Components for new rig ... your opinion

[fffblackmage]

I'm really thinking about going G.Skill. I have the ECO model reserved, the CL9 50€ I don't know if there is stock.

If there is stock, and for the price difference, I could almost think about going for 2 kits, up to a total 8Gb with 4x the CL9 dimms.

I'm planning on using Windows 7 64bit, ultimate most probably, and so the 8Gb would be available. But would it be a better go with 8Gb?

Check prices on a single 2x4GB kit kit first. No point in getting two 4GB kits when you can get one 8GB kit for the same price.

For your video and photo editing work, 8GB is likely to be useful. However, Win 7 Ultimate is pointless unless you're getting a helluva discount on it.

 

[mfenn]

Check prices on a single 2x4GB kit kit first. No point in getting two 4GB kits when you can get one 8GB kit for the same price.

For your video and photo editing work, 8GB is likely to be useful. However, Win 7 Ultimate is pointless unless you're getting a helluva discount on it.

Agree.

As for the capture card, I would actually just look for a USB device similar to this one.

 

[b4u]

Hi,

Here I am again, after a troubled week of Christmas, with lot's of places to go, gifts to buy and ... well, the normal Christmas spirit

So I hope you all had an Happy Christmas with lot's of gifts.

And for the last ... there is me ... I haven't bought my self gift yet, my PC is currently splitted across multiple boxes at the local store ... and some more questions arise.

I guess I took some more time thinking about the money I was going to splash on my computer, so I thought about many ways to cut it down a bit.


1# Case. I currently have an ATX case. It's white, it's a fine case with lot's of interior space ... so I though ... why give 100€ for a new one? The cooler master cm690 II advanced window is really pretty and functional, but mine is functional too ... and everything is already mounted ... just need to replace mobo and that's it.


2# Memory. Does CL7 vs CL9 bring any real benefict? I don't have a clue ... if I overclock and I benchmark, I bet I can see a diference ... but what if I go for normal usage? Or even some small overclock in the future? Is it really worth the extra 25€ for 1.35v CL7, versus 1.5v CL9? User mfenn gave the opinion that it isn't worth it. I'm also getting more inclined for that opinion. The DDR3 in the option bin are:

4GB G.Skill DDR3 PC3-12800 ECO Series (7-8-7-24, 1.35V) Dual Channel kit
Model: F312800CL7D4GBECO
Price: 74.90€
http://www.gskill.com/products.php?index=247

vs

4GB G.Skill DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz Ripjaw Series (9-9-9-24) Dual Channel kit for Intel P55
Model: F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL (2Gx2)
Price: 48.70€
http://www.gskill.com/products.php?index=222


3# The PSU. Ah, the PSU ... I just found, after I took the time to pull my current case from it's location and opening it, that I have a 550W max PSU. Probably nothing fancy but ... if I'm not going SLI for now, would it be logical to buy another PSU? Not buying one would save me 83€ (price of the TX-650w).

My current PSU is (sticker photo):



And I need your knowledge here:

+12V1 16A (12*16=192Watt)
+12V2 18A (12*18=216Watt)
So this means that this PSU has two +12V rails, for a total of 408Watt power? (splitted between the two, of course)

I also checked that it has a 20+4 power cable (photo from my current PC):



Now checking for the remaining cables, and using the site http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/connectors.html as reference, I found that I should need some adapters, because my PSU has another 4 pin power (like http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/12v4pinindex.jpg) that connects to the board. So this means I have to get PCIe power from molex (with adapter) and an 8 pin power to connect to the mobo, also using a molex adaptor.

Examples:



and



Am I correct?

Looking into the GTX460 online manual (http://www.gainward.com/main/product/vga/pro/p00394/p00394_datasheet_17714c3a808d97f19.pdf?s=209):

Gainward GTX 460 1GB Dual DVI “Golden Sample TM“
"Minimum 450W system power supply with two 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors"

And the package includes one molex-to-PCIe converter ... guess I'll have to get a second one ...

