Gaming mobo, ram and cpu

[Jason1973]

Hi guys,

I need an upgrade,
Looking for mobo cpu and ram combo with a water block for a gaming PC. I do other things but mainly game.

I dont know what would be best i5 or i7, then there is the 2011 or 1155 socket choice, with dual, triple or quad ram to consider.

I have looked but things have moved on a lot since my 775 ddr2 build so really not sure.

I have an ssd, a 7970 gpu, with a 1200w psu to go into the build.
Please spare the time to give me your input, with if you would be so kind as a budget, midrange and top draw pricing.

Additional comments and input always gratefully received.

 

[ozzymundo]

Budget really depends on how much you want to spend.

Personally I would say an i5-3570k for you if the main use is gaming, it's only worth going i7 if you do a lot of rendering etc that utilises the hyperthreading. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-404-IN

RAM wise 8Gb sounds fine for what you need (gaming.) Dual channel works for most people fine and is the cheaper and probably more popular choice, whatever you buy something from a reputable manufacturer, to get you started: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-052-PA&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

Mobo... this really depends on how much you want to spend. The Gigabyte Z77X-d3H is very good and popular, as is the Asus Maximum Gene, Asus Sabertooth, Gigabyte Z77x-UP4 if you want thunderbolt... also check out MSI and Asrock.

CPU block, I would say EK or XSPC make good stuff and are generally well reviewed, I assume you have the rest of the watercooling stuff, just make sure that you've got the right size fittings

 

[Jason1973]

Hi Ozzy thanks for the reply,

Not sure on my budget tbh hoping £500 maybe more, got to wait and see what money santa brings me.

The price difference between i5 and i7 chip is about £50, is the only difference hyper threading? Wouldnt gaming utilise all available capability and theads?

I had a look before and liked the Sabertooth mobo and no idea what thunderbolt is, googling. (Not a major consideration, but didnt know about it lol).

8gb ram is what I have at the moment so should be enough. What speed would you get to prevent bottlenecking with a 7970 and an ssd?

 

[Bacon?]

Wouldn't use the RAM Ozzy specc'd, high price and is quite tall. Just buy the cheapest 8GB DDR3 1600 on OcUK at whatever time.

Most games only use 2 cores, BF3 seems to be the only game which takes advantage of all cores but HT makes very little difference. I wouldnt be surprised if HT never gets used in gaming.

 

[Jason1973]

Thankyou Bacon,

I must say, I honestly thought that most people would have pointed me along the lines of an i7 2011 with quad channel ram and a hefty dent in the wallet.

Looks like my upgrade may not be as expensive as I first thought.

Will have a look tomorrow and post a few baskets for opinions.