Upgrade help for a gamer.

[zzglenn]

Hello All,

I am looking to upgrade my current system, and I am confused on what is the best bang for the buck for my situation. I have around $500 to spend. Most of the parts in my current build I would like to carry over, but I need advice on newer ones.

Current Parts:

HD : Crucial RealSSD C300 128GB, Samsung F1 SpinPoint 750GB, WD HD 1TB
PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-550VX 550W
CASE: NZXT TEMPEST Crafted Series
VC: ATI Powercolor 5850
Media: DVD/CD burner
LCD : SAMSUNG P2770FH ToC Rose Black 27" 1ms
SC: Creative SB X-Fi
OS: Win7 Home

Parts Needed:

MB: Asus?, GB?, Asrock? z68 series or go with P67? I normally always buy Asus, but open to other brands with better peformance, or to save money.
CPU: InIntel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz . I'm pretty sure on that one unless someone objects?
RAM: I would like to OC and have 8GB. Best bang for the buck?
PSU: Will I need a newer one?
Cooler: Something other than stock?

This system will be a family computer so I will be watching videos, doing word, and playing games. In the end though this will be mainly a gaming rig. I would like to OC the sandy bridge processor to squeeze some more life out of it, but it may not be for awhile, and it won't be extream. I am not currently SLI/Crossfire, but maybe in the future if 5850s go down in price.

Any thoughts or help would be greatly appreicated.

Thanks

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

If you are planning on overclocking your CPU, then you want a 2500K, the ram speed doesn't make a difference on SandyBridge. The "K" series chips have unlocked multipliers.

Personally I would go with a Z68 chipset. And get one with on-board monitor connectors like DVI, HDMI, VGA to turn the machine into an HTPC later on down the road. Some Z68 motherboards don't offer on-board monitor connectors so be careful choosing a Z68 chipset.

For peace of mind I would get an aftermarket HS&F. The mainstream HS&F 2500K combination includes the Cool master Hyper 212 and it's ~ 29$ at Micro Center. BTW, if you have one near by they have a great deal going on for the 2500K = 179$ in-store pickup ONLY.

 

[zzglenn]

Hi BTry,

Thanks for the correction. I must have copied in the wrong title.

So memory wise is this the best then for a Z68 board and OCing?

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) $99

 

[zzglenn]

If you are planning on overclocking your CPU, then you want a 2500K, the ram speed doesn't make a difference on SandyBridge. The "K" series chips have unlocked multipliers.

Personally I would go with a Z68 chipset. And get one with on-board monitor connectors like DVI, HDMI, VGA to turn the machine into an HTPC later on down the road. Some Z68 motherboards don't offer on-board monitor connectors so be careful choosing a Z68 chipset.

For peace of mind I would get an aftermarket HS&F. The mainstream HS&F 2500K combination includes the Cool master Hyper 212 and it's ~ 29$ at Micro Center. BTW, if you have one near by they have a great deal going on for the 2500K = 179$ in-store pickup ONLY.

Sounds good. I will look at the Z68 boards. Do you recommend air or water for heat now? I don't have a Micro near me . Any recommendations on boards? I like the idea of having the HDMI out on the board.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Look through this link for some RAM to start off with. (will edit in a min with more info)

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Do you recommend air or water for heat now?.

To be safe, I would get a mainstream aftermarket cooler. Most everyone seems to pair the 2500K chip with a Cool Master Hyper 212. This seems to be the best price for performance cooler atm, :thumbsup:

32nm chips seem to run real cool so there is no need to liquid cool unless you plan on breaking overclocking records or going for super high overclocks ~ 5Ghz +

Any recommendations on boards? I like the idea of having the HDMI out on the board.

I haven't looked at the latest Sandybridge boards too in-depth. Asus seems to be everyone's favorite. I haven't bought a board by them in 3 yrs due to some neglect on their bios updates on a ROG board I bought by them. But they really seem to be shaping up. Haven't heard anything bad by them in a while AFAIK. Look through the list of Z68 boards at New Egg and see what suits you best.

