Spec me

[music4mybumhole]

Time for an upgrade as the Gigabyte mobo turned out to be a heap of *****.

Like the look of the Asus M5A78L-M/USB3, on offer this week and looks like it would do everything I need. So all I need is a recommendation for a good processor to go along with. I see people talking about the core unlocks, so I'm looking the best value with regards to cheapest and unlocking core perhaps.

Im pretty sure I'm running a 450w PSU, but no graphics card at the mo, so should be OK for a Phenom II?

I'd be looking to spend around £100 max on the CPU.

Cheers in advance for any help.

 

[eddiew]

Well I run a slightly overclocked Phenom II x4 on a 450W PSU, with an 8800GT graphics card, so I imagine you'll be fine

Remember that core unlocks aren't guaranteed - you may get a dual/triple that turns into a quad, you may not. If you really want a quad, buy something sold as one! If you can find a Phenom II black edition for your budget, grab it

 

[Reaper 392]

i would go with an i3 2100 and the £65 H67 mobo, it will beat a phenom II X4 955 in most things. sadly it wont allow overclocking, but it'll still be better than the phenom

 

[GTO656]

But it has less cache?

 

[music4mybumhole]

I already have a pretty good AMD cooler and hadn't really budgeted for a new one and switching to Intel, so want to keep it AMD.
I'm really not too sure what I want to do though, in terms of 560 and potential unlock, 955 or 965. Its going to primarily be used for Photoshop and Illustrator.