Help an old man across the bundles street?

Yammer

Yammer

Yammer

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Help! I'm feeling a bit lost with all the latest tech. Despite being a system builder in the 90s, all the latest lingo has me wandering aimlessly...

I use my 2008 Titan Lite for web development, and processing of 70–200MB photos. I've beefed it up with RAID 5, an HD7850, and a boot SSD, but it's obvious that it's time to update the core components; it's just not crunching the numbers fast enough, even though the Core2 Duo is screaming at a Passmark of 2900.

I've been looking at the OCUK bundles and I *think* I need an overclocked Ivybridge 1155 bundle (best price/performance), and something like an i7-3770K. I *think* I'll want a Z77-based board, and I *think* this should fit into my Antec 300 case with Corsair TX650W supply.

So far so good. But there's still loads to choose from. Do I want a Micro-ATX board, or (why) should I spend more on an ATX? Is there much difference between an i5 and an i7 for my sort of use?

Can anyone nudge me in the right direction, and narrow down the choices for me, please?
 
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=43&catid=2512&subid=2518&sortby=priceAsc

they don't do the bundle i had a xmas, was cracking price and speed is sublime tbh

i7 at 4.4
16ghz of ram
asus m/b which is what i wanted, as im a asus man

only play games as well :)

give me a idea of budget?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-149-OE&groupid=43&catid=2512&subcat=2518

this for the price and speed and low cost must be a winner if budget is tight

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-123-OE&groupid=43&catid=2512&subcat=2518

for a i7 with 8gb of ram

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-150-OE&groupid=43&catid=2512&subcat=2518

good i7 setup with 16gb

which is same setup i have, but with different ram, same board and cooler
 
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zakblood said:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=43&catid=2512&subid=2518&sortby=priceAsc
give me a idea of budget?

...

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-150-OE&groupid=43&catid=2512&subcat=2518

good i7 setup with 16gb

which is same setup i have, but with different ram, same board and cooler
Click to expand...

Thanks for that!

I don't have a budget, as such. I'm a tight Northerner, but I'll spend as much as I need to get good performance at a reasonable price, and no more. If I get 2% improvement with an extra £200, then I'll settle for 98%, if you see what I mean.

Limiting that list to OC i7-3770K, there's 9 with a spread of over £300. I assume that the OC bundles with an i7 option are overclocked too, is that right?

I'm on 4GB RAM now. Maybe I should skip a step and aim for 16GB. So, If I eliminate all the 8GB bundles, I get 4 with a spread of £230:

1. Gigabyte Sniper 3/M3 (2 boards) £555–735
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-134-OE&groupid=43&catid=2512&subcat=2518

2. Asus P8Z77-V £595
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-150-OE&groupid=43&catid=2512&subcat=2518

3. Asus Maximus V *whatever* (4 boards!!) £620–785
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-133-OE

4. Asus Sabertooth £650
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-108-OE&groupid=43&catid=2512&subcat=2518

Now, I can't tell what advantage there is of one over the other, if at all. Any imparting of wisdom would be much appreciated. :)
 
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1 has a great board, best cooler there is, and great ram but a i5, great for games but also depends on what else you use pc for, not great for some apps / programs and even some of the latest games will push it, but great cpu mind you, take your pick on the i5 or i7 option, for me either would be fine and first choice for me

2 same as 1 but an i7, great board and ram and 2nd best cooler (same one tbh what i've got ) so won't say any different

3, well, what can i say, board is total overkill for most same as the Maximus Gene, but a great board, one of the best with a i7 and plenty of ram, great cooler again.

if only gaming, 1 would be best
if gaming and programs are your thing, get 2
if budget don't matter :) get 3

i only went 2 as some of the games i play work better with a i7, total war series etc, but it's choice, games also like Crysis 3 will eat a i7 paired with a high end video card at max settings, lower the settings with a i5 with the same card, you will get same fps, i7 just helps it along a bit more.

im not knocking the i5 either, as most will say its the best buy per cost of any chip atm, which it is when overclocked, the i7 costs more, can use more power, but if the game/app / program uses it, you will see a difference, if for the extra it's worth it, well that's a matter of opinion, for me yes it was, for some it's not, simple
 
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Now you've lost me there. There are 4 boards listed above, not 3. Yours is number 2. I'll edit it next, to make this clearer.

Also, board 1 has an i7 option, which is why it's included in the list.

I don't know what advantage I get from any of the board options. I don't currently have any expansion cards, except one graphics card (the Radeon HD7850).
 
oops missed one :( (have now edited post) sorry

some board have better use of sli and crossfire, eg more speed slot 16x16 16x8 16x4 etc
the higher spec boards might have better or more ram slots
unlocks bits for higher overclocks, more pricey bits, made to work longer or at higher temps etc

or extra bits and bobs, sorry to be vague but some high end boards have so much more added bits it's hard to list them all, most never use them, or need them, i wouldn't pay the extra for bits i didn't use or need, but lots do.

best boards atm are the Gigabyte Z77 ones, medium to high end, or the Asus P8Z77-V LX or 2 board, but there's plenty of others, you need to look at the board and see if you will need the extra bits if going for high end stuff, for me i don't use sli or crossfire, 2 cards etc, so don't go medium to high end on boards
 
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Ah. Righty-ho. I'm not likely to try SLI/Crossfire (I'm not even sure what they are TBH—something to do with multiple graphics cards for games, I think). Also, I'm unlikely to change the RAM at 16GB, especially as OCUK says it invalidates the bundle OC. So it looks like I can avoid the fancier boards. Micro-ATX seems fine for my requirements, so no need for the pricier options. Cheers.

I might go back to dual monitors: my 7850 has two DVI ports, so I guess that's no problem with any bundle.

I just remembered: my current setup has onboard RAID, so I need to check that's covered too.

You still only mention 3 boards. I guess you are lumping the last two (Maximus and Sabretooth) together as overkill for my needs?

I'm still confused by this:
"if only gaming, 1 would be best
if gaming and programs are your thing, get 2"
Were you referring to the i5 vs i7 choice, or is there an other factor?

Anyway, your help is much appreciated. That really helps narrow it down, and saves me money. I owe you a pint/shandy.
 
Right. I've been through all 8 boards' features, and I've eliminated the Gigabyte boards and the Asus Maximus boards because of numbers of SATA/USB ports. That leaves just the Asus P8Z77-V and Sabretooth. The Sabretooth gives me a few extra connections and heatproofing for the extra £50, which I doubt I'll need. So the P8Z77-V is the winner. :)

One thing I didn't anticipate is that all the boards have built-in graphics. Back in the day, this was associated with sub-standard gear, and I usually avoided these all-in-one boards. Do people just switch these graphics chips off? Would there be any advantage to using the built-in chip for second display over the HD7850's second port?
 
More expensive, presumably because it's newer tech? Still costs about the same for the same speed. Presumably future proofing better with 2011/X79?
 
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