New Build [Suggestions Wanted]

[Jarrod]

Current Build:
Q6700 @ Stock
4GB DDR2 800mhz RAM
GigaByte GA-965P-DS3
GigaByte GTX 460 1GB Super OC
60GB SSD Boot Drive.
Some plain case. NO FANS.

New Build: Not polished yet, may change, looking for suggestions .

i5 2500K Retail [Heard this is very good for gaming, was going to get i7 960, but apparently this is better for gaming in general.

8GB DDR3 1333Mhz 9-9-9-9-24 (Not the fastest ram, but a huge and cheap upgrade on my DDR2 ram .

MSI P67A-C45 Intel P67 (Cheap and according to reviews, decent)

GigaByte GTX 460 1GB Super OC (Can't afford a new card, but this has served me well so far and I think the Q6700 bottlenecks it, so it may have more to offer yet.)

60GB SSD Boot drive.

OcUK Vantage Gaming Case (Looks very very nice for that price, with superior cooling to my current case.)



Budget: -/+ £380


Looking for suggestions!

Will be using this computer for gaming foremost and multitasking.

Thanks in advance!

 

[stulid]

I will answer this

1) Yes the i5 2500K is faster/newer/cooler/less power hungry for gaming.

2) Get 1600Mhz ram asall the meory reviews for Sandybridge say thats the sweat spot - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-290-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

3) Get a Z68 board as it has extra feature, this is full of win for a good price - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-364-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1990



A few questions here,

what PSU do you have?

Are your existing harddrives/optical drives SATA or IDE?

 

[Reaper 392]

looks ok to me, however, i would change:

RAM: go for 8GB 1600Mhz. the corsair XMS3 is the kit i'd go for specifically. its cheaper than the 1333Mhz stuff too

motherboard. nothing wrong with your choice, but if you can spare any extra money then go for MSI Z68A-G45-B3 or the MSI Z68A-G45-G3 as they support all the Z68 goodies (faster video encoding, faster mechanical HDDs and lower power consumption to reduce the electric bill) and they also support crossfire and SLI for a simple graphics performance boost providing your PSU is up to the job. (what make + model is your PSU by the way)

*edit*
stulid, i distinctly remember you telling me never to recommend that motherboard as it doesnt have all the Z68 features and the build quality is pants. you might want to switch that recommendation to the asus if its any good

 

[stulid]

*edit*
stulid, i distinctly remember you telling me never to recommend that motherboard as it doesnt have all the Z68 features and the build quality is pants. you might want to switch that recommendation to the asus if its any good

Jesus

Look at it again, it isn't the same one that didn't have Lucid/Quicksync etc

Can you not try using things you think I said to you as proof for your comments.

The motherboard you are thinking about is EOL and has been for a number of weeks now.

 

[Jarrod]

Ok, these suggestions look pretty nice so far guys, I do appreciate. Some further questions though, sorry ;

First I will answer your questions:
My PSU is a 650W cheapy.
My HDD's are SATA and my Disc drive is IDE.

Also, the budget of £380 is an absolute max, my parents are purchasing these parts for my Christmas present, I do not want to ask for more money.


Ok, the questions ,

Currently my basket is:

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

Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard

Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit

OcUK Vantage Gaming Tower Case - Black

It brings me up to a grand total of £322.94 inc VAT, ex shipping.

This looks pretty damn nice to be honest, really glad stulid suggested me that, thanks!

I do have some questions though, is that motherboard decent for some light overclocking? I'm not experienced at overclocking in the least really, my Q6700 would not budge without going crazy. However, I've heard nothing but good things about overclocking on the i5 2500K. I will only be wanting to overclock the CPU and upping the RAM timings to 8-8-8-8-24, which some guy mentioned on a review for that specific RAM, he did easily with cool temps.

Secondly, My current build gets mighty hot - 50C CPU at idle. Possibly the reasion I cannot overclock the Q6700. Will the OcUK Vantage Case keep my system cool? I know it has 4x120mm fans included, but in my experience, more fans does not always mean cooler temps. I was thinking of getting a cheap CPU watercooler, just to make sure I can boost the CPU a little. This is the one I had in mind : http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-005-AN&groupid=962&catid=1532&subcat= . This would take me up from my comfortable budget to stretching it a little.

However, that raises the issue of possibly asking too much from my cheap power supply, which is obviously a big problem, as I will be receiving and putting this together on Christmas Day, and do not want to find out that I cant use it, nor can I buy a new PSU due to shops being closed.

Those are the only questions I think I need to ask currently. Thanks in advance to any who are up to the challenge haha .

Once again thanks a bunch for all your help already!

Kind Regards, Jarrod.

Oh and I forgot to mention, I'd like this system to pretty much be able to max each game, give or take a few options of course, at 1080p. Not sure if my graphics card is up to that, but there you go. This isn't a must, though.

Thanks.

 

[stulid]

I do have some questions though, is that motherboard decent for some light overclocking?

Yes it is - http://www.kitguru.net/components/m...-z68ap-d3-z68-review-bargain-buy-of-the-year/

Secondly, My current build gets mighty hot - 50C CPU at idle. Possibly the reasion I cannot overclock the Q6700. Will the OcUK Vantage Case keep my system cool? I know it has 4x120mm fans included, but in my experience, more fans does not always mean cooler temps. I was thinking of getting a cheap CPU watercooler, just to make sure I can boost the CPU a little. This is the one I had in mind : http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...d=1532&subcat= . This would take me up from my comfortable budget to stretching it a little.

The joys of Sandybridge is that the cpu's need less Vcore and thus run naturally cooler, The stock heatsink supplied with the retail box is good for 4GHz, the Antec Kuhler you suggested will easily cope with a 4.5Ghz overclock which is the average.

However, that raises the issue of possibly asking too much from my cheap power supply, which is obviously a big problem, as I will be receiving and putting this together on Christmas Day, and do not want to find out that I cant use it, nor can I buy a new PSU due to shops being closed.

The golden rule around here is never skimp on the PSU quality, a good 550W+ from the likes of Corsair/Antec/OCZ etc is ideal for this spec, but saying that if your current psu has survived this long, then it will cope a little longer as the overall wattage usage compared to your existing setup will actually drop.

 

[Jarrod]

Yes it is - http://www.kitguru.net/components/m...-z68ap-d3-z68-review-bargain-buy-of-the-year/



The joys of Sandybridge is that the cpu's need less Vcore and thus run naturally cooler, The stock heatsink supplied with the retail box is good for 4GHz, the Antec Kuhler you suggested will easily cope with a 4.5Ghz overclock which is the average.



The golden rule around here is never skimp on the PSU quality, a good 550W+ from the likes of Corsair/Antec/OCZ etc is ideal for this spec, but saying that if your current psu has survived this long, then it will cope a little longer as the overall wattage usage compared to your existing setup will actually drop.

Well thanks man, you really have helped a lot, I posted on the trust thing, not sure if anybody looks at it or not, but regardless, you've helped a lot. Thank you . I will post back here if I still have any questions, but for now, I think I am good .

Once again, thanks!