Opinions on my i5 upgrade!

Mr Sprout · 28 Feb 2010 at 22:31

Howdy all, I need some help choosing good hardware for my rather extensive system upgrade.

I've been pretty much out of the loop since the Core 2 Duo/Quad days and I'm now looking to replace the main components of my aging Core 2 Duo machine to bring the thing into 2010. My current machine has a 800 watt PSU and GTX260 which won't be upgraded this time round, hard drives won't be replaced either. The rest is going, and so I've put together what I think will be a suitable replacement system. Here's what I have so far:

Motherboard: Asus P7P55D - Link
Processor: i5 750 2.66Ghz - Link
Memory: OCZ Platinum 4GB (Dual Channel DDR3) - Link
Case: Antec Three Hundred
Cooling: Noctua CPU and 120mm fans

I'd very much appreciate any constructive criticism people could offer. My main concerns at the moment are that the memory might be a poor choice, or that my current GTX260 might not fit in the Three Hundred case. I'd like to downsize from my current P182, but if it's necessary I could just stick with it and save myself some money!

My usage scenarios for this machine really vary. HD media playback, code compilation, gaming, photo management are all very much on the agenda and so I'm pretty sure the i5 fits the bill well for me. I just can't see myself utilising 8 virtual cores or triple channel memory often enough for it to be worth the jump to an i7.

Looking forward to your replies and thoughts on what I've said here.

Keep on overclocking!

shanezog · 28 Feb 2010 at 22:34

motherboard is overkill, if you're going to get that one you may aswell go i7 triple chanel

Danm54 · 28 Feb 2010 at 22:44

The GTX 260 will fit in the Antec 300, quite a bit of room in there

Thats my 8800Ultra in there which is the same length as the new GTX260, wont fit HDD's in the bays next to it though

Alex74 · 28 Feb 2010 at 22:46

Would go for something like this for the motherboard.. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-225-GI

Will 'bring you into 2010' with all the modern features you'd want. No reason to pay £170 for the thing if you don't have to. As shanezog said, you might as well be heading into LGA1366 territory if you really want to pay that much for a motherboard..

Ryan111 · 28 Feb 2010 at 22:51

I have an antec 300 and an EVGA GTX 260 SSC and can confirm that it fits fine. You cant put a hard drive in the adjacent bay though.

Mr Sprout · 28 Feb 2010 at 23:00

shanezog said:
motherboard is overkill, if you're going to get that one you may aswell go i7 triple chanel

Alex74 said:
Will 'bring you into 2010' with all the modern features you'd want. No reason to pay £170 for the thing if you don't have to. As shanezog said, you might as well be heading into LGA1366 territory if you really want to pay that much for a motherboard..

Thanks for the advice. I'm a little Weary of Gigabyte motherboards, I've heard mixed things? I'd like to be able to comfortably overclock my system as it ages, is a Gigabyte likely to do this well?

Danm54 said:
Thats my 8800Ultra in there which is the same length as the new GTX260, wont fit HDD's in the bays next to it though

Hm, unfortunately I need the HDD bays for my backup/media drives. Perhaps with the money I'd save on a less expensive motherboard I could squeeze a new card into the shopping basket...

shanezog · 28 Feb 2010 at 23:05

Are you wanting crossfire? If not something like this will be fine

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-382-AS&tool=3

Alex74 · 28 Feb 2010 at 23:05

Mr Sprout said:
Thanks for the advice. I'm a little Weary of Gigabyte motherboards, I've heard mixed things? I'd like to be able to comfortably overclock my system as it ages, is a Gigabyte likely to do this well?

Can't say I've heard anything like that myself recently, Gigabyte motherboards are used in OcUK's 4GHz overclocked pre-builds, so I'd say they have a pretty good rep at the moment

Mr Sprout said:
Hm, unfortunately I need the HDD bays for my backup/media drives. Perhaps with the money I'd save on a less expensive motherboard I could squeeze a new card into the shopping basket...

If you sell off your 260 and go with a cheaper motherboard you might have enough to secure a 5770, which would complement the rest of the spec very nicely

Jae-So · 28 Feb 2010 at 23:12

I'd get a cheaper board if ur goin P55, for that much ur not too far from X58 pricing

Mr Sprout · 1 Mar 2010 at 19:13

Thanks for all the replies, I've made an updated list of components before. Looks like I'll be replacing almost everything after all!

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3 - Link
Processor: i5 750 2.66Ghz - Link
Memory: OCZ Platinum 4GB (Dual Channel DDR3) - Link
Graphics: XFX ATI Radeon HD 5770 XXX Edition - Link
Case: Antec Three Hundred
Cooling: Noctua CPU and 120mm fans

Again, if anyone could offer further feedback I'd very much appreciate it. I'd like to get the most bang for my buck with this upgrade.

W_i_l_l · 1 Mar 2010 at 21:33

i would go with this ram : http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-026-PA&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

Vision · 1 Mar 2010 at 21:46

Updated list looks good. The ram Will posted might be better tho.

Mr Sprout · 1 Mar 2010 at 23:04

Ok, I think this is a finalish list... and I'm just about ready to buy!

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3 - Link
Processor: i5 750 2.66Ghz - Link
Memory: Patriot Sector 5 Viper II 4GB - Link
Graphics: XFX ATI Radeon HD 5770 XXX Edition - Link
Case: Antec Three Hundred
Cooling: Noctua CPU and 120mm fans

Unless anybody can see any majorish problems with this setup (It looks to me as though everything should be fine) I'll go ahead and buy later tonight.

Ev0 · 2 Mar 2010 at 12:53

I know it's only a few quid, but are you buying a retail chip and then using an aftermarket cooler? If so wouldn't it be cheaper to just get the OEM one and save a tenner?

Do you get more warranty with a retail one, never bothered looking.

s452 · 2 Mar 2010 at 13:18

3 years warranty vs 1 for oem