So is it the wrong time to upgrade cpu?

py2006

I'm considering upgrading my Q6600 to an i5 2500k but I am hearing about new cpu's coming out in April.

So is it a bad time, should we wait for them?
Will the current gen prices reduce accordingly?

I presume it is the same with the video cards. Is there a new selection due out shortly that will bring prices down on the current gen?

I also want to upgrade my HD4870 to something that can handle games better.

Any thoughts?

dan_ep82

There will always be rumors (or confirmed) whispers of next gen cpu/gpu's just around the corner,its just the way it is.

The next gen of intel's CPU are due out the middle of 2012 yes. But the i5 2500k is extremly good at what it does,and even if the new CPU's are faster im betting you'll pay for it while the i5 will work just as well.

AMD are releasing they're 7XXX series cards in january. I'd wait until then to upgrade. The 7970 will be releseased and should push the prices of the 5XX series nvidia and 6XXX series of ATI down even if you don't want to spend 500+ for the 7970

uberpixie

py2006 wrote: »

I'm considering upgrading my Q6600 to an i5 2500k but I am hearing about new cpu's coming out in April.

So is it a bad time, should we wait for them?
Will the current gen prices reduce accordingly?

I presume it is the same with the video cards. Is there a new selection due out shortly that will bring prices down on the current gen?

I also want to upgrade my HD4870 to something that can handle games better.

Any thoughts?

I'm in the same boat: I have already upgraded from a 4870 to a 6950 and I am sitting on my hands until April/May to see what Ivy Bridge brings to the table.

I have been on a B3 revision Q6600 for the last five years so I'm not in much of a rush (or so I keep telling myself.....;) )

A 2500K now is hardly a wrong choice though....

gfx card wise: Nvidia 560ti, Radeon 6950, Radeon 6970 or an Nvidia 570 would be the minimum what I would upgrade to from a 4870. Anything less is not really a jump and more of a sidestep in performance tbh....

Ati no doubt will have a 7950 out at some stage and Nvidia are due to release their new cards in a little while.

Still you can get a 6950/560ti for €220-250 and I'm sure you could snag a bargain if you shopped around.

py2006

uberpixie wrote: »

I'm in the same boat: I have already upgraded from a 4870 to a 6950 and I am sitting on my hands until April/May to see what Ivy Bridge brings to the

Thanks for the post.

Was there much of a performance gain here?

uncle_sam_ie

From what I've been reading Ivy Bridge will only be a small improvement over Sandybridge. Haswell coming in 2013, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haswell_(microarchitecture) they say is the next big chip to come and the one to wait for.

py2006

Hmm. it hard to know what to do. I could wait for the ivy-bridge in April but by then I will be told to wait for the haswell! haha can't win!

uncle_sam_ie

I took the plunge three weeks ago and went for a i5 2500K. I don't regret it's had months to prove that it's a great processor.

ShadowHearth

uncle_sam_ie wrote: »

I took the plunge three weeks ago and went for a i5 2500K. I don't regret it's had months to prove that it's a great processor.

i did same thing.

april is still quite far away, and if you will be chasing new technology, you will newer have any system.

2500k is a briliant CPU. for me as gamer its just best i can get. Ivy will be an upgrade on sandy, but it wont be too much of performance leap, that it would force me to upgrade. to sum all that gamers rely on GPUs, not CPUs these days, so 2500k will stay in my system for a wile. If i will need an upgrade i am sorted anyway: 1155 socket!

py2006

Is there a particular motherboard and memory that compliments the 2500?

If I go for it I will also have to replace motherboard, memory!

uncle_sam_ie

py2006 wrote: »

Is there a particular motherboard and memory that compliments the 2500?

If I go for it I will also have to replace motherboard, memory!

You need a 1155 board. I just bought this one a few days ago http://www.komplett.ie/Komplett/product/ZKB_01COM/15_MOBO/02_INT1155/productdetails/20082775/ASUS_P8Z68_V_Pro_Socket_1155_ATX/90_MIBFI0_G0EAY00Z/default.aspx

Memory is DDR3.

py2006

This is what I am looking at getting (before midnight maybe) haha

HIS ATI Radeon HD 6950 IceQ X Turbo
i5-2500
Asus P8P67 PRO
Corsair Vengeance 16GB (slight overkill but mem is cheap at mo)

kfish2oo2

py2006 wrote: »

This is what I am looking at getting (before midnight maybe) haha

HIS ATI Radeon HD 6950 IceQ X Turbo
i5-2500
Asus P8P67 PRO
Corsair Vengeance 16GB (slight overkill but mem is cheap at mo)

Double yes for the HD 6950 IceQ X. Just got the same model myself and its a beast of a card, and very, very quiet. Temperatures are pretty stable too, never peaking above 70C.

