So my current PC is dying, and it is quite out of date - 3 years and some months old. The graphics card is also giving out, so I figure it may be time to build a new one. Here’s the specs:
What would I be using the computer for? Mostly software development (PHP, 3d application programming with Unity3D), and gaming. I don’t need to run at the best technology.
Some questions: Do I really need i7 Sandy Bridge, or is the graphics card an overkill?
(I built from the this price list. These are the parts available).
What CPU? I’d recommend a mid-range i7 over an i5 for value.
I’d recommend at least 8GB of ram if not 12-16; it’s relatively cheap and will up-power a Windows system like nothing else. Faster RAM if you can afford it/the mobo supports it is good, too. It’s a place to nickel-and-dime yourself out of cheap performance, so don’t. Even just development platforms will use a lot of scratch RAM and virtual space if you let them.
Cut back on the video card if you don’t need it for gaming, high-performance graphics or the like. An Nvidia 500-series is adequate, maybe even the faster 400s you can still get. A single-GB card is plenty; the extra space is wasted except for high-end games and things like Adobe coprocessing.
Also a 750W power supply, I lean towards Antec high-efficiency ones but CM is good, too. (CM also makes some real junk, so you have to watch the specs, tests and reviews by model.) Another don’t-penny-pinch-yourself-into-problems area.
4770 isn’t too bad. I just built a 3770K system and the 4’ looks like a mild update of that same chip. If the budget is tight, you could knock close to $100 off the CPU, still get 90% of the performance. “Choose wisely.”
An NVidia 500 series with 1GB will play almost anything but the current crop of system-burners in max FPS. I still run a 290GTX on this system and it handles pretty much anything I throw at it (games and intensive Adobe work) but I did go with a 680 on the new system for vastly improved video editing performance.
In general, I’d shave dollars on the CPU and video card - a little, using slightly older but not outdated tech - and put it into RAM and PS. Oh, I was pleased with the LG BR reader/writer that’s about $40; best value for an optical drive out there.
Conventional wisdom is that an i7 is wasted for gaming. Games just aren’t made for them and while it won’t be worse than an i5, it won’t give you any real benefit for the money either. i7 processors are best used for tasks such as video editing and other CPU intensive things.
Eventually this might change and having an i7 might somewhat “future proof” your system but I have a feeling that, by the time having an i7 really matters, you’ll already be looking to upgrade all around anyway.
I think I’ve upgraded CPUs twice in my life. That’s across 25+ years and hundreds of systems. Once a system is built, tearing it down far enough to swap the CPU isn’t usually worth the effort; it takes time for CPU prices to fall and by that time there are better all around options that won’t work on the existing mobo.
If the OP is going to run ANYTHING that needs CPU power in the next two years, the $50 or so for an i7 is probably worth it.
I wouldn’t unless I knew I was going to be running processor intensive stuff on a somewhat regular basis. I’d rather have an i5 with the extra $50 thrown into my graphics card than an i7. Or another $50 worth of memory (well, from 4gb to 8gb). Or $50 worth of Mt. Dew. For general computer use and gaming, any of those would probably give more benefit than going from an i5 to an i7.
And I actually own an i7, although it’s an older one (i7-860) and I only bought it because I knew 1156 processors were going to get scarce and found a great deal on one when upgrading from an i3.