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2500k Upgrade - What would you go for??

Associate
Joined
25 Aug 2011
Posts
70
Hi All,

I am currently running a Q6600 on Abit IP35 mobo with 8gb Corsair XMS.

For a long time I have been thinking of upgrading board/chip/memory and Saturday is my birthday so I'm in a position where I will have the cash.

I want to upgrade to a 2500k which I have looked at and price seems to be around £165 - £180. My problem is that my budget will be up to £300.

Therefor I am going to have £120 - 135 for the board and RAM. I am looking for suggestions on how to achive this within budget. Please let me know your thoughts an a) if that is possible, b) which board to go for & c) which RAM and how much.

Cheers people
 
Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM £161.99
(£134.99) £161.99
(£134.99)
Asus P8Z68-V LX Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £81.59
(£67.99) £81.59
(£67.99)
Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £43.99
(£36.66) £43.99
(£36.66)
Sub Total : £239.64
Shipping cost based on delivery to Home, NG19 0EP with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £49.83
Total : £298.97
 
What Lukewhitworth specced is fine, except that the OEM chips don't come with a stock cooler:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £167.99
1 x Asus P8Z68-V LX Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £81.59
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £37.99
Total : £298.97 (includes shipping : £9.50).




This Asus and the Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 are both good boards for the price, and will OC to around 4.5Ghz with a decent cooler.
You don't get all the features of a higher end board, but most people don't need them and they dont fit in your budget :p
The Asus is cheaper atm (it's usually the other way round).

Reviews of the Asus:

Reviews of the Gigabyte:

8GB is plenty for games.

A few questions to confirm this will work:
  1. Is your case ATX?
  2. Are your hard drives SATA?
  3. Are your optical (DVD) drives SATA?
 
What Lukewhitworth specced is fine, except that the OEM chips don't come with a stock cooler:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £167.99
1 x Asus P8Z68-V LX Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £81.59
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £37.99
Total : £298.97 (includes shipping : £9.50).




This Asus and the Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 are both good boards for the price, and will OC to around 4.5Ghz with a decent cooler.
You don't get all the features of a higher end board, but most people don't need them and they dont fit in your budget :p
The Asus is cheaper atm (it's usually the other way round).

Reviews of the Asus:


Reviews of the Gigabyte:


8GB is plenty for games.

A few questions to confirm this will work:
  1. Is your case ATX?
  2. Are your hard drives SATA?
  3. Are your optical (DVD) drives SATA?

Thanks for your reply,

Answer to all of the questions are yes yes and yes. Just as an added note too PSU is OCZ Stealth 750w if that makes a difference with anything.

What are the features that I would be missing out on if i went for that board and how much more would I have to put for a better one (and which would you suggest)
 
Thanks for all replies.

Just to update, ordered my kit today to be delivered tomorrow.

Ordered as follows:

This order contains the following items;
Item: Intel Core i5 2500K 3.3GHz Socket 1155 6MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor
Qty: 1 Cost: £142.43

Item: G-Skill 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600Mhz RipjawsX Memory Kit CL9 (9-9-9-24) 1.5V
Qty: 1 Cost: £36.58

Item: Gigabyte GA-Z68AP-D3 Z68 Socket 1155 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard
Qty: 1 Cost: £65.96
-----------------------------------------------------------
Shipping method: Next Working Day at £7.49

Sub Total: 252.46
VAT Total: 50.50
Total: £302.96

Can't wait for delivery!!
 
Too late, its in. Went for Gskill based on price. Will be using stock cooler for a bit though. Will have to see how I get on with cooler when I get it. Guessing dimensions could be all important.

TBH, RAM like that is usually fine if you've only got two sticks, it tends to be the slot closest to the CPU socket that poses a problem when filled, but you can avoid it when using two sticks.
 
TBH, RAM like that is usually fine if you've only got two sticks, it tends to be the slot closest to the CPU socket that poses a problem when filled, but you can avoid it when using two sticks.

I do only have 2 sticks at the moment but eventually I am hoping to go for another 2. It does seem that I have a lot of room though, I would say plenty in fact, but then that might be because there is the little stock cooler in.
 
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