Sandy Bridge Buyer’s Guide
by Zach Throckmorton on June 17, 2011 3:20 PM ESTWhat Can You Build for $2000?
There’s certainly a case of diminishing returns as you go up the price ladder. Our budget system checks in at under $500, our midrange build goes for less than $1000, and now we’re moving all the way up to $2000. There are areas where this system will be close to twice as fast as the midrange build, but that’s mostly in games and comes courtesy of the graphics card(s). If you’re looking for all that gaming performance without dropping two grand, take the midrange build and add the GPU(s) and power supply from the list below—you’ll get 85% of the CPU performance and 99% of the gaming performance for under $1400. But there are other benefits to be had; here’s the full list of parts.
| High-End Core i7-2600K System | |||
| Part | Description | Price | Rebate |
| Processor | Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge | $313 | |
| Motherboard | ASUS P8Z68-V PRO LGA 1155 | $205 | |
| Memory | Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2x4GB) PGD38G1600ELK | $85 | -$15 |
| Graphics | EVGA 015-P3-1580-AR GeForce GTX 580 1536MB GDDR5 | $470 | -$30 |
| Primary Storage | Intel 510 Series 120GB SSD | $280 | |
| Secondary Storage | Samsung SpinPoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB HDD | $60 | |
| Optical | LITE-ON iHAS124-04 DVD Burner | $25 | |
| Power Supply | Corsair Professional Series AX750 750W PSU | $170 | -$20 |
| Case | Corsair Obsidian Series 650D | $200 | -$20 |
| CPU Heatsink | Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 CPU cooler | $27 | |
| OS | Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit | $100 | |
| System Total | $1935 | $1850 | |
If the Core i5-2500K is so amazingly capable, then why spend almost $100 more on the Core i7-2600K? On the surface, it’s only clocked 100MHz higher at stock, can only turbo 100MHz higher, has only 2MB more L3 cache, and doesn’t have more cores. However, it does have Hyper-Threading, so if you use multithreaded applications—like many video encoding, rendering, and compression applications—you’ll definitely benefit from going from the Core i5-2500K to the Core i7-2600K. For the more typical office and Internet applications, though, the performance difference is negligible. One other thing to note is power consumption—the Core i7 pulls ever so slightly more electricity than the Core i5. That is, even though the i7 is much more capable at certain tasks than the i5, it doesn’t use more juice. You can get a good idea of how the two chips compare, and whether what you do benefits from Hyper-Threading, by looking at our Bench results.
We’ve paired the Core i7-2600K with the ASUS P8Z68-V PRO that we recently reviewed. It sports a plethora of ports along with headers for case front USB 3.0 ports—in addition to the usual front USB 2.0 and Firewire ports. , Like many other high-end Z68 motherboards, the P8Z68 also supports SLI and CrossFire, so whether you choose the AMD or NVIDIA graphics route, the board has you covered for dual-GPUs. However, that doesn’t mean we have to start with two graphics cards, which brings us to the graphics configuration.
In speaking with our resident graphics expert, we came to the agreement that the best overall experience will be had by sticking with a single GPU—at least until you max out that component. You won’t have to deal with CrossFire or SLI headaches, driver updates (and game profiles) become less of a hassle, and everything just works as expected. As such, we’re recommending NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 580 for our high-end setup, currently available with rebates starting at $440. Just to be clear, for a similar price you can actually get better performance by going with dual GPUs, but CF/SLI scaling is never perfect and occasionally has issues with new releases that might take a couple months to get worked out.
If you’d still rather go with CF/SLI, you can pick up a pair of Radeon HD 6950 2GB cards for $460 (after $40 MIR), or you can cut costs even further by grabbing a pair of GTX 560 Ti cards in SLI for $400 (after $60 MIR). You can see how the single GPUs compare in our GTX 560 Ti review, and CF/SLI scaling is generally similar as you can see in our HD 6990 review. The performance edge tends to be in favor of 6950CF, and the 2GB 6950 cards will also have an edge at 2560x1440/2560x1600 and higher resolutions—and really you should have at least a 27” WQHD panel if you’re looking at this sort of graphics setup. But going back to our primary recommendation, the GTX 580 performs nearly as well in current games, it won’t have any CF/SLI idiosyncrasies, and if you’re really looking for a high-powered gaming setup you can always add a second 580 later.
