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With my XFX Pro Core 550w with 4.2 GHz Intel Core i5 2500k w/ Xigmatek Loki, 8 GB G.Skill Sniper, and 2 case fans, what GPU is the SAFEST max (e.g. 525watts).
-i5 2500k 4.2 GHz
-Xigmatek Loki
-8 GB RAM 1600
-1 HDD 0 SSD
-1 $20 Optical Drive
I would like to know this for future upgrades, would 550w be able to support a GTX 570 for example? I know there are online calculators, but a lot of those things hurt my head.
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On September 04 2011 08:27 epikAnglory wrote:+ Show Spoiler +With my XFX Pro Core 550w with 4.2 GHz Intel Core i5 2500k w/ Xigmatek Loki, 8 GB G.Skill Sniper, and 2 case fans, what GPU is the SAFEST max (e.g. 525watts).
-i5 2500k 4.2 GHz
-Xigmatek Loki
-8 GB RAM 1600
-1 HDD 0 SSD
-1 $20 Optical Drive
I would like to know this for future upgrades, would 550w be able to support a GTX 570 for example? I know there are online calculators, but a lot of those things hurt my head.
The XFX Core Edition Pro 550 provides 44a on the 12v rail so it's capable of running any single GPU solution (GTX 580 or Radeon HD6970). You could also do a multi-GPU configuration with the lower end cards. It could also power a 6990 or GTX 590 as long as you aren't overclocking it as well and not stressing both the CPU and GPU to max at the same time, it's obviously not recommended though.
At the resolution you mentioned (1280x800), yes. At 1080p, it would do medium-high smoothly but it won't be a smooth experience in ultra, you'll want a GTS 450 or Radeon HD5770 for this resolution.
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On September 04 2011 00:01 Myrmidon wrote:Show nested quote +On September 03 2011 15:56 xyOr wrote:
My build consists of the i5-2400, and the Rosewill Green Series RG430-S1. But according to hardware-revolution.com, they should be avoided. Differences between i5-2300, i5-2310, i5-2400, and i5-2500 are just in clock speeds, not a big deal either way. If you want to spend a little extra for a little more performance, that's okay but not really necessary, particularly just for gaming. http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i5-2500-2400-2300_7.html#sect0As for the Rosewill, it's not great but not bad either. You were looking at cutting down costs so I listed something a little worse and cheaper than the Antec Neo Eco but certainly not that bad. If it sucked I wouldn't have mentioned it. Same ATNG platform is used by the 430/530/630/700W models, so this review of the 630W is relevant: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/881Other discussion of Rosewill Green Series (but note that the concern over capacitors turns out to be unfounded since it actually uses Teapo, a good 2nd-tier manufacturer for electrolytic models used in PSUs, as seen in the review above): http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5936I wouldn't necessarily use any site as a reference, but OCN has it on some sort of recommended PSU list: http://www.overclock.net/power-supplies/183810-faq-recommended-power-supplies.html
Thank you for the reply it was very informative. This forum is my most trusted source from now on  One more thing, if I upgraded to an i5-2500, would I have to get a cooler and a different motherboard/psu or that's only for the K version?
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That's only for the K variant. You should remain with a H61 or H67 motherboard with the core i5 2500 as you won't be overclocking since it still has a limited multiplier just like the 2300 and 2400. The only difference is that the 2500 comes at a higher clock speed than the other two.
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On September 04 2011 08:41 xyOr wrote:Show nested quote +On September 04 2011 00:01 Myrmidon wrote:On September 03 2011 15:56 xyOr wrote:
My build consists of the i5-2400, and the Rosewill Green Series RG430-S1. But according to hardware-revolution.com, they should be avoided. Differences between i5-2300, i5-2310, i5-2400, and i5-2500 are just in clock speeds, not a big deal either way. If you want to spend a little extra for a little more performance, that's okay but not really necessary, particularly just for gaming. http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i5-2500-2400-2300_7.html#sect0As for the Rosewill, it's not great but not bad either. You were looking at cutting down costs so I listed something a little worse and cheaper than the Antec Neo Eco but certainly not that bad. If it sucked I wouldn't have mentioned it. Same ATNG platform is used by the 430/530/630/700W models, so this review of the 630W is relevant: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/881Other discussion of Rosewill Green Series (but note that the concern over capacitors turns out to be unfounded since it actually uses Teapo, a good 2nd-tier manufacturer for electrolytic models used in PSUs, as seen in the review above): http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5936I wouldn't necessarily use any site as a reference, but OCN has it on some sort of recommended PSU list: http://www.overclock.net/power-supplies/183810-faq-recommended-power-supplies.html Thank you for the reply it was very informative. This forum is my most trusted source from now on One more thing, if I upgraded to an i5-2500, would I have to get a cooler and a different motherboard/psu or that's only for the K version?
There's a difference between i5-2500 (without a K) and an i5-2500K (overclockable). In general, stock coolers are fine if you don't overclock. An aftermarket cooler is needed if you do. H61-H67 boards can't overclock and are cheaper feature for feature otherwise. p67-z68 boards are for overclocking, because they can do it and are more expensive. Though you don't HAVE to overclock with a p67-z68 board.
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On September 04 2011 08:22 skyR wrote:So if you want to do Eyefinity at some point in time, you should get two 6950 2GBs. Getting a P8Z68 Deluxe is a waste of money for someone who's never even overclocked before and primarily gaming. You're not going to be using SSD caching since you have a 120gb SSD already. You're not going to be using the IGP since obviously you can't. You probably aren't going to notice the difference between an Intel NIC and a Realtek NIC. You're probably not going to be using the dual ethernet ports provided by the deluxe. You aren't using LN2 or any premium cooling solution so the extra phases on the board goes to waste. A P8Z68 Deluxe isn't any better than a P8P67 (~$150) or a Asrock P67 Pro3 (~$120) because you don't know what half the features that the Deluxe offers over the other boards and won't even utilize these features at all. You might as well get 8GB if you are doing SLI / Eyefinity. It's sort of the norm these days =\ And the 650 variant of the TXv2 is enough for an overclocked 2600k and CrossfireX 6950 2GB configuration. A 2600k is going to be obsolete at the same time the 2500k is going to be obsolete. Games are just starting to utilize quad cores and if you think many of the upcoming games are going to utilize more than four cores anytime soon, you're sadly mistaken. By the time your 2600k provides an improvement over the 2500k because of its hyperthreading, you'll be wanting a new processor and a $200 Skymont will provide a significant increase in performance. Higher frequency and tighter timings on memory also provides very little benefits but I guess if you are already spending this much on a configuration, it doesn't hurt to have a better resale value and fancier heatspreaders: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/memory/display/sandy-bridge-ddr3.htmlhttp://www.anandtech.com/show/4503/sandy-bridge-memory-scaling-choosing-the-best-ddr3http://techreport.com/articles.x/20377
Thanks, I'll look through those links in a bit.
WRT GPUs, what would you recommend for Nvidia cards if I'm going to get one or two?
Edit: I'm not interested in Eyefinity if it makes a difference.
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At the resolution you mentioned (1280x800), yes. At 1080p, it would do medium-high smoothly but it won't be a smooth experience in ultra, you'll want a GTS 450 or Radeon HD5770 for this resolution
Okay, so which one is better? (price doesn't matter) The GTS 450 or the Radeon HD5770 and can you provide a link to the better one please.
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On September 04 2011 10:12 sungmny wrote:Show nested quote +At the resolution you mentioned (1280x800), yes. At 1080p, it would do medium-high smoothly but it won't be a smooth experience in ultra, you'll want a GTS 450 or Radeon HD5770 for this resolution Okay, so which one is better? (price doesn't matter) The GTS 450 or the Radeon HD5770 and can you provide a link to the better one please.
Better on those two is pretty subjective. They hit nearly identical performance, with the 5770 coming in slightly ahead in most games at stock, the GTS 450 OCs incredibly well, and is usually cheaper.
Basically, they'll both play games on the same settings, with the major difference being price.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162062
GTS 450 for $80 AMIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150540
HD 5770 $100 AMIR. Given they play games on the same settings at minor differences in framerate, the extra $20 isn't really justified IMO. But at stock, the 5770 is technically slightly better, it's just way worse price/performance.
If price really doesn't matter, a GTX 460 1GB for $130 AMIR is significantly better than either.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133326
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On September 04 2011 08:44 skyR wrote:
That's only for the K variant. You should remain with a H61 or H67 motherboard with the core i5 2500 as you won't be overclocking since it still has a limited multiplier just like the 2300 and 2400. The only difference is that the 2500 comes at a higher clock speed than the other two.
Gotcha. And if I raise the multiplier on the standard i5 2500, the motherboard and stock cooler could stay the same right?
And do you happen to know an overclockable build for a $636 budget, skyR? Could get student OS, no SLI, 1920x1080 resolution, for gaming (sc2/diablo 3). Thanks for your help, I hope you get rewarded somehow for all your work^^
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On September 04 2011 09:57 LazyMacro wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On September 04 2011 08:22 skyR wrote:So if you want to do Eyefinity at some point in time, you should get two 6950 2GBs. Getting a P8Z68 Deluxe is a waste of money for someone who's never even overclocked before and primarily gaming. You're not going to be using SSD caching since you have a 120gb SSD already. You're not going to be using the IGP since obviously you can't. You probably aren't going to notice the difference between an Intel NIC and a Realtek NIC. You're probably not going to be using the dual ethernet ports provided by the deluxe. You aren't using LN2 or any premium cooling solution so the extra phases on the board goes to waste. A P8Z68 Deluxe isn't any better than a P8P67 (~$150) or a Asrock P67 Pro3 (~$120) because you don't know what half the features that the Deluxe offers over the other boards and won't even utilize these features at all. You might as well get 8GB if you are doing SLI / Eyefinity. It's sort of the norm these days =\ And the 650 variant of the TXv2 is enough for an overclocked 2600k and CrossfireX 6950 2GB configuration. A 2600k is going to be obsolete at the same time the 2500k is going to be obsolete. Games are just starting to utilize quad cores and if you think many of the upcoming games are going to utilize more than four cores anytime soon, you're sadly mistaken. By the time your 2600k provides an improvement over the 2500k because of its hyperthreading, you'll be wanting a new processor and a $200 Skymont will provide a significant increase in performance. Higher frequency and tighter timings on memory also provides very little benefits but I guess if you are already spending this much on a configuration, it doesn't hurt to have a better resale value and fancier heatspreaders: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/memory/display/sandy-bridge-ddr3.htmlhttp://www.anandtech.com/show/4503/sandy-bridge-memory-scaling-choosing-the-best-ddr3http://techreport.com/articles.x/20377 Thanks, I'll look through those links in a bit. WRT GPUs, what would you recommend for Nvidia cards if I'm going to get one or two? Edit: I'm not interested in Eyefinity if it makes a difference.
Those are just links showing the negligible differences there are between the varying timings and frequencies of memory.
If you're interested in seeing the difference between a 2500k and 2600k in gaming than here's one showing stock and overclocked values: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i7-2600k-990x_9.html#sect2 Here's another one: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-review-intel-core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/20
Here's one for BC2, one of very few games that shows an improvement with a quad over a dual: http://www.guru3d.com/article/core-i5-2500k-and-core-i7-2600k-review/21
Note that the core i7 2600 is slightly better than the 2500 due to its additional cache and slightly higher clock speed. The difference is negligible.
If you're not interested in Eyefinity than a single GPU solution is more than enough to run games on reasonably high settings for the next year or two at 1080p. Here's two articles showing the performance of various cards: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/graphics/display/geforce-gtx-560-ti_9.html#sect4 (Note, that the GTX 560 in this article is the GTX 560 Ti, not the less expensive GTX 560 with 336 cuda cores priced at sub $200) and http://www.anandtech.com/show/4135/
If you want an Nvidia card than you should get a GTX 560 Ti such as Gigabyte Windforce, MSI Twin Frozr II, ASUS DirectCu II or EVGA -KR (or -AR if you want lifetime warranty).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125363
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121424
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130623
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130610
You could spring for a GTX 570 but the performance difference between it and a GTX 560 Ti doesn't really justify the price difference. Your decision.
Furthermore if you don't need SLI since you're not interested in 3D Surround (Nvidia's version of Eyefinity). You don't need a SLI capable board so an ASUS P8P67 board would do fine. It has the same amount of phases as the P8P67 Pro, the only things it doesn't have from the Pro is an Intel NIC (uses a Realtek one instead), advance RMA option, and maybe some other minor details.
You also wouldn't need a 750w power supply. An overclocked configuration with a single GPU would be able to run off a ~500w power supply (good ones include but not limited to Seasonic S12II, Antec High Current Gamer, XFX Core Edition Pro, Antec Neo Eco, Antec Earthwatts, ...) and have room for future upgrades as well since a core i5 2500k uses roughly 60w / core i7 2600k uses roughly 90w and a GTX 560 Ti uses roughly 160w, all under load. Such an overclocked configuration would barely break 300w under a gaming load.