Also do I need to take any special attention by having two +12V rails? Are they easy distinguishable?


SLI or not-SLI

Choosing to keep my current PSU, if it can keep up with the job, seems to be a wise choice, if only for the case of going SLI. In that specific case, I don't intend to go SLI anytime soon, and I agree that latter on, I can probably just fit another single GPU card that can double the performance of my current one, which defeats the logical aproach of building up a computer with SLI in mind.

So not going SLI would mean that I can keep my PSU without questioning if it is not enough in the future.

Also not going for SLI, would make me think that maybe, just maybe, I could just go for another mobo model, since the Asus P7P55D-E PRO is prepared for SLI, choosing, for example:

ASUS P7P55D-E for 131€ (http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=9i872VNaAILRp8bS&templete=2)
ASUS P7P55D-E LX for 125€ (http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=DfyAB26HiDpiiu8f&templete=2)
Initial choice of ASUS P7P55D-E PRO for 176€ (http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=T2FxW2fXGZQgSn2V&templete=2)

The only thing that could make me keep the P7P55D-E PRO choice, is for the PLX controller, that apparently provides an independent bandwidth bus to the SATA6/USB3.0 buses, avoiding pulling bandwith from the PCIe GPU bus (if I'm correct, that's the purpose of having the PLX). That advantage makes choice of downgrading the mobo model a bit harder to go for.



So, what do you think of this, or am I just cutting too much on price that would have a negative impact on overall system, performance, quality, etc....



Thanks

 

[mfenn]

1) Your choice. If you're fine with your current case, go for it.
2) You already know my feelings on the matter.
3) The brand of your current PSU doesn't exactly fill me with confidence. I'd probably go ahead and replace it anyway, but it should be sufficient for a single GTX 460 if the sticker isn't lying. Regarding the adapters, you don't need the Molex to EPS12V 8-pin adapter. Just plug the 4-pin into one side of the 8-pin plug on the mobo (it's keyed so that it can only go in the correct side). In fact, using that adapter might unbalance the rails because you don't know which Molexes go to which rail. The PCIe adapter is fine, though you should of course use the PSU's native PCIe power plugs first. If your PSU does not even have a single PCIe power connector, the sticker is probably lying about its rating and you should replace it.
4) Personally, I don't much see the point in SLI for you. I'd probably just forget about it and get the P7P55D-E LX.

Regarding the PLX chip, what a wonderful piece of marketing engineering! Sure, it does indeed present each device (GPU, SATA, etc.) with a full-length PCIe interface. However, the Lynnfield CPU only has 16 PCIe Gen2 lanes. Since the memory controller is also on the CPU, the GPU, SATA, USB3, etc. controllers must use those 16 PCIe lanes to get to main memory. Thus, the extra PCIe lanes given by the PLX chip are all but useless. The chip does cost you money though.

 

[Davidh373]

SLI or not-SLI

not to SLI

 

[b4u]

Well, going down from ASUS P7P55D-E PRO will set me between the 2 models:

ASUS P7P55D-E for 131€ (http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=9i872VNaAILRp8bS&templete=2)
ASUS P7P55D-E LX for 125€ (http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=DfyAB26HiDpiiu8f&templete=2)

For the price diference, I would probably go for the ASUS P7P55D-E, which has some nice bonus features.

There are, however, some things that bother me (looking into ASUS P7P55D-E):



1# Expansion Slots

A) 1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (single at x16)
B) 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots (@x4 mode, 2.5GT/s, black slot)
C) 3 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 (2.5GT/s, gray slots)
D) 2 x PCI

So the slot A is where I wuold connect my GPU, correct? What about the B, what is that @x4 mode thing?

I'm new to PCIe so please be gentle with my ignorance

This also seems to allow SLI mode ... comparing between this and the PRO version:

Supports ATI® Quad-GPU
CrossFireX™ Technology

Supports NVIDIA® Quad-GPU SLI™
Technology
Supports ATI® Quad-GPU
CrossFireX™ Technology

So it only allows two GPUs for ATI models?



