Upgrade Time: From C2D to SB

angela

angela

angela

Associate
Joined
27 Jan 2010
Posts
1,088
Location
Manchester
Hi Everybody,

I am looking forward to upgrade to i5/i7 preferably SB 2500k/ 2600k.

Current system: E8500 @ 4ghz on Coolermaster Z600, Asus P5Q-E, Kingston HyperX 6Gb ram @ ~833mhz.
Will leave: PCP&C 610W PSU, Gygabit GTX480 SE and WD Caviar Black!

I use PC mostly for gaming (BF3/Witcher 2/etc.)/web browsing ...and Music production together with Photo editing- However nothing heavy!

I haven't followed for latest tech for sometime, however see that everyone is getting SB and read reviews/ benchmarks and it seems to be big step from current system.

Please help me to choose: CPU, Motherboard, Ram and CPU Cooler based on SB.

Q's: There is huge list of motherboard with different chips: Is there big difference between them and which will be better for my needs? (I OC CPU- so would like Motherboard which has good OC capabilities).
Would like at least 6GB of Ram as when I play BF3 online- 4.5GB of Ram is used during gameplay recording to WTM.
Will current PSU hold new upgrade without problem?

Edit: About motherboard: I won't be using SLI/CrossfireX as always prefer single GPU and when GTX480 doesn't cope with games I will upgrade to a better one.
So I would like motherboard with 1-2 PCI Express x16 slot(s), but more PCI-E x1/ PCI Slots for soundcard, wifi card,etc)

Thank You.
 
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CPU/RAM/Motherboard:


YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £173.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £109.98
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £35.99
Total : £331.36 (includes shipping : £9.50).



  • Z77 chipset supports the upcoming Ivybridge CPUs
  • SLI/crossfire support

CPU coolers
Budget:
Corsair A50
Gelid Tranquillo
[I'd only choose the Gelid if the A50 won't fit in your case, as the Gelid is smaller]

More expensive:
Cooler Master Hyper 612S

Obviously waiting for Ivybridge may not be a bad idea if you can wait :)
 
^^ Thank you will have a look

About motherboard: I won't be using SLI/CrossfireX as always prefer single GPU and when GTX480 doesn't cope with games I will upgrade to a better one.

So I would like motherboard with 1-2 PCI Express x16 slot(s), but more PCI-E x1/ PCI Slots for soundcard, wifi card,etc)
 
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What about : GIGABYTE G1 GUERILLA and ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe- both can be purchased for £110.

beejjacobs- does it mean that I can connect soundrard to x16 PCI-E slot?

Thanks.
 
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