On September 04 2011 10:39 xyOr wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On September 04 2011 08:44 skyR wrote:
That's only for the K variant. You should remain with a H61 or H67 motherboard with the core i5 2500 as you won't be overclocking since it still has a limited multiplier just like the 2300 and 2400. The only difference is that the 2500 comes at a higher clock speed than the other two. Gotcha. And if I raise the multiplier on the standard i5 2500, the motherboard and stock cooler could stay the same right? And do you happen to know an overclockable build for a $636 budget, skyR? Could get student OS, no SLI, 1920x1080 resolution, for gaming (sc2/diablo 3). Thanks for your help, I hope you get rewarded somehow for all your work^^
$636 is too small of a budget to work with for an overclockable configuration. It's doable but I wouldn't recommend doing so since you would be cutting costs on certain components such as the motherboard, case, power supply, and potentially the graphics card as well. If Starcraft II and Diablo III are your only concerns than you're best off with just a non-overclockable configuration at that kind of budget.
And don't get a 2500 just to overclock it by 400mhz... that's a waste of money unless you get a really inexpensive P67 motherboard than it might be worth it in some people's eyes.
If I were in your shoes, this is what I would pick up for a total of $574 before mail in rebates:
Intel Core i5 2300 @ $175 (w/ promo code HARDOCPX831B, ends 9/6)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115076
Asrock H61M-VS @ $55
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157241
XFX Radeon HD6850 @ $160 ($130 after mail in rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150551
GSkill Ripjaws 2x4GB 1333MHz @ $40 (w/ promo code EMCKAKJ22, ends 9/7)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB @ $50 (w/ promo code EMCKBGK32, ends 9/5)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
Corsair CX430 V2 @ $45 ($25 after mail in rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026
Xigmatek Asgard II @ $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811815004
DVD Burner @ $19
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136216
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Not sure if this is the right thread to be posting in, but ill give it a shot. Looking to build a computer from scratch. The budget is roughly $1500(Canadian) but it has some flexibility. Im currently am running two monitors with one at 1920 x 1200 and a smaller one at 1280 x 1024; one is dvi/hdmi and the other is vga ( i already have a dvi to vga converter). Im mainly plan on using this for Starcraft 2 and other current games, i want to be able to run Starcraft 2 on Ultra/Extreme. I dont plan on upgrading from the initial set up for 2+ years and would like to get around to building it as soon as possible. I don't plan on overclocking. I have access to an OS so thats a not an issue. Ive been looking at tigerdirect and newegg for the majority of the components but am open to any other sites that ship within Canada. This is the processor/motherboard combo i was looking at, and it comes with 8gb ram.
CPU -- http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=667753&csid=ITD&body=MAIN
As for the graphics card I am out of my depth in picking those so any suggestions would be helpful, preferably one card as opposed to crossfire or SLI 
Any help or tips are greatly appreciated since this is my first build ( i will have help with the actual assembly).
Thanks!!!
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On September 04 2011 10:40 skyR wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On September 04 2011 09:57 LazyMacro wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On September 04 2011 08:22 skyR wrote:So if you want to do Eyefinity at some point in time, you should get two 6950 2GBs. Getting a P8Z68 Deluxe is a waste of money for someone who's never even overclocked before and primarily gaming. You're not going to be using SSD caching since you have a 120gb SSD already. You're not going to be using the IGP since obviously you can't. You probably aren't going to notice the difference between an Intel NIC and a Realtek NIC. You're probably not going to be using the dual ethernet ports provided by the deluxe. You aren't using LN2 or any premium cooling solution so the extra phases on the board goes to waste. A P8Z68 Deluxe isn't any better than a P8P67 (~$150) or a Asrock P67 Pro3 (~$120) because you don't know what half the features that the Deluxe offers over the other boards and won't even utilize these features at all. You might as well get 8GB if you are doing SLI / Eyefinity. It's sort of the norm these days =\ And the 650 variant of the TXv2 is enough for an overclocked 2600k and CrossfireX 6950 2GB configuration. A 2600k is going to be obsolete at the same time the 2500k is going to be obsolete. Games are just starting to utilize quad cores and if you think many of the upcoming games are going to utilize more than four cores anytime soon, you're sadly mistaken. By the time your 2600k provides an improvement over the 2500k because of its hyperthreading, you'll be wanting a new processor and a $200 Skymont will provide a significant increase in performance. Higher frequency and