1. #1
    Deleted

    CPU and Motherboard Advice

    Hi

    I'm currently shopping around for components for my first build to keep me from getting bored over the summer and i'm a little stumped as to what Processor and motherboard to get.

    The PC will be pretty much only be used to play WoW with a little video editing/rendering/recording at the same time. I've got around £400-450 to spend on everything including case, PSU, memory, HHD etc and needed some advice on the PSU and motherboard before i finish up and order. I've seen lots of recommendations here and everywhere else for the Intel Core i5 2500K but i was just wondering if this was more than i needed for what i want to do?

    Current choices are as follows:

    1)
    - MOBO: MSI P67A-GD53 (B3) P67 Socket 1155 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard
    - CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K 3.3GHz Socket 1155 6MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor

    2) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...39&subcat=1803
    - CPU: Intel Core i3 550 3.20GHz @ 4.00GHz
    - Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H55M-UD2H (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard
    - RAM: Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel
    - Cooler: Artic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev2 CPU cooler

    3) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=BU-035-OB
    - CPU: Intel Core i3 550 3.20GHz @ 4.40GHz
    - Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H55M-UD2H (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard
    - RAM: Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel
    - Cooler: Artic Cooling Freezer 7 CPU Cooler
    - Artic Silver 5 Thermal Compound

    I'm not particularly interested in overclocking myself at the moment but if the over clocked bundles are better for what i want to do moneywise then i don't mind picking them up. Crossfire and SLI isn't really a concern either if that has any bearing on things. If you want to know the components i have chosen give me a shout and i can post them for you.

    Thanks in advance

  2. #2
    Honestly, you would want something like an i5 2500 or 2500K if you're going to do some video editing and such. However, since it's not really in the budget, you would still want to leave room for upgrading and using a two-generation old chipset is not going to cut it. Something like this, though, will:

    Intel Core i3 2100 3.1GHz Dual-Core Processor with Hyper-Threading Technology
    MSI P67A-G45 LGA 1155 ATX Motherboard
    4GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600MHz Memory

    This comes out to £234.95 incl. VAT. The stock Intel cooler for Sandy Bridge CPUs is actually pretty damn nice.

    Add in the other components:

    Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200RPM HDD
    Samsung DVD+/-RW Drive
    Corsair TX650 v2 650W Power Supply

    Total: £370.92 incl. VAT. Gives you plenty of money for a decent case and an after-market cooler if you want.

    Edit: I replaced the i3 with the i5 2500k and that brought the price up to £440.93 incl. VAT. That doesn't include case. With that, I believe that currently, the i3 2100 is your best bet. It has Hyper-Threading, so you get a total of four threads on your two cores. It's proven to be on-par with the AMD Quad-Core counterparts and will do you justice. Again, there's always upgrading down the road.

    Edit 2: Replaced the micro-ATX motherboard with a full ATX MSI motherboard, price still leaves room for a good case.
    Last edited by Cantii; 2011-05-06 at 12:06 AM.

  3. #3
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Cantii View Post
    Snip.
    Thanks for the help! I'm useless with motherboards and components in general so thanks for putting me on the right track. In the end i decided to stump up the extra money for the i5 2500k i'll figure out how to get it somehow :P.

    Thanks again

  4. #4
    Since you are going to be doing video editing, rendering, or recording, you should wait for the z68 motherboard that is being released this monday. It will enable intel's quick sync technology and enable the igpu which the p67 can't do.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by wildemu View Post
    Since you are going to be doing video editing, rendering, or recording, you should wait for the z68 motherboard that is being released this monday. It will enable intel's quick sync technology and enable the igpu which the p67 can't do.
    I'd agree, but OP's budget is not really in the range of a z68. Last I looked they'll be pricy (as is all new tech). Plus, it's probably overkill.

  6. #6
    very true, they will be expensive and also not trust-worthy up until a couple months later.

    In that case OP, if you aren't an overclocker and you only want to dabble in wow and other video-intensive stuff, you should look into an i5-2400 or i3-2100 with an H67 motherboard. The H67's are cheaper, can't overclock, but they do utilize Intel's IGPU features which come in handy for your tasks.

    I'm not sure you really need an i5-2500k if you aren't going to overclock.

  7. #7
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Sinner563 View Post
    I'd agree, but OP's budget is not really in the range of a z68. Last I looked they'll be pricy (as is all new tech). Plus, it's probably overkill.
    The problem is as you stated going for an i5 2500k is has pushed me beyond what i can afford i can't squeeze another penny out. The video editing is a casual for fun thing, i'm no machinima director :P.

    The build Cantii put forth is more than enough for my needs .

    Edit: I may overclock in the future when i'm more comfortable dealing with components. The most i've ever done build wise is insert a new graphics card lol.
    Last edited by mmocaf071dd5f4; 2011-05-06 at 02:54 AM.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •