Your i3 will only bottleneck if you use the strongest cards available like the hd 5970 or the gtx 580. It will bottleneck if you go crossfire or sli with high end graphics cards ((crossfire is for ati, sli for nvidia) that means combining two cards for double the strenghth). Two hd 6850 will almost match the power of the gtx 580. Two hd 6950 will surpass the power of the gtx 580. The i3 will easily holds its own againsta single hd6950.

That doesn't mean you can't go crossfire with for example the hd5770. The hd 5770 in crossfire is the same as a hd 5870 or a hd 6950. A hd 5970 is almost twice the power of a hd 6950. Do know that your motherboard only supports crossfire and not sli (so you can only double ati cards no nvidia cards). ati cards are also more efficient at this type if you double em up (two hd 6950 in crossfire are stronger than two gtx 570, while a single gtx570 is stronger than a single hd 6950). That's why i would favor the hd 6850 but buying the gtx 460 won't be a bad buy don't get me wrong.

Anyhow if your planning to buy a 6950 in the future, you'd better buy a hd 5770 now and buy another one in a couple of weeks when the prices have dropped because of the launch of the gtx 560 or maybe later if you saved up some more. The advantage of this is that you don't have to sell your hd 5770 while upgrading (if you buy a 6950 later, you have to sell your 5770)

If you plan to upgrade your cpu dont go above the i5-760. Your motherboard support i5 cpu's even some of the i7's. http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=13317

Greetz

evildead6789

Ok well in that case I have decided to go exactly with the original build you made for me. Thanks for your help much appreciated!

[QUOTE="pumpkin_king12"]

[QUOTE="Bikouchu35"]

I already anticipated a relative conversion in my head and I assume is close to usd which turned out to be true. So it is still pricey :( for the op.

Like the posters suggested consider dumping extra money onto a better video card.

evildead6789

I think that after the currency exchange it will be maybe 10-15% more expensive over here. Mostly due to importing and a smaller consumer base I would imagine.

not to mention the remoteness of the island, Try google earth and look at new zealand

touche

[QUOTE="evildead6789"]

I think some of them overlooked that it's NZ$.

Bikouchu35

I already anticipated a relative conversion in my head and I assume is close to usd which turned out to be true. So it is still pricey :( for the op.

Like the posters suggested consider dumping extra money onto a better video card.

I think that after the currency exchange it will be maybe 10-15% more expensive over here. Mostly due to importing and a smaller consumer base I would imagine.

I wouldn't worry about the prices if you do the math those prices aren't so bad. Besides shipping from anything besides NZ will cost money and the prices don't differ that much. I think some of them overlooked that it's NZ$ . Anyway sorry that i replied so late but i do live on the other end of the world in belgium, europe. To answer your question about the difference between th i3 and Amd processor. The i3 is significantly faster and indeed one of the reasons is the cache size. If you can afford the i3 buy the i3 since it's the same price in that store (which iskinda stupid since they're different processor in value) just buy the i3.

The i3 trades blows with phenom II x4 945 and the i3 is a dual core with hyperthreading (so it acts as a quad core). It's a very good cpu for it's price. However the i5-750 is even better. Buying a better processor than the i5-750 is past the point of reasonbut if you want to spend more money we should look at the videocard first. However if i don't know how much more cash you would want to spend it's hard to give you advice. The only thing i can say you get the best quality for it's price if you buy something along the i5-750 cpu and a hd 5870 . You upgrade the graphic card first because the gpu will bottleneck your system faster. So maybe an i3 with a hd5870?

There are a lot of other cpu's and gpu's that give similar performance so I have to look on the site again what they've got. I'll get back to ya, in the meantime you could wonder how much more you would spend lol

oh i didn't see you said 75$ above the hd 5770 , ok ill look into that, i'll be back

evildead6789

Thanks for your advice I definitely need it.

Yeah I know what you mean the prices aren't too bad and that site probably has the best value over here. I may shop around for ram but I'll get everything else there.

My price is realistically about $1250NZ so perhaps the i3 with a 6850 or a gtx460? I won't be buying for at least 1-2 weeks so I will wait until hopefully one/both of those to come down in price slightly when the new gtx hits like you said.

Would the i3 bottleneck the system when i upgrade the graphics card in the future or would hold its own even with a 6950 etc?

With the i3 and 6850/gtx 460, the build should hopefully be in my price range, as well as be a balanced system.

[QUOTE="pumpkin_king12"]

[QUOTE="Starbucks732"] Hmm not sure never looked it will deff be expensive....no matter where you buy from but they generally have good prices and would totally recommend it and i dont thing that Newegg ships outside of North America. Starbucks732

Ok I'll look into it I have my general build sorted now. Maybe I can cut a deal to get free shipping or something.

Also what's better

INTEL CORE I3 540 CLARKDALE 3.06GHZ 4MB CACHE 73W LGA1156

OR

AMD ATHLON II X4 640 PROCESSOR 3.0GHZ 2MB CACHE

Same basic price in NZ stores

I think I like AMD as well but I was just worried about the cache size is that very important? I'm assuming the only difference with the Black Edition AMD processors is the larger cache size?

[QUOTE="pumpkin_king12"]

[QUOTE="Starbucks732"]To be honest i think the prices on the website are a bit high. go with TIgerdirect.com....i just recently built a rig 10X more powerful than that for only about 80 dollars more. I would also try getting a CPU-Mobo combo from tigerdirect seeing how i got an AMD Phenom II x6 Black Edition and an Asus M4A89GTD Pro/USB3 for only $320.00Starbucks732

Do they ship to NZ though? Those shipping costs would be insane

Ok I'll look into it I have my general build sorted now. Maybe I can cut a deal to get free shipping or something.