tighter timings on memory also provides very little benefits but I guess if you are already spending this much on a configuration, it doesn't hurt to have a better resale value and fancier heatspreaders: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/memory/display/sandy-bridge-ddr3.htmlhttp://www.anandtech.com/show/4503/sandy-bridge-memory-scaling-choosing-the-best-ddr3http://techreport.com/articles.x/20377 Thanks, I'll look through those links in a bit. WRT GPUs, what would you recommend for Nvidia cards if I'm going to get one or two? Edit: I'm not interested in Eyefinity if it makes a difference. Those are just links showing the negligible differences there are between the varying timings and frequencies of memory. If you're interested in seeing the difference between a 2500k and 2600k in gaming than here's one showing stock and overclocked values: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i7-2600k-990x_9.html#sect2 Here's another one: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-review-intel-core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/20Here's one for BC2, one of very few games that shows an improvement with a quad over a dual: http://www.guru3d.com/article/core-i5-2500k-and-core-i7-2600k-review/21Note that the core i7 2600 is slightly better than the 2500 due to its additional cache and slightly higher clock speed. The difference is negligible. If you're not interested in Eyefinity than a single GPU solution is more than enough to run games on reasonably high settings for the next year or two at 1080p. Here's two articles showing the performance of various cards: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/graphics/display/geforce-gtx-560-ti_9.html#sect4 (Note, that the GTX 560 in this article is the GTX 560 Ti, not the less expensive GTX 560 with 336 cuda cores priced at sub $200) and http://www.anandtech.com/show/4135/If you want an Nvidia card than you should get a GTX 560 Ti such as Gigabyte Windforce, MSI Twin Frozr II, ASUS DirectCu II or EVGA -KR (or -AR if you want lifetime warranty). http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125363http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121424http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130623http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130610You could spring for a GTX 570 but the performance difference between it and a GTX 560 Ti doesn't really justify the price difference. Your decision. Furthermore if you don't need SLI since you're not interested in 3D Surround (Nvidia's version of Eyefinity). You don't need a SLI capable board so an ASUS P8P67 board would do fine. It has the same amount of phases as the P8P67 Pro, the only things it doesn't have from the Pro is an Intel NIC (uses a Realtek one instead), advance RMA option, and maybe some other minor details. You also wouldn't need a 750w power supply. An overclocked configuration with a single GPU would be able to run off a ~500w power supply (good ones include but not limited to Seasonic S12II, Antec High Current Gamer, XFX Core Edition Pro, Antec Neo Eco, Antec Earthwatts, ...) and have room for future upgrades as well since a core i5 2500k uses roughly 60w / core i7 2600k uses roughly 90w and a GTX 560 Ti uses roughly 160w, all under load. Such an overclocked configuration would barely break 300w under a gaming load .
Wow, thank you so much (again!).
At this point, I've decided I want to keep my options open for later on. So, I don't want to make sure I can use SLI/Crossfire, 3D/Eyefinity, etc. but I think I'm still going to get a Z68 motherboard, preferably from Asus/ASRock. I know I'm spending more on things I won't use right away, or maybe never, but yeah. Any particular recommendations on a Z68 mobo?
I agree 100% that the P8Z68 Deluxe is too much stuff I won't make use of, and it's expensive when there are cheaper Z68 mobos out there.
The ASRock Z68 Extreme4 looks nice, but if I go with that, should I get the Gen3 model? My understanding is I couldn't make use of the PCI 3.0 because I'd still have a Sandy Bridge CPU, when Ivy is what will allow PCI 3.0. I'm guessing I should only get the Gen3 if I really intend to make use of that later on.
I've been looking at GPUs a lot, and not surprisingly, I had decided on either the MSI GTX 560 Ti OC or Hawk. I used NewEgg to do a comparison and the Hawk is basically the same as the OC but with slightly faster core and shader clocks. I bet the difference between the two is trivial. If it were you, would you go with the OC which has more reviews and customer choice awards, or would you go with the Hawk which is another $15, slightly faster clocks, and a stamp of approval for gaming from Tom's Hardware?
Now I just have to decide on a PSU. Do you have any particular recommendation given I'm going to go with one GPU but might add a second later on? I know you listed a bunch before; I just didn't know if the new information would change anything in terms of wattage.
Edit: Would the XFX Core Edition 550W PSU be fine for what I'm looking at getting? What about if I end up adding on a second GPU later?
Edit: I saw an earlier post and you said it couldn't handle two higher end GPUs.
I think part of my problem with PSUs is that I'm still learning what makes a good one and exactly how to figure out what I need.
