Components for new build around Core i7-2600K (Sandy Bridge) ?

Cableguy

Hi there,

I have recenlty purchased an Intel i7 2600 (Sandybridge) CPU and I am very confused about what motherboard to buy for it! The reason Im confused is that this chip has graphics functions built onto the dye of the CPU! So Im wondering if I buy a board with SLI support and use two graphics cards will these by-pass the graphics capability on the CPU? Thinking of abit of gaming to I hear alot mentioned about a discret graphics which I dont fully understand! is this just another way to say an add in graphics card?

The main reason I am upgrading is because my current machine is taking forever to edit anything in Photoshop or Lightroom. The files Im processing are 24mb Canon 7D RAW files and I m looking for something that is much quicker and less painfull.

So Im also looking at upgrading to Windows 7 64bit and equiping it with 16GB or even 32GB of memory!

One last thought is about the PSU to buy and its wattage what determines this? is it the motherboard or teh graphics cards a combination of them all ? I've a 500 watt PSU Ive just bought so would this do the job?

Anyway much appreciate anyone who can shed any light on the subject...

Thanks for reading.

seyeM

If you have a 2600K chip, get a P67 motherboard, these allow overclocking and can give a significant performance boost to either a 2500k or 2600k. The integrated graphics on the CPU cannot be used on a P67 board.

H67 motherboards on the other hand severely limit overclocking, but allow the integrated graphics on the CPU to be used. It sports a DVI/VGA adaptor on the back panel IO port. A graphics card can be used too, and the onboard one disabled. They're to be avoided by the sound of your needs.

Yes discrete graphics is a graphics card seperate to the motherboard.

If you need 16GBs of RAM 2 sets of these would do the trick without breaking the bank. They will fill all of the RAM slots though.
http://www3.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=33967&agid=1192

The PSU really depends on model and brand, you need to say what yours is. Requirements depend primarily on CPU and graphics card(s) and the overclocks being run on them, after that things like HDDs, DVD drives, fans etc come in, but they don't add too much to the total draw.

- What's your budget?
- What components do you already have (or plan to reuse from your first PC)?
- What games do you have in mind and what resolution do you plan to play them at?

Cableguy

Thanks for your reply SeyeM

I have the CPU, a solid state HD, DVD ROM, the case and PSU (500watt) an I've set aside about €300 for a board an RAM an anything else !

Now Im wondering what the graphics capabilities of boards with the H67 chipset is like! To be honest Im not a mad gamer and really Im just upgrading to edit my photos so Id probably very rarely play a game if at all...!

One thin I am thinking of in the future is that Im planning to get a a 42" or maybe a little bigger TV and would like to connact this machine to it via HDMI to watch movies and maybe play a game!

Cheers for clearing up the discret graphics thing

Serephucus

While the Sandy Bridge IGP is great on power consumption, over all it's not that fantastic with anything heavy. Even a GT430 will double your framerate in any sort of game.

Especially if you're looking at a 42" monitor, you'll need something better if you're planning on playing any games, no matter how basic.