Another spec me thread.

[MaxB90]

Hi,

Just need the cheapest possible upgrade that will get me through my computing days all I need are the following parts Case / Mobo / RAM / CPU. I will not be over clocking this it will have to perform out of the box. The most intensive thing the computer will be used for is playing games on high / ultra settings. Future games such as MW3 / BF3 & then current games such as Black Ops, Crysis 2 and a few others to get me through till then. Will be used for other things but nothing near as demanding.

Budget: £400 but would ideally like to use a lot less.

I already have an ATI 6970, HDD Set up ( 30GB OCZ Vertex SSD + 1TB HDD ), optical drive & 650W PSU that I will throw in so they're not necessary.

I am really looking for the bare minimum that will play games well and then get me through to January where I will see what the Ivybridge offerings look like.

 

[stulid]

A lot less?

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £94.99
(£79.16) £94.99
(£79.16)
Gigabyte H61M-S2V Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £44.99
(£37.49) £44.99
(£37.49)
BitFenix Merc Alpha Gaming Case - Black £32.99
(£27.49) £32.99
(£27.49)
Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT25664BA1339) £21.59
(£17.99) £21.59
(£17.99)
Sub Total : £162.13
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £34.78
Total : £208.66

The CPU at gaming - http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i3-2120-2100_5.html#sect0

But the recommended specs for BF3 say a quad core CPU such as a i5 2400 will be nicer
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i5-2500-2400-2300_7.html#sect0

But you say you want to upgrade to Ivybridge so the i3 2100 will be ok till then

Are your HDD and optical drive SATA or IDE?

Or maybe you would like a motherboard that has SATA3.0 and USB3.0 and will allow you to overclock a "K" CPU/Ivybridge?

 

[MaxB90]

A lot less?

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £94.99
(£79.16) £94.99
(£79.16)
Gigabyte H61M-S2V Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £44.99
(£37.49) £44.99
(£37.49)
BitFenix Merc Alpha Gaming Case - Black £32.99
(£27.49) £32.99
(£27.49)
Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT25664BA1339) £21.59
(£17.99) £21.59
(£17.99)
Sub Total : £162.13
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £34.78
Total : £208.66

The CPU at gaming - http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i3-2120-2100_5.html#sect0

But the recommended specs for BF3 say a quad core CPU such as a i5 2400 will be nicer
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i5-2500-2400-2300_7.html#sect0

But you say you want to upgrade to Ivybridge so the i3 2100 will be ok till then

Are your HDD and optical drive SATA or IDE?

Or maybe you would like a motherboard that has SATA3.0 and USB3.0 and will allow you to overclock a "K" CPU/Ivybridge?

Both my HDD's are SATA 6GB/S

I would pay another £150 odd to get a bit more oomph out of the machine.

USB 3.0 not too interested in, however SATA 3.0 is the version that takes of 6GB/S right?

I try to avoid over clocking, have fried 2 CPU's that way.

 

[stulid]

Ok

SATA 3.0 is 6Gb/s, useful for the newer SSD's



Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2400 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £149.99
(£124.99) £149.99
(£124.99)
MSI H67MA-E35 Intel H67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro-ATX Motherboard - (Sandybridge) **B3 REVISION** £61.99
(£51.66) £61.99
(£51.66)
G.Skill RipJaw 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Dual Channel Kit £35.99
(£29.99) £35.99
(£29.99)
BitFenix Merc Alpha Gaming Case - Black £32.99
(£27.49) £32.99
(£27.49)
Sub Total : £234.13
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £49.18
Total : £295.06

So thats now a quad core CPU, 8GB RAM and a board with SATA3.0+USB3.0

 

[MaxB90]

Ok

SATA 3.0 is 6Gb/s, useful for the newer SSD's



Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2400 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £149.99
(£124.99) £149.99
(£124.99)
MSI H67MA-E35 Intel H67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro-ATX Motherboard - (Sandybridge) **B3 REVISION** £61.99
(£51.66) £61.99
(£51.66)
G.Skill RipJaw 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Dual Channel Kit £35.99
(£29.99) £35.99
(£29.99)
BitFenix Merc Alpha Gaming Case - Black £32.99
(£27.49) £32.99
(£27.49)
Sub Total : £234.13
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £49.18
Total : £295.06

So thats now a quad core CPU, 8GB RAM and a board with SATA3.0+USB3.0

Thanks for that , are you sure that case can fit a 6970 in though? they are pretty huge.

