i5 2500k based mATX setup

Phunky

Phunky

Phunky

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i5 2500k based setup for gaming/overclock

Guys its been a long time since i've bothered with PC hardware (converted to apple a while back when I stopped gaming) and i'm wanting to build a i5 based gaming machine. I'm not after super high end I just want enough grunt to last me a couple of gfx card upgrades.

I'm currently set on the i5 2500k as it seems like a decent clocker I just need a decent motherboard and ram that will work well with it.

I've got £300-400 to spend but need to but motherboard, cpu, ram, case and psu.

Any help will be much appreciated :)
 
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So far i'm thinking of the following

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz £159.98
Asus P8P67-M PRO Intel P67 B3 £109.99
G.Skill RipJawsX 8GB (2x4GB) £53.99
OcUK Battle 450W Dual Rail High Efficiency Modular £43.98
Fractal Design Core 1000 Midi Tower Case £28.99

Total: £411.94 including delivery
 
what graphics card do you have and what games you looking to play.

psu you listed really wont be up to powering any of the half decent graphics cards.

edit:

hopefully someone can clarify, but i think you'll be better going for an h67 matx mobo as you'll be able to make use of the sandybridge's onboard graphics.
 
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I'm currently using a 2GB XFX 5570 which is passive cooled and draws no additional power from the PSU which is why i've only gone for a 450w PSU.

I'll only be playing FPS Source, Warsow and maybe COD and will 99% be configged up to the eyeballs so visuals are not a big desire for me. I'm really just after CPU power for Source as I currently run a Q6600 on a board that can't be overclocked and it would cost me around £150 to buy something that would clock it well so looking at options for Sandy Bridge to compare with before I buy either.
 
if you have a q6600 have you thought about getting a mobo out of members market ?

or could go with a g41 mobo and some ddr3 memory.

if you don't need much power go with something like the BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W '80 Plus' or the Corsair Builder Series CX 500W.
 
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mp260767 said:
if you have a q6600 have you thought about getting a mobo out of members market ?
Click to expand...

I don't have access, I got banned along time ago for annoying an admin.

mp260767 said:
or could go with a g41 mobo and some ddr3 memory.
Click to expand...

This was my initial idea and i've seen some half decent boards and could get the lot for around £150 just don't know if it will be a waste considering the sheer CPU performance boost of the Sandy Bridge range.
 
ah okay :D.


i'd really consider the g41/ddr3 route for what you use the system for at the moment.

if you plan to use it for more then maybe go with the sandybridge

memory is on special offer at the moment.

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £161.99 (£134.99)

Asus P8H67-M PRO Intel H67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 MicroATX Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £89.99 (£74.99)

BitFenix Shinobi Gaming Case - Black £49.99 (£41.66)

BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W '80 Plus' Power Supply £45.98 (£38.32)

Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT51264BA160A) £39.98 (£33.32)

Sub Total : £323.28
Shipping : £11.75
VAT : £67.01
Total : £402.04
 
Phunky said:
So far i'm thinking of the following

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz £159.98
Asus P8P67-M PRO Intel P67 B3 £109.99
G.Skill RipJawsX 8GB (2x4GB) £53.99
OcUK Battle 450W Dual Rail High Efficiency Modular £43.98
Fractal Design Core 1000 Midi Tower Case £28.99

Total: £411.94 including delivery
Click to expand...

i wouldnt trust that PSU to power a case fan, let alone a £400+ PC. ALWAYS go for a decent brand of PSU, its arguably the most important part of the PC.

also, before you buy something from fractal design, just take a peek in case central. i'd be very surprised if you dont find a complaint in the first page of threads tbh.

if you have your heart set on the i5 2500k, then heres my recommendation:
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £161.99
1 x Asus P8Z68-M PRO Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £109.99
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £47.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £45.98
1 x Cooler Master Elite 342 Case - Black £27.98
Total : £415.36 (includes shipping : £17.85).

however, a gaming PC with an ATI 5570 really doesnt compute tbh. you can pick up a 768MB GTX 460 for ~£80 which will give you far better gaming performance than any processor upgrade, so if i had £3-400 to spend on a gaming PC, i'd go for this instead:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-2100 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £89.99
1 x OcUK GeForce GTX 460 768MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card - OEM £77.99
1 x MSI H67MA-E35 Intel H67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro-ATX Motherboard - (Sandybridge) **B3 REVISION** £61.99
1 x OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £47.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £45.98
1 x Cooler Master Elite 342 Case - Black £27.98
Total : £373.34 (includes shipping : £17.85).



really having trouble finding a decent mATX only case. i assume you are going for mATX because you want a small PC
 
Reaper 392 said:
however, a gaming PC with an ATI 5570 really doesnt compute tbh. you can pick up a 768MB GTX 460 for ~£80 which will give you far better gaming performance than any processor upgrade, so if i had £3-400 to spend on a gaming PC, i'd go for this instead:
Click to expand...

The main games I play are CPU limited not GPU limited so don't require a high end gfx card. For example at the moment I play source at 150~250fps on my current hardware but I want that to be 300fps+ stable and need more CPU grunt to do this.

I'll turn off most DX effects, the only thing I tend to use is AF/AA as I usually run at 800x600 ~ 1280x1024 depending on the game.

I was kinda worried i'd be waisting money going for the stop gap mobo/ddr3 combo to get my Q6600 past 3ghz but maybe it's not that bad.
 
I've given in on the mATX thanks to the 360 case as its small enough to take to lans, from what i've seen this board is a great clocker.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM £167.99
1 x Gigabyte Z68A-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £72.98
1 x OCZ ModXStream Pro 500w Silent SLI Certified Modular Power Supply £52.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance Blue 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B) £44.99
1 x Cooler Master Elite 360 Mini Tower Case - Black £30.98
Total : £389.86 (includes shipping : £16.60).

 
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