Help an old man across the bundles street?

Yammer

Yammer

Yammer

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16 Jan 2009
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96
Location
Dorset
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?
 
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. :)
 
Last edited:
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).
 
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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