vs whatever. That's where I would say most, if not all compatibility issues arise, particularly in a new build.

This post was edited by Rapture on Feb 23 2015 02:31pm

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