For storage, we’ve gone the SSD+HDD route once more, only with a higher capacity, higher performance, and higher quality Intel 510 SSD this time. We’ve kept the same 1TB HDD for mass storage, but you can always go with a 2TB drive (or additional HDDs) if you need more capacity. We discussed the SSD particulars with Anand before settling on the Intel 510, and again there are some viable alternatives. If you’re after the absolute fastest 120GB SSD, OCZ’s Vertex 3 IOPS MAX is what you’ll want, but retail pricing currently starts at $310 shipped. For $30 less, Intel’s 510 120GB may not be quite as fast, but Intel’s reliability track record is definitely better than SandForce based SSDs. Realistically, outside of extremely taxing storage workloads—workloads most home users will never actually run—any of the latest generation of SSDs will be plenty fast. If the IOPS MAX is the most expensive 120GB, the OCZ Agility 3 120GB is on the other end of the spectrum and comes with a downright affordable price of $200 (after $30 MIR) by comparison. Worst-case performance (i.e. reading uncompressible data) takes a pretty big hit, but otherwise the Agility 3 and Vertex 3 120GB SSDs are very comparable and you save $60 compared to the Vertex 3. You’re still taking more of a risk with SF controllers, but as far as performance goes the SF-2200 drives are the current performance king.
Rounding things out, Patriot offers a solid 2x4GB kit of DDR3-1600 that overclocks well, is in my experience reliable, and has unobtrusive heatspreaders that go well with the ASUS motherboard’s color scheme. Corsair’s Professional Series AX750 outputs 750W at 80 Plus Gold efficiency and it’s fully modular. It’s about as high-quality as a PSU gets for a reasonable price. This PSU provides clean, stable power 
to this gaming-oriented beast of a computer, with room to spare for two GPUs and a heavily overclocked CPU. (If you do plan on adding a second GTX 580, though, make note that we’ve hit 850W under load using an SLI 580 setup, so you’ll likely need to move into the kilowatt range.)
Housing all of these impressive components is the Corsair Obsidian Series 650D. This case has ample room for a CrossFire or SLI setup, as well as great air-cooling for the heat generated by the CPU and GPU(s) during marathon gaming sessions. It’s also very water-cooling friendly, if you decide to go that route. While I’m not usually a fan of windowed cases, this system is simply too awesome to hide away the internals. We’re coming in slightly under budget for a change, especially if you factor in rebates, which leave us room for a decent midrange aftermarket CPU cooler. The stalwart Cooler Master Hyper 212+ isn’t the best CPU HSF on the market, but it’s quiet, effective, and reasonably priced—and it should let you approach a 5GHz overclock on the Core i7-2600K.
The final tally comes to just $1850 after rebates, which means if you’re still looking for other ways to waste spend your money, you could opt for a higher capacity SSD, add in Blu-ray support, toss in a larger HDD, or look for better cooling. We’re very impressed for just how much you can get for ‘only’ $1850, though, and no one would be unhappy running such a system right now.
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GullLars - Saturday, June 18, 2011 - link
I agree on the 2500K + GTX 460 being a great build for "medium" gamers, so don't take the next part as an attack on that system.Regarding the last part of your post, if you already have a quad Phenom II / Athlon II, migrating to a LGA 1155 build will require you to get both a motherboard and CPU, combined cost ~$300-350. If you don't already have an SSD, a 128GB Vertex 3, M4, or 510 will give you a noticably better improvement than going to the 2500K system outside number crunching.
For gaming, an Athlon/Phenom II x4 >2,5GHz won't slow down a 460 noticably at 1900x1200 medium. There may be a few FPS difference, but both will be perfectly playable, and the GPU will be the determining factor.
marc1000 - Saturday, June 18, 2011 - link
for light use my c2duo is perfectly fine. I even do "almost medium" gaming because I invested in a radeon 5770 (it goes fine with my 1680x1050 monitor). but when I need to convert a blu-ray disc (legally bought), my system goes to its knees... it takes 5 to 6 hours for a single disk. at this task the sandy bridge cpus are faster than phenom II, and for anyone with even older hardware like me, it's about 5 times faster...JarredWalton - Saturday, June 18, 2011 - link
True. If you're upgrading a PC as opposed to buying new, the point at which it becomes important varies from individual to individual. I'm still running a Core 2 Quad desktop, and my wife is on Core 2 Duo -- only my gaming rig is running Core i7 (Bloomfield). My current go-to laptop is a Sandy Bridge quad-core that's actually faster than my Core 2 Quad desktop, but all my apps are still running happily on the C2Q.If you are already running in an AMD ecosystem, there's really no point to upgrading to Llano right now. Even if it's compatible with your motherboard, all you'd really get is lower power draw and a faster IGP. Considering you can get a much faster dGPU for $50, why bother? And as far as power goes, let's say Llano saves you 20W on average; at $0.15 per kWh (which is actually more than a lot of people in the US pay), you'd need to run 24/7 for five years to recoup the cost of a $100 investment. In five years, I can pretty much guarantee you'd have upgraded at least once if not twice from Llano.
