New i7 Build

JHONO

JHONO

JHONO

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Thinking of upgrading soon next month infact to a new i7 system, but just need some further advice about it general. Budget is £1500

First of the all its going to to be for gaming as usual, 1st person games and FSX as well, Heres the list of what im looking at:



Some things i am going to keep such as the case (Antec 1200) as well as the sound card (XFI Xtreme Gamer) and also want to keep the PSU which is an Enermax Galaxy 1000W PSU which ive had for two years since new.

Would i be able to keep this PSU? I think so, but would just like a second opinion on this?

Although i have budgeted for new PSU just incase, but would like to keep this one.

Just looking at the memory as well, do i need 2000MHz Ram or should i go for something a little less?

Also feel free to give your opinion on the new rig its self and any other recommendations to the spec would be great. :)


Thanks
 
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Get the new Sandy Bridge i7 2600k which will perform much better and overclock superbly.

Socket 1155 will be dual channel so cut down the RAM to 4GB which will save you money. 4GB should be plenty for gaming and you can always upgrade later if you wish.

Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - Half the price of the HD you have chosen and is a very good choice.

Titan Fenrir Evo CPU Cooler - You could probably get the 2600k to 4.5Ghz based on most reviews.

To further save some cash you could get the ATI 6950 and flash the bios to unlock it to a 6970.
 
Hi thanks for the replies.

Ive changed the Ram to a 1600 MHz kit with better timings which should do the job well as mentioned. Still keeping it a 6GB though :) Thats a saving of £20 and also got rid of the power supply as i dont need it (knew i wouldnt:p!) saving of £235 Well under budget ;)

I heard about this 6950 firmware tweak is it that clocks it up to a 6970. Definatly worth a shot buying the 6950. Also looking at it the 6970 is only marginly faster than it.

Thing is though im not one for messing around with things not a chance taker lol so if i did buy a 6950 id probably just leave it at its stock speeds. Would i notice much difference in games if i didnt flash it?

Also as for OCing my CPU in general i wasnt going to bother stright away as a mate of mine says these i7s are really fast, but i might do in the future?

Still not sure on a CPU cooler though thanks for the recommendations, the termaltake one seems very big! Would that fit in my 1200 its not good if you have tall memory sticks like the dominators i want? Good cooler though.
 
6GB is overkill if you are only gaming but I understand if you will be using memory intensive applications.

6950 stock should max just about everything at 1080p ( Albiet probably not 60+ fps on Metro 2033 ) so that should be okay if you don't want to unlock it to a 6970.

i7's are very fast at just about everything however these new Sandy Bridge chips will be very easy to overclock ( even on stock cooling ) according to the reviews that have been published. 4.4Ghz at least!

Antec 1200 should be okay for most coolers but the best thing to do is check out the measurements yourself.
 
Garee said:
6GB is overkill if you are only gaming but I understand if you will be using memory intensive applications.

6950 stock should max just about everything at 1080p ( Albiet probably not 60+ fps on Metro 2033 ) so that should be okay if you don't want to unlock it to a 6970.

i7's are very fast at just about everything however these new Sandy Bridge chips will be very easy to overclock ( even on stock cooling ) according to the reviews that have been published. 4.4Ghz at least!

Antec 1200 should be okay for most coolers but the best thing to do is check out the measurements yourself.
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Hi Garee

Thanks for that, the 6950 should do it no problem then still stuck between the two but theres still plenty of time to decide so thanks. Thing is with AMD/ATI revising these cards could they go up in price?

Just wondering when do the new sandybridges come out, cant see them on on overclockers yet?

That cooler you recommended looks good too, is it a good performer and were can i find the measurements for it as well? If there are any others anyone can recommend as well that would be great.

Sorry to bombard you with questions :p

Thanks
 
Your PSU is TOTAL overkill, whilst nice you wont need anywhere near 1250W, even xfiring 6950s system still only draws 509W, as such 750 would still be plenty to allow for OCing
 
95thrifles said:
Your PSU is TOTAL overkill, whilst nice you wont need anywhere near 1250W, even xfiring 6950s system still only draws 509W, as such 750 would still be plenty to allow for OCing
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He already owns the PSU and was just including it in the budget incase he needed to buy a new one :)
 
JHONO said:
Hi Garee

Thanks for that, the 6950 should do it no problem then still stuck between the two but theres still plenty of time to decide so thanks. Thing is with AMD/ATI revising these cards could they go up in price?

Just wondering when do the new sandybridges come out, cant see them on on overclockers yet?

That cooler you recommended looks good too, is it a good performer and were can i find the measurements for it as well? If there are any others anyone can recommend as well that would be great.

Sorry to bombard you with questions :p

Thanks
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They already have went up in price due do VAT and other circumstances. I ordered XFX 6950 on Friday for £219 and now it's up to £228. 6950s are fantastic value in my opinion however.

SB is offically released this Sunday.

I'm no expert on Coolers to be honest and I suggest you read a few reviews. +1 for the Thermaltake Frio aswell though. It is very popular.

Measurements can usually be found on the manufacturers website or in the product description on a retail website.
 
Im Stuck now between this and a Sandybridge!!! DAM!!


What should i do as i have not bought yet

Help! :eek:
 
Yeah was thinking that too.

Thing is are the new ASUS 1155 motherboards any good? Im thinking stick with the origional plan, i7 950 1366. Just dont know.

Would the SB be good for gaming FSX ect?

Just never been one for buying the absolute latest hardware. Plus there would new motherboards later in the year?

Thanks
 
In CPU heavy tasks (like FSX) the i5 2500K is actually better than the i7 950. It is also cheaper, uses less power and overclocks amazingly (4.5GHz with ease, some getting up to 4.9GHz).

As for a new motherboard - the ASUS boards are very nice and use the very cool UEFI BIOS. Will you be needing a motherboard that's able to run dual graphics cards?
 
cmndr_andi said:
In CPU heavy tasks (like FSX) the i5 2500K is actually better than the i7 950. It is also cheaper, uses less power and overclocks amazingly (4.5GHz with ease, some getting up to 4.9GHz).

As for a new motherboard - the ASUS boards are very nice and use the very cool UEFI BIOS. Will you be needing a motherboard that's able to run dual graphics cards?
Click to expand...

Hi Andi

Thats good to know, was thinking of going for the i7 2600K Sandybridge with the ASUS P8P67 Pro or Deluxe.

As for Dual GFX cards such as Crossfire. Dont have any intention of running two 6970's but i might do in the future, i normally dont but you never know. One is powerful enough though.

What should i go for the P8P67 Pro or Deluxe, Im thinking the Pro?

Also these CPU's look like excellent overclockers but i wont be overclocking stright away i think as these are fast enough, even at 3.4 GHz stock! Its enough for me and games.

Thanks :)
 
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I would go with the pro - the deluxe, in my mind, isn't £50 better. The pro still supports dual graphics cards (SLI/CF) in PCIe x8/x8 configuration.

I hear FSX runs better with Nvidia cards - is this still the case?
 
Yeah i was thinking the PRO. Will definatly be going for that.

Not too sure about FSX with NVIDIA cards. I Suppose both run pretty well. Runs good even with my 4870X2

Thanks
 
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