Is it that time again...

ZardoZ

ZardoZ

ZardoZ

Associate
Joined
1 Dec 2007
Posts
125
Hi all,

I am interested in your opinions on whether or not to upgrade either parts of my system or the whole shabang?

I use my PC for gaming (Trying to game at 2560 x 1600 so playing through some old games at the moment half life 2 can you believe), development and general surfing etc..

Money not too much of an issue but i don't want to throw it away unnecessary so i am interested in good quality bang per buck hardware.

See sig.
 
Hi there :)

At your res you'd probably benefit from more RAM/newer GPU/CPU.

It basically comes down to how much you want to spend and whether you want an upgrade!

A fairly good bang for buck upgrade would be an i5 2500K and a decent GPU:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £173.99
1 x Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560Ti "448 Edition" WindForce 3x OC 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £167.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £84.98
1 x Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CML8GX3M2A1600C9) £39.95
Total : £478.31 (includes shipping : £9.50).



or a 7850

This compares a 4870 (I know yours is an X2, but this doesn't have it :() to the 7850
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/513?vs=549
 
Who doesn't want to upgrade ;-)

cpu
----
I have been looking at the i5 2500k and it looks like a great cpu.

Are there any advantages\disadvantages to getting the cpu with or without the integrated graphics ie overclocking\heat\tdp?

can you have both graphics (onboard and pci express) on at the same time? again does this have any problems for overclocking etc...

Would i be better waiting for ivy bridge?

graphics
--------

I was thinking of maybe getting the amd 7970 or nvidia 680 as trying to play games at 2560 x 1600 really is hard work do you think that these single cards are really up to the task with new games?

ram
----

is there really any benefit to having 16 gig as apposed to 8 gig?
 
ZardoZ said:
Who doesn't want to upgrade ;-)

cpu
----
I have been looking at the i5 2500k and it looks like a great cpu.

Are there any advantages\disadvantages to getting the cpu with or without the integrated graphics ie overclocking\heat\tdp?

can you have both graphics (onboard and pci express) on at the same time? again does this have any problems for overclocking etc...

Would i be better waiting for ivy bridge?

graphics
--------

I was thinking of maybe getting the amd 7970 or nvidia 680 as trying to play games at 2560 x 1600 really is hard work do you think that these single cards are really up to the task with new games?

ram
----

is there really any benefit to having 16 gig as apposed to 8 gig?
Click to expand...

Good point :p

I'd get the 2500K, not the 2550K - it's not worth losing the integrated graphics, and paying more for it :p The 2500Ks overclock very well as it is.

This has got some info about Lucid Virtu, which is for using both the integrated and discrete GPU:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4199/...egrateddiscrete-gpu-on-sandy-bridge-platforms

I'd wait for ivy bridge with it being so close :) if only because you might get a 2500K cheaper!


Yes they are much better choices for your res, I just wasn't sure how much you wanted to spend! This has a range of benchmarks at various resolutions:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/508?vs=555

For gaming, 8GB if plenty. if you want 16GB though its not expensive :)
 
i would get the 2500 and not the 2550,always a good thing having the gpu(u never know if u will need it) they will clock just as good the increase in stock speed makes no difference.there is a program lucid virtu that uses the onboard and discrete gpu's for power saving stuff etc altho i dont bother with it.

no comment on the 7970/680 choice is yours

8 gig ram is plenty for gaming/surfing
 
ok so system spec:

z77 mobo if i go for the 2500k are there any benefits to getting a z77 instead of any of the other 1155 mobos?

2500k or maybe wait for ivy bridge and decide on price.

corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB) is this ram ok to push the cpu up close to 5ghz would like a clock speed of at least 4.5ghz plus.

Just on a side note would it be a waste of time to just put a 7970\680 in my pc would my present cpu and ram be a bottle neck if so by how do you think?

Do you think my corsair hx520 would be ok with all this overclocking and with a 7970\680 maybe overclocked as well?

Will I have to buy a new cpu cooler? I have a Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme on it at the moment?

the lucid virtu stuff looks interesting ill have to have a read a good read at that.

tx guys for your help.
 
Z77 is the newest, supports lucid virtu, native USB3, PCIe gen3 [with an ivy bridge CPU]
Not much between the Z68/Z77 but the Z77 is newer and not any more expensive really.

That RAM will be fine yeah :)

I'm fairly sure the Q6600 wouldn't be able to get the best out of it no, not sure how much it'll hold it back though.

Sorry I mentioned the 7850 initially as it would be okay on your current PSU. For a 7970/680 I'd get something beefier:
cooler master silent pro modular 600w
xfx 850w xxx edition modular
get the 850w if you want room for another graphics card + headroom :)

review of the 600w
review of the 850w

i don't think that has socket 1155/1156 brackets? sorry.
if you really want to push the cpu, this air cooler is fantastic!
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=hs-001-pt
Review of it here.

