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New mobo/CPU/mem now or wait?

D

DrOnline

Member
...oh, hi there!

My computer has broken down.

I need a new motherboard, memory and CPU. I don't know what's broken, and I'm past caring. Tabula rasa, and whatever.

I'm a hardcore gamer.

Currently, I don't strictly NEED a computer though. I have my laptop for banking and whatnot, and my xbox for gaming is acceptable for the time being.

I'm almost 30 years old and I know the issue with build at late generation cycles, usually I never wait, because I figure one can never "win", in a way, but this time it's different, because I don't feel I MUST have a working comp at this time.

So the question is: Would you buy an intel i5-2500k system now, today, or wait for the next generation? Is there a new generation of chips with likely significant advantages I should wait a month or two for?
 
My logic is that once you start waiting for the next best thing, you will always be waiting. There is always something new right around the corner. Build now if you need to, otherwise, you don't need to. 🙂

Personally, I upgrade any chance I get because I have zero self control.
 
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DrOnline said:
I'm a hardcore gamer.
Click to expand...
That should be sufficient information to suggest getting a Core i5 2500K/Core i7 2600K instead of waiting for IB. If you have more cash to spare, a Core i7 3930K. Add in a mid-high end GPU and you're good to go.

Besides, the world is coming to an end, no point in waiting. The Mayans themselves told me. :sneaky:
 
Yeah I have a GPU (570) already. My comp broke so what I need is a new CPU/mobo/RAM.

I don't know what exactly is broken, but I have more money than patience with this POS comp at the moment, so I'll just buy new stuff, see if I can donate the old husk to somebody who needs it and can try to make it work.

CPU:
Thanks for the specific advice on CPU.

RAM:
I should get 3 chips of 4GB RAM, right? Matched set of 1600MHz?

MOBO:
Can somebody recommend me a card from this webshop that is sanely priced and provides me with everything I need? I have a brand new SSD SATA6. I want to avoid buying a poor chipset.

http://www.komplett.no/k/kl.aspx?bn=10492
 
Either these(1,2) motherboards or if you're not interested in having PCIE 3.0 support, this. All these motherboards are only compatible with Core i5 2500K/Core i7 2600K.

You would need either 2 or 4 sticks of RAM. Preferably DDR3-1600 @ 1.5V.
 
If there's one item on my comp I might upgrade at some point it would be the GPU, so I might opt for PCIE3.0 for that.

So three channel memory isn't being used any more?

My current (broken) system is an i7-920 using three 4GB chips.

Well, now I basically only have to pull the trigger and I have a working system. Thanks a lot.
 
DrOnline said:
So three channel memory isn't being used any more?

My current (broken) system is an i7-920 using three 4GB chips.
Click to expand...
The LGA1366 platform uses triple channel memory which requires 3 sticks for full potential. The LGA1155 uses dual channel with 2 sticks. You won't be losing a whole lot of performance downgrading from triple to dual, most often the difference is negligible. You could use 2/3 of the set for a total of 8GB and sell off the extra.
 
I would say to wait,

buying a mb , cpu , which will be E.O.L. when ib drops seems foolish.
-if you can wait for ib , even if it turns out to be not great ,you can still get the z77 chipset \ ib with pci-e 3.0 for the new cards down the road.

or there will be some good deals on z68\sb. at that time also.
 
That's my exact quandary, Rgallant, and something I'm considering.

When can we likely expect these new CPU's from Intel to be available for consumers, approximately?
 
IB isn't likely to improve performance all that much, its mostly a faster iGPU, hence a SB or SB-E isn't going to be eclipsed by an IB on launch day. But its out in a few months time and will likely be worth getting in preference to SB when it does actually arrive.

My usual advice is buy now, because there is always something around the corner that is faster. With minimal general performance improvements on offer with IB however its not really worth waiting for. I can't get excited about 5-10% when I grew up in a world of doubling performance every 2 years, 10% is just peanuts.

The utility of the machine for that period is however worth something, is it worth 10% less performance at the same price point to have the machine 3 months earlier? Almost certainly.

If IB turns out to really shine in overclocking then its always possible to buy one, slot it into your Z68 motherboard and sell the SB at a small loss. The difference in buy and sell price of the SB will be the cost of using the CPU for x months. If it was $40 difference then it would cost about $13 a month to have that SB instead of waiting. You'd also have a Z68 instead of a nicer new model of MB but that likely wont be a problem in practice.
 
Well that cinches it.

Thanks everybody! I appreciate it very much. If there was a way for me to "vote you up", I'd do that!
 
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