 

[zzglenn]

Cooling: I agree I will go for the Cool Master Hyper 212


Mem: I'm still confused

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) 43.99 x2
or
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) $99


Z68 Boards: They still range in price quite a bit, and with the new BIOS i'm not sure which is going to be better.

ASUS P8Z68-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA $200
but
ASRock Z68 PRO3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA $120
and
GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA in the middle for $145

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

For RAM it is best to stick with anything @ 1.5v or <
And I still like to run ram with lower timings if I have the opportunity. Most people will say its nonsense but to each their own. T

 

[zzglenn]

Thanks for the INFO BTRY. Any thoughts on motherboards or PSU?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

If you do end up going dual GPU down the road, depending on the GPU you might want to get a larger PSU. The best place to read up on PSU reviews is JonnyGuru Pay attention the the regulation, ripple suppression, and efficiency.

As far as motherboard for the 1155 socket, I haven't really looked that deep into them. I know the latest chipset is the Z68 which gives the user the ability to use the onboard GPU from the CPU without a discrete video card & the ability to overclock the CPU.

It's best to read up on it. Read the Anandtech article on SandyBridge Link.

 

[mfenn]

Mem: I'm still confused

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) 43.99 x2
or
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) $99

You'll definitely want to go with 2x4GB instead of 4x2GB, but you don't need to spend anything near $100. This G.Skill DDR3 1333 8GB for $75 will work fine.

Z68 Boards: They still range in price quite a bit, and with the new BIOS i'm not sure which is going to be better.

ASUS P8Z68-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA $200
but
ASRock Z68 PRO3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA $120
and
GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA in the middle for $145

All H67, P67, and Z68 motherboards perform the same, so it really comes down to features. From what you've described, the ASRock Pro3 should work great for you.

 

[zzglenn]

Thanks mfenn.

I guess I am confused. I currently have only ever OC'd my current machine and I had to get faster RAM to handle the FSB increase. If I want to overclock the Intel Core i5-2500K should I not want the fastest DDR 3 the motherboard supports?

As for boards... I have always bought Asus, but don't know much about ASrock. Am I going to get the same quality, or am giving up quality for cheaper material/components. Of course I know Asus ups the price for features that have little or no use.

I know Z68 boards are new so I didn't want to go with a lesser company who doesn't update the bios or have some sort of RMA if something goes bad.

The price however is really nice.

 

[fffblackmage]

Thanks mfenn.

I guess I am confused. I currently have only ever OC'd my current machine and I had to get faster RAM to handle the FSB increase. If I want to overclock the Intel Core i5-2500K should I not want the fastest DDR 3 the motherboard supports?

OCing has changed with SB. The bus is practically locked and you'll be increasing clockspeed through the CPU multiplier instead.

As for boards... I have always bought Asus, but don't know much about ASrock. Am I going to get the same quality, or am giving up quality for cheaper material/components. Of course I know Asus ups the price for features that have little or no use.

ASRock was originally owned by Asus. ASRock does tend to be a bit cheaper, but I haven't heard anything particularly bad about them (other than lemons or whatnot every brand will throw out there every-so-often).

 

[zzglenn]

So I have gathered this so far.

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K $225

MB: Still debating on the boards ASrock or Asus. Regardless Newegg doesn't have either of them stock at newegg ~$200

Mem: G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) $75

Cooler: Cool Master Hyper 212 $30

If there is any thing else anyone can think of I am missing let me know.

 

[mfenn]

So I have gathered this so far.

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K $225

MB: Still debating on the boards ASrock or Asus. Regardless Newegg doesn't have either of them stock at newegg ~$200

Mem: G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) $75

Cooler: Cool Master Hyper 212 $30

If there is any thing else anyone can think of I am missing let me know.

The Pro3 shows as in stock for me. There is really no reason to be spending $200 on a Sandy Bridge mobo, unless you need a very specific feature. As another alternative, the GA-Z68A-D3H is quite good and is the same price ($130) as the Pro3.