CPU advice + spec

shaun_6 · 6 Jan 2011 at 11:52

Hi all

I'm looking for some advice on a new machine spec, I was planning on going for an i5 or Phoemin II Quad core, but now I'm wondering if it would be worth splashing out on a Sandy Bridge CPU (i5).

I would use the machine for gaming but I'm sure a 1st gen i5 would meet my requirements, I do however want the machine to be future proof so I'm not sure what to do, would it be worth spending the extra cash now or not? I do not do any design work or editing etc.

I plan to over clock and would like a small SSD as a boot drive. Initially I would like to start with a single GPU but the option to add a second with cross fire / sli would be nice.

My budget is around £700, I could stretch to more if it would be worth while (Sandy Bridge).

Can I ask for your advise on the CPU and some Specs that you would choose to fit my budget?

Thanks for any help!

shaun_6 · 6 Jan 2011 at 15:58

Thinking about it, It would probably be preferable to go down the AMD route as I've just moved out so I also need to buy a new monitor etc. This will add a fair bit on top of the budget!

In terms of the OS I have windows 7 32bit so I will want to purchase the 64bit version for this new build.

Thanks for the replies, I will do a bit more research and probably place an order next week.

95thrifles that's a useful guide in your sig

Any other suggestions are welcome

Cheers

shaun_6 · 6 Jan 2011 at 19:33

Cool - thanks

shaun_6 · 11 Jan 2011 at 15:45

So now that SB is out, for the sake of an extra £100 I could upgrade the CPU and mobo.. It's very tempting and probably worth it in the long run.

What do you think to this build;

Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 £191.99

LG W2442PE-BF 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black £167.99

XFX ATI Radeon HD 6850 1024MB GDDR5 £143.99

MSI P67A-GD55 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £134.99

Antec TruePower New Modular 650W Power Supply £73.99

GeIL 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel £38.99

Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black £38.80

Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM £32.66

Logitech MX518 Gaming-Grade Optical Mouse (910-000616) £28.99

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler £19.39

Pioneer 24x Internal S19LBK DVD Rewriter SATA £17.99

Logitech 600 Media Keyboard (920-000031) £17.35

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g) £6.73

Sub Total : £761.54
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £13.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £155.06
Total : £930.35

shaun_6 · 12 Jan 2011 at 08:31

I will have to wait until pay day, then I can order !

shaun_6 · 12 Jan 2011 at 09:28

Ok I will change to MX-3/4 and will have a look at that monitor.

The motherboard is currently out of stock though.

shaun_6 · 12 Jan 2011 at 10:18

haha, nice

shaun_6 · 12 Jan 2011 at 10:21

So this;

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor with FREE Lost Planet 2 PC Game - Retail

Samsung P2450H 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Glossy Black

XFX ATI Radeon HD 6850 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE MOH Game

MSI P67A-GD65 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge)

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599)

Antec TruePower New Modular 650W Power Supply

GeIL 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz VALUE PLUS Dual Channel (GVP34GB1600C9DC)

Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black

Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502HJ)

Logitech MX518 Gaming-Grade Optical Mouse (910-000616)

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler (Socket 939 / AM2 / AM3 / 775 / 1155/ 1156 / 1366)

Pioneer 24x Internal S19LBK DVD Rewriter including Labelflash SATA Retail

Logitech 600 Media Keyboard (920-000031)

Arctic Cooling MX-4 Thermal Compound (4g)

Sub Total : £859.85
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £13.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £174.72
Total : £1,048.32

shaun_6 · 17 Jan 2011 at 12:21

Final order was;
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor with FREE Lost Planet 2 PC Game - Retail 1 £157.49

Samsung P2450H 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Glossy Black 1 £149.99

XFX ATI Radeon HD 6850 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE MOH Game 1 £125.95

MSI P67A-GD65 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) 1 £119.99

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599) 1 £69.99

Antec TruePower New Modular 650W Power Supply 1 £61.66

GeIL 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz VALUE PLUS Dual Channel (GVP34GB1600C9DC) 1 £34.99

Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black 1 £32.33

Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD502HJ) 1 £27.22

Logitech MX518 Gaming-Grade Optical Mouse (910-000616) 1 £24.16

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler (Socket 939 / AM2 / AM3 / 775 / 1155/ 1156 / 1366) 1 £16.16

Pioneer 24x Internal S19LBK DVD Rewriter including Labelflash SATA Retail 1 £14.99

Cherry Black CyMotion Expert (USB/PS2) Keyboard - Black 1 £13.60

Arctic Cooling MX-4 Thermal Compound (4g) 1 £5.95

All up and running now, ordered a few case fans so once these are in I will start over clocking.