My new rig-will it all be compatible before i buy it
- Thread starter Ben1992
- Start date
Soldato
The first wave of sandy bridge (LGA 1155) will all be the mainstream parts, these will supersede the current LGA 1156 motherboards and CPUs like the Lynnfield i5/i7s and P55 boards. The pricing will also be at this level, so I wouldn't expect it to cost any more than what LGA 1156 cost at launch and certainly nowhere near i7 extreme edition pricing.
If you click on this link you will see some early numbers for Sandy Bridge performance.
If you click on this link you will see some early numbers for Sandy Bridge performance.
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next question, does anything actually NEED the power of the sandy, is there any pointto waiting,oh and the RAM you suggested earlier, the patriots, they took my spending price down £100, thanks, i didnt consider it at first because they seemed too cheap if that makes sense. hope this is not the case though.
Soldato
Well for gaming, very few games currently can make use of all this power - however a small number will (BFBC2, Civ 5, ARMA2 to name a few) and this will increase with time. As you stated that you want to keep the system for 3-4 years without major upgrades - then you will want a fast CPU to keep up, since sandy bridge is faster than current generation i7 then it should last longer.
The RAM I linked to are ideal to be honest, you can pay twice as much - but for gaming there is no performance benefit. The Corsair GT RAM is for extreme systems where you do heavy overclocking (on the memory too), liquid cooling and usually benchmarking. When run at stock speeds and latencies they are no faster than the patriot kit.
The RAM I linked to are ideal to be honest, you can pay twice as much - but for gaming there is no performance benefit. The Corsair GT RAM is for extreme systems where you do heavy overclocking (on the memory too), liquid cooling and usually benchmarking. When run at stock speeds and latencies they are no faster than the patriot kit.
righto, im not sure if or how much ill be overclocking at the moment, im gonna be getting a H50 cooler for the CPU for if i decide to OC, as for RAM im not entirely sure i might or might not, based on this,is your recommendation still the same
Soldato
Well with an i7 you really want to overclock it - as these things can hit 4GHz without too much trouble and a decent cooler. In CPU heavy tasks (including some games) this can provide massive performance boosts. If you don't fancy overclocking it yourself, you can buy a pre-overclocked bundle from OCUK.
However, memory overclocking is a different story. Due to the massive memory bandwidth offered by DDR3 and triple channel mode there really isn't much point, the performance gains are very small. I suggest going for a 1600MHz kit and running it at stock speeds - it will be more than fast enough.
However, memory overclocking is a different story. Due to the massive memory bandwidth offered by DDR3 and triple channel mode there really isn't much point, the performance gains are very small. I suggest going for a 1600MHz kit and running it at stock speeds - it will be more than fast enough.
Soldato
Quite right, the I7 950 is a cracking chip. If you can afford an I7 950 then don't settle for an I5. With regards to the three cards in crossfire, that's also a waste of money in my opinion anyway. Just a little over the top. But that's just me.
Soldato
Like the other guy said also, if you don't fancy overclocking and you'r unsure, the bundles from what I have seen are a fantastic idea to stick in with the rest of your kit. This takes the leg work out of having to choose the correct ram aswel, as it's all been done for you.
May I reccomend this bundle to you. It's the I7 950 like you wanted and they have coupled it with an excellent cpu cooler and ram. Pre overclocked aswell, so nothing to worry about. Plug & Play. Based on your inexperience... this is definitely the route I would be going down.
Or like mentioned, wait till the new sandybridge cpu's come out then buy one those bundles.
May I reccomend this bundle to you. It's the I7 950 like you wanted and they have coupled it with an excellent cpu cooler and ram. Pre overclocked aswell, so nothing to worry about. Plug & Play. Based on your inexperience... this is definitely the route I would be going down.
Or like mentioned, wait till the new sandybridge cpu's come out then buy one those bundles.
Soldato
+1 to i5. i7 is no faster in games and wont last any longer. i5 will easily last 3-4 years, by which time there will be much better stuff to choose from. Then with all the saved cash get another 5870 (or better still sell the 5870 and get 2x 6870, or wait for 6970, or go Nvidia high end) and a big SSD. Much better gaming result.
But if you really want an i7 go ahead - you wont be dissapointed - just dropping a lot more cash for no real gain, but if that's not a bother to you fair enough. 930 cheaper than 950 and essentially identical. Great choice of case by the way - will definately crack one day and get one myself. You're getting a white one, right?
But if you really want an i7 go ahead - you wont be dissapointed - just dropping a lot more cash for no real gain, but if that's not a bother to you fair enough. 930 cheaper than 950 and essentially identical. Great choice of case by the way - will definately crack one day and get one myself. You're getting a white one, right?
Clearly the red is the true choice for the NZXT Phantom!
And I am a bit confused, I thought the OP already had most of the pieces? Or is this an order still in progress? To be honest, if your budget is roomy enough for it I would probably also go for an i7. Not because it will run a lot better in games, but because I also do other things on the side and so forth.
And I am a bit confused, I thought the OP already had most of the pieces? Or is this an order still in progress? To be honest, if your budget is roomy enough for it I would probably also go for an i7. Not because it will run a lot better in games, but because I also do other things on the side and so forth.