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On September 04 2011 12:35 Superhume wrote:+ Show Spoiler +Not sure if this is the right thread to be posting in, but ill give it a shot. Looking to build a computer from scratch. The budget is roughly $1500(Canadian) but it has some flexibility. Im currently am running two monitors with one at 1920 x 1200 and a smaller one at 1280 x 1024; one is dvi/hdmi and the other is vga ( i already have a dvi to vga converter). Im mainly plan on using this for Starcraft 2 and other current games, i want to be able to run Starcraft 2 on Ultra/Extreme. I dont plan on upgrading from the initial set up for 2+ years and would like to get around to building it as soon as possible. I don't plan on overclocking. I have access to an OS so thats a not an issue. Ive been looking at tigerdirect and newegg for the majority of the components but am open to any other sites that ship within Canada. This is the processor/motherboard combo i was looking at, and it comes with 8gb ram. CPU -- http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=667753&csid=ITD&body=MAINAs for the graphics card I am out of my depth in picking those so any suggestions would be helpful, preferably one card as opposed to crossfire or SLI Any help or tips are greatly appreciated since this is my first build ( i will have help with the actual assembly). Thanks!!!
Starcraft II doesn't use four cores yet alone hyperthreading... a core i5 2500k is just as good as a core i7 2600k for gaming since most games only utilize two cores while a few are starting to take advantage of quads. It won't be for a while until you see games using six cores.
Processors with a K suffix are meant to be overclocked. If you are not overclocking than you're wasting money for a K suffix processor when the non-suffix processor is identical to it besides having a less powerful IGP (which you won't use) and a limited multiplier (which prevents overclocking).
Tigerdirect is crap, just as crap as Futureshop. Newegg is okay from time to time with promos and shellshockers but other than that, its garbage. The core i5 2500k is worth $200, 8GB 1333MHz cas9 memory is worth $40 or less.
$1500 is too big of a budget to spend on the configuration alone without wasting money, especially if you don't want to overclock.
Here's a configuration for $695 before mail in rebates and gift cards that's capable of running current and upcoming games on reasonably high settings at 1080p. With such a large budget, I guess you should add in an SSD, Crucial M4 128GB for $197 (pricematch with http://www.pc-canada.com/item.asp?item=CT128M4SSD2): http://ncix.com/products/?sku=60445
Core i5 2400 @ $174 (with promo code COLLEGETOUR11)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074
Intel H61 @ $65 (pricematch with http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=12200BD3315 )
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=59496
MSI GTX 560 Ti Twin Frozr II @ $240 ($220 after gift card, $195 after mail in rebate)
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=58303&promoid=1370
Mushkin 2x4GB @ $38 ($33 after mail in rebate) (pricematch with http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=16950BD3503 )
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=55544
Bitfenix Shinobi @ $50
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=60584&promoid=1370
+ Show Spoiler +or whatever expensive case that appeals to you
DVD Burner @ $17
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=60857&promoid=1370
XFX Core Edition 450 @ $51 ($31 after mail in rebate) (pricematch with http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=16950AC3542 )
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=63238
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB @ $60 (w/ promo code CEMCKBGJ22, ends 9/6)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
**edit: Oh, the GTX 560 Ti isn't capable of running three monitors so you may need to get a Radeon HD6950 1GB or Radeon HD6870 if you want to run three monitors off a single card. The other alternative is to just get an in-expensive secondary graphics card and plug the third monitor into that. Another alternative if your'e overclocking, you could get a Z68 motherboard.
On September 04 2011 13:01 LazyMacro wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On September 04 2011 10:40 skyR wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On September 04 2011 09:57 LazyMacro wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On September 04 2011 08:22 skyR wrote:So if you want to do Eyefinity at some point in time, you should get two 6950 2GBs. Getting a P8Z68 Deluxe is a waste of money for someone who's never even overclocked before and primarily gaming. You're not going to be using SSD caching since you have a 120gb SSD already. You're not going to be using the IGP since obviously you can't. You probably aren't going to notice the difference between an Intel NIC and a Realtek NIC. You're probably not going to be using the dual ethernet ports provided by the deluxe. You aren't using LN2 or any premium cooling solution so the extra phases on the board goes to waste. A P8Z68 Deluxe isn't any better than a P8P67 (~$150) or a Asrock P67 Pro3 (~$120) because you don't know what half the features that the Deluxe offers over the other boards and won't even utilize these features at all. You might as well get 8GB if you are doing SLI / Eyefinity. It's sort of the norm these days =\ And the 650 variant of the TXv2 is enough for an overclocked 2600k