Budget spec (SLi and upgradable)

Spacedeck

Spacedeck

Spacedeck

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Joined
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West Yorkshire, England
Right, I opened up my case to clean the cooler (Artic Freezer Pro) but I couldn't get to it so I removed it from the MB. I cleaned it... Now it WON'T go back on! The pegs which stick into the MB are bent and it won't stay in place and I've tried the twisting thing many times:mad:

So can you please try spec me something. I won't get this till the end of the month (long time:() but this thing is doing my head in and it won't go back on! (any suggestions welcome.)

Anyway I have an Antec 300, Q6600, Corsair 650W (yellow sticker), 8GB DDR2 RAM, need to check what type of HD's they are, Blu-Ray drive and I have an 560 Ti 2GB Phantom. And all this is on a P5Q MB.

Been having problems with it since I tried OCing it from it's current 3.0 OC.

I don't know what I can salvage from this build but here's the main things I want to replace.

CPU, MB, RAM and cooler! anything more I need? I will be going SLi in future. I game on a 32" 1080p TV for now.

Only thing I've ever replaced in a computer before is a GPU!

I'm pulling my hair out at the moment. Got everything all over, GPU, MB, RAM, only fans and HD's left in the case.

Thank god I have an iPad, my mum has a Laptop and i have other form of gaming! (PS3, 360)

Thanks for any help.

ETA: sorry forgot budget! It's between 400-500. But of course lower the better.
 
i2500k £168/£180 depends if there is a this week only or other offer on it(currently £168 but ends wednesday, maybe back the week you order)

gigabyte z68xp-ud3 £110

8gb pc3-12800 1600mhz c9 ~£40-£50 corsair xms3, kingston hyperx genesis grey, corsair vengence lp(the ones without the fins) whichever is on offer. faster than 1600mhz not worth it

gelid tranquilo £26

if you plan on sli tho 650w should do might be worth going 750w

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-047-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

ssd maybe worth it as well crucial m4

make sure the drives are sata
 
Ok thanks I'll keep them in mind, well from now on if people could throw in their two pennies worth it would mean a lot.

Got completely fed up, boxed my GPU away and put the rest to one side. Really not happy bunny tonight :(
 
Just wondering a few things. How can I tell if my drives are Sata or IDE? I do have an 60GB SSD (do they make these in IDE).

And on the basis of me going to be upgrading to better components over the next few months (starting with next month), how possible could I build a complete new tower for that price? Like start from sctrach just minus the HD's and GPU.

Even if it means I have to first start on a i3 and keep it at stock levels and then upgrade to i5 a month or two later?

As I think right now I'd rather start from sctratch.
 
SSD will be sata.

It's easy to check as IDE will have a big fat ribbon and SATA will be a thin cable usually red but not always.

And for 400-500 minus GPU and HDD you can get Sandybridge.
 
Well I think it is Sata then but will double check tonight.

I am just a bit wary about my Win 7 now and as to if it would work on the new system. Story behind it..

When I bought the PC he told me if I ever reinstalled Windows I would need to install Vista first and then install Win7 as Vista was on it before (this PC was pre built from OcUK but had an upgrade here and there.) And it came with Vista. Now the Vista disc is an upgrade anytime disc and I reformatted recently using both discs and it worked but would these same discs work on the new system?

Also any things to considering when looking at each components?
 
is the win7 you have a upgrade version or full(doesn't matter if it's oem or retail) version?

even if it is the upgrade version you don't need to install vista first, what you do is install win7 but you need the cd key from vista ontop of the win7 cd key.
 
fowler002 said:
is the win7 you have a upgrade version or full(doesn't matter if it's oem or retail) version?

even if it is the upgrade version you don't need to install vista first, what you do is install win7 but you need the cd key from vista ontop of the win7 cd key.
Click to expand...

I think it might be full as on the disc it says nothing about being an upgrade. Only says it on Vista disc.

When I reinstalled I didn't have a cd key on the case or manual so couldn't input one. I installed it normally and then connected online to activate it but it said key was in use. I then installed win 7 over it and the key with that worked. It wasn't until after having installed win 7 that there was a vista key on the side of the case.
 
Ok just Taking everything else out of the case and keeping the storage stuff safe. From the looks of it they are also Sata as they have a red cable and nothing big or flat.

So from the looks of things I can keep my HDD's, my Blu-Ray player and my GPU so then I just need everything else? Is it possible?:(

Just so I know I am keeping the right cables, other then the red cable does the PSU plug into that and is that for power which is why there's 2 things attached to it?
 
yes the hard disk/s and optical drive(blue-ray) have two cables connecteded to them, 1 is the sata cable which goes between the drives and the motherboard and the other is the power cable from the psu. if you look on the back of the drives you'll see 2 slots a smaller(the sata cable connects to this one) and slightly bigger one(the psu connector goes this one).
 
 
seems they've reduced the i2500k a bit since the this week only offer started last wednesday but its ending tomorrow so it'll be going up in price(unless they do another offer on it).
 
Well so far I'm looking towards an i5 2500k, that case mentioned above. Seen videos and seems like it's got great airflow, a lot of room to work with and easy installation.

Thinking because I will be upgrading if I could get maybe 4GB RAM and then I can upgrade to 8GB at a later date. Just the little things what can save you money :)
 
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