Spec Check

sist_si · 28 Feb 2011 at 09:21

Hi guys,
My system seems to have gone kaput last night (old S939 AMD). Now, rather than try to fix the issue (I think it's the mobo) I thought it time I upgraded.

I've chosen the following - what do you guys think. As the old system spec suggests, it's been a few years since I upgraded

Asus Crosshair IV Formula AMD 890FX (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £163.99
AMD Phenom II X6 Six Core 1090T Black Edition 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £155.99
Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-15000C9 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMZ8GX3M2A1866C9) £119.99
Cooler Master Silent Pro Modular 700W Power Supply £74.99

I can use my existing GFX card, HDD, case and optical drives.

Charlatan · 28 Feb 2011 at 09:23

Sandybridge?

You could get an i2500k setup for that sort of cash should you so desire.

sist_si · 28 Feb 2011 at 09:25

is that better? i've always been an AMD man so really know nothing about the new Intel stuff.

PS - really looking to stick around £400/£500 tops if possible

Charlatan · 28 Feb 2011 at 09:32

What you using the rig for?

For gaming, a sandybridge at 4.5-5ghz will wipe the floor with it.

sist_si · 28 Feb 2011 at 09:39

nah, i'm not a PC gamer. I'll be programming, recording music.

Charlatan · 28 Feb 2011 at 09:49

Depends on whether the apps you use are designed for multithreading then really.

pv123 · 28 Feb 2011 at 11:29

I would also go with the 2500k, or wait for the new AMD.

Gelly54 · 28 Feb 2011 at 11:36

i second the 2500k

sist_si · 28 Feb 2011 at 11:50

ok, so as an alternative:

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM £165.59
Asus P8P67 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) £124.99
Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-15000C9 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMZ8GX3M2A1866C9) £119.99
Cooler Master GX 650W Power Supply £59.99

Colasanto · 28 Feb 2011 at 11:59

As people say, if your apps can use more than 4 cores. Go for the AMD you specced yourself. Simples

Charlatan · 28 Feb 2011 at 12:01

sist_si said:
ok, so as an alternative:

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM £165.59
Asus P8P67 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) £124.99
Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-15000C9 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMZ8GX3M2A1866C9) £119.99
Cooler Master GX 650W Power Supply £59.99

Jobs a good 'un

Cookeh · 28 Feb 2011 at 12:06

Charlatan said:
Jobs a good 'un

Meh.

Motherboard won't do CF/SLI - don't know if thats something you would want, OP?

sist_si · 28 Feb 2011 at 12:08

sli = dual gfx yea?
i have a single pci-e gfx card. not gonna be gaming so probably won't need that

Charlatan · 28 Feb 2011 at 12:09

Cookeh said:
Meh.

Motherboard won't do CF/SLI - don't know if thats something you would want, OP?

Oops, would need a cooler as well. That'll teach me to reply while I'm on the phone :rolleyes:

pv123 · 28 Feb 2011 at 12:14

Have a look at the PSU deals today, you can probably get a better PSU, save some cash or get some more power for your ££.

skylineboy · 28 Feb 2011 at 12:55

I believe the GX psu's are naff. So would look toward getting something else possibly:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-042-BQ&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1083

Rexton · 28 Feb 2011 at 13:00

skylineboy said:
I believe the GX psu's are naff. So would look toward getting something else possibly:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-042-BQ&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1083

Agreed, the GX psu's get bad reviews...

E: OP, look at this.

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM £165.59
(£137.99) £165.59
(£137.99)
MSI P67A-GD55 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) £129.98
(£108.32) £129.98
(£108.32)
BeQuiet Pure Power L7 530W Power Supply £42.98
(£35.82) £42.98
(£35.82)
OCZ Special OPS 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3SOE1600LV4GK) £35.99
(£29.99) £35.99
(£29.99)
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/AM2+/AM3/775/1155/1156/1366) £20.99
(£17.49) £20.99
(£17.49)
Sub Total : £329.61
Shipping : £10.00
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £67.92
Total : £407.53

Much better, but if you aren't overclocking then you should consider a non-k variant, and also a h67 board.

Colasanto · 28 Feb 2011 at 13:43

Cooler master GX PSU's are fine. I have the 750W version...

The only issue is possible ripple effects. Most say noise isn't that bad or an issue. Some using it for SLI rigs. A main competitor has 5 reviews on this with 5/5 rating. The are decent PSUs that deliver...

See http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/917/7 and http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Cooler-Master-GX-750-W-Power-Supply-Review/917/10

Liquid · 28 Feb 2011 at 13:49

Fernick said:
As people say, if your apps can use more than 4 cores. Go for the AMD you specced yourself. Simples

Doesnt really matter in this instance because the 2500k kills the 1090t regardless of it's extra cores, the IPC(instructions per clock) on the Intel cpu is way more too.

sist_si · 28 Feb 2011 at 13:54

thanks for the input guys.

Rexton, cheers. That'd save me a few pennies too. Is 530W ok for my needs then? I always thought that'd not be enough.