Upgrading to Sandy Bridge

[TekJoe]

Alright guys I am thinking about upgrading to 1155 as i am finding my self needing more power in games and just want to really haha. First question is, should i wait till the new Intel socket comes out (2011 i think) or should i just upgrade now? Second is, if i were to upgrade to Sandy Bridge now, what are my current specs(sig rig) like compared to these and will i gain much of a performance boost? Thanks

Sandy Bridge Specs-

Motherboard-Gigabyte Z68X-UD3P
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-342-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1990

CPU- Intel 2500K( I will be overclocking to about 5GHz)

Memory-Corsair Vengeance 4GB 1600MHz(Thinking about 8GB, would there be a noticeable performance increase)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-298-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517

Cooler- Corsair H60( would i need this to achieve 4.5-5GHz, or can i just keep my current cooler in my sig rig)

The games i play at the moment are, GTA IV with graphics hungry graphic mods, call of duty 4, garrys mod, cs:s, crysis 2, fear 3, team fortress 2 and i will probably be playing more games if i upgrade. Oh and my monitor resolution is a 1920x1080 22" Iiyama

Thanks in advance guys

EDIT: I also HAVE to have an ATX size motherboard, no mATX, got one now and i hate it. Too small haha

 

[Jordan97]

Gigabyte Z68 boards aren't very good. Something like the ASRock Extreme4 would be better.

You would certainly notice a difference coming from a Core i3. Here is a comparison of the two:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/143?vs=288

As you can see, the i3 gets destroyed in every test.

 

[TekJoe]

How come they aren't very good? whats wrong with them haha. and also, sorry if im being a bit picky but the motherboard pcb colour should be black or gray, as im doing my system white/black and red so i don't want a blue motherboard tbh haha.

 

[stulid]

Your paying £155 for something that doesnt even have 2 of the Z68 3 main features, namely Lucid virtu+Quicksync.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mainboards/display/gigabyte-ga-z68x_14.html#sect0

 

[Jordan97]

Well for starter, they do not use a graphical UI BIOS and they lack other features that other Z68 boards have such as Lucid Virtu and Quicksync.

What about the Asus P8Z68-V? Or the Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z. Both have got black PCB's.

 

[TekJoe]

hmm thanks guys, i wont be getting the Asus p8Z68 as it has blue heatsinks(i know, i'm picky aha) but the Maximus IV Gene Z looks very nice, black pcb with red heatsinks the question is now, should i get 8gb or 4gb ram? Also will my current cooler(Be Quiet Dark Rock Advanced) be sufficient to overclock the 2500k to around the 4.5GHz mark? Do i need to buy the H60? Thanks once again guys.

 

[Jordan97]

If it is gaming then 4GB is plenty as most games are a 32-bit architecture.

The Dark Rock will be sufficient to OC the i5 2500K. Because SB is 32nm, they require very little cooling.

 

[TekJoe]

yes! i can upgrade to SB without spending a s*** load of money haha, cheers guys!

 

[snaggster]

From the reviews i have seen the cooler you have now is better than a H60.

 

[TekJoe]

Argh i dunno what to do now. H60 or My current cooler? I would sort of prefer a H60 for extra room around the heatsink area. But if my current cooler offers the same cooling performance at arount the 4.5GHz mark then i will just stick with my current cooler. Also, the maximus iv gene-z is mATX I want ATX haha

EDIT: ignore everything i just said in this post. The motherboard link i posted in the op is the link for the Gigabyte Z68X-UD3P NOT the Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3P.

The Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3P has all of the features of z68 so i will be getting that SB here i come!

 

[Jordan97]

It still does not have a graphical UI BIOS.

 

[BIGBC]

It still does not have a graphical UI BIOS.

Which is of very little to no benefit anyway? you dont lose any functionality.

 

[Jordan97]

Which is of very little to no benefit anyway? you dont lose any functionality.

I agree it is no necessary feature, but it is one that makes using the BIOS that little bit easier and is a nice, aesthetically pleasing element.

 

[Marine-RX179]

EDIT: I also HAVE to have an ATX size motherboard, no mATX, got one now and i hate it. Too small haha

I think you got the terms wrong way round...ATX is the standard size motherboard, where as the MicroATX is smaller than the ATX, and with only 4 expansion slots instead of 7.

 

[bulldog147]

Gigabyte Z68 boards aren't very good. Something like the ASRock Extreme4 would be better.

I disagree with this. My Gigabyte board did 5.2GHz! My new ASRock Extreme4 doesn't like 5GHz.

 

[bulldog147]

It still does not have a graphical UI BIOS.

Why would we want onboard graphic Intel HD 3000 is rubbish, it best to have high end PCI-E x16 graphic card!

 

[stulid]

Why would we want onboard graphic Intel HD 3000 is rubbish, it best to have high end PCI-E x16 graphic card!

Huh? thats got nothing to do with his quote.

 

[Broken Hope]

I agree it is no necessary feature, but it is one that makes using the BIOS that little bit easier and is a nice, aesthetically pleasing element.

To be honest most people feel more comfortable in the old style BIOS and they do provide a Windows app that mimics the GUI BIOS in other motherboards.

Huh? thats got nothing to do with his quote.

I don't think English is his first language so probably just got confused.

 

[TekJoe]

I think you got the terms wrong way round...ATX is the standard size motherboard, where as the MicroATX is smaller than the ATX, and with only 4 expansion slots instead of 7.

mATX=MicroATX same thing my friend.

 

[TekJoe]

Anyway guys, looks like i'm getting The Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3P as i couldn't really care less about having a gui bios, just another gimmick in my eyes. Much prefer to use the keyboard. Getting a 2500k but the last thing is, is it worth getting a H60 to replace my current cooler(sig rig) or will my current one cope fine with 4.5GHz on the 2500k? Thanks.