Spec check thread - to be bought on tuesday

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Soldato
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Hey, well my second gpu has now died and something is definitely killing them so I'm using it as an excuse to fully upgrade. The usual suspect would be the psu but its a seasonic m12 600w and really is one of the most reliable psu's money can buy so I'm thinking there is another culprit or just bad luck. Either way my psu is going to be tested and I shall see if I need a new one or not.


The spec I've put together:

If my psu is bust I'm going to pick up a corsair 650w psu, though I am wondering what the difference between the two models are. Also I will be using the 10% discount on the gpu, does anyone know when it ends? [:EDIT: Found it out it ends on wednesday, thats fine]

Anything you guys think I should change?



:EDIT:

Also does anyone know if that cpu cooler fits on the asus pro mobo?
 
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Hi there,

The spec looks very good. However, do you need the i7 2600K for what you will be using the system for, or will be the much cheaper i5 2500K be almost as good for your usage?

As for a new PSU, if you do find the current one is broken and you need a new one - then I would suggest going for this one over the Corsair TX 650W. Here is a review.
 
Personally wouldn't touch XFX with a barge pole given their incredibly poor RMA service on graphics cards. I chose the corsair because it is not so dissimilar from my seasonic. Though it is a shame to see that there are no other psu's that really challenge it, for example the seasonic has 4 rails of 12v and most only have 1 or 2. But I can't justify spending £120 again for a "indestructible" psu that died on me.

As for the choice of a 2600k. I chose it because I don't plan to upgrade my cpu for another 4/5 years. The gpu will likely see an upgrade within the next 3.5 years. Decided I'd rather pay the extra than regret it later and be forced to do a whole upgrade of mobo/ram/cpu earlier then i'd like.

:EDIT:

Also does anyone know if that cpu cooler fits on the asus pro mobo?
 
Please note that the XFX is a Seasonic designed unit - and that review I linked to above shows it to be an incredibly good performer and rather efficient.

However, if you don't want to go down the XFX road (for RMA reasons) then I would have a look at this modular Antec PSU. Again, a Seasonic designed unit and this time with modular cables. Here is a review.

As for the CPU, I can understand the reasoning to spend more so you will keep it for longer. However, the only difference between the 2500K and the 2600K is hyperthreading is enabled on the 2600K, a slightly higher stock clockspeed (but the multipliers are unlocked on both of these CPUs, so this isn't much of a benefit) and it has 2MB more L3 cache. In my mind, these features aren't worth £76, have a look at this review which compares the two (please factor in the stock clockspeed difference into your analysis). This £76 could be spent in other areas or saved to pay help pay for an Ivy Bridge CPU-only upgrade a few years down the line.

The GPU looks great. For a shade over £200 (with the code) it is heck of a deal.
 
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cmndr_andi said:
Please note that the XFX is a Seasonic designed unit - and that review I linked to above shows it to be an incredibly good performer and rather efficient.

However, if you don't want to go down the XFX road (for RMA reasons) then I would have a look at this modular Antec PSU. Again, a Seasonic designed unit and this time with modular cables. Here is a review.
Click to expand...

I shall look into them. I had heard the corsairs had been going down hill and their price is certainly rising.

As for the CPU, I can understand the reasoning to spend more so you will keep it for longer. However, the only difference between the 2500K and the 2600K is hyperthreading is enabled on the 2600K, a slightly higher stock clockspeed (but the multipliers are unlocked on both of these CPUs, so this isn't much of a benefit) and it has 2MB more L3 cache. In my mind, these features aren't worth £76, have a look at this review which compares the two (please factor in the stock clockspeed difference into your analysis). This £76 could be spent in other areas or saved to pay help pay for an Ivy Bridge CPU-only upgrade a few years down the line.
Click to expand...

I've looked into the SB quite extensively but it is not a £76 saving. I want the asus pro mobo and it is not in the 2500k bundle as far as I can remember. This brings the savings down to around £50 odd. I'm aware prices are cheaper else where but I do not get free shipping with them nor do I have the time to spam their forums enough to get it ;).

