£350 upgrade

aproctor · 27 Aug 2011 at 13:31

Hi Guys,

I currently have a fairly decent spec but it is getting a bit long in the tooth for new titles over the coming year, how would you recommend spending £350 in the next few months?

Currently -

Q6600 G0
P5K
4GB Corsair DDR2 800
1GB 460GTX
1TB WD Caviar black
Be quiet DP 650W PSU

Looking at the new i5 chips and 8gb ram.

Another query as it has been a while, do i need to reinstall windows if i change the mobo?

Cheers

Andy

LtMatt · 27 Aug 2011 at 13:44

I found myself in a similiar position recently. Here's what i bought and i haven't looked back.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-360-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=1275

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-447-AS

You might want a pro or deluxe version for crossfire/sli

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-104-KS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

Ocuk don't seem to have the Kingston 8GIG in stock at the moment though.

I was able to install a new mobo without reinstalling windows but its advisable to start again i think.

ExecutorKevin · 27 Aug 2011 at 13:53

You don't really need 4GB for gaming, so if you get 4GB then you can shave £15 off.
With two 460 in sli it would make a formidable setup, and with that 460 at that price you would be crazy if you didn't. and its more powerful that a 580!

honosuseri · 27 Aug 2011 at 14:10

An i5 2500K and a P or Z series mobo makes sense. You dont need more than 4GB for gaming but RAM is cheap at the mo and 8GB would help with Photo and video editing etc.

The reason that 460 is £89.99 is that it is a refurb unit and only comes with a 1 year guarantee. I have seen the retail units go for as little as £100 on weekly offers and they come with 3 years warranty.

An aftermarket heatsink might well be a better purchase instead. THis will allow you to tame the i5 easier should you want to overclock it.

I'll add a link showing the benchmarks of the 460 in sli vs the 580 as suggested. You can use this to help judge what to do when you want to upgrade the GFX.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/314?vs=305

Jony27 · 27 Aug 2011 at 14:17

i would recommend an SSD and a CPU cooler and OC that CPU nd maybe a 6950 2GB.

ExecutorKevin said:
With two 460 in sli it would make a formidable setup, and with that 460 at that price you would be crazy if you didn't. and its more powerful that a 580!

you mean a GTX480, sli 460 looks on par with a gtx580

aproctor · 27 Aug 2011 at 14:27

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

i5 + mobo + cooler seems the way forward.

Which mobos and coolers are coming out on top?

Also will 650w be enough for SLI?

ExecutorKevin · 27 Aug 2011 at 14:42

you really don't need a cooler, a 2500k will do 4.5Ghz on stock I think.

Jony27 · 27 Aug 2011 at 14:45

ExecutorKevin said:
you really don't need a cooler, a 2500k will do 4.5Ghz on stock I think.

it probably can but it will run really hot and the fan will be on full speed most of the time which is really loud, best i would go to with a stock cooler would probably be 4GHz

if you can fit a cooler in the budget then go for it.
the Silver Arrow is one of the best air cooler out at the moment, if you want a closed loop watercooler, then the Antec Kuhler 620 or the Corsair counter part, H50/H60.