Craig's Build 2 (Parts ordered) updated 10/29/12

[The Dude]

Just a guess, but based on other pricing I'm thinking $100 to $125 more for the i7 over the i5.

Wow, that's a much larger difference than I was expecting. I'm pretty sure that Toms Hardware ran a review not too long ago that showed that the performance difference is not that significant between the i5 and the i7. Obviously the i7 performs better but I'm not sure it's $100-$125 better. I'll have to see if I can dig up that article for you.

Not the one I was thinking of but it gets at the point (You get about a 28% performance boost at about a 358% price difference) of course that article is from November so some things may have changed:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-3960x-x79-sandy-bridge-e,3071-21.html

[Craig]

The way I see it is that the lower TDP is what likely makes the prices so much higher.  45watt is pretty low for such a powerfull chip. TDP is the main reason I would go to the i7 over the i5-I'd consider the paying the premium for lower TDP in an HTPC. The article you reference is an i7 that is a $1000 extreme edition with 6 cores against a $230 quad core. I'm guessing the i5 I'm looking at will be around $200 and the i7 around $300. So what is that?... 50% more?

[Miller]

I agree. I'd pay more for less TDP.

[The Dude]

The way I see it is that the lower TDP is what likely makes the prices so much higher.  45watt is pretty low for such a powerfull chip. TDP is the main reason I would go to the i7 over the i5-I'd consider the paying the premium for lower TDP in an HTPC. The article you reference is an i7 that is a $1000 extreme edition with 6 cores against a $230 quad core. I'm guessing the i5 I'm looking at will be around $200 and the i7 around $300. So what is that?... 50% more?

Sorry about that. I didn't really read it completely I was really looking for a different one and when I didn't find it grabbed that one. I have to admit all the different iterations of the i5s and i7s still throw me too.

[Craig]

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2402625,00.asp

Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Eight-Thread Desktop CPUs
Core i7-3770K (3.5GHz, 3.9 GHz w/Turbo Boost, 8MB L3 Cache, 77W): $332
Core i7-3770 (3.4GHz, 3.9GHz w/Turbo Boost, 8MB L3 Cache, 77W): $294
Core i7-3770S (3.1GHz, 3.9 GHz w/Turbo Boost, 8MB L3 Cache, 65W): $294
Core i7-3770T (2.5GHz, 3.7GHz w/Turbo Boost, 8MB L3 Cache, 45W): $294
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Core i5-3570K (3.4GHz, 3.8GHz w/Turbo Boost, 6MB L3 Cache, 77W): $225
Core i5-3570T (2.3GHz, 3.3 GHz w/Turbo Boost, 6MB L3 Cache, 45W): $205
Core i5-3550 (3.3GHz, 3.7GHz w/Turbo Boost, 6MB L3 Cache, 77W): $205
Core i5-3550S (3.0GHz, 3.7GHz w/Turbo Boost, 6MB L3 Cache, 65W): $205
Core i5-3450 (3.1GHz, 3.5GHz w/Turbo Boost, 6MB L3 Cache, 77W): $184
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Eight-Thread Mo bile CPUs
Core i7-3920XM (2.9GHz, 3.8GHz w/Turbo Boost, 8MB L3 Cache, 55W): $1096
Core i7-3820QM (2.7GHz, 3.7GHz w/Turbo Boost, 8MB L3 Cache, 45W): $568
Core i7-3720QM (2.6GHz, 3.6GHz w/Turbo Boost, 6MB L3 Cache, 45W): $378

I was pretty close with my $300 guess on the i7-3770T.

[Craig]

I was complaining a few posts back that AMD went and made a new socket design FM2. According to this article the new AMD APU's may be compatible with FM1 boards. Not that it really matters though, I'd probably still go with the board with the latest chipsets.

even though Trinity APUs will utilize the new Socket FM2. The only difference is that Socket FM1 has one extra pin (905 pins for Llano versus 904 pins for Trinity), but independent sources have already confirmed that Trinity APUs should still be compatible with older FM1 motherboards.

http://www.fudzilla.com/home/item/26674-amd-to-announce-trinity-apus-for-notebooks-on-may-15th

EDIT: However, as someone pointed out, if you look at the pictures of the pin arrangement in the article the four spaces around the center opening are not lined up with the other CPUs gaps making it seem like this is  a rumor article that is untrue. We'll see I guess.

[Craig]

Just ran across this bench on the HD 4000 graphics by intel. It's a month old-not sure how I haven't seen it yet but....
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5626/ivy-bridge-preview-core-i7-3770k/11

Now, this doesn't compare AMD 7660D to the HD 4000 which I'm looking for, but it does compare HD 4000 to AMD 6550D. Draw your own conclusions/speculations, but I think HD 4000 along with the Quiksync decoder may give satisfactory image quality for deinterlacing, but I'll hold off until I see some HQV tests on both GPUs.  AMD will likely be much cheaper though, and have a better GPU. I don't think the CPU power of intel will be needed over the AMD A10, and the 10watt increase in the AMD chip I'm looking at over the intel chip is negligible to me. Wish there were more benches out and the product available for order. I'm getting anxious to start building.

[Craig]

Pulled the trigger today on some external storage units and a Flexraid license.

2x Sans Digital 4 bay enclosure with portmultiplier
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816111177


Sans Digital 5 bay enclosure with portmultiplier and PCIex4 esata card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816111166
Gives me 9 8 external HDD bays which I will setup with flexraid. Gives me something to play with while I await the release of the CPUs I'm looking into.

[Miller]

Very cool!! I've been looking at some of those for my WHS. Let me know how they work for you.

[Craig]

Well, not all has worked out according to plan. The 5 bay enclosure that came with the rocket raid 622 esata card did not function very well. I ended up RMAing it and buying a second 4 bay enclosure and this from Monoprice. http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10407&cs_id=1040702&p_id=3581&seq=1&format=2

So far I have the one 4 bay enclosure hooked up to the new esata card and everything appears to be working well. Still waiting my second 4 bay enclosure to arrive-hopefully tomorrow.

Apparently the issue I was having with the 5 bay enclosure and the RR622 card is a very popular problem. I read about the issue before I bought it but was hoping it wouldn't apply to me since I wasn't using the Raid function of the card. Oh well.

I decided to go ahead and purchase an SSD tonight.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441

[Miller]

I read this review today and thought of your build...

http://www.missingremote.com/review/intel-core-i7-3770k-ivy-bridge-cpu-and-dz77ga-70k-motherboard

[Craig]

Thanks.  To me it looks like the AMD 6550D outshines the Intel HD 4000 with interlaced content.

Update on the Two 4 bay units: Both are working wonderfully with the cheap esata card I got from monoprice. Just waiting for monoprice to get their 6ft esata cables back in stock and I can put these enclosures in the basement with the rest of my Home Theater and Network stuff.

[Craig]

I finally pulled the trigger on a new build. I updated post #2 with the components. Pics to come soon.

[Miller]

Looks nice. (But I hate scrolling back. Why not just add a new post?) Still running Sage?

[Craig]

I made the Reservations at the beginning of the thread so that when people visit this thread all the info and pics are right at the top when they start to read it.

And yes, still running Sage