Building my new rig

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andy06shake

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I am upgrading my system next month on a budget of around £500. New mainboard, cpu+cooler and DDR3 memory. My main choices so far are the Asus P6X58D-E Intel X58(£168), Intel Core i7 930 2.80Ghz Bloomfield(£216) and Corsairs 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz XMS3 Memory Kit(£130.00). However if anyone out there could give me any better ideas on other/better components for around the same price i would love to here your input?
 
Why the i750, is that CPU not slower than the i930 i know they both feature Intel TurboBoost takeing them to around 3.3Ghz. Is it because the FSB on the i750 is unlocked?
 
Why the i750, is that CPU not slower than the i930 i know they both feature Intel TurboBoost takeing them to around 3.3Ghz. Is it because the FSB on the i750 is unlocked?
All FSB's are unlocked, and because its cheaper.
 
Under the circumsances I would endorse Ritwik's view I think.
You could save a few quid by going i5 750/P55/2x2Gb RAM, but that is usually predicated upon the fact that X58 boards have been appreciatively more expensive than P55's. That is no longer the case with boards like the Asus you have picked and the Gigabyte X58A-UD3R. The feature set you get for the price is likely to be unmatched for a P55 board given that:
1. The extra PCI lanes means no fudging of performance if you want to use SATA 6Gb, either by lower than advertised bandwidth (if the P55 is using a PCI bridge chip), or robbing the board of it's PCI-E lanes.
2. You have the option of upgrading to either a new or pre-loved six-core at a later date if you so desire.
The price differential between the (slightly cheaper i5/2x2Gb RAM) CPU's and RAM kits is not great enough in my opinion to offset the performance gain provided by the 930.
 
The i5 sounds like a good idea, its not that far behind a 930 in real world bench test. You could save yourself some cash by downgrading from the 930 idea and still be happy. My i7 is still overkill now. Still gonna upgrade, but its my bad habit, hope all works out for you.
 
I would either:
- Get the i5 750 + a cheaper motherboard + cheaper RAM + Intel X25-V (better option overall I think)
- Get the i7 920 instead of the 930. It's the same processor but because it's discontinued so about £40 cheaper.
 
Im going with the 6GB of DDR3 memory to utilise the CPU's(i730) triple channel memory controller. Whats the point in going with 2x2 ram setup if i does not utilise the full extent of my CPUs memory controller?
 
Im going with the 6GB of DDR3 memory to utilise the CPU's(i730) triple channel memory controller. Whats the point in going with 2x2 ram setup if i does not utilise the full extent of my CPUs memory controller?

HK was suggesting 2x2GB for the i5 750. If you decide to stick with the i7 then 6GB is the way to go. I say you go with the i7 setup now. Add an SSD later after saving up. You'll be pretty "forward compatible" (red1776's alternative to future proof). :)
 
It is almost end of Q2 2010, and by end of Q4 2010 Intel would be launching new architecture i.e. Sandy Bridge based processors, IMHO if you have a decent C2Q or C2D system you may be better off holding for few more months. One reason for this suggestion is that newer processors will use newer chipset/boards (I'm not sure which socket though, but Intel have a habit of coming up with newer packaging). So far what little info I have been able to dig out, it seems that Sandy Bridge will be reasonably quicker than i7's.

However, if you have very old rig, or you are forced to upgrade due to some issues, then its altogether a different scenario, for which DBZ/Rit's very good suggestions can't be bettered easily. Regards
 
My specs E8500 3.16Ghz, ASUS P5N32-E SLI, 4Gb DDR2 667Mhz Kingston, GTX275 896Mb, Corsair 650TX. Its an average spec PC(Still plays latest games with all the bells and whistels on with no slow down). Used to be the dogs bollocks but its begining to show its age. So what do you thing should i hold out for the Sandybridge to become avalible in Q4? When Sandybride does become avalible wont it be well out of my price range?
 
If you're sticking with your GTX 275 there's no point in upgrading your CPU, RAM, mobo, etc. because I doubt the E8500 is going to be a bottleneck.

Sandy Bridge processors should run cooler and overclock higher than the i5/i7's, and will probably be worth waiting for. Also apparently they are going to be based on a new socket (surprise surprise) as mentioned above so your i7 930 might be feeling a bit outdated in a few months if you buy it now.

I don't think the mainstream Sandy Bridge processors will be too expensive, probably around the same price as the i5/i7's now. It's the 6 or 8 core ones which are going to come in at £1000 or some stupid price.
 
Im sticking with my GTX275 till Nvidia release a new DX11 card that dont brake my bank account. is better than ATI avalible cards or they get there temp issues(On air) sorted. Or until i can afford a new ATI 5000(mid range) range card.
 
If you're sticking with your GTX 275 there's no point in upgrading your CPU, RAM, mobo, etc. because I doubt the E8500 is going to be a bottleneck.

I must second slh28. The E8500 is a very good CPU. You shouldn't experience any problems in gaming while using that CPU with the GTX 275.

As Archean and slh28 have correctly pointed out, the Sandy Bridge CPUs will be a better investment a few months down the line. Your current CPU is powerful enough to last you till the Sandy Bridge lineup become affordable.
 
Bear in mind that the first Sandy Bridge chipset (for LGA1155) , the P67 is still basically a P55. The CPU has architectural changes and a new instruction set, so it will be faster than LGA1156- whether that translates to a leap in gaming performance is another matter. As you can see from this ASRock example there is no great leap in functionality.
The enthusiast Sandy Bridge part (LGA2011) is still some time away (Q3/Q4 2011 is usually quoted). This part is the natural successor to the X58 chipset and is the more highly anticipated part ( 4 channel DDR3-1600, PCI-E 3.0, 6 and 8 core ).
 
I want to build this system

Components:
Intel Core i5 750 2.66Ghz - £156.26
Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3 Intel P55A - £112.79
G.Skill Trident 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz - £93.99
HIS ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB - £124.54
Corsair 450W VX Series PSU - £53.44
Seagate Barracuda ST31000528AS 1TB - £50.51


However i would like to change the
G.Skill Trident 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz - £93.99
for a dominator ram model.

I would like the model to contain the same 1600MHz speed, latency and space.

I have £100 to spend, can you recommend one?
 
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