Oh the decisions :(

02goswej · 28 Sep 2010 at 09:30

My budget is quite strict, £550 being the top end.

I have narrowed it down to these specs really. Again my uses are Programming and Gaming (WoW mainly but would like to be free to play high graphic games if I want too) so it's either AMD or Intel, here are the two specs I have come up with!

AMD:

Intel:

Some insight/opinions or even a different spec for around the same price are welcome.

/Johnathan

stulid · 28 Sep 2010 at 09:34

02goswej said:
I chose the motherboard simply because it can handle SLI/Crossfire and I hear the H55 Overclock well with the i3.

im affraid the second pcie slot will run at 4X speed while the first runs at 16X speed.

02goswej · 28 Sep 2010 at 09:50

stulid said:
im affraid the second pcie slot will run at 4X speed while the first runs at 16X speed.

What budget motherboard will you advise with this CPU or an i5 that overclocks well and can handle SLI properly

?

/Johnathan

stulid · 28 Sep 2010 at 09:53

they are all expensive.

P55,

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-361-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1495

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-362-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1495

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-226-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1495

all three run both slots at 8X/8X when two cards are inserted.

ironically the H57 motherboard here does 8X/8X also but cost even more

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-380-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1124

stulid · 28 Sep 2010 at 10:07

just for a comparison, heres a AMD system with a 890GX crossfire at 8X/8X motherboard

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
HIS ATI Radeon HD 5830 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £149.99
(£127.65) £149.99
(£127.65)
ASRock 890GX Extreme3 AMD 890GX (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £99.99
(£85.10) £99.99
(£85.10)
AMD Athlon II X4 Quad Core 630 2.80GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £79.99
(£68.08) £79.99
(£68.08)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £76.36
(£64.99) £76.36
(£64.99)
XFX 650W XXX Edition Modular Power Supply £69.99
(£59.57) £69.99
(£59.57)
Titan Fenrir Evo CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1156/LGA1366/AMD K8/AM2/AM2+/AM3) £35.99
(£30.63) £35.99
(£30.63)
Sub Total : £436.02
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.00
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £78.05
Total : £524.07

02goswej · 28 Sep 2010 at 14:52

I have updated my first post. Anything you guys can add?

/Johnathan

steve258 · 28 Sep 2010 at 15:43

Would probably go for the Intel one you listed but change the GFX to GTX460 for 10 quid more and job's a good'n. Unless crossfire/sli is a must for you?

stulid · 28 Sep 2010 at 15:49

GTX460 over a GTS450 everyday.

02goswej · 28 Sep 2010 at 16:04

Okay, so final check:

I'll be ordering this tomorrow when the new weekly deals come out, just in case there's a slim chance one of those components get reduced

/Johnathan