2# Audio

VIA® VT1828S 8-Channel High
Definition Audio CODEC
- Absolute Pitch BD192/24
- DTS Surround Sensation UltraPC
- BD audio layer Content Protection
- Supports Jack-Detection, Multistreaming,
Front Panel Jack-
Retasking
- Optical S/PDIF out ports at back I/O

VIA® VT1708S 8-Channel High
Definition Audio CODEC
- Supports Jack-Detection, Multistreaming,
Front Panel Jack-
Retasking
- Optical S/PDIF out ports at back I/O

The audio chip it's the same as in the PRO version (except for the coaxial out), which looks better than the LX version.

For me this is okay, I'll just loose the coaxial out on the back pannel. Oh well ...



3# Firewire

IEEE 1394
VIA® 6308P controller supports 2 x
1394a port(s) (one at mid-board; one
at back panel)

ASUS P7P55D-E has firewire, which for me is cool, as I connect my digical camcorder through firewire to import video.

This is one important reason for me to choose the "-E" model and not the "-E LX" model, as for 5€ more, this is a good bonus for me.



4# Accessories

I'll loose a "1 x 2-port USB and eSATA module" for the back. The eSATA connector would be good for me, because I bought an internal disk and an external HDD enclosure a year ago, and that HDD enclosure has USB2.0 connector (which I currently use) and an eSATA connector, for thinking about future connection capabilities.

Have to check wether buying an external eSATA port would be viable, or if it costs almost the same as the price diference for going to the PRO version of the mobo.



Overall, besides my ignorance about PCIe slots, I believe the ASUS P7P55D-E has everything the same as the ASUS P7P55D-E PRO, if only for the lack of the PLX chip, which I do recognize it may be more marketting than proper practical usage, because I really cannot think of many situations where I can use PCIe on full (for example games) and transfering through USB3.0, or even SATA6 (unless software is pushing GPU and accessing a SATA6 internal drive).




There! Another bunch of message data post, waiting for an opinion.

Thanks

 

[betasub]

^^ Definitely not SLI. Especially with an older PSU without dedicated 6-pin PCIe power connectors. It is already going to be a nest of power cables & adaptors in there!

Remember that modern systems draw mostly from the 12V rail (particularly graphics cards) & OP's PSU, like most of its age, is weighted towards 3.3V/5V & can't deliver that much on the 12V. I'm with mfenn - this build deserves a new PSU, not an aging generic "PowerLC" unit.

 

[b4u]

^^ Definitely not SLI. Especially with an older PSU without dedicated 6-pin PCIe power connectors. It is already going to be a nest of power cables & adaptors in there!

Remember that modern systems draw mostly from the 12V rail (particularly graphics cards) & OP's PSU, like most of its age, is weighted towards 3.3V/5V & can't deliver that much on the 12V. I'm with mfenn - this build deserves a new PSU, not an aging generic "PowerLC" unit.

Uhm ... that's sad ... I was hoping I could save 80€ in the PSU ... my PSU is about 3 years old, the original one died and I had to replace it ...

I found that the P7P55D-E and LX have a back eSATA, so although not having an addon backplate with the connector, they already have one there. Good.

But:

P7P55D-E:

ASUS IO Level UP for Ultra
Performance
- True USB 3.0 or True SATA 6Gb/s Support


P7P55D-PRO:

Unique PCIe X4 Chip for Ultra
Performance
- True USB 3.0 Support
- True SATA 6Gb/s Support


What's up with that USB3 "OR" SATA6 support? I cannot connect both? You have any idea that mobos have this constraint?


Side Note:

I'm trying to reduce budget, so maybe I could get a PS3 console in a few months. I already had this strange idea crossed over my mind of getting a mac mini with 4Gb to work and web (wife would appreciate it ), and a PS3 console for gaming ... (me and kids would appreciate it ) But that would cost a bit to invest ...


Thanks

 

[mfenn]

If the P7P55D-E has the features that you want (Firewire, etc.) and the P7P55D-E LX doesn't, then by all means, get the P7P55D-E.

