What Bundle?

jpd1977uk · 26 Jun 2011 at 19:34

I'm triying to decided what Mobo,CPU & RAM Bundle to get... It's mainly for playing games...

Argon Extreme Intel Core i3 550 3.20GHz @ 4.40GHz Overclocked Bundle
Stock Code: BU-035-OB
Bundle Specification:
- CPU: Intel Core i3 550 3.20GHz @ 4.40GHz
- Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H55M-UD2H (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard
- RAM: Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel
- Cooler: Artic Cooling Freezer 7 CPU Cooler
- Artic Silver 5 Thermal Compound

Or

Krypton Evo AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.80GHz @ 3.80GHz Overclocked Bundle
Stock Code: BU-040-OB
Bundle Specification:
- CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.80GHz @ 3.80GHz "95 Watt Edition"
- Motherboard: Asus M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 AMD 880G (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard
- RAM: Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel
- Cooler: Corsair A50 CPU Cooler

Pohly · 26 Jun 2011 at 19:47

humm the i3 will give you better perfomance for a while (as most games dont utalise more than 2 cores) but give it a year or so and the x6 will walk all over it. and seeming as its on offer i would go with the amd setup. and it will give you way better results in things like video encoding

also what gpu are you pairing them with?

jpd1977uk · 26 Jun 2011 at 19:52

HIS ATI Radeon HD 6850 ICEQ X TURBO 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card [H685QNT1GD] Stock Code: GX-029-HS

cmndr_andi · 26 Jun 2011 at 19:57

Hi there,

Do you need to get a bundle?

Instead you could get the parts separately, overclock it yourself and get a much faster system for the same money.

For example, you can get this board, this RAM and this super-quick sandy bridge CPU for £283 (with free delivery). The stock cooler is well know to allow you to overclock the CPU well past 4GHz and overclocking these CPUs is very easy due to the unlocked multiplier. If you want to go for an aftermarket cooler as well - then this one is a good bet (will happily take the CPU as far as it is able to safely go, at least 4.4-4.5GHz).

Here is how the stock i5 2500K compares the the i3 540 (550 not shown on the site).
Here is how the 2500K compares to the Phenom II X6 1055T

Pohly · 26 Jun 2011 at 19:58

cmndr_andi said:
Hi there,

Do you need to get a bundle?

Instead you could get the parts separately, overclock it yourself and get a much faster system for the same money.

For example, you can get this board, this RAM and this super-quick sandy bridge CPU for £283 (with free delivery). The stock cooler is well know to allow you to overclock the CPU well past 4GHz and overclocking these CPUs is very easy due to the unlocked multiplier. If you want to go for an aftermarket cooler as well - then this one is a good bet.

Here is how the stock i5 2500K compares the the i3 540 (550 not shown on the site).
Here is how the 2500K compares to the Phenom II X6 1055T

he has got a point + the msi boards arre very capable for ocing

and you get the fun of putting it together and oc it yourself

cmndr_andi · 26 Jun 2011 at 20:00

Also, for an extra £10 you can get this slightly higher-end MSI motherboard instead which supports both SLI and Crossfire at proper x8/x8 speed, so giving you much more graphics card upgrade options in the future. This multi-gpu option isn't available with motherboards uses in the above i3 or X6 bundles.

getcarter · 26 Jun 2011 at 23:38

cmndr_andi said:
Hi there,

Do you need to get a bundle?

Instead you could get the parts separately, overclock it yourself and get a much faster system for the same money.

For example, you can get this board, this RAM and this super-quick sandy bridge CPU for £283 (with free delivery). The stock cooler is well know to allow you to overclock the CPU well past 4GHz and overclocking these CPUs is very easy due to the unlocked multiplier. If you want to go for an aftermarket cooler as well - then this one is a good bet (will happily take the CPU as far as it is able to safely go, at least 4.4-4.5GHz).

Here is how the stock i5 2500K compares the the i3 540 (550 not shown on the site).
Here is how the 2500K compares to the Phenom II X6 1055T

DO THIS!