New parts advice - surprise!

Shy_Dave!

Hi all,
Shure your sick of these threads asking for part advice but I guess it's better when we create a thread for each specific situation.
I'm looking to replace some parts soon, This will primarily be for gaming. Budget of about 300-400 euro.

CPU
Motherboard
Memory (68GB)

CPU-wise I've got my eyes set on the i5-2500k, seems like a popular choice and a good overclocker.
I have a CNPS 9700 LED cooler which I believe is compatible with socket 1155.
I will probably keep this and see how well it can cool the i5 at stock and OCed.

Motherboard-wise I'm out of the loop and need help.
Need one with the ability to crossfire at least PCI-E 2.0 x8 x8 and is an easy overclocker when coupled with the i5-2500k CPU.
Getting a board with the latest USB/SATA modes isn't a necessity but would be nice. Decent onboard sound is required!

Memory-wise Ripjaws seem popular, don't really know much about DDR3 memory either.
If any of you have any tips for memory be my guest!
Looking to get 6-8GB but don't think I want to spend over 55 euro on RAM.

My current spec:

HAF 912 PLUS case
P5Q Deluxe
Q6600 at 3.2ghz
8GB DDR2 RAM
5850 x 2.
650w power supply (From a company not well known, I had my doubts about it but it has ran my current CPU and crossfire setup fine so I would think it would cope fine).
I'm guessing the new motherboard/CPU will still use the normal power supply connections that my current spec uses, such as the 24-pin motherboard connector?

Am in the process of selling items for fund this, and will be selling my old CPU/MB and memory. My budget is about 300-400 euro.
Thanks for any help you give guys, much appreciated.

IrishMetalhead

this should fit the bill nicely:

Item|Price
Total build cost: €342.22 + €30 shipping
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155|€185.23
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€116.27
8GB-Kit G.Skill RipJaws-X PC3-12800U CL9|€40.72

Shy_Dave!

Thanks for the suggestion.
Do Hardwareversand still only take bank transfer or will they do Paypal now?
I'm also keeping my eyes on Overclockers everyday.
They seem to have CPUs for the daily deal quite often.

Serephucus

This works out €45 cheaper, mainly because of free delivery.

Item|Price
Total build cost: €337.64 (inc delivery Free!)
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz LGA1155 6MB|€196.58
Asus P8Z68-V LX S1155 Intel Z68 DDR3 ATX|€100.06
Kingston 8GB (2 x 2GB) HyperX DDR3 1600MHz DIMM 240-pin CL9 XMP Grey|€41.00

k.p.h

Serephucus wrote: »

This works out €45 cheaper, mainly because of free delivery.

Item|Price
Total build cost: €337.64 (inc delivery Free!)
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz LGA1155 6MB|€196.58
Asus P8Z68-V LX S1155 Intel Z68 DDR3 ATX|€100.06
Kingston 8GB (2 x 2GB) HyperX DDR3 1600MHz DIMM 240-pin CL9 XMP Grey|€41.00

Quick question about the RAM (might be a silly one). It's 8GB , but it only says 2x2GB. I think I understand about it being dual channel, but then should it not be 2(2x2GB) ..? Or is it and I just don't cop it .?

Serephucus

It's just a typo. If you have a look in the specs tab underneath, it's 8 (2x4).

k.p.h

Ah the specifications tab, all the way over their ..!

One more quick question (sorry OP) Whats better 2x4GB or 2(2x2GB). So two modules can be accessed at the same time, can two sets of modules be accessed at the same time ..?

Shy_Dave!

No worries KPH, interested to know the answers myself!

IrishMetalhead

tbh i think it would be well worth it to spend a little bit more on the motherboard, the one that kph is a good motherboard but it's not so great for overclocking mainly because of it's power phase design despite it being it having a z68 chipset, but it's only a worth while option if your into overclocking in general:

Item|Price
Total build cost: €389.18 (inc delivery Free!)
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz LGA1155 6MB|€196.58
Kingston 8GB (2 x 2GB) HyperX DDR3 1600MHz DIMM 240-pin CL9 XMP Grey|€41.00
Asus P8Z68-V S1155 Intel Z68 DDR3 ATX|€151.60

Genghiz Cohen

For overclocking, what cooler would you guys put on there?

thysol

To be honest, what is the point in upgrading? Your system is still pretty fast and should be able to handle the latest games.:)

Shy_Dave!

Combination of things really:
Although it can handle a game like Metro 2033 O.K (not great but O.K), with Battlefield 3 for instance the CPU is at 100% and bottlenecking my 5850's.
I am actually having to disable one of them to bring my CPU usage down and get a decent framerate. 3.2ghz is the limit I've been able to reach on my CPU (Older B3 stepping).

Also it seems like the Intel prices are slowly creeping up after the 'failure' of AMD's Bulldozer line.
I think it is a good time to buy the new parts and still get some decent money selling my old stuff.

Shy_Dave!

Bump!
Would this be a decent board?

MSI Z68A-GD55-G3 Intel Z68

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-191-MS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1990

Overclockers/MSI have an offer on these until the 21st.
Buy one and get a 20% rebate, basically buying it with no VAT (Probably only UK sadly).

Edit* Even in the manual for this motherboard I can't see what the PCIE lane speeds are when the board is using crossfire/SLI.
Am I to assume that it would be x8 x8?

Shy_Dave!

Just an update to say thanks everyone.
Have ordered a Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 for 134 euro delivered.
Once I sell a computer bundle I have on adverts I will be ordering a 2500k with 8GB of corsair xms3. Cheers all, will post some pictures in the 'Your main PC' thread!

Eamonn Brophy

Genghiz Cohen wrote: »

For overclocking, what cooler would you guys put on there?

On a budget, probably the CM 212

Otherwise the thermaltake frio