You would indeed plug your GPU into the first x16 slot. The second slot is a physical x16 slot with only 4 lanes connected, effectively making it a x4 slot that you can plug longer cards into. This is useful if you have a second GPU or RAID card.

The reason that only the Pro model has SLI is that Nvidia charges motherboard manufacturers a licensing fee to allow SLI on their mobos whereas AMD will allow Crossfire on any mobo that has the appropriate connectors.

The reason that the P7P55D-E doesn't allow both USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s at the same time is due to ASUS being lazy (and somewhat cheap) on the PCIe lane routing. It's not really a big deal though since SATA 6Gb/s is useless at present.

 

[b4u]

Hi! Me again.

I just checked that the P7P55D-E PRO uses a x4 PCIe lane to provide independent bandwidth to USB 3.0 / Sata 6, and that makes me think ...

(source: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pci-express-scaling-analysis,1572-2.html)

PCI Express Lines: 4
Bandwidth per Stream: 1 GB/s
Bandwidth, duplex: 2 GB/s

PCI Express Lines: 8
Bandwidth per Stream: 2 GB/s
Bandwidth, duplex: 4 GB/s

PCI Express Lines: 16
Bandwidth per Stream: 4 GB/s
Bandwidth, duplex: 8 GB/s

So this means they will have a total 2 GB/s available throughput, for the USB 3.0 / Sata 6, correct?

Now the USB 3.0 specs states:

(source: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/usb-30-technology-explained/)

This new SuperSpeed interface provides realistic transfer rates of around 3,200 Mbits/s or 3.2 Gbits/s. The theoretical top signaling rate is at 4.8 Gbits/s.

Does this mean that even though Asus states that it has true USB 3.0 and Sata 6, they really cannot achieve them at full?



Another thing ... I'm on a tight budget for this PC, so I probably cannot go much higher. But I was thinking what would be a good i7 CPU to buy now, not the top notch piece that costs lot's of cash, but the i7 sweet price/performance spot to go for nowadays.

I would just like to take a peak at the prices I can get one for, and a X58 mobo. That would probably put me about 200€-300€ higher, for the CPU/mobo/DDR3-triple, but I would just like to take a look.

Would one of those systems be waaaaaay better than a P55/i5-760 system like the one I'm trying to make?


It also crossed my mind to drop PCs completly and go for a Mac-Mini + PS3 console to work/play at home


Thanks

 

[Davidh373]

Does this mean that even though Asus states that it has true USB 3.0 and Sata 6, they really cannot achieve them at full?

It is either or at full, so in other words, no.

Another thing ... I'm on a tight budget for this PC, so I probably cannot go much higher. But I was thinking what would be a good i7 CPU to buy now, not the top notch piece that costs lot's of cash, but the i7 sweet price/performance spot to go for nowadays.

The i7 literally does nothing in games.... The i7 does not have a "sweet price" or "performance". An extra $100 for an extra feature that does nothing... count me out...

It also crossed my mind to drop PCs completly and go for a Mac-Mini + PS3 console to work/play at home

Apple computers are the bane of my existence. I'm not one of them "PC fanboys" that is warning you against them with no real evidence either. I've owned 3 Apple products, and out of those 3 at least one thing has gone bad for each

- MacBook Pro - $2000

1. HDD began clicking within' 2 months. $150 for apple to replace 200GB drive, $100 for a 500GB drive off newegg.

2. RAM replacement (not something wrong, but upped the RAM)

3. Disk Drive went bad after a year and a half. $167 at Apple, since it is an Apple drive, the cost is pretty standard, even on the internet. Same deal for that Mac Mini there.

4. Video chip on the Logic Board fried, $1000 fix at apple, $900 online, but I haven't quite gone for this one yet.

- 1TB Time Capsule - $350 refurb.

1. HDD went bad, which is the whole reason for it really.

- iPod 160GB Classic - $350

Great product, but it fragments and deletes my files on occasion.

 

[Davidh373]

Does this mean that even though Asus states that it has true USB 3.0 and Sata 6, they really cannot achieve them at full?

