Memory, which?

shaneosborne · 23 Apr 2012 at 13:07

Oh! Wasn't sure on what GPU to buy but due to cost limitations at this stage was quite limited... Just hope I have chosen well and I haven't used an ATi for years :/

beejjacobs · 23 Apr 2012 at 13:07

shaneosborne said:
Ordered the following;

Intel Core i7-3820 3.60GHz (Sandybridge-E) Socket LGA2011 Processor - Retail

MSI X79A-GD65 (8D) Intel X79 (Socket LGA2011) DDR3 Motherboard with FREE Thermaltake Frio Advanced Cooler

VTX3D HD 7850 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE Dirt3 PC Game

Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750M High Performance 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020003-UK)

Kingston HyperX Genesis 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual/Quad Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3K4/16GX)

2x Seagate Barracuda 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DL002)

Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case - Black

LiteOn IHAS124-19 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM (Version B - with new Firmware)

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g)

Antec 3D Mark 2011 Advanced (No idea what this is)

Is this for gaming? If so, it's great! I'd have ordered slightly differently, and if you've not yet actually ordered would make some changes! Otherwise should run fine

Barry1987 · 23 Apr 2012 at 13:13

That 7850 should do the job. I have not heard much of VTX but with the clock speed and memory you can't really go wrong. Comes with a 2 year warranty, too - so there shouldn't be any risks. It's great for the price because you're paying £30 less than the others

I think the Twin Frozr III and IV will be out before the end of this month but if you ordered already then waiting for one of these (ETA isn't even confirmed on OcUK) would have been a bit of a tease...

shaneosborne · 23 Apr 2012 at 13:13

Already ordered... Out of curiosity what would you have changed, I could have looked further into the GPU and possibly changed the two HDDs to one SSD...?

Barry1987 · 23 Apr 2012 at 13:15

beejjacobs said:
Is this for gaming? If so, it's great! I'd have ordered slightly differently, and if you've not yet actually ordered would make some changes! Otherwise should run fine

What changes do you think he should make? - the MB (comes with free Frio Advanced cooler), i7 core processor and RAM are all great value.

beejjacobs · 23 Apr 2012 at 13:17

Barry1987 said:
What changes do you think he should make? - the MB (comes with free Frio Advanced cooler), i7 core processor and RAM are all great value.

I'd get an i5 2500K then spend the extra on a better GPU. The 7850 is great, but you could spend more money on a better GPU rather than CPU - as an i5 2500K is great for gaming. The hyperthreading on the 3820 is wasted for gaming, and wont perform any better. If its was video editing or something it would be a different story.

For gaming, an ~£90 Z77 board and ~£180 i5 2500K would give the same performance in that set up for ~£180 less!

See this comparison:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/288?vs=523
at the end are gaming benchmarks, the i5 2500K is £50 cheaper and performs basically the same. They overclock very well too.

Of course also, Ivy Bridge reviews should be out today so that might be an even better choice.

Barry1987 · 23 Apr 2012 at 13:18

shaneosborne said:
Already ordered... Out of curiosity what would you have changed, I could have looked further into the GPU and possibly changed the two HDDs to one SSD...?

No, don't change the HDDs to SSD unless you already have some storage devices. Use the SSD strictly for your OS and few installed programs (I would advise installing your games onto HDD because they take up too much space for SSD). SSDs shouldn't be substitutes for HDDs in terms of storage.

beejjacobs · 23 Apr 2012 at 13:20

Barry1987 said:
No, don't change the HDDs to SSD unless you already have some storage devices. Use the SSD strictly for your OS and few installed programs (I would advise installing your games onto HDD because they take up too much space for SSD). SSDs shouldn't be substitutes for HDDs in terms of storage.

Exactly. A good 128GB SSD like a Crucial M4 is great for Windows and some games, then use the HDDs for storage.

Barry1987 · 23 Apr 2012 at 13:21

beejjacobs said:
I'd get an i5 2500K then spend the extra on a better GPU. The 7850 is great, but you could spend more money on a better GPU rather than CPU - as an i5 2500K is great for gaming. The hyperthreading on the 3820 is wasted for gaming, and wont perform any better. If its was video editing or something it would be a different story.

For gaming, an ~£90 Z77 board and ~£180 i5 2500K would give the same performance in that set up for ~£180 less!

He's already made the order.

