26 replies to this topic

[SkyDX]

Hello Neowin!

A friend asked me to build a completely new PC for him and since his budget is bigger than my usual upgrade budget I'm able to look into Intel parts for him. Now the thing is I have been out of the loop with Intel ever since 2006 so after putting two possible build ideas together I wanted to ask if a i5 3330 + a GeForce GTX 660 or a Phenom II 955 + a GeForce 660 Ti would net him better performance on the long run. Overclocking is a non-factor as he is new to PCs and as he lives quite far away from me support can be troublesome

Most of my friends lean towards the i5 + GTX 660and I believe them though you can never have too many opinions^^

Here are the complete builds I put together:

AMD:


Intel:


Note: I'm aware the PSU in the AMD build is overkill and I already put a different one in place!

Thanks for help in advance!

[Luc2k]

This under 200$ CPU shoot-out from Tom's Hardware just came out. If gaming is the focus, you might find your answer in there (I haven't read it yet). As a rule of thumb, I always go for the more powerful GPU.

[threetonesun]

I say this in every thread, but it depends on the resolution.

Assuming 1680x, the 660 will do fine, and be a better overall computer. Assuming resolutions higher than that, I'd take the 660 Ti and just plan on upgrading the 955 at some point when the new AMD processors come out.

[Astra.Xtreme]

A 600W PSU isn't overkill and I'd recommend you go with one of that power. It's always good to have a little headroom so you don't stress it out under full load.

The i5 is definitely the better processor, but the 660 Ti is a better GPU than the regular 660.
A CPU cooler is useless unless they plan on overclocking, so I'd recommend getting rid of that and then going with the i5 and 660 Ti.
An i3 is even faster than that AMD CPU, but if they want a quad core, then go with whatever the cheapest i5 is that you can find.

[SkyDX]

Luc2k, on 12 February 2013 - 14:58, said:

This under 200$ CPU shoot-out from Tom's Hardware just came out. If gaming is the focus, you might find your answer in there (I haven't read it yet). As a rule of thumb, I always go for the more powerful GPU.

Well it looks like it supported the decision to go with Intel^^

threetonesun, on 12 February 2013 - 15:05, said:

I say this in every thread, but it depends on the resolution.

Assuming 1680x, the 660 will do fine, and be a better overall computer. Assuming resolutions higher than that, I'd take the 660 Ti and just plan on upgrading the 955 at some point when the new AMD processors come out.

Hmm I opted for the Intel for now as I figured it is more futureproof for him as he can always easily exchange the graphics card himself in the future while a CPU upgrade would be far more complicated But still thanks for the opinion too^^

Astra.Xtreme, on 12 February 2013 - 15:08, said:

A 600W PSU isn't overkill and I'd recommend you go with one of that power. It's always good to have a little headroom so you don't stress it out under full load.

The i5 is definitely the better processor, but the 660 Ti is a better GPU than the regular 660.
A CPU cooler is useless unless they plan on overclocking, so I'd recommend getting rid of that and then going with the i5 and 660 Ti.
An i3 is even faster than that AMD CPU, but if they want a quad core, then go with whatever the cheapest i5 is that you can find.

Oh and I know that the cooler is technically useless for stock-speeds though I mainly went with it for the noise-level and ease of cleaning as from my experience stock-coolers are pretty terrible And I know that the 600w PSU would have had more headroom though it was impossible to maintain in the Intel build anyways as it broke the budget I asked some people to calculate the watt usage and they said that the system under current conditions would draw 350-380w max so I went with a 500w PSU in the end to be safe And thanks for another opinion on the AMD vs Intel factor, it seems that I made the right decision then to go with the i5 as like said this isn't a PC for me and my friend always can exchange the GPU himself in the future and a CPU not that easily.

Thanks again for the help everyone!^^

[LaP]

Astra.Xtreme, on 12 February 2013 - 15:08, said:

I mainly went with it for the noise-level and ease of cleaning as from my experience stock-coolers are pretty terrible

The Core i5 750 stock cooler is almost impossible to clean. One of the worst cooler i ever used. I actually replaced it after 2 years as i was not able to remove most of the dust even using a can of dust off and the temp of my cpu was farily high (close to 100 celsius under load).

[threetonesun]

SkyDX, on 12 February 2013 - 20:33, said:

Hmm I opted for the Intel for now as I figured it is more futureproof for him as he can always easily exchange the graphics card himself in the future while a CPU upgrade would be far more complicated But still thanks for the opinion too^^

Not a bad point, I have an i5 and a GTX660 myself so... I think it's a pretty good setup.