PseudoFamous

py2006 wrote: »

This is what I am looking at getting (before midnight maybe) haha

HIS ATI Radeon HD 6950 IceQ X Turbo
i5-2500
Asus P8P67 PRO
Corsair Vengeance 16GB (slight overkill but mem is cheap at mo)

Hit the skids there, that's just a 2500, not a 2500K

No point in getting a non-overclockable 2500.

py2006

PseudoFamous wrote: »

Hit the skids there, that's just a 2500, not a 2500K

No point in getting a non-overclockable 2500.

Wouldn't know where to start with overclocking. They are out of the K version at overclockers.

uncle_sam_ie

py2006 wrote: »

Wouldn't know where to start with overclocking. They are out of the K version at overclockers.

It's not that hard. http://www.clunk.org.uk/forums/overclocking/39184-p67-sandy-bridge-overclocking-guide-beginners.html
You could go with one of there overclocked bundles if you really don't want to do it. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=43&catid=2053

Monotype

Very easy to do. I wouldn't bother with overclocked bundles unless it was nearly the same price. The 2500K is definitely worth it.

py2006

uncle_sam_ie wrote: »

It's not that hard. http://www.clunk.org.uk/forums/overclocking/39184-p67-sandy-bridge-overclocking-guide-beginners.html
You could go with one of there overclocked bundles if you really don't want to do it. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=43&catid=2053

Yea I looked at them. If I was gonna go the overclock route I would like to do it myself.

Kinda worried about the cooler taking over space, particularly for the memory.

Eboggles

py2006 wrote: »

Wouldn't know where to start with overclocking. They are out of the K version at overclockers.

If you don't want to overclock, there's no point in getting an overclockable chipset. A h61 mobo would be fine, but I really recommend you consider it. It's literally 3.3 -> 4.x ghz in 5 minutes and a bit of testing.
This is a really good motherboard if you're not going to OC.
By the way, 16gb of ram is complete overkill, 100 pounds is not cheap. This 8gb set is much cheaper (8gb won't be used at all for the next while, so you're sorted), and it hasn't got ridiculous heat spreaders which can get in the way of the cpu cooler. It's crucial so you know it's good quality.

That money (160 pounds) could be put towards a better gpu, 6970 or gtx 570 and still money left over!

So savings:
HIS ATI Radeon HD 6950 IceQ X Turbo
i5-2500
Asus P8P67 PRO
Corsair Vengeance 16GB = £610

i5-2400
Msi Twin Frozr HD6970
Asus P8H61 Plus
Crucial 8gb = £535

= £75 and a better gpu!

If you wanted to overclock, take this cpu cooler, and this cpu, along with this motherboard. I think you're all set!

BTW here's a comparison between the 2400 and 2500, no difference when not overclocking.

Hope this helps

py2006

Eboggles wrote: »

If you don't want to overclock, there's no point in getting an overclockable chipset. A h61 mobo would be fine, but I really recommend you consider it. It's literally 3.3 -> 4.x ghz in 5 minutes and a bit of testing.
This is a really good motherboard if you're not going to OC.
By the way, 16gb of ram is complete overkill, 100 pounds is not cheap. This 8gb set is much cheaper (8gb won't be used at all for the next while, so you're sorted), and it hasn't got ridiculous heat spreaders which can get in the way of the cpu cooler. It's crucial so you know it's good quality.

That money (160 pounds) could be put towards a better gpu, 6970 or gtx 570 and still money left over!

So savings:
HIS ATI Radeon HD 6950 IceQ X Turbo
i5-2500
Asus P8P67 PRO
Corsair Vengeance 16GB = £610

i5-2400
Msi Twin Frozr HD6970
Asus P8H61 Plus
Crucial 8gb = £535

= £75 and a better gpu!

If you wanted to overclock, take this cpu cooler, and this cpu, along with this motherboard. I think you're all set!

BTW here's a comparison between the 2400 and 2500, no difference when not overclocking.

