Help with build..... damn BF3 for shrinking my wallet!

nooblygoobly · 23 Nov 2011 at 22:34

Ok, I have not build a computer in about a decade so any help you can provide would be great!!
Just like some people, bought BF3 and realized my PC is crap

Currently using (Don't laugh

)

Intel (R) Xeon (R) 5130 @ 2.4GHz (x2)
Ram: 4GB (2x2GB)
Nvidia GTX 560 DC11 TOP/2DI
Rest is random crap (don't have access to my comp atm)

I live under the impression if its not broken don't fix it.... well this is crap enough to be classed as broken.

Thinking about:

CPU: Intel CPU Core i7 2700K Quad Core Processor - 3.5GHz OEM or i5, I have seen some people say i5 is better for gaming?! Either way the i7 I mentioned would cost me £185 if you recommend i5 which one?

GPU: Will keep what I have, will probably get another of the same and SLi, that would be another £115

Motherboard... I am clueless!! Anything you can recommend would be great! Of course without the motherboard I cannot really place which RAM/HDD etc to get, so if you have suggestions i would very much appreciate it

Also looking to get the case, PSU, liquid cooling etc...

The prices above are cheap, but I have the perks of being about to buy through work at a decent discount :rolleyes:

Many thanks

beejjacobs · 23 Nov 2011 at 22:43

The i5 isn't better for gaming, they're the same pretty much. The i7 has hyperthreading so its better for applications which can use more cores, and games generally don't need more than 4! For 185 though that is a good price! If you were gunna go i5, always the 2500K so you can OC to 4Ghz+ with a decent cooler. Motherboard, budget? Probably something like:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-054-AK&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1990

olivier renault · 23 Nov 2011 at 22:55

i5 is just more bang for bucks. You don't need hyperthreading (unless you do a lot of video transcoding and rendering), then get a i5.

Not many bad motherboards to avoid for SandyBridge. It's all a matter of budget and getting the best board for your budget. It's also mostly an overclocking issue, and SLI compatibility, but any board will do over 4GHz, however I would recommend something in the £150 mark for 4.4, 4.6GHz. Anything higher is enthusiast range and benefits will be marginal.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD4 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £157.99
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM £155.99
1 x Silverstone Raven 3 RV03B-W Full Tower Windowed Case - Black/Gold £109.99
1 x Antec TruePower New Modular 650W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £69.98
1 x Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £41.99
1 x Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366) £25.99
Total : £576.94 (includes shipping : £12.50).

I put the gigabyte instead of the usual AsRock. I have the AsRock Extreme4 Gen3, and it's working very nicely indeed at 4.6GHz. YOu also have MSI's Gen3, and Asus P8Z68-V Gen3.

nooblygoobly · 25 Nov 2011 at 16:34

Thanks, will buy all this over the weekend!

Will the PSU be enough when I switch over to SLi?

Threepwood · 25 Nov 2011 at 20:09

^^ should be. Just.

nooblygoobly · 26 Nov 2011 at 15:44

@Olivier, do you mean: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-054-AK&tool=3 There look to be a couple to choose from (sorry for the noobism)

wannabedamned · 26 Nov 2011 at 15:52

I dont agree that the 650watt will be enough for SLIing 2 560s + a High end spec. 700watt Minimum if you ask me, 800 watt if you're overclocking the I5 aswell

fowler002 · 26 Nov 2011 at 15:53

if you want to go sli you'll want 750+w for the additional headroom

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-005-XF&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat= only £2 more than the 750w version so may as well get it, will allow you to sli 580 equivalenet gpu in the future

mickyflinn · 26 Nov 2011 at 15:55

NVIDIA recommends a minimum 700 Watt or greater power supply with a minimum +12 Volt continuous current rating of 47 Amps or greater

nooblygoobly · 26 Nov 2011 at 17:05

I will be over clocking the i5 down the line, but will run it normal for a month or so. When that time comes, what should I do about cooling?

I will got for a 750 watt, the SLi can wait a long time (It's overkill anyway) any suggestions on a good 750 watt? (750 be ok with the i5 overclocked I presume?)

Mobo wise: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-054-AK vs http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-361-GI ?? Which one is best really?

olivier renault · 26 Nov 2011 at 18:09

for the record, I clocked 450W peak (unigine, 100% GPU usage both GPUs), around 400-420 average, on xfire 6950 (TOXIC, stock), and a [email protected]. Around the same for battlefield 3.

fowler002 · 26 Nov 2011 at 19:50

olivier renault said:
for the record, I clocked 450W peak (unigine, 100% GPU usage both GPUs), around 400-420 average, on xfire 6950 (TOXIC, stock), and a [email protected]. Around the same for battlefield 3.

may as well stick to 500w in that case

stulid · 26 Nov 2011 at 19:51

fowler002 said:
may as well stick to 500w in that case

LOL what?

nooblygoobly · 26 Nov 2011 at 21:36

Doesn't sound right to me.....

fowler002 · 26 Nov 2011 at 23:27

guess no one here knows what sarcasm is then.

I've already said to go for 750/850w.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-005-XF&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-001-XF&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-047-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

just a few examples, I'm sure stulid will have a view on which to get.

motherboard wise if you can wait a bit before the parts are delivered I'd say go for http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-191-MS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1990

if you can't wait then go with http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-360-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1990

unless of course you need the extra bits and bobs the ud4/extreme4 gen3 bring. if you go for the gelid tranquilo or similar(corsair a50, coolermaster hyper 212+) you can only oc to 4.6ghz anyway and all the mentioned mbs can oc to that without trouble.

put the money saved towards the 'bigger' psu.

if buying over the weekend for ram look at http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-094-KS could even go for 2 kits, overkill but for the price why not.

wannabedamned · 27 Nov 2011 at 06:47

I've seen what happens to systems with not enough power. Don't risk going 650 watt. You could end up with sporadic cold boot issues., aswell as all other sorts of problems. If nvidia recommend 700 watt. Trust them. Its not like they're going to offer advice that limits the people that can use the card without reason. If it could run on a 650, they would say so.