Best CPU & motherboard upgrade for me??

StevieP

StevieP

StevieP

Soldato
Joined
2 Jan 2004
Posts
7,782
Location
Chesterfield
Before I begin, I KNOW that I should be overclocking the ******** off my Q660 - but I'm useless at thermal paste etc (just dont have the steady hands for it!) and even after a few tries my temps seem a little high so I'd rather just start fresh! (and also be able to sell on my current bits while they are still worth something!)

Anyway, my setup is in my sig and I was looking for the best value upgrade for me in terms of CPU & mobo!

I've read that the Sandybridge 2500K is pretty good but there have been various problems with the (Asus?) motherboards for them!?!?

Anyone got a good recommendation for this? (USB 3.0 a must!)

Cheers peeps.....
 
Hi there.

How about a OCUk overclocked bundle with the hard work done for you?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-062-OE&groupid=43&catid=339&subcat=1802

It uses a Gigabyte board so none of the ASUS complaints, and is only around £20 than buying the parts yourself and overclocking yourself.

The motherboard others SLI/Crossfire at 8X/8X too

Trying to find a new CPU/Motherboard for your existing DDR2 is going to be difficult/not worth the expense.
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Another option is this,

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor with FREE Operation Flashpoint Red River Game £161.99
(£134.99) £161.99
(£134.99)
MSI P67A-C45 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £99.98
(£83.32) £99.98
(£83.32)
Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/4GX) £37.19
(£30.99) £37.19
(£30.99)
Sub Total : £249.30
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £51.76
Total : £310.56

The motherboard is unfortunately out of stock (this is in stock - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-324-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1906 ), doesnt do SLI/Crossfire so is cheaper, and if your Gelid cooler has a socket 1156/55 bracket? then you can re-use it too, all you then have to do is overclock it yourself.
 
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Sorry, I meant to say the RAM would want changing too! (and to be fair its not exactly expensive atm!)

So would we say that the 2500K Sandybridge is the best value for money at this price bracket then? And also, the problems I've read about with the Asus boards - was this fixed with the "revision 3" ones??
 
We would say that, yes. :)

The Asus boards have been very hit and miss. Some people have no problems, some have no end to problems. I use MSI boards atm and they're awesome. :)
 
StevieP said:
Sorry, I meant to say the RAM would want changing too! (and to be fair its not exactly expensive atm!)

So would we say that the 2500K Sandybridge is the best value for money at this price bracket then? And also, the problems I've read about with the Asus boards - was this fixed with the "revision 3" ones??
Click to expand...

Sandybridge offers the best value for performance at the moment, nothing can touch them.

You can use this to compare one cpu against another - http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/2

And the problems people are having with ASUS run deeper than just the B3 revision to fix the SATA 3.0 ports.
 
So if the 2500K is the chip to go for, whats generally regarded as the best mobo to put it with? Also, how power-hungry are the new Sandybridge chips? I dont want to have to upgrade my PSU too! (600W Modstream Pro btw!)
 
StevieP said:
So if the 2500K is the chip to go for, whats generally regarded as the best mobo to put it with? Also, how power-hungry are the new Sandybridge chips? I dont want to have to upgrade my PSU too! (600W Modstream Pro btw!)
Click to expand...

Either a MSi or gigabyte motherboard will be fine, depends if you want a SLI/Crossfire option in the future? (this will require a new PSU)

For a single graphics card setup, you have the

MSI C45 - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-167-MS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1906

Gigabyte UD3 - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-324-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1906
 
Just a thought, how about using a closed system water cooler like the corsair H60.

The paste is already applied you just need to clean the cpu. That's £60 to get some extended life from your rig, a degree of bragging rights and a good cooler for when u do "need" to upgrade to the 1155 socket.

If you are desperate for USB3 im sure they do an addon card in the form of pci-express. Still gonna work out cheaper than a complete mobo bundle.

Good luck any which way with the rig though fella
 
Anyway,

continuing from my previous post, does your Gelid Tranquilo have Intel socket 1156 fitments? socket 1156 is the same as 1155 for the new sandybridge.

your current PSU should be absolutely fine too.
 
They're really good tbh, unless you're SLI/Crossfiring and want to water cool your gpus, then a custom water loop isn't needed at all with SB.
 
Sorry stulid didn't mean to break your chain of thought. It's just that stevie did mention overclocking. I was surprised no one had mentioned the watercooling already.....don't mind me please continue ;)
 
honosuseri said:
Sorry stulid didn't mean to break your chain of thought. It's just that stevie did mention overclocking. I was surprised no one had mentioned the watercooling already.....don't mind me please continue ;)
Click to expand...

But he has a Gelid Tranqulio which is a much better choice if it has a socket 1156 fitment depending when he bought it.
 
The Gelid does have the relevant bracket I believe! (although I'm tempted to leave it on the chip and mobo for when I try and sell the bundle on the members market!)

As for water cooling........ :eek: I get scared with a mild overclock if my temps creep up - I dont think I'd sleep at night knowing there was liquid sloshing around in my case!!! :p (besides, I dont think it will cure my upgrade craving!!)

Its very likely to be a single GPU setup as I tend to upgrade the card when required as opposed to adding to it! (possibly in the past due to the PSU situation though!)

Nice to know my PSU will cut the mustard with the new chips - just need to talk myself into it now! ;)

Thanks for all the advice guys.......
 
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Sorted then, and you could get a nice amount of £££ back by getting your old gear in the members market:)

If you do decide to leave the Gelid where it is, you can use the stock Intel heatsink that comes with the CPU, its suppose to be good for a little over 4GHZ, or just buy another Gelid Tranquilo/ Corsair A50
 
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