Help me spec a budget but upgradeable rig

stulid · 17 Aug 2011 at 11:24

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-188-MS

This motherboard is a Z68 chipset. So you can use the onboard graphics like a H67.

It will let you overclock a "K" CPU unlike a H67.

Being a Gen3 board it will have PCI-E3.0 when you insert a Ivybridge CPU released next year.

It aslo has Lucid Virtu, Quicksync and SSD caching.

stulid · 17 Aug 2011 at 11:28

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
MSI Z68A-GD65-G3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £159.98
(£133.32) £159.98
(£133.32)
Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £89.99
(£74.99) £89.99
(£74.99)
OCZ ZS Series 650W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £62.99
(£52.49) £62.99
(£52.49)
Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £47.99
(£39.99) £47.99
(£39.99)
Cooler Master Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black £37.99
(£31.66) £37.99
(£31.66)
LiteOn IHAS124-19 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£14.16) £16.99
(£14.16)
Sub Total : £346.61
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £17.85
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £72.89
Total : £437.35

minimadmotorman · 17 Aug 2011 at 11:32

Whats the difference in the RAM you have specified stulid to the stuff I did?

stulid · 17 Aug 2011 at 11:34

minimadmotorman said:
Whats the difference in the RAM you have specified stulid to the stuff I did?

The Vengeance ram has tall heatspreaders, if you want to add a big heatsink that over hangs the ram slots, then the low height ram will fit underneath.

Didnt realize the Vengeance was the same price though so either is good.

minimadmotorman · 17 Aug 2011 at 12:31

Could I get 4 of the vengence dimms in that board if i go for it in future?

Also would you recommend changing the thermal paste on the stock intel cooler?

stulid · 17 Aug 2011 at 12:33

minimadmotorman said:
Could I get 4 of the vengence dimms in that board if i go for it in future?

Yes.

Also would you recommend changing the thermal paste on the stock intel cooler?

No.

minimadmotorman · 17 Aug 2011 at 12:55

Short and sweet! Better dust off that Visa!

minimadmotorman · 18 Aug 2011 at 09:39

Well as the ram seems to be at rock bottom I have bought 16gb of that now. I'll let the old rig go in the meantime and wait for pay day to order the rest.

minimadmotorman · 19 Aug 2011 at 11:13

I knew this would spiral out of control!

I've got the ram and now my missus has offered to give me £100 (belated birthday present) towards the rig.

I guess this leaves me with £400-£450 to spend. Anyone care to help out with an updated spec. I like the idea of the Ivybridge ready board. And am good for HDD's.

stulid · 19 Aug 2011 at 11:27

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £172.99
(£144.16) £172.99
(£144.16)
MSI Z68A-GD65-G3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £159.98
(£133.32) £159.98
(£133.32)
Antec TruePower New Modular 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £59.99
(£49.99) £59.99
(£49.99)
Cooler Master Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black £37.99
(£31.66) £37.99
(£31.66)
Samsung SH-S222AB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £16.99
(£14.16) £16.99
(£14.16)
Sub Total : £373.29
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £77.01
Total : £462.05

Just add the RAM + HDD

Use the Z68 onboard display outputs, its also a Gen3 board so Ivybridge etc.

Its basically the same as post#22 with a top end CPU.

minimadmotorman · 19 Aug 2011 at 11:33

Thankyou very much!

I am quickly beginning to learn that you seem to be the specification guru stulid!

If I were to be a naughtly little boy and overclock what cooler would you recommend?

stulid · 19 Aug 2011 at 11:40

Well you can use the stock cooler supplied with the Retail CPU to get to around 4ghz.

That MSI motherboard features OCgenie which is a button to press to give an instant 4.2ghz.

This cooler - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-001-GD&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395 - means an easy 4.5ghz+ can be done.

The motherboard is unboxed here with a little guide - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZQ4aaDPVsw&list=UUXuqSBlHAE6Xw-yeJA0Tunw&index=12

minimadmotorman · 19 Aug 2011 at 12:29

Would that cooler fit with the 4 vengeance sticks?

stulid · 19 Aug 2011 at 12:30

minimadmotorman said:
Would that cooler fit with the 4 vengeance sticks?

Ah.

This will - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-005-AN&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395

minimadmotorman · 19 Aug 2011 at 12:31

Ooooo! I take it the radiator would mount in place of one of the rear fans?

stulid · 19 Aug 2011 at 12:43

minimadmotorman said:
Ooooo! I take it the radiator would mount in place of one of the rear fans?

Thats where it goes.

The case (the Elite430) only has one front fan supplied.

That Antec 620 comes with a 120mm fan which you would mount to the rear with the radiator, you should get the general idea here,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpJ0nrgcV-c

minimadmotorman · 19 Aug 2011 at 18:10

OK.

I know this isn't the case of choice for many people (Silver innards, lack of cm) however I really like it so my missus has ordered me an Antec 300 Case and an Antec TruePower New Modular 650W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply. They were on special £99 delivered.

I've sourced an HP Lightscribe DL DVD-RW SATA drive from a friend.

So after payday it's MSI & 2500k time!

stulid · 19 Aug 2011 at 18:12

Thats ok, nice PSU too

minimadmotorman · 19 Aug 2011 at 18:18

Yeah plus it means my case, cooler and psu would be Antec. I'm really anal like that :-P

minimadmotorman · 23 Aug 2011 at 16:20

As I am going to go for an Ivy Bridge next year I decided to save a few scheckels and plump for an i3 2100.

That way I may be able to treat myself to an SSD and/or a discrete GPU