ckryan - Saturday, June 18, 2011 - link
I decided to build a new system based on SB in part pretty much just cause I wanted to. A quad core Athlon/Phenom II isn't exactly feeble and it wasn't "holding me back". I didn't need to upgrade, I just wanted to upgrade. The 2500k/2600k might be a great deal ahead of the K10.5 architecture but it's not like AMDs are obsolete. Part of my decision to upgrade was based on the fact that I needed to build a system for a family member -- so I just upgraded my system and handed down my AMD system -- which is still way more powerful a system than was necessary. I bought an H67 and a 2500k which was great, but then I decided to get a P67 board. To be clear, in the few games I do play I get better framerates... but it's largely academic. I say if you're building a system for someone else, esp. if they're not a gamer than an H67/Core i3 is a great way to go. Which is what I'm planning to do with my "old" Biostar TH67+.marc1000 - Sunday, June 19, 2011 - link
yeah, giving away our older parts is a great reason to upgrade! =DI guess that this "upgrading cycle" is more of an addiction than a necessity. I'm planning to whom I will give my old system as soon as I buy that 2500k!
jjj - Saturday, June 18, 2011 - link
"an AWESOME time to buy an Intel desktop, because there's nothing coming out in the next three months on the Intel side "Why would anyone sane buy based on brand name,how does it matter if it's Intel or AMD side and how is 3 MONTHS !?! a significant period of time?
We have BD coming soon,you say september and it would be nice to tell us what makes you think it is september and not august since all public info suggests august,.There is SB-E this year and i guess we can hope BD will force Intel to price it better than it was planned and then Ivy Bridge could arrive in 7-10 months.It's maybe the worst time to buy a new desktop in YEARS.
That aside,there are a lot of "best Intel something" articles lately on the internets,i really do hope this wasn't a payed article,or written at Intel's request. You guys are already almost never criticizing any products you review,always looking for the upside and that's starting to be annoying.You might need to keep good relations with hardware makers but objectivity is way more important or you'll end up being the next THG.
marc1000 - Saturday, June 18, 2011 - link
I don't agree with you. I don't believe they are saying any of this because of brand names. It's because of real performance. See, I'm an AMD supporter - each and every GPU I used is ATI/AMD (since the times of geforce2mx ruling the market, I was buying the radeon9000). I even bought an Athlon 64 system when it was faster than any Pentium. but since the core2duo, the intel CPU's are the best performers. I really hope that AMD will deliver a capable CPU with the next iteration of bulldozer, but right now you can't go wrong when buying any of the new sandy bridge cpus.duploxxx - Saturday, June 18, 2011 - link
difference between initail buyers guide and this version :)In the end it's all about levelling a build, first of all you mention a pricerange, but you forget to add kyb-mouse-speakers and screens, so to what extend does a buyer only assign parts to the case and content..... never they look at the full picture.
THe budget 500$ is off for a SNB anyhow right now, it is totally out of balance, you have more then CPU power enough for general usage and you get an IGP that is worth é&é&é&é sure general desktop usage is fine, but not meant to play any decent game at all, so you need a GPU anyhow.
a very low budget mobo, the MSI -e35 has at least USB3 support....
the caviar blue is slow against black series and others like spinpoint....
THe 1000$ build is also not balanced. there is no need for the 2500K a 2400 will do more then ok for such a rig, for the difference in price you get a 6870 from asus or the his also in rebate with much better price/performance/power ratio then this 460. THe antec psu i would trade it in for a corsair anyday. cheap case that ain't really that looking unless you have a -25j old public. While the 60GB SSD does serve it's purpose here it is narrow on size and performance.... again balance the needs
The 2000$ build well nothing to add, but then again select all major parts doesn't always provide the best ratio price/perf/power. you could easily take the 2500K here (no need for those HT cores anyway in daily usage), go with a 570 or 6970. buy a faster and better ssd, intel 68 chipset that isn' t really added value beside higher price.... throwing with money but forget for a total complete build you actually need 500$ more for the peripherals at the same level.
last thing.... its nice searching for the cheapest prices everywhere on the net, but the chances that buyers actually go search for 3 different sites for the lowest $ cost for each part is hardly the case.
Sure you can mention the fact that AMD has nothing new to offer right now so you don't throw them in, but the 500-1000$ range is still a valid range to compare both where they will do more then well for any user. The non-intel PC users is just lack of IT mind, old school ready for retirement in this branche.....
hi87 - Saturday, June 18, 2011 - link
You're a joke Duploxx. Just stfu. Anything that is not pro-AMD you hate on.I'm not a fanboy, I'm just sick of your trolling on anything that's about Intel. Damn, how childish are you?
Broheim - Sunday, June 19, 2011 - link
+1