CPU Advice

[KHAN]

Seems to be so many different opinions and choices that i'm feeling a bit about upgrading my CPU.

I've got the money to spend, building a water-cooled setup so was thinking of an i7 980 and a Gigabyte Guerilla X58 Mobo.

I mainly do gaming, the occasional video converting and such. Gulftown or Sandybridge? i5 or i7? I also heard there's a new range of Intel coming out soon which I would have to assume to be the i7 Sandybridge varient?

Want to stick with Intel just not sure what the best option is. I dont want to be paying huge amounts for small gains but I want the very best I can get without being foolish.

 

[Plec]

I mainly do gaming, the occasional video converting and such.

I dont want to be paying huge amounts for small gains but I want the very best I can get without being foolish.

Gulftown or Sandybridge? i5 or i7?

With what you've said above, for me, it would have to be the 2500K as you will get very little gain for the money spent on the other chips.

Spend what you save on a better gfx/Sli, more memory, SSD...

 

[mp260767]

As plec says, 2500K is your best bet.

 

[KHAN]

With what you've said above, for me, it would have to be the 2500K as you will get very little gain for the money spent on the other chips.

Spend what you save on a better gfx/Sli, more memory, SSD...

Thanks, yeah I have all the rest in my basket which is almost at 3k that's why I need to make sure I get my core right.

 

[Surveyor]

Thanks, yeah I have all the rest in my basket which is almost at 3k that's why I need to make sure I get my core right.

As you have already have everything else in your basket make sure you switch to a Sandy Bridge motherboard if going down that route.

 

[Plec]

Thanks, yeah I have all the rest in my basket which is almost at 3k that's why I need to make sure I get my core right.

That's an impressive budget; you must be building a mighty rig - what have you got so far?

I still stand by my recommendation of the 2500K for your usage but if you're building a premium rig then the 2600K wouldn't look out of place but would only be of benefit for 'spec aesthetics' and benching - and the odd HT game/app.

But i can see why you're undecided given your budget.

 

[KHAN]

Work in progress but this is what I have so far.

OcUK V12 Watercooled Case - Coolermaster HAF X **2011 Compatible**

(X2 SLI) EVGA GeForce GTX 580 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **Supplied with FREE Batman: Arkham City PC game**

Gigabyte X58 G1 Guerilla Intel X58 (Socket 1366) DDR3 Motherboard - Gaming Series

OCZ Vertex 3 120GB 2.5" SATA-3 Solid State Hard Drive


Corsair Vengeance 12GB (3x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Triple Channel Kit


Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 3TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM

Asus Xonar D2X 7.1 PCI-E Sound Card

Logitech Z506 5.1 Surround Sound Speakers

Asus 24x DVD±RW DRW-24B3ST

x2 EK FC580 GTX Full Cover Waterblock


Razer Lycosa Gaming Keyboard


Creative Fatal1ty HS-980 Professional Gaming Headset MkII


Corsair Vengeance M60 5700dpi Laser Gaming Mouse

 

[KHAN]

Ok, think i'll swap my Gigabyte Guerilla for the Gigabyte G1 Sniper 2 Intel Z68

and will get

Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor

instead of the i7 980.

 

[Plec]

Work in progress but this is what I have so far.

>snip<

As you’re going under water and thinking of swapping over to a Sandybridge setup i would consider a post in the watercooling forum.

As you have a windowed case you may want some feedback on the most suitable boards, gfx cards for watercooling – i.e. SLI spacing and colour co-ordination etc (if this is important to you.).

Just a reminder, as you’re probably well aware, if you swap to a SB you only need a dual channel memory kit in your basket.

It should be a stonking build when it’s finished - whether you get the 2500K or the 2600K.

 

[Plec]

Ok, think i'll swap my Gigabyte Guerilla for the Gigabyte G1 Sniper 2 Intel Z68

and will get

Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor

instead of the i7 980.

Or do the above (i posted too late) - nice choices - i take it green and black is the theme?

EDIT: And don't forget the dual channel memory kit.

 

[KHAN]

Thanks, I appreciate the advice. Decided on the Corsair Dominator GT 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-17200C9 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit with DHX Airflow Fan - as i've heard good things. Gives me room to upgrade to 8gb in the future too.

Almost forgot the power supply, Lepa G-Series 900W '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply should be enough to cut it.

Not to concerned with colours, will get green cooling liquid maybe. Decided on the OcUK V12 Watercooled Case - Corsair 800D **2011 Compatible** instead of the Coolermaster. It has the water kit included so all I need are the GPU Waterblocks I believe.

 

[Plec]

Decided on the OcUK V12 Watercooled Case - Corsair 800D **2011 Compatible** instead of the Coolermaster. It has the water kit included so all I need are the GPU Waterblocks I believe.

Great choice - i much prefer the 800D to the Coolermaster - I kept quiet before as i don't see the point in putting a downer on someone elses case choices as it's a personal thing.

It's a great case to work on and looks stunning in the flesh.

 

[Marine-RX179]

Just a word of advise for the headset...

I see that you have choosen the Creative Fatal1ty HS-980 Professional Gaming Headset MkII...

I have the Creative Sound Blaster Arena HS-1100, which is basically USB version of the HS-980. Despite it is very comfortable around the ears since the earcups will surround you ears completely, what I can tell you is that after a while of wearing it, the headset will leave a line across your head due to the weight. If I were you, I would get something like that the Razer Carcharias, which have much thicker cushions at top, and it distribute the weight to two sides, rather than right down the center like the Creative headsets.