Upgrade time.

[PLODDITHANLEY]

Running a E8500, I need more RAM and DDR2 i so expensive I might as well go 4 core.

I need a CPU, MOBO and RAM.

No overclocking for me so the best speed/money deal would be a i5 3570 at e200, what are the S versions.
A bit tempted to future proof for a few years with a 2011/X99 i7 4820K at e335...

I need a MOBO with SPdif MSI H97M-G43 @ e80 or e60 on guaranteed used otherwise nothing else needed M2 seems worthless anyway - is it?

2011/X99 MOBO is e200 ouch....

RAM: Think 8GB cheapo on QVL list is enough for PR, Eurotruck and maybe squad if/when it arrives.

SSD: I'd like a OS and games one so 120Gb would be enough and 250GB would be comfortable, M2 seems a bit pointless unless space is an issue.

Lastly need a cheap, cool and quiet GPU for watching HD for the mrs something like a e30 210 would suffice?

[PLODDITHANLEY]

Please help!

Do mobos really matter, I've got the idea they don't am I wrong?

I want to order a this lot over the weekend.

[LITOralis.nMd]

Heya Ploddit, I've been kinda busy if you didn't notice.

I think no one replied because everything you said was correct.

Mobos matter if you plan to extend the life of the mobo for as many years as your C2D PCs, that is more than 5 years.

PLenty of options for mobos, you can look at this list if you go with the i5. It's a bit dated.
Sin's Hardware - VRM List

Here is a list of background info.
About VRMs & Mosfets / Motherboard Safety with 125W+ TDP processors

That board from MSI is perfectly fine for your stated needs.
HOWEVER, that board is socket 1150, the i5-3570 is socket 1155. Not compatible.
Either update to the i5-4670 or find a Socket 1155 motherboard for the i5-3570.


Skip the S variants of CPUs, those are the "energy efficient" models where the Turbo boost and a few other features are throttled down to save energy, it is not good for gaming.

[PLODDITHANLEY]

What about this?

Instead of going fo the cheapest set up:
MSI H97M G43 + i5 4690K @ e285 +RAM

or the most expensive:
MSI X99A + i7 5820k @ e650 +RAM (DDR4)

I've decided on the middle of the road:
Asus Z97K USB3.1 + i5 4690K @ e345 +RAM
only problem is I need SPDif and only come on a hard to find separate controller.

My reasoning is the presence of USB 3.1 I appreciate, its a higher quality board for OCing so will probably last longer, and I may be tempted to get that i5 to 4Ghz!

I am tempted to get the i7 4790k but that is e90 more or 45% for .5ghz seems not worthwhile.


But 2 questions:

1. This mobo supports RAM up to 3000 on OC would I notice the difference?
2. This mobo has a M2 PCIe protocol (10ghz) slot but M2 PCIe are about twice the price of M2 SATA or a separate SATA SSD at 6ghz. So a Samsung evo 240GB sounds a good choice?

[PLODDITHANLEY]

I wa going to get a

Gigabyte Z97X Gaming 3 as its good value, coupled with an i5 4690K

Now as Skylake/170 is so close I'm going to wait and see on that, it's not got much I need but now DDR4 is much the same price as DDR3 I'd rather get one of those.

[Steeps]

I think you'll find that Core i5s are a much better value for the money. You most likely don't need to spend all that extra money on an i7 and you can use the savings toward a better SSD or GPU.

DDR4 is still a long way off from DDR3 price wise last time I looked. (Nevermind... found 8GB Crucial DDR4 for $83.)

You could wait for this next generation, but you could try to find some good sales on the current iteration if they want to get rid of stock.

[PLODDITHANLEY]

Yes you're right, an i5 4690K is pretty much enough for virtuly all games for a good few years I think. Some benchmarks on Skylake are a bit soso, but maybe they're ES versions.

Its the RAM thing as I'm stuck on DDR2 with my two home computers and they're so expensive to upgrade now, hence my enthusiasm for a newer RAM type.

But the newer Z170 v Z97 really isn't much I need/want, more PCI Lanes, more M2/sata express but stragely no mentions of USB 3.1.

This article goes into great detail

[Cossack]

Yeah, my mate at PC store said, that price on ddr3 is increasing. I got extra 8 GB dimm and that was the last one for 60 euros, next shipment already was around 80 euros per dimm.

[PLODDITHANLEY]

Its odd that old ram goes up so much. As we all know my old E8500 is OK for PR but I need to buy 8GB for it.

That's a bloody fortune on DDR2(cheapest U$150), but newegg is still cheap on DDR3 (cheapest 2X4GB U$50) using a combo DDR2/DDR3 mobo.
Unfortunately the only place that ships to me is expensive on DDR3 euro 70.

DDR4 is U$80 again for 2X4GB.

I guess buying a top of the line z97/1150 when skylake is out and the old CPU's cost plummet is a winner, especially as you said, Skylake isn't much faster so far.

[PLODDITHANLEY]

I have got a Asus P8Z68-V, it came with an i5 2500k. I ended up getting this as it seems that since this chip performance gains have been very small, including the forthcoming skylake. This chip can easily be run at 4.5 without stress.

