Spec me an upgrade for £500ish

kirkster

kirkster

kirkster

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I have the system in my sig. I want to reuse the case and the PSS from that rig - so I need a cheap case and PSU to fit the existing rig as part of this spec.

Light gaming (FSX), Photo editing and video editing my main uses. Maybe slightly tinker with O'Cing but would rather stay with stock cooler and save money.

I like the look of the 1156 i5 chip (or is it overkill?) and perhaps the Gigabyte-P55-USB3. Maybe 4 Gig RAM with upgrade option to 8 Gig. Would like a Graphics card that perhaps has 3 or more graphics outputs. No need for DVD drive,, KB or mouse. I have lots of hard drives, no issues there. However, would like a hardware based RAID 5 array powered by the new MB.

So to recap I want CPU, Memory, MB, graphics (+cheapish case and PSU to rehouse exisitng rig). £500 ish.

Thanks, Steve
 
go with an i7 system for your use

something like an i7 950/ asus 460 top/ 6gb corsair vengence/antec 650 psu/ £120 for x58 mobo

should come in about £550- £600...best for your needs though
 
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Thanks cammy...

What does the i7 offer over and above the i5 though? The i5 looks pretty nippy to me......?

Also, another key use for me is network emulation software called dynamips -very memory intensive and the more multitasking capability the better...!

Cheers, Steve
 
kirkster said:
Thanks cammy...

What does the i7 offer over and above the i5 though? The i5 looks pretty nippy to me......?

Also, another key use for me is network emulation software called dynamips -very memory intensive and the more multitasking capability the better...!

Cheers, Steve
Click to expand...

the i7 has triple channel ram where the i5 is dual channel....the i5 seems to be the best bet bang for buck for gaming though

if your using memory intensive programs then i7 is definetly your baby...its a multithread multitasking monster
 
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Benchmarks:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/191?vs=100

For the price difference, i7 isn't generally worth it, and I would be shocked if you need above an i5.

i5 system

Intel Core i5 760 2.80GHz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail £140.99
(£119.99) £140.99

MSI ATI Radeon HD 5850 Twin FrozR II 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card *** With Assassins Creed II *** £140.99
(£119.99) £140.99

Asus P7P55D-E Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard £103.99
(£88.50) £103.99

Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black (with 500w Elite Power PSU) £62.99
(£53.61) £62.99

Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £39.99
(£34.03) £39.99

Sub Total : £416.12
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.00
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £74.57
Total : £500.69

i7 system

Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz (Bloomfield) (Socket LGA1366) - Retail £217.36
(£184.99) £217.36

Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R Intel X58 (Socket 1366) DDR3 Motherboard £145.21
(£123.58) £145.21

Corsair XMS3 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Triple Channel (CMX6GX3M3A1600C9) £74.99
(£63.82) £74.99

Coolermaster Elite 430 Windowed Case - Black (with 500w Elite Power PSU) £62.99
(£53.61) £62.99

Sub Total : £426.00
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.00
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £76.30
Total : £512.30

i7 is already over-budget and it has no gfx card, so as you can see, for your budget and your uses i5 makes a lot more sense.
 
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raikesi said:
wait for sandy bridge, which should provide a good price/performance standpoint to upgrade
Click to expand...

yeah this is true and good advice also...its out in less than 2 weeks and will definatley bring something else to the table....although for what you say you want it for id still say i7 with the triple channel ram....i think the first wave of sandy bridge chips are all dual channel....but i may stand corrected
 
Things to note, 4GB is generally considered to be more than adequate for all but the most intensive applications.
The HD5850 is a cracking card and will max pretty much all games on your 24", and is perfectly capable of Eyefinity (3 monitors) at that res :)
i5, as you can see in the benchmark is no slouch when it comes to video editing and hence is perfect for you and your budget.

On a side note, I would still wait until Jan 9th, as SB may be able to better the i5 for a similar price, and if not, you could still pick up a bargain as prices for current sockets drop etc.
 
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Cookeh said:
Things to note, 4GB is generally considered to be more than adequate for all but the most intensive applications.
The HD5850 is a cracking card and will max pretty much all games on your 24".
Click to expand...

i always thought 6gb was a w7 64bit sweet spot cookeh :D
 
Cookeh said:
;) hence more intensive applications :p
Click to expand...

"Photo editing and video editing my main uses"

"Also, another key use for me is network emulation software called dynamips -very memory intensive and the more multitasking capability the better...!"

i7 with 6gb over i5 with 4gb all day long :)
 
cammy5477 said:
"Photo editing and video editing my main uses"

"Also, another key use for me is network emulation software called dynamips -very memory intensive and the more multitasking capability the better...!"

i7 with 6gb over i5 with 4gb all day long :)
Click to expand...

You didn't see my specs did you? :p

i7 just isn't viable without going quite a way above budget ;)

Besides, by cutting the HD5850 down to a GTX460, he could get 8GB of ram - better than six, eh? :D

I feel a spot of deja vu coming on though :confused:
 
Cookeh said:
You didn't see my specs did you? :p

i7 just isn't viable without going quite a way above budget ;)

Besides, by cutting the HD5850 down to a GTX460, he could get 8GB of ram - better than six, eh? :D

I feel a spot of deja vu coming on though :confused:
Click to expand...

i did see your specs but the OP said around £500 not dead on 5

is 8gb of ram over 2 channels better than 6gb over 3 channels?..id say no

i specd him a 460 top on my first post also

yeah lets not get in to this again mate :) enjoyed our little debate the first time but not again.....:p
 
kirkster...this is what i would recommend to you...cookehs right it is a bit above budget at £666 but as the price says its a devil of a machine


Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz (Bloomfield) (Socket LGA1366) - Retail £217.36
(£184.99) £217.36
(£184.99)
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R Intel X58 (Socket 1366) DDR3 Motherboard £145.21
(£123.58) £145.21
(£123.58)
Asus GeForce GTX 460 Direct CU TOP 768MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £119.99
(£102.12) £119.99
(£102.12)
Corsair Vengeance 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Triple Channel Kit (CMZ6GX3M3A1600C8) £99.99
(£85.10) £99.99
(£85.10)
Antec TruePower New Modular 650W Power Supply £71.99
(£61.27) £71.99
(£61.27)
Sub Total : £557.06
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.00
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £99.24
Total : £666.30
 
cammy5477 said:
kirkster...this is what i would recommend to you...cookehs right it is a bit above budget at £666 but as the price says its a devil of a machine
SNIP
Click to expand...

A bit?! Thats 1/3rd over budget!
And its missing a new case :p

But, if OP can stretch that far, it would be the better system for your uses - that said, if you can stretch to £700, you could get a 1GB GTX460 instead of the gimped one :p

Oh cammy, just to be a little ******, 666 isn't the number of the best, 616 is - there was a mistake in the translation ;)
 
if sandy bridge is better buy, but dont rely on price drops.
Intel won't drop their price, there the only producer of their chips and their only competitor AMD, almost a monopoly, so prices wont be dropping anytime soon.
 
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