Spec check need I

Mailman86

Mailman86

Mailman86

Associate
Joined
21 Jul 2004
Posts
1,258
I've been pondering what to do with my rig the last few days and come to the conclusion of 'sod it, just upgrade the whole lot' so I am going to do exactly that. :p

I'm not sure on a few things so if the kind hardware enthusiasts of OcUK could look over my choices and questions and get back to me I would be most grateful. :p

I already have monitors (I run the primary at 1920x1080 and secondary at 1920x1200), case, HDDs (including an SSD), keyboard, mouse, Windows 7 etc so none of that stuff. I plan to run it off my current power supply which is a Corsair 650W power supply (I forget the exact model but I can find out when I get home if it's important). I have a Silver Arrow CPU cooler already on the way.

I have so far:


CPU - Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail [BX80623I52500K]

Motherboard - Research on here brings up both the Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 Intel Z68 and the Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 Intel Z68 a lot. The Asrock being about £60 more expensive but is it really worth it? What are the differences between the two? I'll probably overclock a bit but nothing extreme no doubt. Any other suggestions even? I only plan to run one graphics card for now (and likely for a long time) but it would be nice to have decent sli features.

Memory - Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1333C9D3B1K2/8G) [KHX1333C9D3B1K2/8G]
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-098-KS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1516
I only selected that memory because it's cheap, but research seems to suggest it's not the best but I'm really not sure what's best for me. Good choice or is there a better one? Again I plan to overclock a bit but nothing too extreme.

Graphics card - Nvidia 560Ti as they seem to be popular at the moment. Not sure which is the best one to get though. Any particular big differences between them all or are they all the same and I should just get the cheapest? Any of them got better coolers than the others (both in terms of volume and temperature reduction)? Any of the companies have better warranties?

Finally anything else I've overlooked?
 
Jumping on the bandwagon because I was about to start a new thread asking the question below:

Mailman86 said:

Motherboard - Research on here brings up both the Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 Intel Z68 and the Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 Intel Z68 a lot. The Asrock being about £60 more expensive but is it really worth it? What are the differences between the two? I'll probably overclock a bit but nothing extreme no doubt.
Click to expand...

I'm in the same boat basically, I *can* afford a £160 mobo, but I'm unclear as to what I'd actually get for my £60 extra over the Gigabyte, so if the only benefit is to get about 200MHz extra on the overclock I'd rather not pay it.

Far more important to me in terms of mobo features are the following:
a. lots of back-panel USB ports (at least 6!)
b. a PS/2 port (still using a PS/2 keyboard, don't feel like going hunting for an adapter - don't understand how they can ship consumer boards that have no PS/2 ports but still have serial ports!:D)
c. on-board Power and Reset buttons (very useful for when you're building outside the case!)
d. an ACCESSIBLE CMOS clear jumper (or button) - and by "accessible" I mean not located next to the PCI-Ex16 slot please, don't feel like having to remove my graphics card every time I need to clear the CMOS! :mad:
e. a front-panel group-plug included in the box, just cause my fingers are too fat and clumsy to plug the fiddly little front panel case connectors onto the motherboard when it's already installed in the case - I actually need pliers!

Anyway, the Gigabyte has a. and b., but not c. as far as I know. Can anyone recommend a board that has it all and is still cheaper than the ASROCK?

I'm not a total layabout, leeching on the OP's thread though, I can actually contribute too:
Memory - Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1333C9D3B1K2/8G) [KHX1333C9D3B1K2/8G]
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-098-KS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1516
I only selected that memory because it's cheap, but research seems to suggest it's not the best but I'm really not sure what's best for me. Good choice or is there a better one? Again I plan to overclock a bit but nothing too extreme.
Click to expand...
I'd go for these instead: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-290-CS
Higher frequency, only slightly more expensive, still a low-profile heatsink.
 
I shall bare that memory in mind! New weekly deals will be up tomorrow though so we'll see if it's still cheap then.

I think I've come closer to picking a 560Ti graphics card. Either Gigabyte OC version, MSI regular or MSI OC version. Which is better? If MSI, is it worth going for the one with the factory overclock for the little extra cash?
 
The MSI 560Ti OC card is on deal this week so I think I'll go for that one. :D

No opinion between the two motherboards I selected?

A bit more research suggests lots of people have the Corsair XMS3 memory on these boards but it's no longer on deal. Is it still worth getting or are any of the other sets on this weeks deals better instead considering the cost as well as the performance?
 
unless you upgrade regularly and are likely to go the ivybridge/pci-e 3 route go with the gigabyte mobo.

whichever memory is cheapest at the time you order will be fine, just be aware of going for the ones with the high heat spreaders and the possible issues when fitting your cooler.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom