Building a new pc

[JG14_Jagr]

Originally Posted by Spartan

As far as the CPU goes, get the best you can afford. For me, that was AMD, and I'm very pleased. My 955BE does 3.6GHz without touching the voltages and the CPU and Motherboard cost me under $300 USD. In terms of price/performance, you can't beat an AMD system right now. However, if you can afford an i5 or i7 2X00, by all means go for it.

an i5 2500K costs $200 It certainly is more bang, and far more bang for the buck at roughly 2/3rds the price of the AMD. The Sandy Bridge MSI board is a single button press OC solution that is an outstanding game platform..

I've used both AMD and Intel before.. I always chose the best bang for the investment...and right now you can fanboy all you want, the i5 2500K and the i7 2600K are the best choices.. personally I'd go i5 but your mileage may vary

[sod16]

Intel's mid top range is always a bang for the buck. For some reason they release Extreme series which always cost 5 times more then the non extreme series. The only difference is a few Ghz here and there.

My Q6600 one of the first 4 core processors is pretty much still on par with current quad cores. In no way is the new i5's/7s a HUGE leap. This is primary reason I want an 8 core processor. I remember when I was buying the Q66, everyone was saying get the duo core equivalent because it "performs" better with games... Now look who's laughing. Same goes with hyperthreading... Do not be fooled by current performance issues. Your time will come.

[jayrc]

WOW, still alot to think about, looks like I can afford the i5 2500k, will be going with 6950/70 gpu, wont be getting the sim till april whatever, still not sure which mobo to get?

when do you think the prices will start dropping on hardware.

thanks everyone for your help

[GOZR]

"My Q6600 one of the first 4 core processors is pretty much still on par with current quad cores. In no way is the new i5's/7s a HUGE leap."
well sorry but from Q6600 and i72500K or 2600K yes it's a huge jump !

[sod16]

Originally Posted by GOZR

"My Q6600 one of the first 4 core processors is pretty much still on par with current quad cores. In no way is the new i5's/7s a HUGE leap."
well sorry but from Q6600 and i72500K or 2600K yes it's a huge jump !

Clock for clock i7's vs Q6600's are hardly mind blowing, infact clock for clock it is laughable... However, a jump from 4 cores to 8 would be a 100% increase on top of that you have the slight jump in clock for clock performance.

[JG14_Jagr]

Originally Posted by jayrc

WOW, still alot to think about, looks like I can afford the i5 2500k, will be going with 6950/70 gpu, wont be getting the sim till april whatever, still not sure which mobo to get?

when do you think the prices will start dropping on hardware.

thanks everyone for your help

I would recommend the MSI P67A GD65 (B3 Revision) very very highly... The HUGE advantage is you add the 2500K or 2600K, some good DDR3 RAM, shut down the PC, press a button on the mobo and POOF! You are automatically Overclocked without having to tweak anything.. I means nothing.. no BIOS settings at all.. It could not be any easier..

[sod16]

Originally Posted by JG14_Jagr

I would recommend the MSI P67A GD65 (B3 Revision) very very highly... The HUGE advantage is you add the 2500K or 2600K, some good DDR3 RAM, shut down the PC, press a button on the mobo and POOF! You are automatically Overclocked without having to tweak anything.. I means nothing.. no BIOS settings at all.. It could not be any easier..

MSI is a untrustworthy brand, I have a computer with an MSI mobo and never again. Gigabyte do one of THE best mobo's on this planet. Get a UEFI Mobo aswell, check multiple reviews and make sure its SLI/xfire + USB 3 Ready.

Also, I'd go for a XFX Black edition (super overclocked or so on) of whatever card you get. Definately worth the extra £20.

[jayrc]

Originally Posted by JG14_Jagr

I would recommend the MSI P67A GD65 (B3 Revision) very very highly... The HUGE advantage is you add the 2500K or 2600K, some good DDR3 RAM, shut down the PC, press a button on the mobo and POOF! You are automatically Overclocked without having to tweak anything.. I means nothing.. no BIOS settings at all.. It could not be any easier..

The i5 2500k cpu says ddr 3 1066/1333mhz and the msi mobo says 1600mhz (oc). will I be able to use 8 gb of 1600mhz ram? this is my first build and I'm not to sure about stuff like that. Thanks

[sod16]

Originally Posted by jayrc

The i5 2500k cpu says ddr 3 1066/1333mhz and the msi mobo says 1600mhz (oc). will I be able to use 8 gb of 1600mhz ram? this is my first build and I'm not to sure about stuff like that. Thanks

Mate, do not go for MSI, it is not a very good brand. I definately recommend Gigabyte, they are less prone to errors. MSI is also picky with ram.

get a Intel CPU Core i5 2500K Unlocked

[jayrc]

which gigabyte mobo do you recommend?