First job, what should I get?

[Sir B. Fannybottom]

So I just got my first job, and I'm making $15 an hour and I get 30+ hours a week. I'm only $14 so not like I need that money to pay bills, so I'm gunna spend it on hardware. I have a blue and black theme in my case/room so I would like to keep it that way. So right now the big road block is should I go intel? (2600K) or should I stay AMD and get something like a 6core? Or should I wait a bit longer for bulldozer?

CPU: Intel 2600K or AMD 1100T
Mobo: Need a socket to choose, but needs good oc features, needs to look nice, have 2 16x slots, decent reviews.
GPU: Prob going to go 6970..
Ram: corsair vengeance 1600mhz 8 gigs.
PSU: My current psu can handle it all. No need to change it now.
Network card: Never really had a good one, so suggest something nice.
Cooling: I want water, but know nothing about the products. I think I can fit a dual 120 and a single 120 rad in my case.

 

[Fourstaff]

Wait for Bulldozer of course. The worst is price cuts for Sandy Bridge.

You don't need network card, but you might want to consider getting a sound card instead. As for motherboard, I would consider P67 and Z68, leaning towards Z68 because its not that much more expensive for a few more features. As for AMD you are limited to 990(F)X I think, the 970 doesn't support CF/SLI I think, or it does at x8/x8.

Personally, I wouldn't be bothered with water cooling, get a huge chunk of metal and call it a day. Its much simpler than water cooling and gives less headache if something goes wrong.

And of course the customary "you got a job? blow money on hookers!" comment.

 

[MRCL]

You're only 14 Dollars? You need at least save up three more to become gangsta...

Anyways I'm not that current with hardware nowadays; what I do know tough is that if your new motherboard has a decent onboard network card, and your Internet connection is okay, theres only marginal gain. So you can save some money there.

As for the water stuff, I take the liberty of quoting myself, since you had the audacity to make an entirely new thread.

Why do you want to go water? Do your components get too hot, do you plan on squeezing the last few possible MHz out of that CPU before dry ice is required, or just because you can?

Anyways, before investing in water gear, be sure you have the right components. There's virtually no need except maybe noise to watercool your video card. Also, if you're totally new to watercooling, its best to start small - just the CPU. Trust me when I started, I wanted to go all out - CPU, GPUs and MOSFETs. TPU pulled me down to reality and I do not regret it. Its a whole different thing than just slapping an air cooler to a mobo. I don't mean to scare you, but you must know that you have to have a certain knowledge and experience.

I started with a CPU loop and expaned it later with two GPUs. See my thread here. Maybe you can learn from it.

Definitely focus on your hardware first. Overclocking with 667 RAM won't take you too far as to justify the need of watercooling - except if you live in an area with high ambient temperatures I guess. Soa new motherboard would be great, new RAM... maybe a new CPU if you switch architectures. Then you can start thinking about watercooling. And then maybe if you like you can upgrade the video card and watercool that, too.

Also don't take watercooling as a game - I had a motherboard and a brand new and expensive 5850 die (= drown) on me because of me not checking enough. Again, not meaning to scare you, but I and I'm sure a lot other people here too want to make sure you're not throwing money out the window

 

[JrRacinFan]

Intel 2500k (if wanting to buy ASAP) or wait for BD and see how that pans out. As far as motherboard is concerned,go with Asrock. Get an HD6850 video card to start off, for price and a power consumption concern it would be your best bet. On any modern motherboard you could then crossfire it at a later date if needed.

 

[Sir B. Fannybottom]

Wait for Bulldozer of course. The worst is price cuts for Sandy Bridge.

You don't need network card, but you might want to consider getting a sound card instead. As for motherboard, I would consider P67 and Z68, leaning towards Z68 because its not that much more expensive for a few more features. As for AMD you are limited to 990(F)X I think, the 970 doesn't support CF/SLI I think, or it does at x8/x8.

Personally, I wouldn't be bothered with water cooling, get a huge chunk of metal and call it a day. Its much simpler than water cooling and gives less headache if something goes wrong.

And of course the customary "you got a job? blow money on hookers!" comment.

I was more going with watercooling because of the verygood temps/ how AWESOME IT LOOKS/ how quiet it looks.. If you can find some giant sexy cooler that could double as a mace.. then I'll love it.

 

[JrRacinFan]

As far as cooling is concerned, CM Hyper 212+. Also, video card, MSI Twin Frozr series, why pay for watercooling when those coolers work just as good and are included?

 

[nick_1992]

As far as cooling is concerned, CM Hyper 212+.

I got that same cooler, cheap and works amazing.

 

[Wile E]

As far as cooling is concerned, CM Hyper 212+. Also, video card, MSI Twin Frozr series, why pay for watercooling when those coolers work just as good and are included?

Those coolers in no way, shape, or form, cool as well as good watercooling setup.

 

[Fourstaff]

Those coolers in no way, shape, or form, cool as well as good watercooling setup.

Of course, it costs 1/10th of what a watercooling setup costs. However, it gives much less hassle and less headache if something goes wrong. And the downsides are pretty limited to bad looks and slightly poorer temps which does not really matter on Sandy Bridge since that its awesomely cool. Not sure about BD though.

