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best bang for my buck motherboard and cpu

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alright so lets say for a minute i took most peoples advice stuck with my current cpu and just got a better mobo and gpu i have a few questions

1. I dont know anything about OC'ing so how hard would it be to OC my current cpu? (all i know is it is not unlocked)

2. what kinda of money am i looking at spending to cool the cpu after the OC (lets say i get it to 4GHZ)
and get a really nice cooler. Either go for one of those massive coolers like a noctura or phantek, or grab a 2x120MM LCLC system
Click to expand...

3. what graphics card should i look into as i said earlier i want this thing to last for at least 2-3 year if that sounds realistic. (looking at the 680 4gb FTW+ atm)

4. Is a 750W PSU enough to handle this ?
 
Phenom II generation chips even the locked multiplier ones overclock VERY well. It will be easy to do especially on a bios thats engineered to do it. For more information see "Dolks guide to overclocking phenom".

For a top end air cooler your looking to spend 60-100, for a LCLC system youd be looking at $90-120 without counting for aftermarket fans(optional).

A GTX 670 or 680 from nVidia in 2GB, or a Radeon 7950 or 7970 from AMD would be my suggestions. If you want to go a bit more budget minded the 660Ti or 7870 are also both excellent cards(about twice as fast as your 560).

A 750W PSU will run any modern CPU with any single GPU on the market today with room to spare.


If you need a 2nd rig for your GF you could recycle your old mobo and just get her a cheap triple/quad core Phenom II chip. If she is not a gamer Id try to sell that 560 and replace it with something more power efficient.
 
I don't think XFX makes boards anymore....ASUS, Gigabyte, ASRock are typically the top three though. UD5 is definitely a solid board.
 
Okay, so right now i am trying to crunch some numbers and see where im sitting as far as total cost go.

AMD BUILD

GA-990FXA-UD3 Socket AM3+ 990FX ATX AMD Motherboard (139.99)

Phenom II X6 1045T 2.7GHz Six Core Socket AM3 (89.99)

  • My GF is going to need a processor. So there is 2 ways i can go here i can.
  • 1. Buy her another processor which i was just gonna get her the Phenom II X6 1045T. seeing as the price isn't insanely high.
  • 2. Give her my current processor and spend a few extra bucks on a better amd processor.

Heatsink (60-90)
  • I currently own the Cooler master Hyper 212 Plus would that be good enough to cool my OC on the 1045T?

INTEL BUILD

Core i7 3770K 3.5GHz LGA 1155 Processor (229.99)

Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Z77 ATX Intel Motherboard (134.99)

Heatsink (0.00)
  • Cooler master Hyper 212 Plus

GRAND TOTALS

  • AMD BUILD = 289.98 - 319.98

  • INTEL BUILD = 364.98

If i can use my current Hestsink after i overclock my current processor that will save me a nice chunk of change on the AMD BUILD. Also no matter which build i choose to go with i will need memory.

saw this on newegg kinda made me curious as to wha he was talking about "AMD processors (phenomII's and below) are only certified to DDR3 at 1333 by TWO sticks. There are TWO controllers ..."
 
The IMC(Integrated Memory Controller) on the Phenom II series is rated to run 2x sticks at 1333(667 real) Mhz, using 4 sticks usually requires a bit of extra volts to shore up the IMC. Its also possible you might be able to run 1600 on a PH-II but again its not a sure bet. The FX series is rated for 1866(933 real) x2 sticks. Both series of CPU are designed with dual channel memory controllers.

The Hyper 212+ is a decent heatsink, but dont expect miracles from a chip with that kind of power draw. Safely Id say you should be able to get 3.8Ghz on a 212, maybe more but that depends on the CPU.
 
Wizard is there a way to contact u through messenger seems like ur very knowledgeable with these thing and I can use the help u actually recommended the 212 on another post of mine a while back
 
Yah i mainly use my computer for gaming. Other than that it is just a web browsing machine. My biggest concerns are as I mentioned earlier I just want w/e I end up doing in the end to last a while because lately it feels like i'm sinking money into this PC quite frequently and it is mostly due to me penny pinching, not doing my homework and not going to the pros for help (overclockers.com) This time around i'm just trying to do it up right. I don't mind having to spend money because i think of it as an investment for something i want. On the other hand i don't want to waste money by either going overboard with components that are purely overkill and i don't want to cheap out because we all know what happens when you take the cheap way out.

Sorry if it seems like this thread is going in circles but this is just the beginning of the questions but we will save them for another day.
 
Well the main difference between the i5 and the i7 is Hyperthreading, which adds four "virtual" cores to the CPU.

However, most games only use two threads, and newer ones use 4. No game will take advantage of the extra 4 (2 per core on the i7, so 8) you get on the i7.
 
Yes I did recommend the hyper 212 to you in your other thread, but you expressed a much more stringent budget concern in that thread. Since you already have it theres no reason not to use it. Its a great heatsink and should be capable of taking that x6 quite far, but dont expect it to break any records is all.
 
if i were you, go for the 3570k. i overclocked it to 4.2ghz and im thinking of going up a bit higher. all i did was just raise the ratio to 42 in my bios.

also, leave the vcore voltage at default in your motherboard bios if your going to overclock the 3570k. when i tried setting it on mine, i ran into problems, i couldnt get the system to boot well, and under volting just made things complicated.

many boards out there (from what i learned and read) use different Vcore voltages. so leave yours set to "default" or "vcore" if you just going to raise the clock speed. at least take it as my suggestion if you or anyone else thinks im wrong.
 
well i have finally come to a conclusion i am going to go with the

Core i7 3770K 3.5GHz LGA 1155 Processor

and

Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Z77 ATX Intel Motherboard


i understand that the i5 and i7 are pretty much the same but i figure it like this the store im getting the processor from is 100$ less than newegg and tigerdirect usually when a deal like that comes around and your in the market it is best to grab it or you will kicking yourself in *** in the long run wondering why u didnt go for it. I also feel the gaming industry is ever changing this and who knows what they will come out with in the next few years.

i will need some ram to go with this so i was looking around the store im going to and stumbled across this

Vengeance Series 16GB DDR3-1600 (PC3-12800) CL10

however 16 gigs seems like alot of memory and am thinking maybe i can find 8 gigs with better specs for the same price any suggestions
 
Microcenter's been running that deals like that for years now...that's just their normal pricing. The 3570K is also $55 off there. Also, only at Microcenter, if you get a 3570K and any Z77 board in the same order, it's another $40 extra off. You DON'T get that deal with the 3770K. I'd say the 3570K is the better deal there, to be honest.

You'll also never need more than 8GB of RAM for gaming. Hell, 4GB is probably fine.

Remember that outside the motherboard and CPU, you usually end up paying more at Microcenter than Newegg because of tax.
 
Yah I never heard of them until the other day turns out there is a store about half an hour away the 3750 is 169.99. Does my logic from above make sense ?
 
Indeed, if there was one neerby I would have bought a handfull of those $99 2500Ks the other week.
 
nice guys well im gonna head over to microcenter tommorow after work and hopefully am walking out a broke but happy man =] just a heads up probably gonna be making a thread called "best bang for my buck, vid card" hope to hear some stuff from u guys again thanks all for your input i learned alot and you guys definatley helped in my decision.
 
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