So for the rest I have:

212 evo
500GB HD 7200rpm
Seasonic 550 PSU
Win10 preview (its free for full version next month)

I need RAM but I'm not sure if I should get 8GB or 16GB. DDR3 is now going up in price so if I want 16GB it's now, do you guys think that'll become a quasi necessity like 8GB has over 4GB? Even though when I run PR on windowed use never goes over 2.9....
It's always scary buying RAM but G skill CL9 seems to be the safest bet, speed and latency doesn't make much difference.

I will get an SSD probablly a Samsung Evo 250
Finally I'm looking forward to SPdif to improve sound!!

Hoping for the first time I can play PR on all high in 6 years......

[Steeps]

That motherboard and CPU combo is a fantastic choice! I have the same exact two products and they're going on four years of overclock now and still run great.

You also won't be disappointed in the Samsung 850 EVO, it's also a great choice.

Windows 10 preview will no longer get you a free copy of Windows 10 by the way, if you upgrade it is free.

http://arstechnica.com/information-tech ... confusion/

[PLODDITHANLEY]

Thanks for the link, I'll just buy it anyway as long as they do one that's not mobo locked.

I'm happy to hear you're pleased with it, the more I searched the 2500k really was a good chip, even the skylake i5 6600k is allegedly 3.5/3.9 Boost....

Been searching RE SSd, Crucial seems favored as the customer service (in the US anyway) of Samsung is awful, and stories of data leaks. I'd prefer to give my cash to a US company then Korean.

[PLODDITHANLEY]

Finally done it:

Ordered 8GB G skill Aeres blue CL9 2133 old mobo so 9 latency
500 Bronze LDLC PSU (older model seasonic apparently) I do have a shitty 400W Huntkey that is so shit i couldn't bring myself to use it.
Samsung 850EVO 250GB
Last but not least the same shop had a used GTX750Ti OC 2GB with 6 month guarantee for 61(before tax i don't pay VAT) euros, I was going to put in my 6870 1GB but for that price...
Oh and a card reader/USB3 thingy

i have a DVD somewhere - if it's not IDE....

So all in all after 6 years with my excellent MSI 2.4/2.6 dual core 9600M GT laptop I'm looking forward to this!

Plus now PR is free we have it on two PCs at home and soon three for fun LAN parties with my kid....

Ps: Just for lols 9600m GT compared to GTx750Ti

[Cossack]

Congratulations Ploddit, you finally did it. Now PR time

[PLODDITHANLEY]

Well 2 or 3 weeks for the post from Europe....

[PLODDITHANLEY]

Well the shop emailed saying 'that supercheap deal of a GTX750Ti for 77 euro we can't do' so I cancelled.

Bollox so now I look at a 960, seems enough i don't see myself buying and playing on 4k screen in the conceivable future, even so it seems the 2GB version will be holding some games back, and hell its only 30 more....


Hell even at 1080 2Gb is apparently a hold back in a few cases incl BF Hardline



So 960 4Gb sound OK for what I do and perhaps squad, but I read and see people bitching about its value for money, its 128 bus, its great on 1080 or 1440 but it won't run everything on highest on many games....

So lets check out the 970, ahh yes that's better all maxed out on 1080 but shit it's nearly twice the cost of a 960, and 3 times my sensible start point of a 750Ti. Then I read this weird thing that my preferred GPU assembler MSI only uses HDMI 1.4a

(version 1.4a/2.0)
Max Resolution: 4096x2160 @24 Hz (1.4a), 3840x2160 @60 Hz (2.0)

meaning at full 4096x2160 it only runs at 24Hz where as the cheaper Asus strix runs a HDMI 2.0

HDMI Output : Yes x 1 (HDMI 2.0)

Meaning 60Hz at 4096x2160

Not an issue for me, but could be for some.

This article demystifies all this stuff hugely well worth scanning if you're thinking about going 4K one day.

[Steeps]

Right now from what I gather, the GTX 970 and the AMD R9 390 (non X) are the best cards when it comes to performance per dollar.

[PLODDITHANLEY]

Ok done the deed with an asus strix 970, i didn't want the MSI with this weird HDMI 1.4 (25Hz at 4k) interface whereas the strix has a 2.0, you could just use a display port, but if I ever get a 4k TV it may not have one.

Should be a jump from my 9600M GT!

[Steeps]

For anyone else looking, both the 970 and 390 are recommended at the price point of $330:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gam ... 107-4.html

[PLODDITHANLEY]

Come on come on post office.......

http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-970 ... e-9600M-GT

http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nv ... 577vsm7707

Ran a benchmark on my laptop. i really like this site, as I can compare with others with an identical system so i can see mine is operating well (for what it is)?

UserBenchmarks: Desktop 28%, Gaming 12%, Workstation 16%
CPU: 35.6% Intel Core2 Duo P8600
GPU: 3.3% Nvidia GeForce 9600M-GT
HDD: 29.1% WD Blue 2.5" 320GB (2009)

Ran a second one with my 'turbo' activated which is a 16% OC for the CPU. Although between test i did close my windows update thing I didn't realise it was open for the first.

UserBenchmarks: Desktop 29%, Gaming 12%, Workstation 17%
CPU: 38.1% Intel Core2 Duo P8600
GPU: 3.5% Nvidia GeForce 9600M-GT
HDD: 30.9% WD Blue 2.5" 320GB (2009)



LOL