check my spec

fewfe3

fewfe3

fewfe3

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Joined
27 Mar 2011
Posts
496
Location
Wales
so now the zalman z9 plus is back in stock i am looking to buy this computer. i have an old 500gb hard drive and an OS but do need everything else. will mainly be gaming at 1920x1080

so just a few questions. i might be looking to add another graphics card later on, is the psu and motherboard good enough for this

my budget is £600

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor £161.99
1 x MSI ATI Radeon HD 6870 OC HAWK 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE Lara Croft Game £154.99
1 x Gigabyte Z68A-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
1 x OCZ StealthXStream 2 700W Power Supply £60.98
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £44.99
1 x Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £30.98
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/AM2+/AM3/775/1155/1156/1366) £21.98
1 x Samsung SH-S222AB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £597.90 (includes shipping : £12.50).
 
PSU is powerful enough for crossfire, but doesnt have enough 6 or 8 pin power connections. motherboard, is also not up to crossfire. it can only do x4/x4 crossfire, which is a major bottleneck to your graphics card.

the cheapest motherboard i can find that does proper crossfire/SLI is:
- Asus P8Z68-V (£130) for the Z68 chipset
- MSI P67A-GD53 (£115) for the P67 chipset
- MSI P67A-GD65 with free Hyper 212+ cooler (£140) for the P67 chipset
all other chipsets dont allow overclocking

however, i would go with the Asus because MSI in their great wisdom decided to put the motherboard's case connections underneath the second graphics card, making it very difficult to use them

unfortunately this eats a huge way into your budget, so this is the best i could do for your £600 budget:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor £161.99
1 x Asus P8Z68-V Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £130.00
1 x Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5850 Extreme 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **OcUK Exclusive** £124.99
1 x Lepa B-Series 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply £72.98
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £44.99
1 x Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £30.98
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/AM2+/AM3/775/1155/1156/1366) £21.98
1 x LiteOn IHAS124-19 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £604.91 (includes shipping: FREE).


PSU is modular, which means you wont have that unused wire spaghetti in your case. also, its got an 80+ bronze energy efficiency rating, so it will be cheaper on the electricity bill than the OCZ

*edit*
ive just noticed that if you get 15 more posts on the forum you will get free shipping (you will need to link your forum account to your shop account once you get the 250 posts though)
also, the 5850 isnt much of a step down from the 6870: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/290?vs=295
 
Last edited:
Don understand why its so difficult to keep this in budget?


Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor £161.99
(£134.99) £161.99
(£134.99)
Gigabyte Z68MA-D2H Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £109.99
(£91.66) £109.99
(£91.66)
OcUK GeForce GTX 460 OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £109.99
(£91.66) £109.99
(£91.66)
OCZ StealthXStream 2 700W Power Supply £60.98
(£50.82) £60.98
(£50.82)
Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £44.99
(£37.49) £44.99
(£37.49)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £30.98
(£25.82) £30.98
(£25.82)
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/AM2+/AM3/775/1155/1156/1366) £21.98
(£18.32) £21.98
(£18.32)
LG GH22NS70 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£14.16) £16.99
(£14.16)
Sub Total : £464.92
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £12.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £95.48
Total : £572.90

The Motherboard does SLI/Crossfire at 8X/8X

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3855#sp

The Graphics card will come with a molex to PCI power adapter, so give each card a single connector from the PSU each, and then use one adapter per card.


The OCUK GTX460 is a MSI model too with just a 55MHZ reduction on the core clock.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-140-OK

£30 left for a game.
 
stulid said:
Don understand why its so difficult to keep this in budget?
Click to expand...
because i misread the gigabyte board you selected as not being crossfire/SLI compatible

also, that PSU doesnt have enough connections to do crossfire/SLI. you would need to use two molex to 6 pin adapters, meaning 4 molex's would be used for the graphics

oh, and the other reason that graphics card is cheaper is because its cooler isnt as good, so you wont be abe to get as good an overclock on it.

however, that motherboard has certainly solved my budget problems from earlier:


YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor £161.99
1 x Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5850 Extreme 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **OcUK Exclusive** £124.99
1 x Gigabyte Z68MA-D2H Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £109.99
1 x XFX Pro 650W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £64.98
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £44.99
1 x Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £30.98
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/AM2+/AM3/775/1155/1156/1366) £21.98
1 x LiteOn IHAS124-19 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £576.90 (includes shipping : £12.50).


or, if you didnt want a Z68 motherboard, you could use the motherboard that stulid was determined didnt support SLI about a month or so ago, but now says in even bigger writing than before that it will:
it will save you a tenner, but there is literally nothing you would want to buy in the £150 range, seeing that the 6870 has exactly the same performance as the 5850

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor £161.99
1 x Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5850 Extreme 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **OcUK Exclusive** £124.99
1 x MSI P67A-G45 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £99.98
1 x XFX Pro 650W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £64.98
1 x Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £44.99
1 x Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £30.98
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/AM2+/AM3/775/1155/1156/1366) £21.98
1 x LiteOn IHAS124-19 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
Total : £566.89 (includes shipping : £12.50).


