CPU, Ram & Motherboard

conibear

conibear

conibear

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26 Dec 2009
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Can someone help me decide what combination to go for?

I want to get an Intel setup and don't know what to go for! I do game a bit but not much. I want a new CPU, Ram and Motherboard and the price range is around £250 - £300 max.

I currently am using my netbook but already have a case, PSU, Hard Drive etc.

I have been used to using AMD but quite fancy a change to Intel.

Would i be better off going to i5?

Is Intel Dual Core 'od tech' now? I really am confused. Dual core or Quad? I would be running lots of programs etc but nothing too taxing.

If anyone can spec me a Motherboard, CPU and Ram (4gig) then that would be superb!

As i said, not AMD please. Intel only as i want to try the 'Dark' side!! lol
 
How does this look:

CP-299-IN_60.jpg
Intel Core i5 750 2.66Ghz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail £154.99
(£134.77) £154.99
(£134.77)
MY-042-GS_60.jpg
G.Skill Ripjaw 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (F3-12800CL8D-4GBRM) £82.00
(£71.30) £82.00
(£71.30)
MB-207-GI_60.jpg
Gigabyte GA-P55-US3L Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard £78.99
(£68.69) £78.99
(£68.69) Sub Total : £274.76 Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.00 VAT is being charged at 15% VAT : £42.56 Total : £326.32
 
Two options are i5 CPU, P55 board and 4GB DDR3. That would be something like £310... call it £300.

The other option is a Core2 Duo, like the E5300, a P45 board and 4GB of DDR2 for £190. The E5300 will clock to 3.2-3.4 GHz fairly easily.

Given the price difference, I don't think the i5 is really worth it. The clocked E5300 system will be plenty fast enough. That's more than £100 difference - putting that extra cash towards better graphics or a solid state drive would have more impact than spending it on i5.
 
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clv101 said:
Two options are i5 CPU, P55 board and 4GB DDR3. That would be something like £310... call it £300.

The other option is a Core2 Duo, like the E5300, a P45 board and 4GB of DDR2 for £190. The E5300 will clock to 3.2-3.4 GHz fairly easily.

Given the price difference, I don't think the i5 is really worth it. The clocked E5300 system will be plenty fast enough. That's more than £100 difference - putting that extra cash towards better graphics or a solid state drive would have more impact than spending it on i5.
Click to expand...

Can you spec it up for me? I am a numpty at components!!

Would it be a fast PC at stock? If not, an alternative?
 
I'd go for the i5 combo if I were you. Its four cores instead of two, DDR3 instead of DDR2 (which is probably cheaper ATM any way) & an all round faster processor.

How about buying the OEM chip though (doesn't come with a stock heatsink/fan) & getting a better one. That way you could try your hand at overclocking it down the line. Its a free upgrade basically. The i5 runs at 2.66GHZ & nearly everyone that tries can take their i5 up to 4GHZ.

78857684.jpg
 
I wish people would stop speccing up i5 systems with the Gigabyte GA-P55-US3L board, it's utter garbage. For starters the layout is poor to say the least, secondly who wants a board with old legacy stuff on the I/O?? You don't want com ports and parallel ports on the back of your shiny new board, you want Esata, optical outs, more usbs etc etc. Thirdly I can't see it ever being a brilliant clocker as it's only equipped with a 4 pin power connector for the cpu! So to the op, yes I'd take the UD2 over the US3L every day of the week and twice on sundays, just be aware it's a mATX board though.

If it was up to me I'd go for the Asus P7P55D LE as its a full sized board, giving you better expansion later on down the line. Imho £100 should be minimum cost for a half decent P55 board with good overclocking abilities. If you can't afford that then go down the AMD route :)
 
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Another wait and see post! I don't see anything wrong with having two cores. Only when you have applications/games that use more than two cores does it make a difference.

The i3s are launched very soon (I think). Maybe they will offer that little something below an i5 with the same performance on two cores. I am also keen to see how they overclock. The i5s do look very good though IMO.
 
For someone who doesn't seem to be doing stuff that specifically uses quad core, why buy i5?

Surely a Core 2 Duo with the extra £100 spent on graphics or SSD would make a better system? What's wrong with this argument?
 
Might not be doing much now for quad but might be in a months time or 2 months time! Core 2 Duo is also old tech now and i don't want super graphics as my 4650 will suffice as i don't game on the PC much. SSD will come down in price but i am happy with my Samsung F3. Fast enough for me! Superb Hard Drive!
 
So, which do i plump for?

Intel Core i5 750 2.66Ghz (Lynnfield)
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.00GHz
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 LGA775 'Yorkfield' 2.66GHz 4MB-cache

Not sure which to go for now!! Those are the ones i have narrowed down to in my search.

What motherboard / ram would i need to buy for the none i5 CPU's above?

Can anyone advise which to go for and why? Also what mobo and ram to get.

As i said before, i do game a little but not much. I do want a fast CPU / good system and Intel is the route for me at this point in time.
 
so... what will you be using the computer for really? if it is just general use (well, general use to us nerds) the core 2 duo will be fine. The i5 is preferable but tbh, form what you have given us, you won't need it. please give us a little more information about your computer uses and we'll help you out the best we can =]
 
I use the PC for general pc stuff. Nothing too taxing. Not to say i won't be taxing the pc in the near future though.

Would i notice a big difference if i went for the i5 over the E8400?

What would make a good bundle if i went for the E8400? If not a good choice, and i don't overclock, but may do in the near future, which would be the best CPU, Mobo, Ram bundle?
 
From the information you've given I still think the £53 E5300 is the best bang per buck. With its high multiplier it's a very easy CPU to overclock as it does not need high FSB on the motherboard or very fast RAM.

Putting the saved money towards an SSD will have far greater impact on overall system performance than buying a more expensive CPU.
 
coupe69 said:
I wish people would stop speccing up i5 systems with the Gigabyte GA-P55-US3L board, it's utter garbage. For starters the layout is poor to say the least, secondly who wants a board with old legacy stuff on the I/O??
Click to expand...

I am just about to order one of these with an i5. I NEED the legacy ports, serial for a plotter and parallel for a router. It was hard to find a board with these ports :D Perfect for me.
 
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