It is either or at full, so in other words, no.

Another thing ... I'm on a tight budget for this PC, so I probably cannot go much higher. But I was thinking what would be a good i7 CPU to buy now, not the top notch piece that costs lot's of cash, but the i7 sweet price/performance spot to go for nowadays.

The i7 literally does nothing in games.... The i7 does not have a "sweet price" or "performance". An extra $100 for an extra feature that does nothing... count me out...

It also crossed my mind to drop PCs completly and go for a Mac-Mini + PS3 console to work/play at home

Apple computers are the bane of my existence. I'm not one of them "PC fanboys" that is warning you against them with no real evidence either. I've owned 3 Apple products, and out of those 3 at least one thing has gone bad for each

- MacBook Pro - $2000

1. HDD began clicking within' 2 months. $150 for apple to replace 200GB drive, $100 for a 500GB drive off newegg.

2. RAM replacement (not something wrong, but upped the RAM)

3. Disk Drive went bad after a year and a half. $167 at Apple, since it is an Apple drive, the cost is pretty standard, even on the internet. Same deal for that Mac Mini there.

4. Video chip on the Logic Board fried, $1000 fix at apple, $900 online, but I haven't quite gone for this one yet.

- 1TB Time Capsule - $350 refurb.

1. HDD went bad, which is the whole reason for it really.

- iPod 160GB Classic - $350

Great product, but it fragments and deletes my files on occasion.

 

[b4u]

* Apple Gulp *

I'm no Apple fan, by no means ... but I do have to agree that, problems aside, they are pretty and robust products ... or they should be

Still the price of 820€ for a 4Gb ram mac mini is just too much. So I'm going for a PC update.

If you say that really an i7 doesn't give any real advantage to justify it's price, than for me it's good news because extra €€€ for CPU and another extra €€€ for mobo and another extra €€€ for ram equals €€€€€€€€€ which is not my philosophy when buying a computer wisely.

About the bandwidth for USB 3.0, it's a bit disappointing that it's just not accordingly to spec numbers ... but for that I would probably had to go for a more expensive mobo or independent controller board.

Having a PC good for games, it's getting harder to justify a PS3

 

[Davidh373]

Having a PC good for games, it's getting harder to justify a PS3

Yeah, the only reason to get a console is for exclusives, like the PS3's Uncharted series, and XBox's Halo, or Gears of WAR Series'. Otherwise, PC is a great choice!

 

[mfenn]

Regarding USB 3.0, you need to remember bits versus bytes. USB 3.0 is 4.8 gigabits per second whereas a PCIe x4 1.1 slot is 1 gigabyte per second (8 gigabits). So yes, the USB 3.0 connection can work at full speed. I wouldn't even worry about SATA 6Gb/s per second because it is useless.

David pretty much sums up my feelings about the 1366 i7's, i.e. that they are not for you.

A Mac mini will be a decent machine, but an i5 760 will completely obliterate it in terms of performance.

 

[b4u]

So I decided to wait for a couple of weeks before buying the system ... and now Sandy Bridge is here

First of all, sorry for all the time taken for choosing an i5 760 system, and now I'm changing to a new SB system ... but I've learned many things that still are applied on this new processors.

So I believe that it all remains the same, except that changing mobo and CPU will get me a better system overall, correct?


Now I'm thinking about these parts:

ASUS P8P67 PRO
for 173€
http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=HMMvTCuBcZLfu2YL&templete=2
http://event.asus.com/mb/2010/P8P67/

INTEL CORE i5 2400 (3.1GHZ) SKT 1155
for 186€

or

INTEL CORE i5 2500K (3.3GHZ) SKT 1155
for 212€

I'm still not sure if on 2400 vs 2500K ... so your opinons on this new products are very very welcome.


Rest of system remains the same ... G.Skill 4Gb for RAM ... CL7 ECO 1.35v or CL9 1.55v depending on stock and price re-checking ... will the new SB processors will make the diference on CL7 vs CL9?

