£1000 rig including monitor etc

mowlio · 17 Mar 2010 at 18:09

Hey I just threw this together and was looking for some advice one what I've chosen. My main use is going to be gaming and I have been out of the scene for a long while and have no idea whats going on anymore so help would be much appreciated. is there anything i should swap out go amd over intel etc.

Thanks

kellaway225 · 17 Mar 2010 at 18:10

if gaming maybe look at a better graphics card?

cmndr_andi · 17 Mar 2010 at 18:12

Unfortunately that spec won't work as the CPU won't fit in the motherboard. Also, the GPU is very weak for a gaming spec with this budget.

Give me a sec and i'll put together a spec.

mowlio · 17 Mar 2010 at 18:12

Kella - As i said I've been out of it for a while and i don't know what a good graphics card is. can you suggest one bearing in mind i only have £1000 for everything.

EDIT
Thanks andi!

kellaway225 · 17 Mar 2010 at 18:13

with £1000 look at the 5850 or even 5870?

dasyad · 17 Mar 2010 at 18:14

Erm I'd probably change the screenshot

cmndr_andi · 17 Mar 2010 at 18:16

Edit: Changed spec, added RAM that I stupidly forgot.

£166 left for a good monitor.

kellaway225 · 17 Mar 2010 at 18:17

yeah good selection they have that BenQ for like £150 on here so you should look at that its 24inch i think

mowlio · 17 Mar 2010 at 18:21

What are the differences between the i5 and i7? I've been reading everywhere that the i7 is the nuts atm.

cmndr_andi · 17 Mar 2010 at 18:36

mowlio said:
What are the differences between the i5 and i7? I've been reading everywhere that the i7 is the nuts atm.

The i7 is a lovely chip, but the real difference between it and an i5 is hyperthreading. This means that in heavily threaded applications the i7 can be a good chunk faster than the i5.

However, in games the i5 is just as fast as the i7.

Audigex · 17 Mar 2010 at 18:36

For another £40 the i7 is faster, but then it's also more expensive for the triple-channel RAM and the 1366 motherboard. Overall, unless you do 24/7 encoding or heavy benchmarking, you aren't likely to appreciate the extra £80-100+ it'll cost you.

i5 + HD58xx is plenty enough for most people, why waste cash?

mowlio · 17 Mar 2010 at 18:40

cmndr_andi said:
The i7 is a lovely chip, but the real difference between it and an i5 is hyperthreading. This means that in heavily threaded applications the i7 can be a good chunk faster than the i5.

However, in games the i5 is just as fast as the i7.

Yeah it'll be gaming only, how do AMD CPUs fair against the i5 for gaming nowadays? as you can get the Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition 3.4ghz for under £150.

whitecrook · 17 Mar 2010 at 18:43

memory ?

cmndr_andi · 17 Mar 2010 at 18:45

whitecrook said:
memory ?

Good catch, cheers. I'll rework it to fit some 4GB DDR3 1600MHZ.

mowlio · 17 Mar 2010 at 18:45

whitecrook said:
memory ?

haha yeah i noticed that, but considering i don't need windows 7 or a case i figure that should cover around 6 gigs

cmndr_andi · 17 Mar 2010 at 18:52

I reworked the spec, should actually turn on now

mowlio · 17 Mar 2010 at 19:02

1. I've noticed that that isn't the fastest ram available, any particular reason why I shouldn't go for the faster ram etc.

2. If i went for that I would have an extra £110 for bits as i don't require windows or a case. would it be worth it to spend extra on cpu, ram or gfx?

3. Last question, how does the i5 compare to the Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz? for under £150 it seems better value.

mattjd · 17 Mar 2010 at 19:08

i5 will smoke the AMD's ass

Juts OC the i5 @ 4.00GHz and away you go

Expensive RAM = not worth it, 1600MHz is adequate because memory click isnt that big of a deal for gaming but timing latencys do if I am thinking correctly. The G.Skill should be fine.

cmndr_andi · 17 Mar 2010 at 19:13

1) The RAM isn't the fastest, but 1600MHz CL8 is very fast RAM, getting faster RAM will only provide a tiny performance boost, for a large cost boost.

2) Personally, I would use the extra money to put towards the monitor fund. I would suggest this lovely 22in e-IPS panel monitor (here is a review). The difference over TN really is spectacular.

3) In games the i5 is just as fast or a bit faster than the Phenom II (here is a review). Considering the Phenom is running a 3.4GHz and the i5 is running at 2.66GHz, this is pretty impressive. Also, bear in mind that when overclocking both chips top out at around 4GHz, so a fully overclocked i5 is much faster than a fully overclocked X4.

With this all said, from a budget stand point the Phenom II is more than fast enough for modern games and costs a bit less. If you don't plan to overclock then it is a very good choice.

mowlio · 17 Mar 2010 at 19:26

is the i5 an easy overclock? How likely would it be that i could get the i5 to anywhere near 4ghz on air as well.