I've got my CPU to 5Ghz, as i've got a good cooler but I also have a good chip. You'd have to be unluckly to get one which doesn't do 4.5/4.8Ghz or so :)
make sure also if you want a really good overclock to go with a good motherboard, such as:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-389-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2261
 
ok so spec so far:

A good z77 board

corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8GB (2x4GB)

either a cheaper 2500k or maybe ivybridge depending on price and performance.

7970 or 680 ... not sure about these cards at the moment they seem over priced and the performance you get at 2500 x 1600 just seems to be on the edge of playable but i might be wrong on that as i dont know what they play at with no aa or just 2 aa etc... plus the prices seem to be going up and down like a yoyo... i have had my eye on

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-297-SP

for the last couple of days and its been under £400 to 430 to 420 and now its at 400.

Do you think these cards have more to go down on the next for months?

I think i can get my hands on a corsair hx620 for free, so that should cover the spec with one card and all the overclocks yeh?

I must have had at least 4-5 power supplies over the time trying to get a really quiet one. I would love one of the top end seasonics but i just cant justify the mney lol

On your overclocked 2500k what fans do you have on the cpu cooler and are they running at full blast?

Are they loud? at present i have 3 Scythe Kaze Jyuni 1200RPM Slip Stream fans running at 5 volts and you cant hear them at all will i need to get some load fast fans?

cheers for that find idleman saves a few quid ;-)
 
Sounds good.

Well if any single card has a good chance at that res, it's one of those two! You could get two 7950s for more oomph, but that'll need a bigger PSU. That corsair HX620 will be fine for just one card though :)

I've got a Noctua NH-D14 but unfortunately they're a bit expensive. The Phanteks is a better choice now anyway. I'm just running the stock Noctua fans, with a fan controller. I'm not at 5Ghz 24/7 because I don't need it. At the moment I'm at stock speeds until I get some time to have a play. On the lowest fan setting on my controller, even at 4.5Ghz after stress testing temps were around 65 - and it wasn't silent but very very quiet :) I made a short thread about it here. Very happy. 4.5Ghz with reasonable temps should be very doable on your cooler!
 
Compared the Z68, to the Z77 it offers little in new features.

I'm looking to replace an old 775 pc, had looked at Z68,Z77 but, I decided to go for 2011 instead.

Was considering spending up to £170:00p on a board, Asrock Z77 Extreme 6 was on my shortlist, but for same money I could get a Asrock X79 Extreme 4.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-062-AK&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2261

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-057-AK&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2174
 
Last edited:
Nightglow said:
Compared the Z68, to the Z77 it offers little in new features.

I'm looking to replace an old 775 pc, had looked at Z68,Z77 but, I decided to go for 2011 instead.

Was considering spending up to £170:00p on a board, Asrock Z77 Extreme 6 was on my shortlist, but for same money I could get a Asrock X79 Extreme 4.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-062-AK&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2261

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-057-AK&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2174
Click to expand...

That X79 board may be a similar price, but it'll require a CPU that is at least £230 - this is fine for editing or for multiple GPU set ups, but for most gaming systems Z77 is a better choice.
 
That looks like a great cooler i had a look at your thread and you get -6c from mine, maybe i could add another fan in push pull if needed.

with ivybridge round the corner surely these new cpus should be really easy to cool?

whats the main difference with 2011 boards, 3 way cross fire? im really drawn to the fact that these boards can do xfire or sli nowadays and the pci express 3 might give a few more fps with ivy bridge but i havent seen any bench marks.
 
ZardoZ said:
That looks like a great cooler i had a look at your thread and you get -6c from mine, maybe i could add another fan in push pull if needed.

with ivybridge round the corner surely these new cpus should be really easy to cool?

whats the main difference with 2011 boards, 3 way cross fire? im really drawn to the fact that these boards can do xfire or sli nowadays and the pci express 3 might give a few more fps with ivy bridge but i havent seen any bench marks.
Click to expand...

I can't say I know much about Ivy Bridge - reviews should be out soon to see :)

2011 boards can take 6-core CPUs [only beneficial for video editing and things, games can't properly make use of much more than 4 cores currently, also the 6-core CPUs are £400+ :O] and most can take 8 sticks of RAM, they also have more PCIe lanes for 3/4 GPUs

For 2-way SLI/CF a good Z77 board like mentioned above is a good choice.
 
i agree with the z77 boards, thanks for your help bj.

I think i might pull the trigger on a z77 board and the 8 gig of ram and maybe a new gpu as i have the 10% off code and decide on ivy bridge in a week or so.
 
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