mulling over this

kouk · 14 Oct 2011 at 11:49

Hi all!

I'm considering this build for gaming and browsing. Trying to stay within a budget of £550. Anything that could be tweaked here for compatibility or increase in performance without breaking the bank ?

Also, I looked at the power requirements for this build on one of those online calculators and it came in around 320w. I have a Corsair HX520W PSU in my old rig, do you think it would be up to the job even with an OC on the processor?

Thanks.

mp260767 · 14 Oct 2011 at 12:37

long as the psu isn't to old, and it's functioning ok with its ampage on the rails it should be fine.

kouk · 14 Oct 2011 at 13:13

mp260767 said:
long as the psu isn't to old, and it's functioning ok with its ampage on the rails it should be fine.

It's never really been put under any immense work, it's just been used to power a modest set-up. No buzzing or smells

I also wondered if it has the necessary connections required.

Also, I just noticed the Kingston HyperX Genesis is priced the same as the Corsair XMS3 I've listed. Any opinions on which is better quality?.

Thanks!

stulid · 14 Oct 2011 at 13:14

Did you want crossfire etc?

There is a cheaper Z68 board that would mean you can get a faster GPU.

kouk · 14 Oct 2011 at 13:20

stulid said:
Did you want crossfire etc?

There is a cheaper Z68 board that would mean you can get a faster GPU.

It had crossed my mind about going Xfire in the distant future and adding another 6850, but maybe I'd kill the PSU I'm thinking of using?

Which GPU are you thinking about with savings made from the mobo?

stulid · 14 Oct 2011 at 13:23

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6850-6870-crossfirex-review/4

Radeon HD 6850 x2
A second card requires you to add another ~130 Watts. You need a 650 Watt power supply unit.

The motherboard saves £20 - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-055-DE&groupid=17&catid=1425&subcat=

So a 6870/GTX560 is £140.

mp260767 · 14 Oct 2011 at 13:30

either of those memory will be fine.

kouk said:
It had crossed my mind about going Xfire in the distant future .....

by that time fair chance it will be easier just to get a new card, if you have no obvious thoughts to go xfire soonish i wouldn't bother picking a mobo on that basis.

kouk · 14 Oct 2011 at 13:50

@stulid Which MOBO is that? I think the link is messed up

@ mp260767 Good point!

Is the 6870 really much of an Improvement over the 6850? (justify the price?) Can the 6850 be clocked to 6870 speeds?

Thanks guys!

mp260767 · 14 Oct 2011 at 14:06

seen some mention of the 6850s being overclocked , not sure how well the recent models go.

if budget is that tight, nah i'd stick with the 6850 from the gaming benchmarks i've seen.

stulid · 14 Oct 2011 at 14:21

kouk said:
@stulid Which MOBO is that? I think the link is messed up

Oh a, silly cut+paste - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-364-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1990

kouk · 14 Oct 2011 at 19:50

I went with the GTX 560Ti with what I saved getting the different MOBO, Just a little over budget in the end

Cheers chaps!