*edit*
changed PSU - 650W is enough to crossfire these cards
 
Last edited:
Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor £161.99
(£134.99) £161.99
(£134.99)
OcUK GeForce GTX 560 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £145.99
(£121.66) £145.99
(£121.66)
MSI P67A-GD65 Intel P67 (socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** with FREE Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler £139.99
(£116.66) £139.99
(£116.66)
XFX Pro 650W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £64.98
(£54.15) £64.98
(£54.15)
Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £44.99
(£37.49) £44.99
(£37.49)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £30.98
(£25.82) £30.98
(£25.82)
LG GH22NS70 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£14.16) £16.99
(£14.16)
Sub Total : £504.93
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £12.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £103.49
Total : £620.92

£605.92 with the OP's free delivery in 15 posts time

Better motherboard includes the same cooler.

Seasonic branded PSU with four PCI-E connectors.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=216
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/XFX-PRO-650-W-Power-Supply-Review/1165

GTX560 card is faster.
 
Last edited:
Reaper 392 said:
because i misread the gigabyte board you selected as not being crossfire/SLI compatible
Click to expand...

Not my fault, and you have edited your post big time:p

And I dont see SLI support listed on the MSI website for that board or at other computer part suppliers or in the Custom PC review last month it was noted as not supporting SLI.

also, that PSU doesnt have enough connections to do crossfire/SLI. you would need to use two molex to 6 pin adapters, meaning 4 molex's would be used for the graphics
Click to expand...

Explained that to him in my spec, wont be an issue, thats why they are supplied with the card.

why doesnt the OP just save money and get the 460 with the custom cooler, because the only difference between the 460 and 560 is the clock speed afaik. its the Ti version of the 560 that gets the extra cores
Click to expand...

Because the GTX560 is faster.
 
Last edited:
stulid said:
Not my fault, and you have edited your post big time:p

And I dont see SLI support listed on the MSI website for that board or at other computer part suppliers or in the Custom PC review last month it was noted as not supporting SLI.
Click to expand...

yeah, i have been editing away... mostly because i keep missing things :rolleyes:

when i asked in the customer service section about the whole SLI thing it is apparently down to MSI not being able to advertise that it will do SLI. however, if you can find me someone who has tried SLI on that board and failed then i will happily believe you over overclockers (and then attempt to sue OcUK for all their worth so i can pay off my student debt :p)

speaking of editing:

stulid said:
Because the GTX560 is faster.
Click to expand...

other than clock speed, how is it faster?
 
Last edited:
stulid said:
It just is, try looking at reviews.

Its clock speeds are higher on the core/shader and memory.
Click to expand...

yes, i know the clock speeds are higher, but if you had a 460 and a 560 at exactly the same clock speeds all round, what would be the winner? or would it be a draw, as i am suspecting
 
The GTX560 as its based on the GF114 core which seems to be a more power efficient respin than the GF104 core.

But the clock speeds are not the same, they are lower on the GTX460.
 
Last edited:
stulid said:
The GTX560 as its based on the GF114 core which seems to be a more power efficient respin and not the GF104 core.

But the clock speeds are not the same, they are lower on the GTX460.
Click to expand...

ah, so there is a hidden difference that OcUK are hushing up with their deals thread.

560 it is then
 
this has given me some food for thought. didnt realise the motherboard i originally posted only did x4/x4 xfire.

tbh i should have said that xfire wasnt that big a deal for me anyway. so if i was to take this away from the build. what sort of set up could i look to get im guesing i could have a slightly cheapr psu and use that money to buy a better graphics card now.

what do people think. I might be able to then extend my budget a bit as i wont be paying the extra money on buying a new card in the future as well
 
Without a motherboard that does SLI/Crossfire correctly.


Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
XFX ATI Radeon 6950 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £199.99
(£166.66) £199.99
(£166.66)
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor £161.99
(£134.99) £161.99
(£134.99)
Gigabyte Z68A-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
(£74.99) £89.99
(£74.99)
OCZ StealthXStream 2 600W Power Supply £50.99
(£42.49) £50.99
(£42.49)
Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black £44.99
(£37.49) £44.99
(£37.49)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £30.98
(£25.82) £30.98
(£25.82)
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/AM2+/AM3/775/1155/1156/1366) £21.98
(£18.32) £21.98
(£18.32)
LG GH22NS70 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£14.16) £16.99
(£14.16)
Sub Total : £514.92
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £12.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £105.48
Total : £632.90

£617.90 in 14 posts time

what do you think you could stretch the budget too? the above is over your £600 mark.
 
Last edited:
yeah i would probably strech my budget by about another £50

edit. am i right in thinking that the 6950 can be unlocked to a 6970 or is that a different model
 
Last edited:
oh right, would have been a bonus if it was. not sure if i want to spend the extra £50 on something that might not clock. it should be a crackin card without
 
With the ASUS or MSI in the above spec its £682.90 or £667.90 in 12 posts time

A 6950 2GB even without the unlocked extras is still a quick card as you say.
 
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