He's not paying too much more for the 3820 which will be more future proof than the 2500k. The 7850 is still a great card and he can CrossFire in the future if he needs (at present with his set up he will be able to run BF3 on Ultra with ease).

beejjacobs · 23 Apr 2012 at 13:23

Barry1987 said:
He's already made the order.

He's not paying too much more for the 3820 which will be more future proof than the 2500k. The 7850 is still a great card and he can CrossFire in the future if he needs (at present with his set up he will be able to run BF3 on Ultra with ease).

I know, I was just saying what I'd have done.

None of what he ordered is bad at all, and it'll run very well

Barry1987 · 23 Apr 2012 at 13:26

beejjacobs said:
I know, I was just saying what I'd have done.

None of what he ordered is bad at all, and it'll run very well

Ah ok

Personally, I got my bundle on finance so I paid a bit more for it overall. I was contemplating going for the i5 2500k but then I realised with finance it would be worth it just to pay a little extra for the i7 3820 because I wouldn't feel the difference over 36 months.

I think it's a brilliant value rig though which is capable of playing any game to the max and will provide great longevity.

Barry1987 · 23 Apr 2012 at 13:28

Of course the 2500k is a great processor, though. There's no denying that. :cool:

beejjacobs · 23 Apr 2012 at 13:34

Barry1987 said:
Of course the 2500k is a great processor, though. There's no denying that.

True! Sorry I'm not trying to get at you, or say your rig is bad at all - just generally an 3820 will be wasted mostly, and is not worth the extra cost for a gaming PC. Games barely make use of 4 cores properly yet, so its generally better to get as fast a CPU as possible, and the i5 2500K is very fast and overclocks well too!

In your situation, going on finance, it was perhaps different - just doesn't mean an 3820 is best for everyone

shaneosborne · 23 Apr 2012 at 13:37

For some reason I can't get OC Website to display on phone as I'm out and about and need to know something in relation to the M/B.

Does it support standard 32bit PCI? It's just that I have only recently got a Edimax Network Card and don't fancy buying another...

Barry1987 · 23 Apr 2012 at 13:39

beejjacobs said:
True! Sorry I'm not trying to get at you, or say your rig is bad at all - just generally an 3820 will be wasted mostly, and is not worth the extra cost for a gaming PC. Games barely make use of 4 cores properly yet, so its generally better to get as fast a CPU as possible, and the i5 2500K is very fast and overclocks well too!

In your situation, going on finance, it was perhaps different - just doesn't mean an 3820 is best for everyone

Yeah I know mate it's cool.

You're right with regards to games it might not be worth getting the 3820 but generally it's a faster CPU and has hyperthreading there if you need to utilise it (even though it's unlikely you will). I'm a sucker with money though, lol.

beejjacobs · 23 Apr 2012 at 13:40

It has no standard PCI slots, only PCI express:

Slots
• 3 PCI Express gen3 x16 slots
- PCI_E1 & PCI_E4 support up to PCIE x16 speed
- PCI_E6 supports up to PCIE x8 speed
• 2 PCI Express gen2 x16 slots
- PCI_E2 & PCI_E5 support up to PCIE x1 speed
• 1 PCIE x1 slot

Barry1987 · 23 Apr 2012 at 13:41

shaneosborne said:
For some reason I can't get OC Website to display on phone as I'm out and about and need to know something in relation to the M/B.

Does it support standard 32bit PCI? It's just that I have only recently got a Edimax Network Card and don't fancy buying another...

No, I should have said it doesn't mate- Sorry. It says in the spec that it only supports PCIe.

Gah, I feel bad now.

beejjacobs · 23 Apr 2012 at 13:43

Barry1987 said:
No, I should have said it doesn't mate- Sorry. It says in the spec that it only supports PCIe.

Gah, I feel bad now.

Yeah they've finally started phasing out PCI and IDE it seems!

A cheap PCIe wireless card should do the trick

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=NW-004-TP&groupid=46&catid=1597&subcat=1622

Barry1987 · 23 Apr 2012 at 13:45

beejjacobs said:
Yeah they've finally started phasing out PCI and IDE it seems!

A cheap PCIe wireless card should do the trick
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=NW-004-TP&groupid=46&catid=1597&subcat=1622

Bang!

shaneosborne · 23 Apr 2012 at 13:45

Damn! Need a new Wireless card now :'( I know they are cheap but took me a while to hunt this one down due to better compatibility with my Router and Telco's DSLAM. I managed to squeeze a better connection with my Router as it has inbuilt tweaks and the wireless card chipset matched all. Ahwell, no great problem. Will have to find another or use Ethernet...