and CrossfireX 6950 2GB configuration. A 2600k is going to be obsolete at the same time the 2500k is going to be obsolete. Games are just starting to utilize quad cores and if you think many of the upcoming games are going to utilize more than four cores anytime soon, you're sadly mistaken. By the time your 2600k provides an improvement over the 2500k because of its hyperthreading, you'll be wanting a new processor and a $200 Skymont will provide a significant increase in performance. Higher frequency and tighter timings on memory also provides very little benefits but I guess if you are already spending this much on a configuration, it doesn't hurt to have a better resale value and fancier heatspreaders: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/memory/display/sandy-bridge-ddr3.htmlhttp://www.anandtech.com/show/4503/sandy-bridge-memory-scaling-choosing-the-best-ddr3http://techreport.com/articles.x/20377 Thanks, I'll look through those links in a bit. WRT GPUs, what would you recommend for Nvidia cards if I'm going to get one or two? Edit: I'm not interested in Eyefinity if it makes a difference. Those are just links showing the negligible differences there are between the varying timings and frequencies of memory. If you're interested in seeing the difference between a 2500k and 2600k in gaming than here's one showing stock and overclocked values: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i7-2600k-990x_9.html#sect2 Here's another one: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-review-intel-core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/20Here's one for BC2, one of very few games that shows an improvement with a quad over a dual: http://www.guru3d.com/article/core-i5-2500k-and-core-i7-2600k-review/21Note that the core i7 2600 is slightly better than the 2500 due to its additional cache and slightly higher clock speed. The difference is negligible. If you're not interested in Eyefinity than a single GPU solution is more than enough to run games on reasonably high settings for the next year or two at 1080p. Here's two articles showing the performance of various cards: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/graphics/display/geforce-gtx-560-ti_9.html#sect4 (Note, that the GTX 560 in this article is the GTX 560 Ti, not the less expensive GTX 560 with 336 cuda cores priced at sub $200) and http://www.anandtech.com/show/4135/If you want an Nvidia card than you should get a GTX 560 Ti such as Gigabyte Windforce, MSI Twin Frozr II, ASUS DirectCu II or EVGA -KR (or -AR if you want lifetime warranty). http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125363http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127565http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121424http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130623http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130610You could spring for a GTX 570 but the performance difference between it and a GTX 560 Ti doesn't really justify the price difference. Your decision. Furthermore if you don't need SLI since you're not interested in 3D Surround (Nvidia's version of Eyefinity). You don't need a SLI capable board so an ASUS P8P67 board would do fine. It has the same amount of phases as the P8P67 Pro, the only things it doesn't have from the Pro is an Intel NIC (uses a Realtek one instead), advance RMA option, and maybe some other minor details. You also wouldn't need a 750w power supply. An overclocked configuration with a single GPU would be able to run off a ~500w power supply (good ones include but not limited to Seasonic S12II, Antec High Current Gamer, XFX Core Edition Pro, Antec Neo Eco, Antec Earthwatts, ...) and have room for future upgrades as well since a core i5 2500k uses roughly 60w / core i7 2600k uses roughly 90w and a GTX 560 Ti uses roughly 160w, all under load. Such an overclocked configuration would barely break 300w under a gaming load . Wow, thank you so much (again!). At this point, I've decided I want to keep my options open for later on. So, I don't want to make sure I can use SLI/Crossfire, 3D/Eyefinity, etc. but I think I'm still going to get a Z68 motherboard, preferably from Asus/ASRock. I know I'm spending more on things I won't use right away, or maybe never, but yeah. Any particular recommendations on a Z68 mobo? I agree 100% that the P8Z68 Deluxe is too much stuff I won't make use of, and it's expensive when there are cheaper Z68 mobos out there. The ASRock Z68 Extreme4 looks nice, but if I go with that, should I get the Gen3 model? My understanding is I couldn't make use of the PCI 3.0 because I'd still have a Sandy Bridge CPU, when Ivy is what will allow PCI 3.0. I'm guessing I should only get the Gen3 if I really intend to make use of that later on. I've been looking at GPUs a lot, and not surprisingly, I had decided on either the MSI GTX 560 Ti OC or Hawk. I used NewEgg to do a comparison and the Hawk is basically the same as the OC but with slightly faster core and shader clocks. I bet the difference between the two is trivial. If it were you, would you go with the OC which has more reviews and customer choice awards, or would you go with the Hawk which is another $15, slightly faster clocks, and a stamp of approval for gaming from Tom's Hardware? Now I just have to decide on a PSU. Do you have any particular recommendation given I'm going to go with one GPU but might add a second later on? I know you listed a bunch before; I just didn't know if the new information would change anything in terms of wattage.