 

[Sir B. Fannybottom]

Intel 2500k (if wanting to buy ASAP) or wait for BD and see how that pans out. As far as motherboard is concerned,go with Asrock. Get an HD6850 video card to start off, for price and a power consumption concern it would be your best bet. On any modern motherboard you could then crossfire it at a later date if needed.

I'd much prefer a single high powered card than cfx... less heat, less power needed. As for after market cooler, has anyone had one of those artic coolers? Are they any good? To me the 212+ is a bit small, I want something that is huge, like the Scythe Infinity.

 

[Wile E]

Of course, it costs 1/10th of what a watercooling setup costs. However, it gives much less hassle and less headache if something goes wrong. And the downsides are pretty limited to bad looks and slightly poorer temps which does not really matter on Sandy Bridge since that its awesomely cool. Not sure about BD though.

Price was not mentioned anywhere. Only that they cool as good. They do not.

Cheaper? Certainly.

Good enough for most? Certainly.

As good as? Absolutely not.

 

[LordJummy]

So the original question is "Go Intel or AMD"?

You shouldn't have to start up a thread for this now. There are SO many active threads with people comparing all current offerings. It is total preference and budget.

Intel is proven, and has SB available now. 2500K can be had for $179 at micro center.

Don't buy an 1100T at this point, that would be a horrible mistake. If you want to go AMD get a 990 board and wait for BD launch. That or just get an APU chip and pair it up with a 6900 or 6800 series card.

 

[Bo$$]

I'm only $14 so not like I need that money to pay bills

explain?

 

[Kreij]

Spend no more than $100 a week on computer hardware.
Use the rest to buy guns and ammo.

On topic : The integrate LAN on the Mobo should be sufficient. No need to get a network card.

@Bo$$ : He's 14 years old. That was a typo on his part.

 

[Sir B. Fannybottom]

So the original question is "Go Intel or AMD"?

You shouldn't have to start up a thread for this now. There are SO many active threads with people comparing all current offerings. It is total preference and budget.

Intel is proven, and has SB available now. 2500K can be had for $179 at micro center.

Don't buy an 1100T at this point, that would be a horrible mistake. If you want to go AMD get a 990 board and wait for BD launch. That or just get an APU chip and pair it up with a 6900 or 6800 series card.

The video card I was going to buy first anyway... Wasn't bulldozer supposed to come out in July? Or was that just the APUs? I'm thinking of getting the video card/mobo/ram as soon as I can and just using my proc till bd comes out... and if bd is terrible.. I'll just go intel, and I can give this rig to my mom.

 

[JrRacinFan]

Price was not mentioned anywhere. Only that they cool as good. They do not.

Cheaper? Certainly.

Good enough for most? Certainly.

As good as? Absolutely not.

Agreed but no reason to get watercooling when they can cool just fine.

 

[Bo$$]

grab a pair of 6950s

 

[razaron]

Get a SSD. Their prices have become much better as of late.

 

[Fourstaff]

The video card I was going to buy first anyway... Wasn't bulldozer supposed to come out in July? Or was that just the APUs? I'm thinking of getting the video card/mobo/ram as soon as I can and just using my proc till bd comes out... and if bd is terrible.. I'll just go intel, and I can give this rig to my mom.

You know AMD, they delay their products countless times because they are bad at keeping promises. Or their engineering team found problems, which took time to correct. APU came out in July, and Mobo/Ram combo can wait till BD. Get graphics card first, the decision is not reliant on your motherboard. IIRC 990FX supports SLi natively.

grab a pair of tits

Fixed. I would consider getting GTX580 if you want maximum power, again because of potentially less hassle, and you can add another down the road if you found yourself lacking in power.

 

[MRCL]

Fixed. I would consider getting GTX580 if you want maximum power, again because of potentially less hassle, and you can add another down the road if you found yourself lacking in power.

GTX580 is a great card for sure! Maxes out pretty much everything. However they can be expensive depending on where you buy them and what edition it is. My 580 was the cheapest availalbe at 400 bucks... its also not that loud (but you know since I had two reference 4890s blowing on 100%, a jet engine is sweet silence in my ears).

 

[erocker]

CPU: Intel 2600K or AMD 1100T
Mobo: Need a socket to choose, but needs good oc features, needs to look nice, have 2 16x slots, decent reviews.
GPU: Prob going to go 6970..
Ram: corsair vengeance 1600mhz 8 gigs.
PSU: My current psu can handle it all. No need to change it now.
Network card: Never really had a good one, so suggest something nice.
Cooling: I want water, but know nothing about the products. I think I can fit a dual 120 and a single 120 rad in my case.

-Get the 2600K. Waiting is for losers.
-AsRock Extreme4 Gen3 is a good board for the price.
-6970. das is gut
-Get the 1866mhz version of the Vengeance. Run it at XMP settings and forgeddaboutit.
-Ok.
-Don't bother. The integrated networking willl be fine on the motherboard.
-Get water. I can't stress this enough how much you need it. Not for cooling, but because it's cool, fun and a nice extension to a computer hobby. For parts I would suggest the MCP655 or MCP355 XSPC bay resevoir. Any decent dual radiator would be fine. You can get the LT version of the EK supreme CPU block and save cash.