So many chipset types...

ringo747

ringo747

ringo747

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Joined
1 Feb 2006
Posts
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...how on earth do you choose which to go for? I'm looking for a new CPU and mobo for FSX and I think an i5 2500K is what I'll go for. Under Intel Motherboards there are 7 1155 sections listed. How can I narrow down my options? Don't have a clue!
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA_1155

B65, H61, Q67, H67, P67, Z68 are the original Sandy Bridge chipsets.

These boards with a few exceptions are being phased out.

The new Ivy Bridge chipsets are backwards compatable with Sandy Bridge CPUs.

Z77 Should be the one to look at if you getting a (K) CPU.

i5-3570K is slightly better than the i5-2500 K unless there's a price difference.
 
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Well, they say filling up all of the RAM slots gives you less leg room when overclocking as it is putting more strain on the mobo. However some say it is a load of tosh and never have any issues getting good overclocks.

Personally, get as much as you want. 16GB (2x 8GB) is a good sweet spot these days.
 
I would just suggest using 8GB of RAM right now. Unless you need more? Gaming doesnt use more than 4GB most of the time so...

And if you need more in the future the mobo has 4 DIMM slots and with the approach of DDR4 RAM it can only get cheaper.
 
I have 8GB RAM and trying to run 2 VMs uses it all up! Not enough.. :)

When I upgrade my rig I'm even contemplating 32GB!! 16GB will be a minimum. ;)
 
Sparx said:
I have 8GB RAM and trying to run 2 VMs uses it all up! Not enough.. :)

When I upgrade my rig I'm even contemplating 32GB!! 16GB will be a minimum. ;)
Click to expand...

Yeah I currently have 24Gb in my work laptop and with 3 VMs running it is easy to use the lot very quickly!
 
If i remember right the overclocking abilites of the CPU and the RAM are separate on the newer intel chipsets. (don't take that for gospel) so you shouldn't have a problem..

Are you wanting to overclock the RAM too?

What Kit(s) have you got in mind?
 
I'm thinking of the i5 3750k with the mobo mentioned above in this thread. No preference on the type of RAM. I'm no expert so happy to take recommendations. I'd like to use Hyper-V in Windows 8 for a home lab so the 32Gb would come in very handy.
 
What OS are you using? This may be more of a limiting factor than the motherboard.

Eor example.

Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit can only use 16Gb of Memory.
 
Fire_fly said:
What OS are you using? This may be more of a limiting factor than the motherboard.

Eor example.

Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit can only use 16Gb of Memory.
Click to expand...

ringo747 said:
No preference on the type of RAM. I'm no expert so happy to take recommendations. I'd like to use Hyper-V in Windows 8 for a home lab so the 32Gb would come in very handy.
Click to expand...

Aslong as you get Windows 8 Pro (or above) you have no problems. :)
 
Thanks. That looks like a nice spec! What overclock should I be able to get with that setup? Would 4.6-5 be do-able?

What cooler is recommended? I have a 3 year old corsair h50 but not sure that it is such a great job.
 
The H-50 will not be enough to adequately cool to 4.6-5.0, either custom water or something like a H100i or a top end air cooler, Phanteks etc... :)

[edit: the max overclock on the CPU is also dependent on the chip itself, and not all chips are equal]
 
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