I do not think £50 is a bad deal for HT that may or may not benefit me later. They all said when the q6600 come out that it would be the start of quad cores really coming into their own but that never happened so I wouldn't be surprised if HT doesn't make a blind bit of difference for the next 4 years either so I do agree with you in some respects and I also am well aware that when HT does become useful there will no doubt be new cpu's that make mince meat of the SB. I am, as they say, sat on the fence. I may change my mind later or perhaps strike lucky with a "this day only" deal on the asus pro and thus making the savings more significant.
The GPU looks great. For a shade over £200 (with the code) it is heck of a deal.
Click to expand...

Yes it is a good deal, i only hope that it fares well on my 24" against the likes of bf3 extra. If I cannot max the game out I would be extreamly dissapointed as bf2 is by far my favourite game.
 
I spose alternatively I could make further savings by changing to a gigabyte mobo and taking a 2500k but I like the idea of the new bios, which last time I checked (some time ago) gigabyte had not yet implemented.

Or I could go down to the asus p867 non pro and save £100 and take the 2500k bundle, mmm not sure that board has all I wanted. I shall have to recheck.
 
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I got a 2600K and UD4 as it was a good price on special. If the money isn't a problem I would get a 2600K.

If you want it buy it!!
 
While money is certainly not a problem I do not wish to spend more than is needed as there is currently a lot of money going out at the moment and if my graphics card had not died I would not be doing this for several more months.


I have just switched out for the 2500k bundle instead of the 2600k as for what I can see the pro doesn't actually add much over the standard model unless I am missing something? £100 does not seem a good price to pay for HT if I am indeed to drop down from the pro also.
 
The Pro version of the motherboard has a pretty big benefit over the standard version in that the second full-size PCI-E slot can run at x8 speed, compared to a maximum of x4 with the standard board. This is big deal if you plan to run a dual graphics card configuration in the future. Also the standard board does not support SLI at all - so you couldn't even run dual GTX 480s in SLI using the slower x4 port.

As well as a proper arrangement for main PCIE ports and SLI, the Pro board has extra connections like 2x eSATA and an intel Gigabit Ethernet controller.

IMHO, going for the Pro version makes a lot of sense - especially if you are planning to keep the core system for a long time.
 
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Yeah I did think they were the only differences. Think is I try and stay clear of dual card set ups though I suppose they are getting better these days. I always just think back to all the troubles of some games supporting them and some not and then some giving +50% power while others giving +15% etc.

If I'm going to get the pro I would think it's worth just getting the ocuk bundle for the extra £50 over the 2500k then.

I have to order today to get the deals which are on too hmmm.
 
Well it looks to me like there are too many issues with the asus boards. I don't want to have to faff around with my pc all over easter and I don't really have the time to either.

What board to get instead mmm.
 
MSI P67A-GD55.

Cheaper, better (runs cooler, clocks better, none of the issues). Only difference ofc the name, price and the fact it has a few less PCI slots :p

I'm with cmdr_andi here. Really don't see the need for 2600k unless you do a lot of encoding or video editing etc - there is no benefit otherwise.
 
Is the GD55 not identical to the asus equiviliant and everyone says to get the pro which is effectively the gd65?

Also I found the cpu even cheaper elsewhere so I've switched to a 2500k for some quite tidy savings.
 
I think the MSI has set out their range a bit differently than ASUS. The GD55 supports SLI as well as crossfireX and looking at the MSI page, the second full-size PCI-E slot seems to run at x8 speed -so presumably that will allow CF/SLI at x8/x8 speeds.

The GD65 has all of these features, but uses slightly better onboard cooling, components and comes with more connections and a wider range of features. If these extras are not needed and SLI/CF at x8/x8 is crucial - then the GD55 looks like a very good board.

Personally, If I was buying today I would probably go with the Gigabyte P67 UD4 revB. Loads of kit, standard BIOS we all know and love and seems to work.
 
Bought the msi GD65 in the end. Just ordered it all for a total of £775. I shoped around ;), got corsair vengence ram too.

Thanks for all the help. I was tempted with the gigabyte but I want to try the new bios and the MSI was a tad cheaper with apparently vey well made components say the reviews. So I'm happy with the buy,though the msi bios is not as good as the asus one but oh well. IT will have improved since the reviews I imagine.
 
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MSI board is better as far as I'm concerned.

Runs coolers, 'clocks better, none of the issues, looks better :p
 
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