Upgrading my sg05 build, advice pls

gizmo1990

gizmo1990

gizmo1990

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My zotac 9300 board has died (gutted) so I'm considering upgrading as the most cost effective way of getting it running again.

I've been checking the latest boards out and because of this sandybridge malarkey I can't wait around for the fixes. So the board I'm looking at is the Gigabyte H55N-USB3.

Could anyone here advise me on a suitable cooler for this board? One that will fit in the chassis ok and also allow for a video card to be used too considering the placement of the cpu socket. Alternative motherboard suggestion would be welcome too!

Any advice greatly appreciated.
 
Sorry to hear about your loss, makes me worry about mine now!
The socket position has always put me off those H55 boards, I never understood the thingking myself.

The Corsair H50 kits look good as the block/pump take up little room on the cpu. Looks like a fiddle getting the radiator installed but seems many have succeeded.

I read lots of good things on that Gigabyte board, but have no real experience with it myself.
 
Thanks for the replies.

Tute, it needs to be workstation suitable really so in the gaming direction but nothing extreme. An i3 should be sufficient, 4gb ram and a geforce 9000 something card will be fine. Basically I'm looking for a good cost effective vs performance bundle of board+cpu+cooler. Something that gives me an upgrade path later down the line.

Boff_in, yes the h50 seems to be getting a lot of use doesn't it. It does interest me as all that space saving would be nice. Fitting the schyth low profile heatsink in my 9300+quadcore setup was a complete bitch. I've noticed too that people are reporting problems fitting the radiator but I can't work out why? Anyone know more on this?
 
Right, well, firstly we need to settle on specifications. Given it's a workstation machine, motherboard choice isn't going to be difficult. You're going to need something stable and solid, and personally I like the Intel branded boards for this reason. Absolutely no frills, but what you get is a high standard.

Graphics card wise - if you're thinking of going new, how about something like a GTX460 or 550, or on the ATI side, an HD5770 or maybe one of the special offer HD5830s? Should set you up nicely for a bit of gaming if you want it, but isn't going to break the bank.

As for CPU cooler, i'm going to recommend the H5O route as well. It fits nicely under the PSU without any faffing, and you screw it on to the front panel on it's side and with a short graphics card (like any of the ones above) you should have no problems at all.
 
I hadn't considered intel. Do you have any model recommendations? Quick look at the website brings up the DH57JG?

There's a DH67CF but I'm guessing that it suffers from the sata recall? One requirement is that I need this pc back up and running asap, like yesterday!

Regarding the video card, I can't spring for that I'm afraid, maybe later! lol The fanless gigabyte one I've been using will be plenty good enough for now.

Again all I'm looking for is a board+cpu+cooler combo, all to go in a sg05.
 
I have the intel dh67cfb3 in my SG05 atm, as stated above quality over features, but still very impressive, using stock I7 2600k fan and still 40mm clearance above. Unfortunately awaiting some vengeance c8 atm so can't tell you temps with stock cooler, but when it was running with my dominator ram I'm sure it was idling in the 20's and when running some benchies it hit high 40's

wish I had the 450w version tho to stick a decent mid range in it, currently using the i7 graphics

I'll most likely swap out the cpu when a p67 itx comes along and pop it in an SG07 to get some more speed out of the cpu.
 
gizmo1990 said:
Stephen_b, doesn't the dh67cfb3 suffer from the recall? Sorry I'm not up on all this. Maybe the b3 indicates it's been revised?
Click to expand...

No because it's a 'b3' revision and tbh your upgrade route with an H55 board is not a very good one really. Whilst skt1156 will be cheaper than skt1155 overall, it is EOL. Also stock cooling will be fine.
 
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gizmo1990 said:
Stephen_b, doesn't the dh67cfb3 suffer from the recall? Sorry I'm not up on all this. Maybe the b3 indicates it's been revised?
Click to expand...

as answered above, I waited for stock of the B3 ones before purchasing

memory arrived this morning and just realised board only supports up to 1333, so wasted money on 1600 c8 it appears :(
 
Well that board seems to either extremely new or in very very short supply because I can't find any mention of it anywhere..? Except for a well known place beginning with s which only lists it as tba.
Is there a reason for its un availability? One critical decision for me is time. I need the board asap, in a big way.
 
Stephen b, has the place you got your board still have them in stock? I know forum rules forbid mentioning other retailers (which I've always found daft in cases like this as oc don't even stock it) But at least then I'll know if I should persist in my search... Anyone, please?
 
gizmo1990 said:
Stephen b, has the place you got your board still have them in stock? I know forum rules forbid mentioning other retailers (which I've always found daft in cases like this as oc don't even stock it) But at least then I'll know if I should persist in my search... Anyone, please?
Click to expand...

82 in stock as of this morning, not difficult to find online
 
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gizmo1990 said:
Ok, thanks for that. Can't seem to find the board anywhere tho? Would there be some reason for this?
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Don't know what issues you are having lol,eyelids closed perhaps:D, but all I did was google the make and model and found links to the bay and the rainforest site, here you go;)


and in stock too.
 
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gizmo1990 said:
Stephen b, has the place you got your board still have them in stock? I know forum rules forbid mentioning other retailers (which I've always found daft in cases like this as oc don't even stock it) But at least then I'll know if I should persist in my search... Anyone, please?
Click to expand...


I couldn't agree with you more, if it's an item that they do not have for sale, then I think it's reasonable to provide external links. It's not really competition if they don't sell it, but as we are bound by current rules the 'innuendo' style of reference continues lol.
 
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type "intel dh67cfb3" into bing search engine answer on 1st page :)

if you still can't see it, maybe you should ask yourself if your intelligent enough to own a PC :)

be advised it will be a bulk item so no retail box, just manual, cd, rear plate and a couple of sata cables
 
Okay guys thanks for that. The problem is that I was searching for dh67cfb3 not dh67cf....! So sue me. ;)
Right so I can see some places but they all seem to be companies or individuals selling via other companies. When it comes to buy stuff like this I much prefer going by actual companies in case problems arise.. This place with 82 in stock sounds like a big place I rather deal with. Care to take pity on me give me a clue..?? :)
 
Are you going to test out Zotac's RMA service? As will be interested to know how fast a turn around time Zotac provide.
 
Stephen B said:
82 in stock as of this morning, not difficult to find online
Click to expand...
Sorted.;)

Bane, yes I'm up for giving it a go certainly. I didn't register the warranty at the time of purchase (will that make a difference?) and currently I'm trying to remember who I purchased it off too!!

Ok so I think going with the intel board makes sense. Given that, my attention turns to cpu.. my funds are stretched so I was going to go with i3 but I might spring for an i5. Could anyone give me their opinion on what's the current best buy in either category?

Also.. just been checking out intels spec page for the dh67cf it appears to only support a specific low power i5 and no i7 cpus at all.. is that correct? Sorry I'm not really up on my cpus now, I naturally thought that a board like this would be able to handle a broad range of i5 and i7 cpus, is this not the case? Help!
 
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