The 2500K is better fitted for future overclock, since I believe has no locked multiplier, correct?, so will I be better with CL7? ... uhm ...


Thanks

 

[fffblackmage]

So I believe that it all remains the same, except that changing mobo and CPU will get me a better system overall, correct?

Pretty much.

I'm still not sure if on 2400 vs 2500K ... so your opinons on this new products are very very welcome.... The 2500K is better fitted for future overclock, since I believe has no locked multiplier, correct?

I'd go with the 2500K just for the overclocking capability.

Rest of system remains the same ... G.Skill 4Gb for RAM ... CL7 ECO 1.35v or CL9 1.55v depending on stock and price re-checking ... will the new SB processors will make the diference on CL7 vs CL9?

Generally, lower timings are preferred, but it's not significant enough to warrant paying more for it.

You didn't mention what clockspeed, but, just as a reminder, timings aren't equivalent if the clockspeeds are not the same.

 

[b4u]

Pretty much.


I'd go with the 2500K just for the overclocking capability.


Generally, lower timings are preferred, but it's not significant enough to warrant paying more for it.

You didn't mention what clockspeed, but, just as a reminder, timings aren't equivalent if the clockspeeds are not the same.

Yep, I summed it up too much

The parts in question are:

4GB G.Skill DDR3 PC3-12800 ECO Series (7-8-7-24, 1.35V) Dual Channel kit
Model: F312800CL7D4GBECO
Price: 74.90€
http://www.gskill.com/products.php?index=247

vs

4GB G.Skill DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz Ripjaw Series (9-9-9-24) Dual Channel kit for Intel P55
Model: F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL (2Gx2)
Price: 48.70€
http://www.gskill.com/products.php?index=222




Since I'm thinking P67, then I believe I should look for a "K" processor ... since P67 allows messing with multiplier, a proper unlocked CPU should sit there.

Then I would be ready for a nice future overclock. So it looks like the G.Skill ECO would be a better choice for joining the overclock party ... they cost around 20€ more than the CL9 parts, but as I said, I must also check for stock at the local store. Paying extra 20€ is not much if the ECO is indeed better than the CL9, as the tests seem to show it, pulling 1.35v is an added bonus to save planet ... or a few cents in my electricity bill ... or both

 

[Davidh373]

4GB G.Skill DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz Ripjaw Series (9-9-9-24) Dual Channel kit for Intel P55
Model: F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL (2Gx2)
Price: 48.70€
http://www.gskill.com/products.php?index=222

Get this ^. Saves some money and it's faster.

 

[fffblackmage]

Paying extra 20€ is not much if the ECO is indeed better than the CL9, as the tests seem to show it, pulling 1.35v is an added bonus to save planet ... or a few cents in my electricity bill ... or both

I'd like to see those tests. My expectation is that CL7 will not improve performance by more than a percent or so over CL9 (and I'm not talking about synthetic/memory benchmarks).

RAM uses so little power that I highly doubt the lower voltage amounts to much, especially when factoring the increased cost of low-voltage RAM.

 

[Davidh373]

RAM uses so little power that I highly doubt the lower voltage amounts to much, especially when factoring the increased cost of low-voltage RAM.

Exactly.

 

[b4u]

Saving a few €€€ would be a bonus, but a couple weeks made the €€€ difference a little less than it was.

Being a SB system made me thought that maybe I should think about getting a real 8Gb system, but I find not many parts available, just some:

CORSAIR KIT 8GB (2x 4GB) DDR3 1600MHZ XMS3 (CL9) at 116€,
Cas Latency: 9
Voltage: 1.65V
Timing: 9-9-9-24

which has 1.65v, and I was opting to stay away from anything higher than 1.5v,

GSKILL KIT 8GB DDR3 1600MHZ RIPJAW (CL9) at 110€
F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
MEMORY SPEED 1600MHz (DDR3-1600)
CAS LATENCY CL9
MEMORY TIMINGS 9-9-9-24-2N
VOLTAGE 1.5V

both are a bit on the expensive, and not really sure if they are worth the effort of going 8Gb right now.

