Spec me a £600 build/upgrade!

kutmasta

kutmasta

kutmasta

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Joined
18 Oct 2005
Posts
68
Location
Sheffield
Hey guys,

I'm looking to build a new PC, hopefully with one of the new intel chips. I've got a hard drive, 540w PSU (Enermax), Disc Drives and a 512mb 3870.

So basically I need a CPU, Mobo, RAM and a case (possibly a monitor too)
I game occasionally but not too much(CS, TF2, L4D etc.) so I'm not sure if I really need to upgrade from the 3870. I also do lots of computer based music production so high CPU performance is essential.

I've not looked at parts for a long time, what's the difference between i5, i7 and the two new intel sockets for a user like me? Which speed DDR3 should I go for? Is it a viable idea to get another mid-range ATI card and run both in Crossfire?

Any suggestions?
 
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Firstly whats your top end budget?

I5 socket 1156 is the mainstream processor
I7 socket 1156 is the highend main stream processors
I7 socket 1366 is the enthusiast processors

Most noticable difference are socket 1156 have pci-e controllers on the chip not on the mobo and are limited to 16x Pci-e lanes max
socket 1366 has 32x pci-e lanes. Realistcally this means with the current tech graphics cards if you bunged in 2 ATI 5870's in a socket 1156 board youll prob see a 2-4% loss over a socket 1366 board due to pci-e lane saturation.
Socket 1136 takes triple channel ddr3 skt 1156 takes double channel ddr3

Go far the max speed ddr3 you can afford and the board supports IMO.

The 3870 series are OLD OLD card one ATI 4890 should completely ruin 2 3870s so if possible i would get a graphics card update even if its a chepa update.

Re your music production does that require a lot of encoding?
 
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I'm currently looking at the i7 860 and the i7 920 cpu. They seem to perform similarly in benchmarks and the price is equally similar. Will the Triple Channel/Double Channel RAM of the two sockets have a significant effect on what I do?

Any recommendations for motherboards?
 
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What are you planning on doing? Gaming or video edition etc? This is a great core i7 920 mobo http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-155-GI
If you are planning on p55 core i7 860, this is a very good mobo http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-368-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1495

Tripple channel and double channel, there is no big increase atall when gaming but then doing pho shop etc, tripple would be better. Also, the core i5 750 is a good chip to overclock and when gaming, its 2 frames less than the core i7 920. The i5 750 is more pound for performance wise. Up to you really, but i would go for the p55 route. The new core i9 will cost over £400 so i dont think many people will upgrade to that but like i said, take your time on choseing :D
 
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