Choosing the right CPU/Mobo combination?

peanutismint

peanutismint

peanutismint

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I'm thinking of upgrading my (ancient!) machine and it's got to that point where it's so old that I'll need to purchase a new motherboard as well as CPU.

So with sockets/chipsets in mind, I'm just wondering what I should be considering when choosing my hardware - I think I'm thinking of an i5/i7 processor but I'd like to choose a motherboard that will allow me to upgrade CPU again in a couple of years if I should so wish....is that a smart move or will I need to upgrade my motherboard again to be able to use whatever the new best CPU is in 2015??!
 
Hahah thanks mate! You may have just made a sale! ;-)

So with that setup, for instance, I couldn't upgrade to next year's Intel processor, but I could upgrade to the best of this year's in a few years time for a little bit more power (if I wanted to??)

Also (sorry to badger with Qs but I've been out of the hardware scene for a long time!!), this motherboard has 1 x PCIe at 16x and 1 x PCIe at 4x - does this influence my options to run two GPUs with Crossfire? Or does it not work like that??
 
Ah brilliant, thanks a bunch. Yes I agree - I could go for years under the thought process of 'oh but next year there will be something better so I'll just wait a bit longer....', rather than just taking the plunge and getting something now! :) So perhaps I'll just dive in. Will also need a GPU (ideally crossfire/SLI-able for future-proofing) and probably a new PSU as mine is so old it doesn't even have PCIe power (!!). Will have a look around the OcUK system builder!!

One last thing - I know it's fairly level-pegging but do you personally have an Intel-AMD/nVidia-ATI preference??!
 
RJC said:
Thats it, you would never by a system if you waited :D

I assume your looking at a pre-built or are you going to build yourself, do you have a budget in mind?

I dont have preferences, but at the moment i am Intel / Nvidia, do Folding when I get a chance.
Click to expand...

Ah cool! I'm going to build myself - my current machine is from like 2009 but I have a lovely quiet Antec case that I'm never getting rid of!! :) So I'll just take everything out of that bar-HDDs and then go from there.

Budget-wise, that spec you posted first is probably around what I was looking at, but as you probably know these things have a tendency to spiral! :D So yeah, maybe £300 for Mobo, CPU, PSU, memory (might try MM for some second-hand savings!) and then for the GPU all bets are off! But more likely to spend around £100-150 on a GPU and then add another via SLI in a year or two (when it starts to struggle....). I'm a Mac user at the mo so might try to build something that can run OS X too, but not sure if we can even discuss that here....
 
Cool, thanks guys!! Sorry for delayed reply - was sure I'd replied straight after but mustn't have sent! I think I asked - that motherboard still only has one PCIe at 16x and then the other two at 8x and 4x respectively - is this a problem or am I unlikely to find any with 2 x 16x ports??
 
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