Upgrade for my system! HELP!

[BennettWHU]

I'm looking to upgrade a few components in my system soon and would like some advice on what to go for. I have listed the components that I want to upgrade below;

Motherboard; Asus P8H61-M LE/USB3
CPU; Intel Core i3 2100 3.10GHz Socket 1155 3MB L3 Cache
GPU; MSI HD 6850 OC Edition

The CPU and motherboard are the more important components, but I want to upgrade my GPU into the 7000's series maybe.


- BennettWHU

 

[BennettWHU]

What are you using it for? and have you got a budget?

My PC is used for gaming and web browsing mostly. £400 is my budget, but I'm willing to go over a bit if I have to.

 

[BennettWHU]

1 x HIS HD 7950 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H795F3G2M) with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £229.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £161.99
1 x Asus P8Z77-V LX2 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £72.98
Total : £476.36 (includes shipping : £9.50).

The card is very nice, but I'm not sure about the motherboard.

 

[BennettWHU]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte ATi Radeon HD 7950 Windforce 3X 3072MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE FARCRY3, Hitman Absolution, Sleeping Dogs & 20% off MOH Warfighter PC Games £239.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
Total : £521.96 (includes shipping : £10.00).




Afraid does not leave anything in the kitty for a new striker during the transfer window.

I don't want a Gigabyte motherboard. They don't do any nice looking ones and the motherboard has got to look nice because of the window I'm fitting to my case.

 

[BennettWHU]

I prefer the ASUS Sabertooth motherboards, but I can't find one for under £200. The CPU can obviously be changed since I'm changing the motherboard. I just don't really want to go AMD for CPU's unless they're better than Intel.

 

[BennettWHU]

The Z77 Sabretooth can be had for £173.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-512-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2261

I`ll ask again, do you have a cooler?

I'm sorry, mate, I am quite busy at the moment and I keep forgetting about this post. I have a stock cooler for my i3, but I'll look into getting an after market one for an i5.

 

[BennettWHU]

well thats a debate in its self, the amd bit....


ASUS Sabertooth, great motherboard, most wont use or need the stuff it offers, i'd like one, but never fill it or use the extra bits it offers

and in an open windows case, looks er well black

I won't go into the entire AMD vs Intel debate. There are many different schools of thought on that. I don't mind switching over to AMD though as I use AMD GPU's and I'm comfortable with them. Also, I'm not a child, mate, I am 21, but I just like my system to look nice as well as play nice.

 

[BennettWHU]

Do, they run quite hot if you're overclocking.

The motherboard I am using won't allow me to overclock and I wouldn't even attempt to with a stock cooler. I'm not confident with overclocking anyway, I wouldn't know the first thing about it.

 

[BennettWHU]

Sabertooth under £200

I like the slightly more expensive Asus boards starting at the P8Z77-V, then the Pro, Deluxe, and premium. Alos the ROG boards like Sabertooth.


1 x Asus P8Z77-V PRO w/ThunderBolt Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £199.99
1 x Asus P8Z77-V DELUXE Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £199.99
1 x Asus Z77 Sabertooth Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £173.99
1 x Asus P8Z77-V PRO Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £159.98
1 x Asus P8Z77-V Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £145.99

I'm looking at the ASUS Sabertooth here on OC. It is AM3+ and is cheaper than the Intel version. It has a 990FX chipset though. I don't know if that is good or not. I'd also put an AMD Bulldozer FX+4 CPU in it as well.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-314-AM
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-460-AS

 

[BennettWHU]

Is that a good idea?

 

[BennettWHU]

Stick with Intel if you are gaming, a 3570K plus a motherboard you like is the best option for now.

I would upgrade the GPU first, as the 2100 is still a competitive CPU. Haswell is rumored to be released in Spring, so you could possibly wait for that.

I'm going to stick with Ivy Bridge. To be honest, I don't see the point of buying a new Haswell CPU and then having to go out and get a new board for it as well. I'll just upgrade my CPU, Motherboard, and GPU now. Any ideas for a good Ivy Bridge board for an i5?