SLI is sort of a bad upgrade path not only because it requires more power and more money to be spent on the motherboard and power supply but you're also screwed if the game has poor SLI scaling because it favors AMD's CrossfireX or it doesn't support SLI at all. There's also not going to be DX12 support if you care about that. And in three years time, there's going to be a ~$250 card like the GTX 560 Ti that will outperform your SLI configuration consistently.
The difference between the two you're looking at is that the Hawk comes with a Twin Frozr III heatsink while the OC comes with a Twin Frozr II heatsink. Differences are negligible so ya, I would just get the Twin Frozr II and overclock yourself.
Here's two articles showing different GTX 560 Ti at various clock speeds: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/gf-gtx560-ti-roundup.html and http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/40552-nvidia-geforce-gtx-560-ti-roundup-asus-evga-gigabyte-msi.html
The XFX Core Edition 550 would be pushing it if you are overclocking the processor and both graphics cards and the unit won't have enough PCIe connectors for the second card so you'll going to be using two adapters. Though some 650 units don't have enough PCIe connectors either =\ I would either go with a XFX Core Edition 650 or Seasonic S12II 620
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207014
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151096 (lol were Seasonic PSUs always this cheap? Maybe it's Newegg just being stupid =\ )
Other choices include the Corsair TX650v2 , Antec High Current Gamer 620, and Antec Earthwatts 650. The XFX Core Edition and Corsair TXv2 are both manufactured by Seasonic and based off the same design, basically the same thing with a different casing and branding. Seasonic S12II and Antec High Current Gamer 620 are also both made by Seasonic, basically the same thing again.
Keep in mind only the XFX Core Edition provides 4 PCIe connectors while you will have to use adapters with the other ones I recommended.
Ya, PCIe 3.0 requires Ivybridge. If you are skipping Ivybridge, there's little point in getting the gen3 (unless it's cheaper of course).
Why are you set on getting a Z68 board? The only benefit it provides over a P67 board is SSD caching, IGP capabilities. I doubt you would be using SSD caching since I'm sure you have the budget to get a decently sized (64gb or 128gb) SSD in the future. At these sizes, SSD caching is pointless as all your primary software can be stored on the SSD (unless you don't uninstall games you never play or have a crap ton of software). IGP capabilities allow for lucid (which switches between the GPUs depending on tasks to save power. I doubt you care about saving power since you're interested in SLI) and for Quick Sync (encoding stuff).
If you've changed your mind about Z68, I'd go for an Asrock P67 Extreme4: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157265
If you didn't change your mind, the ASUS P8Z68-V which oddly enough is (slightly) better (imo) and less expensive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131729
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A couple more questions:
Those articles you linked conclude that DDR3 1600 is best overall for Sandy Bridge CPUs. Earlier you mentioned you should use 8GB RAM if you're using SLI/Crossfire. If I go with one GPU for now, but later on add another GPU (even though I'd probably replace the GPU entirely) should I get 8GB RAM? I'm trying to decide now if I should get 4 or 8GB of memory, and if I get 8, if I should get the 1333 over the 1600 (NewEgg has a good deal on 8GB DDR3 1333).
Is having too much power from a PSU just as bad as not having enough?
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The only article that concluded 1600MHz was best was Anandtech's which I don't agree with. I will never recommend 1600MHz for Sandybridge unless it's less expensive than 1333MHz.
It wasn't really about using 8GB with Eyefinity / SLI. It was more of a "you have money for SLI / CrossfireX, you might as well spend a measly amount of money for 8GB." Of course the decision is up to you.
Having too much power isn't as bad as not having enough. Besides the obvious of wasting money, the only other downside is you'll be running at a lower efficiency so you'll have a higher electricity bill.
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Oh, I must've misread something. I thought I saw two articles conclude that 1600 was generally better than 1333.
About the PSU PCIe connectors, most GPUs need 2x6 pin connectors, so like you said only the XFX PSU has enough to power two GPUs unless I have adapters. Is needing adapters a bad thing? I mean, if I do decide to go with SLI before I buy, should I buy a PSU that has 4x6 pin PCIe connectors? I guess I don't know how important the adapter issue is.
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Using adapters isn't a bad thing, you're basically just rewiring it. Since most adapters are one PCIe to two molex, you may run out of connectors though. In which case, you would need fan header adapters or daisy chain some fans.
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That sounds like a pain in the ass.
What's your personal recommendation on memory given that I probably won't do SLI? I'm guessing 4GB DDR3 1333?
Edit: One more question. -_- Earlier you said an overclocked configuration with one GPU would only need 500W of power. What if you were to add another GPU? 600W?
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EPT
