Advice on Gaming build for 3 years minimum

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Hi all. I would appreciate any help you can provide me. I plan to buy now a PC for at least 3-4 years (I'm doing a postgraduate and I don't plan to make any further update until finish it).
My main purpose will be gaming, specially: BF3, MW3, SC2, Diablo III and Guild Wars 2. Secondary use will be CFD/FEA calculations (more cores are preferred, but gaming is my main priority by far).

I'm just between these two options. i5 2500k or Phenom X6 1090t. I can't afford a 2600k. I was initially decided about the i5 2500k, but some people told me that int he future a CPU with 6 cores will be more future proof (they talked me about the Intel quad cores and their long life).

My two specs would be (prices based on UK):

i5 2500k build:

CPU: i5 2500k : 172£
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3-B3: 96£
Cooler: CM Hyper 212: 25£
GPU: GTX 560Ti: 170£
RAM: G-Skill 4GB DDR3 1300Mhz: 19£
CASE+PSU: CM Storm Enforcer + Coolermaster GX 650W (This is a bundle): 99£

Total: 581£

x6 1090t build:

CPU: Phenom X6 1090t: 136£
Mobo: Asus M5A99X EVO: 99£
Cooler: CM Hyper 212: 25£
GPU: ATI 6950 2GB: 190£
RAM: G-Skill 4GB DDR3 1300Mhz: 19£
CASE+PSU: CM Storm Enforcer + Coolermaster GX 650W (This is a bundle): 99£

Total: 568£

I will play on a 23" LED Monitor with 1920x1080 resolution.


I'm also welcome to any suggestions about my build. I am very noob with the current market and I am open to increase budget 50-60£ if it's worth it/justified.


I also wonder if it's worth it to buy a motherboard open to SLI/CF or afford for a better one in quality without SLI/CF. I am also open to suggestions about SLI/CF options at the same price of 1 of the aboves single graphic card


Many thanks
 
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this should answer your question:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/203?vs=288

and in case you thought bulldozer (the phenoms replacement) might help:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/399?vs=288

i would also change the motherboard as that one is a bit pants (it doesnt support onboard graphics, lucid virtu or intel quicksync. its also had pretty poor reviews because of its build quality). since its quite clear your not shopping at OcUK i cant tell if this motherboard will be the best option for you, but it is the best price/performance OcUK can do:

non gen3 version: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-193-MS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1990
gen3 version: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-192-MS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1990

(gen3 supports PCIe gen3 when an ivybridge processor is put on the motherboard, meaning faster performance for the soon to be released Nvidia 600 series and ATI 7000 series graphics cards)
 
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Like reaper said it's best to stick to the sandybridge socket for now as ivy bridge will follow the same lines.

PCI-e gen3 will help with the new line of GPU that will come out in the near future. So even in 3 or 4 years you will be able to upgrade easily and cheaply.

I would go with your intel build, though i would say it may be worth getting 8GB or RAM as it is so cheap at the moment, some programs now need more RAm than 4Gb (mainly CAD programs). A good 8Gb bundle such as Gskill or XMS3 are only ~£40.
 
think it'll be over budget but if you're looking at 3yrs without upgrading then something like:

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

cooler dependent on your ocing needs(i.e. will you be happy with ~4.5ghz or want 4.8-5ghz), gelid tranquilo, cm hyper 212+, corsair a50 for the 4.5ghz, for 4.8ghz/5ghz you're looking at the likes of the d14, silverarrow, h80/h100

if you're buying from ocuk by tuesday night but can wait like a week/ week and a half

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-005-AN&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395 seems to be popular due to the price reduction

mb for sli/xfire http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-368-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1990

single card http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-364-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1990

ram dependent on cooler, if go for the likes of d14, silverarrow(i.e. huge coolers that overhang nearlly all the ram slots) then you'll want low profile ram(i.e. those without fins or if it does have fins that are small). if you go for the likes of the h60/80/100, khular 620 then the fin on the ram wouldn't be an issue. look for 1600mhz 1.5v

examples

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-094-KS

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-060-GS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-311-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

psu would say corsair, antech, enermax(they seem to be doing rebadged under lepa at the moment), seasonic etc. 500-650w if going single graphics card, 750-850w if going xfire/sli.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-116-AN&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

case upto you

graphics card 2x 6950 2gb or 560ti 2gb(dependent on if you're a ati or nvidia fanboy or prefer one over the other).

you'll want hard disk/s, optical drive, os unless you have them already. a ssd(crucial m4 seems to be popular at the moment) would be nice if you can afford it.
 
First of all thank you guys for your invaluable help! I'm a bit lot with this because this is my first "serious" build.

this should answer your question:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/203?vs=288

and in case you thought bulldozer (the phenoms replacement) might help:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/399?vs=288

i would also change the motherboard as that one is a bit pants (it doesnt support onboard graphics, lucid virtu or intel quicksync. its also had pretty poor reviews because of its build quality). since its quite clear your not shopping at OcUK i cant tell if this motherboard will be the best option for you, but it is the best price/performance OcUK can do:

non gen3 version: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-193-MS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1990
gen3 version: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-192-MS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1990

(gen3 supports PCIe gen3 when an ivybridge processor is put on the motherboard, meaning faster performance for the soon to be released Nvidia 600 series and ATI 7000 series graphics cards)

I don't plan to buy in any specific shop. I was just browsing among different websites (including OcUK) . In fact I made a list of the different motherboards and I was doubting between the MSI you mentioned, the Gigabyte described above in my first topic and the variant: Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3-B3 (with Ingreated Graphics, Virtu, Quicksink) I just thought that Gigabyte was better but I'll reconsider yours. I read that gigabyte motherboards are all of them gen3 with a BIOS upgrade. Correct me if I'm wrong please. A noob question, both brands are equally reliable? :)

think it'll be over budget but if you're looking at 3yrs without upgrading then something like:
cpu http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-360-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=1275

cooler dependent on your ocing needs(i.e. will you be happy with ~4.5ghz or want 4.8-5ghz), gelid tranquilo, cm hyper 212+, corsair a50 for the 4.5ghz, for 4.8ghz/5ghz you're looking at the likes of the d14, silverarrow, h80/h100

if you're buying from ocuk by tuesday night but can wait like a week/ week and a half

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-005-AN&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395 seems to be popular due to the price reduction

mb for sli/xfire http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-368-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1990

single card http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-364-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1990

ram dependent on cooler, if go for the likes of d14, silverarrow(i.e. huge coolers that overhang nearlly all the ram slots) then you'll want low profile ram(i.e. those without fins or if it does have fins that are small). if you go for the likes of the h60/80/100, khular 620 then the fin on the ram wouldn't be an issue. look for 1600mhz 1.5v

examples

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-094-KS

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-060-GS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-311-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

psu would say corsair, antech, enermax(they seem to be doing rebadged under lepa at the moment), seasonic etc. 500-650w if going single graphics card, 750-850w if going xfire/sli.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-116-AN&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

case upto you

graphics card 2x 6950 2gb or 560ti 2gb(dependent on if you're a ati or nvidia fanboy or prefer one over the other).

you'll want hard disk/s, optical drive, os unless you have them already. a ssd(crucial m4 seems to be popular at the moment) would be nice if you can afford it.

Thanks for your specific advices on each component. About the rest of the components not mentioned, I already have covered them.

I'm noob with the memory and I plan to buy another 4GB kit in short-term (next month). My main wonder was 1600-1300mhz but you made me clear.

About the SLI/CF I forgot to mention that I will play at 1920x1080 resolution in a 23" LED screen. I'm not sure if 560ti/6950 is enough for me. If it's the case maybe is better to buy a better 1 gpu motherboard.

About the cooler, the offer of the kuhler 620 is quite good. Until next week I won't be able to buy the rig but if the offer remains I'll definitely buy it. I also considered the scythe mugen 2.

Many thanks!
 
you can never have too much graphical power(580 sli would be perfect if you had the budget especially if you're not going to upgrade them for 3/4yrs but its double the price of the 6950/560ti xfire/sli) :)

if you're going to be buying extra ram next month may as well pay the little extra now and get the 8gb kit(2x4gb) so gives you room to upgrade to 16gb in the future).
 
you can never have too much graphical power(580 sli would be perfect if you had the budget especially if you're not going to upgrade them for 3/4yrs but its double the price of the 6950/560ti xfire/sli) :)

if you're going to be buying extra ram next month may as well pay the little extra now and get the 8gb kit(2x4gb) so gives you room to upgrade to 16gb in the future).

Yep, the gtx 580 is far from my budget :(. Maybe in the next 6 months I could buy another gtx560ti/6950 and make an SLI. I just wonder if the next graphic series 6xx/7xxx will use PCIe 3.0... Maybe it's not recommended to pursue a PCIe 2.0 SLI/CF.

Anyway, I've been looking for more motherboards and maybe this one is a good option (a bit more expensive, but i can handle it):
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-360-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1990

This is the first time I'll OC and I would like to play with (with a good cooler of course). I read that more phases, better OC and this one has definitely better OC margin as it seems. However I don't know what exactly are phases and specially WRM and its effects on the OC.

Many thanks!
 
well you said you wouldn't be upgrading for 3/4yrs, thats why I didn't suggest something like the 6870 for the time being and then getting a 6xx/7xxx sli/xfire once they're released :)

other then a compatible motherboard(those with g3/gen3 suffices) the pci-e 3.0 support would also require upgrading the cpu to ivybridge, sandbridge doesn't have the pci-e 3.0 controller(you'll only get pci-e 2.0 speeds out of a pci-e 3.0 graphics card if you're using a sandybridge cpu).

that'll ruin your no upgrading for 3/4yrs if you plan on pci-e 3.0 speeds from the pci-e 3.0 graphics cards(I believe the 6xx/7xxx will be pci-e 3.0 tho I could be wrong, ivybridge is due out in april from what I've read so its around the time the cards will be released).

can't tell you what the difference between the z68xp-ud3 and z68-ud3p is other than ~£15.
 
well you said you wouldn't be upgrading for 3/4yrs, thats why I didn't suggest something like the 6870 for the time being and then getting a 6xx/7xxx sli/xfire once they're released :)

other then a compatible motherboard(those with g3/gen3 suffices) the pci-e 3.0 support would also require upgrading the cpu to ivybridge, sandbridge doesn't have the pci-e 3.0 controller(you'll only get pci-e 2.0 speeds out of a pci-e 3.0 graphics card if you're using a sandybridge cpu).

that'll ruin your no upgrading for 3/4yrs if you plan on pci-e 3.0 speeds from the pci-e 3.0 graphics cards(I believe the 6xx/7xxx will be pci-e 3.0 tho I could be wrong, ivybridge is due out in april from what I've read so its around the time the cards will be released).

can't tell you what the difference between the z68xp-ud3 and z68-ud3p is other than ~£15.

Definitely you're right. I don't really want to buy Ivy+GPU PCIe 3.0 next year, so maybe I should think about the gtx560/6950 SLI/CF in the short future... I don't know if PCIe 3.0 will be a big difference.

And what do you think about the motherboard commented above and the OC capabilities?

Thanks! your advices are really helpful :)
 
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