Quote:
Originally Posted by
phill1978 
Thanks for thread some good tips
Just wondering why you went for a 6750 and a i5? Surely an apu has a 6750 built in the cpu and the Intel won't offer and greater power savings vs the amd or useful power gains. It also costs more?
Thanks phill1978! I appreciate the kudos.
Keep in mind I make no claims to be a subject matter expert (SME) on the topic by any means... but what I do well is research, read reviews, forums, test bench results, etc. I then try my best to extrapolate what I think will work for my build. I always recommend to anyone attempting a DIY build to follow a similar track if they have the time and not to be afraid to ask questions. Although, sometimes responses can leave a lot to be desired depending on the forum.
To answer your questions:
I totally agree with you, that going the AMD APU route is definitely worth consideration and for obvious reasons is a preferred choice as well. I did actually consider a llano build. There are so many variables to consider, but I will try to address just a couple of them without going too deep. There are quite a few websites that has already done all the comparison work already. AMD apu chips has excellent GPU performance that out performs Intel i3 equivalent chips. That said, AMD apu chips consumes more power and as a result produces more heat, thus you will be using more resources to keep your system cool. The difference in power usage between i3 and i5 is not significantly huge, however Intel chips are more expensive than AMD. Now again, these points are not meant to be the one size fits all scenario. It really depends on the components used, configuration, and what each individual is willing to live with while taking into consideration their key points for the build. Tom's hardware, Guru3d, PC magazine and a few others have some great comparison test-bench results between the chips.
As you know, when doing a DIY build you have so many avenues that can drive the build. For example:
*One can decide that their build, is built around their CPU which means a compatible Mobo will be needed to support that build, etc etc,
vice versa
*One can decide that their build, is built around their Mobo which means a compatible CPU will be needed to support the build, etc etc,
and of course there are other driving forces that can dictate a build.
...This is a good segway to my choices.
Reasons for my choice: The Mobo dictated my build.
I used my key points listed below for my build... Again reading performance reviews for the various components helped in the decision making.
*Absolute must --- Built in wi-fi (Stream media between floors – no extra cables)
*Minimum of two 6GB/s SATA ports
*On board graphics
When I searched for wi-fi capable ITX Mobo's, the ASUS P8Z77-I Deluxe LGA 1155 Intel was the clear winner. There was a limited selection of other similar Mobos. Compounding the list smaller was finding previous owners for the respective brands giving rave reviews. Now that I have selected an Intel Mobo this means my options are down to i3/i5/i7. By the way, I am a huge fan of ASUS Mobo's. My order of preferred brands are Asus, Gigabyte, then AsRock. At the time of purchase the Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core was the best performance value. I will attempt to find the website (needle in a haystack find) I used to help my decision and post it. It may not show the exact information from when I initially made the purchase, since it is a live comparison chart that is constantly being updated.
As for the inclusion of a separate 6750, that is a personal choice for wanting a low profile passive cooling GPU with a bit more performance. The reason to include a built-in GPU (another one of my key points) is to give me the flexibility of removing the 6750 and replace it with a tuner card. I also have the option to keep the 6750 and use an external tuner if needed. This addresses my other key point of expandability.
I hope this helps in someway explain my choices.
Edited by RogueRage - 11/8/12 at 8:07pm
