New spec recommendation!

ByMRK1 · 15 Sep 2011 at 20:19

I cannot buy the i5 2500k and graphics cards and such as something has gone wrong! FFS

So I will only have roughly £400 to spend. I need a good upgrade.
Current spec:
Athlon II X3
MSI 870-C45
8400GS
Sumvision 450w
Silverstone PS05
7GB RAM

Gonna need to be good for gaming. Also do video editing and graphics design. Was thinking of upgrading processor to a Phenom II X4 955 and spending rest on PSU and GPU?

stulid · 15 Sep 2011 at 20:23

You already have DDR3 RAM judging by your current motherboard,

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2400 3.10GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail with FREE TrackMania 2 Canyon PC Game £149.99
(£124.99) £149.99
(£124.99)
OcUK ATI Radeon HD 6870 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE Deus Ex PC Game £119.99
(£99.99) £119.99
(£99.99)
MSI H67MA-E35 Intel H67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro-ATX Motherboard - (Sandybridge) **B3 REVISION** £64.99
(£54.16) £64.99
(£54.16)
OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £54.98
(£45.82) £54.98
(£45.82)
Sub Total : £324.96
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £11.75
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £67.34
Total : £404.05

The i5 2400 is much faster than a AMD option - http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i5-2500-2400-2300.html

ByMRK1 · 15 Sep 2011 at 20:25

:O That is really nice man! Btw will there be a massive difference in perfomance with the 2400 + 2500k?

stulid · 15 Sep 2011 at 20:27

ByMRK1 said:
:O That is really nice man! Btw will there be a massive difference in perfomance with the 2400 + 2500k?

In the review above you can use the standard i5 2500 as a guide, the K version only differs from a unlocked multiplier and HD3000 built-in core, the non K has HD2000

That 6870 is on today only deal so will end at 09.00hrs tomorrow.

RJC · 15 Sep 2011 at 20:27

Small difference:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/363?vs=288

ByMRK1 · 15 Sep 2011 at 20:33

Erm, What could you guys improve on if I extended my budget to £600?

fowler002 · 15 Sep 2011 at 20:35

cpu: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-360-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=1275

mb http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-368-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=

psu:http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-118-AN&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

gpu: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-165-OK&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=2077

little over budget and the card is refurb but with the next gen out in 3-6 months should allow you to play games at a medium setting(or higher if its older games).

edit: well with the £600 budget change the graphics card and up the psu to the 650w for extra headroom and add a cpu cooler http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-001-GD&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=

stulid · 15 Sep 2011 at 20:37

ByMRK1 said:
Erm, What could you guys improve on if I extended my budget to £600?

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 6950 "Dual Fan Edition" 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE DIRT3 & Deus Ex Games £199.99
(£166.66) £199.99
(£166.66)
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail with FREE TrackMania 2 Canyon PC Game £173.99
(£144.99) £173.99
(£144.99)
Asus P8P67 LE Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard ** B3 REVISION ** £72.59
(£60.49) £72.59
(£60.49)
OCZ ZS Series 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £54.98
(£45.82) £54.98
(£45.82)
Antec Kúhler H2O 620 CPU Watercooler (Socket Intel LGA 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AMD AM2 / AM3 / AM2+ / AM3+) £49.99
(£41.66) £49.99
(£41.66)
Sub Total : £459.62
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £12.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £94.42
Total : £566.54

So with the closed loop cooler you can overclock the CPU to a decent level.

And a full fat graphics card

ByMRK1 · 15 Sep 2011 at 20:39

Will I need a watercooler?

stulid · 15 Sep 2011 at 20:41

ByMRK1 said:
Will I need a watercooler?

It certainly helps give a minimalist look inside the case instead of having a huge chunk of metal in the way.

fowler002 · 15 Sep 2011 at 20:41

ByMRK1 said:
Will I need a watercooler?

if you're not planning on pushing it past 4.5/4.6ghz then a tranquillo, a50, hyper 212+ would be sufficant @~£20-£25

stulid what happened to your gigabyte suggestions? and not going for the 560ti?

stulid · 15 Sep 2011 at 20:44

fowler002 said:
if you're not planning on pushing it past 4.5/4.6ghz then a tranquillo, a50, hyper 212+ would be sufficant @~£20-£25

The case height is restricted, so a closed loop cooler like I suggested is a much better choice.

stulid what happened to your gigabyte suggestions? and not going for the 560ti?

Why when I can easily fit a 2GB 6950 in the budget and still leave £40 left over.

And the ASUS board will be fine

ByMRK1 · 15 Sep 2011 at 20:46

Which is better out of the 212, A50 or Tranquillo?

stulid · 15 Sep 2011 at 20:48

ByMRK1 said:
Which is better out of the 212, A50 or Tranquillo?

The cheapest, the difference in temps isnt worth blinking at in reality.

But be aware that you can only fit a cooler of a 160mm max height - http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=259&area=

ByMRK1 · 15 Sep 2011 at 20:50

Would the Khuler provide better temps than the HSF?

RJC · 15 Sep 2011 at 20:50

Purchased the Gelid for my Parents machine, install was easy and runs very quiet, got no complaints.

ByMRK1 · 15 Sep 2011 at 20:51

Will the watercooler provide better cooling than the fans Fowler suggested?

stulid · 15 Sep 2011 at 20:53

ByMRK1 said:
Would the Khuler provide better temps than the HSF?

Equal to or will be better - http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/03/10/antec_khler_h2o_620_cpu_water_cooler_review/

Its the little amount of room inside thats the good thing

ByMRK1 · 15 Sep 2011 at 20:53

Oops didnt mean to post that ^

ByMRK1 · 15 Sep 2011 at 20:55

RIGHT! Cant squeeze to £600! So Im back to £400. Really really sorry guys!