something to add on. Anything below i5 750, dun bother to get
intel, amd is more value for money. For budget between 1k to 1.5,
CPU Cooler can consider CM hyper 212. R 4890 is considered old
tech, 5770 is better. (about same price) Either get i5 750(LGA
1156) or jump to i7 920(LGA 1366). i7 860 and i5 750 do not diff
much in spec and is 100 plus more expensive. Both are using LGA
1156 and p55 can only cross or sli at x8. Just overclock i5 750 and
u can get i7 860 performance.
For high end system, not much ppl will consider Western Digital
Raptor, get SSD. 60gb SSD costs about $300 plus and 120gb about
$600 plus. (60gb is enough for window 7 and all applications, not
for storage) can consider water cooling instead of air cooling.
(corsair H50 is easy to install for water cooling) V8 is a good air
cooler but its fan is poor. can consider Noctua NH-D14 or TR
Ultra-Extreme 120 for better temp when overclocking. consider
Phenom II X6 1075T for high end setup too. it has 6 cores, good to
overclock and is cheap. (only i7 980X has 6 cores, rest have 4
cores only)
4890 is better than 5770, FYI. It takes a 5830 to match the
4890's performance.
I would suggest a VelociRaptor, specially the 600GB edition for
those who want performance and storage in the same
package.
The 860 is for those who require heavy multithreaded
performance, like those operating VMs, servers, simulations etc. It
also has far better single-threaded capabilities, owing to it's
higher TB clock.
Depending on CPU used, I would recommend the PT Megahalem,
Noctua D14. The TRUE has more or less lost it's shine, because in
my testing of various CPU coolers for AMD platforms, a TRUE Black
lost to the Xigmatek HDT-S1284, which cost slightly less and is
easier to mount on AMD systems. For high-end systems, I would
recommend the i7 920/930 because they still beat the Thuban X6. For
workstations, however, I can recommend Thuban or even Magny-Cours
over the Intel counterparts.
