Hardware PC Hardware Buyer's Guide July 2011

If you are going to spend almost a grand on the gaming machine then spend another 30 quid and put 8 gigs of RAM in it.

And not you do not want to upgrade later, you want 2 x 4GB DIMMS right from the start, for maximum compatibility and to avoid certain ram sticks in the slots closest to the CPU inter-fearing with the cooler.

 

Ok, I agree with the guide so far. I could argue about the Lynx Cpu, APU, whatever, but I reckon the fact that the motherboard used didn't allow for a proper review and exploration on the APU's capabilities might had weight against it. Maybe when bit-tech gets a proper AMD APU motherboard, I might see it on the Budget build.
Let's hope you don't break another one and test it with memory frequency above 1866MHz and with a discrete graphics card to see how much improvement the APU build can have from such hardware.

Now, don't you go forgetting about this point, ok staff?! =P

 

I wouldn't spend money on either GTX590 or 6990 but I wonder if 3GB of VRAM will be enough for GTX590 to keep up with 6990. Video memory is quite important(as I have seen in reviews on other sites) when it comes to hi-res / multi monitor gaming. Skyrim shall tell...

 

Just out of interest, why do the buyers guides never include monitors? Am I the only person in the world who has trouble using a PC without a monitor?

 

Because this site is for enthusiasts, who likely have a monitor or three already. Bit-Tech do review monitors, but not often, so any recommendation wouldn't change for a long long time - so basically read the reviews rather than the buyers guide.

 

I thought they did... i'm sure one of the pages [the last one IIRC] had 'if you need a monitor we recommend X 22", Y 24" or Z 27+"'... or at least I'm sure they used to....

 

Yup

and only ones that break your bank....I mean, that aren't compatible with the "affordable all rounder"

 

Anemic PSU as usual, otherwise a fair roundup, though the lack of Blu-ray and 8 gigs of ram is baffling.

I have a blu-ray burner and it is a very convenient way to back up files that cant be backed up otherwise.

-.

.-

 

There are actually very few options for monitors these days.
You have 5 or 6 models of 30 inch monitors and a few that work for 3x27" or 3x24"

If you have a halfway decent card I strongly recommend a 30 inch monitor, it is a good entry level into hardcore gaming.

Now if you have a real graphics card, go with 3 24inchers or 3 27inchers. You can always go for broke and do the 3x30 inch route.

Good luck on finding the right monitor(s)!

Yours in Elite Monitor Plasma,
Star*Dagger

 

It will be a long long time (if ever) before nVidia catches up to AMD/ATI in terms of one card, multiproc Graphic cards.

nVidia has the advantage of sending their lemmings to help game companies optimize their code to their hardware, AMD has raw power and speed, those who know me here know what my choice is.

Yours in Raw Power Plasma,
Star*Dagger

 

The golden rule of recommendations and advice is to only recommend something if you KNOW it to be good, that’s why it takes a fair few months to see new hardware trickle onto the buyers guide.

After all image in this case you hedged all your bets on a new CPU let’s say, then 2 months down the line they are all recalled due to a faulty manufacturing process...But its too late, all your faithful readers have rushed out to buy said CPU...Your goanna look like a right w****r
I have always found the Buyers guide good in this respect.

If it where broadened slightly to include a HTPC or a casual gaming rig then i should imagine the AMD’s new APUs would be foremost on the list.

 

Or 3D. Stupid, stupid 3D.

 

Great work Bit-Tech! Of all the guides on the net this is the best.
1) Awesome Micro monster of a motherboard for dirt cheap. Hopw are Asus going to sell their other boards? Although from looking at the heatsink, I would NOT OC an i5 2500k on it beyond 4.5 Ghz. And how Ironic is it that your darling FT02 has a new Micro-ATX version, the FT03? I remember seeing a review of it where a GTX 590 was fitted in it.
2) The motherboard already has a built in SupremeFX X-Fi 2 sound card! No excuse to spend $90 on a sound card!
3) Discussing GPUs is pointless without knowing which monitor will be used!
If you have a 1920x1200/1080 monitor, stick toNvidia GTX 560 ti, 570 and 580 depending on your budget.
If you're on 2560x1600, 6950 < 6970 < 580. CF or SLI to get the maximum or go for a 590 or 6990.
If you're planning on 5670x1200, then wait for the new GPUs carrying the 28nm chips. Skip this generation altogether. SHould be out by Xmas.

 

same as ever we love nvidia no matter how much heat they produce

plus the gaming rig would have too small an ssd and nowhere near enough ram, I would predict that by 2012 third quarter everyone i know will want high speed 8gig dimms, not 2 2's.

Although the 2600k is a nice 32 nm quad the reason that everyone will not buy it is because when they first developed the 32nm westmere quad years ago my mates and I could not wait to buy one. But wait we did and wait and wait and wait till the 2600k arrived. When this did arrive we perceived that even though nothing else could match it we felt like it was already old hat and we lost interest in intel from that point.
The moral of the story is dont hold back technology unless nothing is know about it in the rumor mill. After all this time of not upgrading I have realised one thing Ignorance would be bliss.

Also toms hardware doesnt half paint a different picture than this site with regards to cpu and a lot of stuff.

 

I understand that the 2 marvel Sata 3 controler ports are useless on the bigger Maximus IV extreame (9182 ?) but looking at the Maximus IV gene-z I only see the JMicron controler listed, are we right here saying we dont have to worry about which sata 3 port we install an SSD +500mb read speed drive on?

 

The answer is no because it wouldn't run at full speed anyway!

 

A few days is NOT a week!

 

I'm pretty sure the sound card us purely on software level not hardware

 

Hey Everyone,
I'm new here and happy to start contributing to this forum. I just started my first build in 10 years so it's all different to me now. This buyer guide is my favorite and reviews from this website I respect. To start things off i have one question, I'm planning on the Enthusiast Overclocker build and want to know is the MSI P67A-GD53 (B3) motherboard better than the GD55? I am planning to get the GD55 which seems to be the same price as the GD53, should i be worried about this change? I'm probably fine with this just wanted to make sure its not that big a difference from the Mobo that bit-tech reviewed...
Thanks everyone i will keep you all updated on my build!

 

My advice to you is dont touch any of those boards with a barge pole as they represent poor B for B once amd has released thier new Dtop architecture everything besides the 2011 pin will plumet. If you like im predicting your future bang for buck.

And that prediction stays the same even if the amd stuff is slower