I have a budget of about £130 for a cpu. This will be used in a system for gaming. I was looking at the x4 955 as it seems like good value and can be overclocked to 3.8ghz very easily. Would buying a second hand i7 processor be a good option? I know that the 1156 is dead tech so to speak but I'm not really bothered as I plan to keep this system for 3-4 years and the next time I upgrade I'll probably buy a new motherboard. So for that price range what would the best option be? I know sb is great value but if I was to buy that, I would have to skimp on the graphics card. Realistically how long would a overclockec 955 or i7 last for gaming if paired with a gtx 480?
If you are on a tight budget, you may want to consider taking advatage of people upgrading from s1155 to s1156 and pick up a second hand i5 750 or 760. These are still excellent gaming CPUs (much faster than the X4 955BE) and can be regularly had for less than £100 second hand. If you will only consider buying new then the X4 955BE the best bet imho - you get a lot of CPU for your money and it works great in modern games. As for how long x4 955/i7 + GTX 480 - It will certainly be fine for the next 2 years. Past that my crystal ball gets a bit hazy.
if you can squeeze an extra 30ish onto that you could get an OEM 2500K which would probably give you a bit more mileage untill your next upgrade compared to a 955. Also you can get 4ghz + out of a 2500K with relative ease
how about this Intel Core i5-2500 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £169.99 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-361-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=1275 Asus P8H61-M Intel H61 Chipset (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard **B3 REVISION** £64.99 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showp...roupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1965&fb_xd_fragment Sub Total : £195.82 Shipping : £9.50 VAT £41.06 Total : £246.38 For £4 more you can get the 2500k http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-360-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=1275 You can not overclock with this board but you do get a £30 game with it so it is worth it
The i5 760 are going for around £100 used. For £66 odd pound I don't think its worth it if I'm on a budget.
What res do you play games at? You may be building a system that is total overkill for your monitor. sculptor
