Spec & Check Please

kPATm

kPATm

kPATm

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Joined
7 Apr 2009
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Greenock, Scotland
Well I decided to upgrade my system on the cheap by buying a 2nd GTX 460 and running SLi. So I had to upgrade my PSU and now I have decided I need to upgrade everything. I have already got

Asus Maximus iv Gene-Z
SLi GTX 460

Now I dont know if I am better of going for the i5 2500k or the i5 3570k?

Am I correct in saying that the Gene-Z supports the newer gen i5's?

Im also looking for a good cooler for the i5. So I was thinking

this
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-005-AN

or
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-035-AR

Obviously a big price difference but if the H20 is way better then I would be willing to pay extra. I would be trying to OC the i5 to the limit of it being safe 24/7. Im also needing some ram but I think I need to consider the height as it looks to me as it may obstruct the cooler?

Im also looking for a case which can house all these parts and offer good airflow and cable management but as you know there are a ton out there and Im kind of lost trying to decide.

OK my budget for all this is about £250.

Cheers
 
 
I did mention I needed a case but I forgot to add it to my budget. New budget of £300
 
kPATm said:
The mobo can be updated using a flash drive am I right?
Click to expand...

Yes, but you would still need a SB Cpu installed in order to update the Bios. If you have bought the mobo secondhand, then check with the seller to find out what Bios revision is installed.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - OEM £161.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 200R Compact ATX Case - Black £49.99
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 612S CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £32.99
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1600C9DC) £31.99
Total : £288.96 (includes shipping : £10.00).

 
kPATm said:
Good. Cheers

Are these "water cooling" solutions any good then?

Antec Kúhler H2O
Click to expand...

The Antec 920, Corsair H60/80/100 are all pretty decent coolers. The H100 is overpriced and you'll most likely get the same performance from the others when compared.
 
Is the i5 3570k recommended over the 2500k? I will be gaming 90% of the time. I will also be OC'ing the i5. I see that the 3570k is £10 cheaper than the 2500k this week
 
kPATm said:
Is the i5 3570k recommended over the 2500k? I will be gaming 90% of the time. I will also be OC'ing the i5. I see that the 3570k is £10 cheaper than the 2500k this week
Click to expand...

Yep. Newer and better chip. Core for core you get a bit more performance. Might not be able to overclock as far as the SB but can still hit decent clocks quite easily.
 
OK so I have ordered an i5 3570k but Im really not sure on Case & Cooler. How do these look?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Antec One Gaming Case - Black £49.99
1 x GeIL EVO Leggera 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GEL38GB1600C9DC) £35.99
1 x Xigmatek Dark Knight SD-1283 Night Hawk Edition CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £34.99
1 x Arctic Cooling Freezer Xtreme Rev.2 High Performance Quiet CPU Cooler(Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £29.99
Total : £162.66 (includes shipping : £9.75).



My worry is that either one of these coolers would be too big for the case or that either one of these coolers is crap at cooling:confused:
 
 
dacads said:
Here are a few decent coolers. Case is personal preference but I've thrown in what I would go with

YOUR BASKET
1 x BitFenix Shinobi "Core" USB3.0 Gaming Windowed Case - Black £47.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi "Core" USB3.0 Gaming Case - Black £46.98
1 x BitFenix Shinobi "Core" USB3.0 Gaming Case - White £46.98
1 x Xigmatek Pantheon Mid Tower Case - Black £39.98
1 x Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure Edition CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £29.99
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £26.99
Total : £273.89 (includes shipping : £29.15).

Click to expand...

The "Core" cases are barebones. No fans or badges/grills are included. The windowed Shinobi is probably the best value as it comes with two 120mm fans, the standard Shinobi only comes with one 120mm fan.

This is an option......

YOUR BASKET
1 x Patriot Viper "Black Mamba" Generation 3 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel kit (PV316G160C9K) £59.99
1 x Zalman Z9 USB 3.0 Midi Tower Case - Black £54.98
1 x OcUK Tech Labs - Corsair H60 Performance Intel Liquid Cooling Solution (Socket 1155 / 1156 / 1366) £34.99
- 1 x No Thermal Paste Required £0.00
- 1 x No Fan Required £0.00
- 1 x No Fan Required £0.00
Total : £163.46 (includes shipping : £11.25).



Z9 U3 case is packed with kit for the price. 16GB of RAM at a good price (The 8GB kit is £50 and other brands can be close to that) with a good CAS rating and it overclocks past 2000Mhz. For an aircooler that doesn't break the bank I'd suggest the Coolermaster 612S which is £30ish. If you like the idea of a CLC cooler you could use the one i've inc. in the basket. Hopefully you have some paste spare and you have plenty of fans in the case to use with the radiator.

Hope this helps
 
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