 

[stulid]

http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/chassis/merc-alpha

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the maximum clearance for CPU coolers on Merc Alpha and Merc Beta?
Merc Alpha and Merc Beta maximum CPU cooler height = 165mm

Q: What is the maximum clearance for VGA cards on Merc?
Length, PCI-Slot to front panel: 437mm
PCI-Slots to HDD-Cage (effective maximum VGA card length): 320mm

So 320mm/12.5" to the HDD cages.

The case could also do with maybe a extra 120mm fan at the front - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-010-CM&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=4


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn1OAVspqvM

 

[MaxB90]

http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/chassis/merc-alpha



So 320mm/12.5" to the HDD cages.

The case could also do with maybe a extra 120mm fan at the front - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-010-CM&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=4


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn1OAVspqvM

Thanks for the help so far, would it be worth getting the i5 2500k? it's a bit more and it does have the ability to overclock quite well on air which could draw out a few more FPS in games and would still be under £400.

 

[stulid]

You will also need a P67/Z68 board to also overclock. And then 1600MHz RAM comes in to play as these chipsets can use it.


Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail with FREE TrackMania 2 Canyon PC Game £161.99
(£134.99) £161.99
(£134.99)
Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £85.98
(£71.65) £85.98
(£71.65)
Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £45.59
(£37.99) £45.59
(£37.99)
BitFenix Merc Alpha Gaming Case - Black £32.99
(£27.49) £32.99
(£27.49)
Sub Total : £272.12
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £56.77
Total : £340.64


• Z68 motherboard has SSD caching, Lucid virtu+Quicksync, it also overclocks extremely well for its price point - http://www.kitguru.net/components/m...-z68ap-d3-z68-review-bargain-buy-of-the-year/

• The stock intel cooler is good for around 4GHz± a bit, it seems the motherboard is capable of more, so a aftermarket heatsink such as a Coolermaster Hyper212+/Gelid tranquillo will be good for about 4.5GHz.

 

[MaxB90]

You will also need a P67/Z68 board to also overclock. And then 1600MHz RAM comes in to play as these chipsets can use it.


Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail with FREE TrackMania 2 Canyon PC Game £161.99
(£134.99) £161.99
(£134.99)
Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £85.98
(£71.65) £85.98
(£71.65)
Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £45.59
(£37.99) £45.59
(£37.99)
BitFenix Merc Alpha Gaming Case - Black £32.99
(£27.49) £32.99
(£27.49)
Sub Total : £272.12
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £56.77
Total : £340.64


• Z68 motherboard has SSD caching, Lucid virtu+Quicksync, it also overclocks extremely well for its price point - http://www.kitguru.net/components/m...-z68ap-d3-z68-review-bargain-buy-of-the-year/

• The stock intel cooler is good for around 4GHz± a bit, it seems the motherboard is capable of more, so a aftermarket heatsink such as a Coolermaster Hyper212+/Gelid tranquillo will be good for about 4.5GHz.

I think Lucid virtu is for power savings, what is Quicksync? I have been given good reviews for the Gelid Tranquillo I may give that a try.

 

[stulid]

Quicksync is also part of Lucid, it enables certain programs (media espresso for instance) to use the onboard GPU core of the CPU's to speed up encoding times.

A graphics core is much faster at this sort of thing compared to a CPU core. Nvidia have something called CUDA that is very similar in the way it can dramatically speed up rendering/encoding times compared to just the CPU.