Also what's better

INTEL CORE I3 540 CLARKDALE 3.06GHZ 4MB CACHE 73W LGA1156

OR

AMD ATHLON II X4 640 PROCESSOR 3.0GHZ 2MB CACHE

Same basic price in NZ stores

To be honest i think the prices on the website are a bit high. go with TIgerdirect.com....i just recently built a rig 10X more powerful than that for only about 80 dollars more. I would also try getting a CPU-Mobo combo from tigerdirect seeing how i got an AMD Phenom II x6 Black Edition and an Asus M4A89GTD Pro/USB3 for only $320.00Starbucks732

Do they ship to NZ though? Those shipping costs would be insane

If you're going to be gaming on a 17-19" monitor that card will be fine I would think about getting an athlon II x4 instead of the athlonII x2. I have an athlon II x4 and a 4670 and can play BFBC2 and similar games just fine on a 19" monitorericpol

I have a 24" monitor, does that mean I should get a better processor?

The site has some strange prices , i'm not used to the nz$ .Anyway I will give you much better system for the same price.

I would change your processor to an i3 540 - 165$ (20 dollar more than your phenom) A much stronger processor. http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=11157

The motherboardI would change to msi -h55 m- 159 $ (40 dollars less than your gigabyte motherboard) http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=11810

Your case you choose is way to expensive (199$). There is some difference in cases but it's quite simple: a case must hold your pc together, looks somewhat nice and have holes in it for ventilation. All cases have this , looks is a matter of taste. Extra fans and all that crap is nice , but not needed and adds extra noise. Front usb ports and jacks for a microphone and headphone can come in handy. There are tons of cases of 109$ on that site . Don't buy a case with a psu in it because you will have to buy a seperate one anyway. I choose this one because I think it looks nice, you can always choose another one of the same price.

http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=11382(109 $) (90$ less!!!)

I suppose you want a dvd writer with lightscribe so we'll just keep this one ASUS DRW-24B1LT 24X LIGHTSCRIBE DVD WRITER SATA - $69 http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=9733

The disk and the ram you can keep too SAMSUNG SPINPOINT F3 1TB 32MB 7200RPM SATAII - $109 http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=10614

CORSAIR CMX4GX3M1A1333C9 4GB DDR3-1333 CL9 - $149

http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=13876

I've noticed you don't have a power supply,I thought maybe there was one in the case you choose but i can't see any specs of a psu that comes with that case. I have found this psu on the site, don't worry it's a good one and a quiet one. Antec neo eco 620W -129$

http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=11440

Okay if my calculations are right i'm now at 889 $ , I thought i would have a 100 $ extra now for your videocard but since you forgot to add a psu in your setup i'm stuck at the same price range again for you videocard lol Still I have to recommend the hd 5770 for 219 $

http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=10703

If you take this setup you have the same setup that i have. I can run all games on highest settings and decent resolutions with 4 x AA with a few exceptions that i can't turn on AA (antialiasing) The 5670 is not a bad card but the 5770 is twice as good so the the extra dollars give you a lot of bang for your buck. Tell me what you think about it. If i'm above your budget we can still change your cpu and motherboard because your games will run a lot better with a slower cpu and a better videocard (not as slow as the phenom XII you choose initially though) Now you are at 1108 $. I do think you will need a cooler too, Artic cooler freezer pro 58$

http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=10235

We're now at 1166$. I'm about 112 dollars above the initial price you gave. I'm only above it because you forgot parts worth 170$ lol. This is a balanced system and a good system not to mention a significant better system you first posted (well actually your first system wouldn't have ran since it had no psu:))If 1050 $ is your budget we can adapt. Please tell me what you think Greetz

evildead6789

That sounds like a really good system and I think I will take your advice. I was under the impression that that case had a built in PSU but I guess it would be better to buy them seperately anyway. I can dip into a little extra savings to get that extra juice if it's worth it and I plan on haggling the price down a bit anyway.

What would be the video card you would recommend $50-$75 above the 5770?

Keep in mind guys that the NZ $ is worth less than the USA $, but our parts are probably slightly more expensive due to importing most things.

Ok I've been reading up on this stuff and have came up with a build. Basically I want a stable rig that can play the latest games (obviously not max settings)

and is easily upgradeable for the foreseeable future.

AMD Phenom II x2 555 3.2GHZ Black Edition Processor 7MB Cache - $145
http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=11597

GIGABYTE GA-870A-UD3 AMD770 SB850 DDR3 1394 PCI-E - $199
http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=12653

LIAN-LI LANCOOL DRAGONLORD PC-K62B BLACK INTERIOR W/WINDOW - $199
http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=14018

ASUS DRW-24B1LT 24X LIGHTSCRIBE DVD WRITER SATA - $69
http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=9733

SAMSUNG SPINPOINT F3 1TB 32MB 7200RPM SATAII - $109
http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=10614

ASUS ATI RADEON HD5670 1GB DDR5 PCI-E - $179
http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=11770

CORSAIR CMX4GX3M1A1333C9 4GB DDR3-1333 CL9 - $149
http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=13876

which come to a total of $1049

Keep in mind that this is in New Zealand where prices are different. But are there any major problems with this build and is it balanced etc?

Also, is it important to have a seperate PSU?

Any input would be appreciated.