[+djdanster]

I currently have the AMD 955 and it's a great CPU as it has served me well, however it's now 2 years (possibly more) old and it's starting to show it's age verses the newer CPUs. Consider looking into an AMD 8350. Looks like a very decent CPU for the price tag and closely rivals intel's offerings

[+abysal]

I'd go with the AMD Build. It will perform better in gaming with the 660 Ti. Now if you have wiggle room for the Intel build; upgrade the PSU to at least a 500 watt, and upgrade the video to a 660 Ti. Although the difference between the 660 and 660 Ti is not great.

[SkyDX]

LaP, on 12 February 2013 - 20:52, said:

The Core i5 750 stock cooler is almost impossible to clean. One of the worst cooler i ever used. I actually replaced it after 2 years as i was not able to remove most of the dust even using a can of dust off and the temp of my cpu was farily high (close to 100 celsius under load).

Whoa that sounds even worse than what I experienced with AMD coolers and I'm sorry you had to deal with that Though it sounds like I thankfully avoided some problems there^^

threetonesun, on 12 February 2013 - 20:55, said:

Not a bad point, I have an i5 and a GTX660 myself so... I think it's a pretty good setup.

Oh I'm confident it will serve him well then!

djdanster, on 12 February 2013 - 21:29, said:

I currently have the AMD 955 and it's a great CPU as it has served me well, however it's now 2 years (possibly more) old and it's starting to show it's age verses the newer CPUs. Consider looking into an AMD 8350. Looks like a very decent CPU for the price tag and closely rivals intel's offerings

Yeah I feel the same as I myself run a 955 and am happy with it though I heard the new Vishera FX CPUs are only on par with the Phenom II's as far as gaming goes so I will wait and see what the CPU market brings when I myself upgrade in a year or two^^

abysal, on 12 February 2013 - 21:47, said:

I'd go with the AMD Build. It will perform better in gaming with the 660 Ti. Now if you have wiggle room for the Intel build; upgrade the PSU to at least a 500 watt, and upgrade the video to a 660 Ti. Although the difference between the 660 and 660 Ti is not great.

Thanks for the reply too but to be honest I broke the budget on both builds already and I'm actually gifting my friend 20€ extra so the whole thing works out Though I did end up putting a 500w PSU in the Intel build when I ordered it. A 660 Ti was sadly out of question though he can easily put a new GPU in the PC in 2-3 years^^

[+remixedcat]

I5 and get the Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO it's a cheap cooler that does very good for the money.

I also got the Antec HCG-620M it's a good bang for the buck modular PSU that's very good. I got one in this build and another in another...

[Shaun]

What is the PC going to be used for?

[SkyDX]

remixedcat, on 13 February 2013 - 09:03, said:

I5 and get the Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO it's a cheap cooler that does very good for the money.

I also got the Antec HCG-620M it's a good bang for the buck modular PSU that's very good. I got one in this build and another in another...

Oh thanks Remixedcat! I know the EVO 212 is better than the TX3 but what made me pick the TX3 in the end was actually... well after watching some Youtube videos I was like "okay there is no way I manage to install the EVO 212 without braking something " and the TX3 had the standard mounting mechanism which made me go "thank god!"^^;;

And I'm glad that there are so many satisfied Antec PSU users all around, I might pick one up from them when I upgrade my own PC

Shaun, on 13 February 2013 - 09:05, said:

What is the PC going to be used for?

Well it was meant as a sort of "entry gaming" PC for a friend of mine. He wanted a new PC and asked me to put something together at the start of this week so I tried my best to stay within his budget of 680€ I know I probably didn't pick the best "bang for buck" parts but I also took noise and ease of maintenance into consideration as he lives quite a while away from me by car

[+remixedcat]

nah the evo was easy to install. very easy...

[- Kaboose -]

remixedcat, on 13 February 2013 - 13:38, said:

nah the evo was easy to install. very easy...

yes I can easily vouch for the Evo 212, installed it last week on a friend's new built rig, one of the easiest jobs ever! don't be intimidated by the backplate rumour, its not true!

And yes its a brilliant heat sink, his 3570 runs so cool under it, even when overclocked. A nice build these days could be a FX 8350 with GTX660 ti.... great competitor to the 3570 equivalent build from Intel, and somewhat cheaper mobo and ram wise aswell.