I would expect a 8Gb CL9 pair to go a bit sub-100€ (yeah, I can only dream).

Also I'm thinking about pairs, as I do believe SB and 1155 work with dual channel, right? No difference in here, from the near identical 1156 chipset system.

I'm also looking for info about USB 3.0 ... I know the P67 chipset now comes SATA 6Gb ready, but I don't know if the chipset comes also with USB 3.0 feature, or if the Asus complements their products with 3rd party onboard USB 3.0 controller ... details are a bit sparse, and asus manuals, if they can help, are not available online yet ... anyone has any info regarding this?


Thanks

 

[mfenn]

Saving a few €€€ would be a bonus, but a couple weeks made the €€€ difference a little less than it was.

Being a SB system made me thought that maybe I should think about getting a real 8Gb system, but I find not many parts available, just some:

CORSAIR KIT 8GB (2x 4GB) DDR3 1600MHZ XMS3 (CL9) at 116€,
Cas Latency: 9
Voltage: 1.65V
Timing: 9-9-9-24

which has 1.65v, and I was opting to stay away from anything higher than 1.5v,

GSKILL KIT 8GB DDR3 1600MHZ RIPJAW (CL9) at 110€
F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
MEMORY SPEED 1600MHz (DDR3-1600)
CAS LATENCY CL9
MEMORY TIMINGS 9-9-9-24-2N
VOLTAGE 1.5V

both are a bit on the expensive, and not really sure if they are worth the effort of going 8Gb right now.

I would expect a 8Gb CL9 pair to go a bit sub-100€ (yeah, I can only dream).

Also I'm thinking about pairs, as I do believe SB and 1155 work with dual channel, right? No difference in here, from the near identical 1156 chipset system.

I'm also looking for info about USB 3.0 ... I know the P67 chipset now comes SATA 6Gb ready, but I don't know if the chipset comes also with USB 3.0 feature, or if the Asus complements their products with 3rd party onboard USB 3.0 controller ... details are a bit sparse, and asus manuals, if they can help, are not available online yet ... anyone has any info regarding this?


Thanks

RAM is easy to upgrade, so I would just grab some G.Skill DDR3 1333 1.5V CAS 9 (if available, DDR3 1333 otherwise) and plan to upgrade to 8GB when necessary.

You are correct that both Sandy Bridge and Lynnfield are dual-channel, so no change is needed other than the mobo and CPU. I'd get the i5 2500 like fffblackmage said and the Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD3 if available. Otherwise the ASUS P8P67 (you don't need the pro) is fine.

Intel doesn't have any USB 3.0 chips yet, so the USB 3.0 is the same NEC chipset that was available for the P55.

 

[b4u]

I'm more inclined for an Asus mobo. About the processor, you mean i5 2500 without a "K"? They seem to be very much locked ... I was choosing a "K" with a P67 to be rest assured I could overclock in the future ... since overclock these days seem to be like a breeze

About memory, I have one question: I believe the stock frequency of a SB is 1333. If I buy a 1600 CL7 ECO 1.35v, I'll have more room for overclock, ie, to mess with memory timings and the like. If I buy CL9 1.5v but also 1600, I have less room for messing with settings, but since it's 1600, maybe I don't need to worry about it, correct? Unless I do extreme overclock that requires more than 1600 on the memory, in which case I would have to mess with them, correct? So I could just do a good overclock on CPU side, and don't worry that much with memory since it could take the extra bandwith, correct?

 

[b4u]

Oh, about memory,

GSKILL KIT 4GB DDR3 1333MHZ NQ (CL9)
4GB G.Skill DDR3 PC3-10666 1333MHz NQ Series (9-9-9-24) Dual Channel kit

GSKILL KIT 4GB DDR3 1600MHZ ECO (CL7)
4GB G.Skill DDR3 PC3-12800 ECO Series (7-8-7-24, 1.35V) Dual Channel kit

Both are selling for basically the same price, 76€ (75.40€ vs 76.10&#8364 ... :O