Upgrading, some advice please

Mart2912

Mart2912

Mart2912

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25 Sep 2007
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Location
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Hi guys,

I will be ordering quite a few upgrades (Basically almost an entire build) and would like some advice/suggestions regarding what I am planning on going for. So far It has come down to this:

  • Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor
  • Asus Z77 Sabertooth Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
  • Samsung 120GB SSD 840 SATA 6Gb/s Desktop and Notebook Kit (Any better alternatives?)
  • Corsair Hydro H100i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
  • Seasonic G series 550w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply
  • Corsair Vengeance RED 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-15000C9 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMZ8GX3M2A1866C9R) (Again, really unsure with regards to the RAM)

I will also need a new harddrive, with around 500GB to 1TB of space but I'm really unsure what to go for.

I currently have the Corsair 600t case and a 7870 (Which is doing a good job at 1080p), which I am not looking to replace. My absolute max budget is £1000, so advise and or suggestions are greatly appreciated as I will be ordering this within the next few days.

PS - This build is purely for gaming. BF3, Skyrim etc, thanks.
 
You won't need the i7s hyperthreading for gaming. 8GB of RAM is ample but higher than 1600mhz makes no odds really on the 1155 socket.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Plextor M5 Pro 256GB Extreme Series Solid State Drive - (PX-256M5P) £185.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £167.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £89.99
1 x Seasonic G series 550w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £76.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £73.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM3) (CWCH100) £73.58
1 x Patriot Intel Extreme Masters 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (PVI38G160C9K) £35.99
Total : £716.52 (includes shipping : £10.00).



or Xfire capable......

YOUR BASKET
1 x Plextor M5 Pro 256GB Extreme Series Solid State Drive - (PX-256M5P) £185.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £167.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77X-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £112.99
1 x XFX Pro 850W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £82.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £73.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM3) (CWCH100) £73.58
1 x Patriot Intel Extreme Masters 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (PVI38G160C9K) £35.99
Total : £745.51 (includes shipping : £10.00).



Gives you an idea of what's possibubble. Most of us would argue a decent air cooler would be better value than the H100 CLC but if you want one fair do's
 
 
Thanks for the suggestions, much appreciated! I have heard good things about the Plextor SSD's, but totally forgot about them, so thanks for that.

As for the CPU, although I did say purely for gaming, I did forget that I will be using applications like Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere. Although I am not using these programs just yet, I will be in like 2-3 months time. Would the i7 be noticeably better in these tasks? If not, Ill probably go for the i5. Cheers.

Edit:
Leprechaun312 said:
ah the i7 is better, not entirely but there are aot more areas where the i7 is beter than it is worse http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/551?vs=701 and when its worst its by a small margin
Click to expand...

Well I guess that kind of answers my question regarding the i7. :p

lee32uk said:
YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus Z77 Sabertooth Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £181.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £167.99
1 x Corsair Hydro H100i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011 / AM2 / AM3 / FM1 / FM2) £99.98
1 x Plextor M5 Pro 128GB Extreme Series Solid State Drive - (PX-128M5P) £99.95
1 x Seasonic G series 550w '80 Plus Gold' Modular Power Supply £76.99
1 x Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9) £53.99
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) HDD £53.99
Total : £734.88 (includes shipping : FREE).

Click to expand...

Funnily enough, I have that exact RAM in my current setup. Sounds daft I know, but it never even crossed my mind that it would be compatible with the 1155/z77 chipset :D , but makes perfect sense when you actually put some thought into it! Guess I can save a little there then.

Just FYI, I should have included my current specs in the original post ;) :

AMD 960t @ 3.6
Corsair Vengeance 8GB @ 1600
Some crappy Mini ATX Asus board. It's done the job, but very limited. Can't complain for what I paid for it at the time though.
Corsair VX 450W power supply - Good enough, but I'm looking for modular.
320 GB Western Digital Caviar Black
 
Last edited:
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