Hope this helps

Wow, that was a lot of work on your part! Thanks for that. I think its a peace of mind thing with the "better" stuff.

I think I may try the overclocking malarky, sure why not.

Curiously, does that Asrock motherboard only have USB 3.0?

Eboggles

py2006 wrote: »

Eboggles wrote: »

If you don't want to overclock, there's no point in getting an overclockable chipset. A h61 mobo would be fine, but I really recommend you consider it. It's literally 3.3 -> 4.x ghz in 5 minutes and a bit of testing.
This is a really good motherboard if you're not going to OC.
By the way, 16gb of ram is complete overkill, 100 pounds is not cheap. This 8gb set is much cheaper (8gb won't be used at all for the next while, so you're sorted), and it hasn't got ridiculous heat spreaders which can get in the way of the cpu cooler. It's crucial so you know it's good quality.

That money (160 pounds) could be put towards a better gpu, 6970 or gtx 570 and still money left over!

So savings:
HIS ATI Radeon HD 6950 IceQ X Turbo
i5-2500
Asus P8P67 PRO
Corsair Vengeance 16GB = £610

i5-2400
Msi Twin Frozr HD6970
Asus P8H61 Plus
Crucial 8gb = £535

= £75 and a better gpu!

If you wanted to overclock, take this cpu cooler, and this cpu, along with this motherboard. I think you're all set!

BTW here's a comparison between the 2400 and 2500, no difference when not overclocking.

Hope this helps

Wow, that was a lot of work on your part! Thanks for that. I think its a peace of mind thing with the "better" stuff.

I think I may try the overclocking malarky, sure why not.

Curiously, does that Asrock motherboard only have USB 3.0?

Nope, has four 2.0 at the back, just checked their website. +1 on the overclocking though!

py2006

Eboggles wrote: »

Nope, has four 2.0 at the back, just checked their website. +1 on the overclocking though!

Just briefly read the conclusion part of 2 reviews for the Asrock, largely positive but it did mention that some stuff are left out. I wasn't really sure what they were referring to.

py2006

HIS ATI Radeon HD 6970
Intel Core i5-2500k
Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68
Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB)
Xigmatek Red Scorpion CPU Cooler

EDIT: Crap, do I need paste?

Eboggles

py2006 wrote: »

HIS ATI Radeon HD 6970
Intel Core i5-2500k
Gigabyte Z68AP-D3 Intel Z68
Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB)
Xigmatek Red Scorpion CPU Cooler

EDIT: Crap, do I need paste?

I wouldn't say so, but you could pick up some artic silver for a fiver

uberpixie

Soundcard?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SC-011-AS&groupid=701&catid=11&subcat=

@ £19 Would be better than onboard and has dolby headphone which sounds nice...

Got an Asus Xonar D1 myself recently (replaced a 10 yr old creative Audigy 1), they are very good cards and the DG isn't greatly different in sound quality to the more expensive cards in the xonar line....

Also def keep your options open and get a K version of the i2500. Overclocking my Q6600 to 3Ghz has helped smooth things out for me in games and clocking gives you a bit of breathing space towards the end of the life of the chip, didn't bother overclocking for the first three years and overclocked for the last two. You can always run at stock for ages until you have to overclock.

Kirby

Any motherboard over 150 nowadays will have good onboard sound and optical out. Personally, I wouldn't bother with a sound card.

You are much better off spending the money on a good set of headphones. The amount of people who spend 100 quid on a soundcard and then play their stuff through 8 euro headphones makes me laugh.

PseudoFamous

Kirby wrote: »

The amount of people who spend 100 quid on a soundcard and then play their stuff through 8 euro headphones makes me laugh.

Do they.. do they exist?

py2006

I have a good sound card and headphones so I am sorted there!

X-Fi XtremeGamer with Sennhesier HD555

nesf

Kirby wrote: »

Any motherboard over 150 nowadays will have good onboard sound and optical out. Personally, I wouldn't bother with a sound card.

I disagree, 150 quid board on-board sound was a good bit worse than a £25 Xonar DG for me in terms of detailing etc. When you can get a dedicated sound card for so little I don't think it's unreasonable to get one. Dolby Headphone is nice for some movies (I hate, hate, hate it for music).


Though yes, if you're spending money on sound get a good pair of headphones before you spend money on a soundcard. Though even the likes of the sub £20 Koss Portapros will improve with a better sound source, bear in mind that not all cheap headphones are crap, just the vast majority of them.