Upgrading PC

[Vinzix]

I'm looking to upgrade my PC, but I'm rather nub at choosing parts since I don't know what half of the stuff means. Here is an example setup of what I might upgrade towards;

INTEL Core I5 2400 32NM 4 Cores 4 Threads 3.1GHZ ~ 3.4GHZ 6MB LGA 1155 Boxed :: Tones.be

GIGABYTE GA-Z68AP-D3 DDR3 Socket 1155 Intel® Z68 :: Tones.be

Can someone compare parts for me with these? Preferably around the same price range. It's only a processor and a motherboard which I need.
If there are any cheap i7 sets, please link.

If possible, EU prices too, thanks in advance.

Edit; ATX tower.

[coldReactive]

Are you only going to game?

if yes, no need for i7.

[Vinzix]

Yeah, gaming only. If there is one thing I need for the moment, since the request is so high, is a decent CPU for SWTOR and GW2 soon.

[coldReactive]

Might want to wait a little while, the AMD Radeon HD 7000 series just came out, and already out of stock on the higher end ones. HD 6000 series did not get a price cut, and all of the major brands pulled the 6990 (and vice versa for GTX 590 for nvidia)

[Vinzix]

I know it's always safer to wait, but I'd rather have an upgrade set ready now, lol.

[coldReactive]

The 7970 would be the best bet then. Keep it on auto-notify. It's got 3 GB of VRAM, serious power, and 200 USD less than the 6990 or so, even though it only has 1 GB less of VRAM 8U

[Vinzix]

Mhm, a lot of that is -chinese- to me, but I'll check it out, ty.

[Vinzix]

Well, I'm not really upgrading an entire PC. Like I said, just those 2 parts.

[wintergreen1]

Get an 7970 or 7950 when it comes out. VERY good performance. At least get an AMD clocked uber high.

[coldReactive]

Get an 7970 or 7950 when it comes out. VERY good performance. At least get an AMD clocked uber high.

Both are out.

Newegg.com - Computer Hardware, Video Cards & Video Devices, Desktop Graphics / Video Cards, Radeon HD 7000 series

As soon as they got in stock, they became out of stock. Probably will end up waiting 3 months or more for the stock to get replenished. This happened with the 590 and 6990. be aware, the stock will run dry again soon after it's replenished. They're doing this more often nowadays for some reason.

[eid2u4emit]

Well, I'm not really upgrading an entire PC. Like I said, just those 2 parts.

Well people typically don't upgrade their motherboard. Doing that is a real chore, but I guess its gonna be your chore

What is your current processor? Because if you have a semi-decent processor already, it would probably be better for you to put that money into a video card. You won't need anything nearly as expensive as the 7990, a modest card would do fine such as the 6850.

[ironik420]

Seeing as how Skyrim is laggy as hell on an nvidia 7900 GTX, (That's what the PS3 uses, still) I don't think this is true anymore. (Specifications for the 7900 GTX: GeForce 7 Series - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) (Older PS3s use the 7800 instead.) But, then again, nvidia is known to have trouble with texture rendering, unless you get the latest GPUs (560+) which have Dynamic Tessellation / Texture support. If you want to go with an older AMD, be my guest. Just remember, I gave you information, when your MMORPG starts lagging like crazy. Not that it matters even with a GTX 470.

This is why I'm giving up on Desktops when I need to search for a new machine. Honestly, the graphics cards are getting better and faster than what video games can catch up with, finally.

You're comparing a desktop GPU that's 5 years old to what's available now? And that it's in a console? Why? That makes no sense, once so ever.

I'm all for buying the latest GPU's. Just not THE latest GPU's. Right now, if you're an average gamer looking for a decent graphics card for the next few years, I'd point you to a GTX 560ti or 6950 given you have a 200-250 budget. Otherwise, I'd point you to a 6850/6870 for under 100-200. These cards are more than capable of handling pretty much any game at the moment @ 1920x1080 with little to no issues. Naturally you'll have to bump down a couple settings on the 6850 with newer games like BF3 and such, but that's just stating the obvious. It's never worth buying the LATEST thing when it first comes out as the performance ratio to price ratio drops significantly and has huge diminishing returns. You can pay 200 for a GPU and be quite comfortable playing any game you could ever want. Like I said, the ONLY reason you'd want to be getting a 7970 is if your using 3 monitors to game on simultaneously..even then, it's enthusiast grade stuff, you don't NEED it. I'd only suggest GTX570/AMD 6970 or higher if you're gaming at resolutions higher than 1920x1080, otherwise it's ridiculous overkill.

Alright, here's what I have now;

Intel Premium E5400
No idea bout the Motherboard, but it's a basic Acer Aspire ATX one. (2 years old PC)
NVidea GTX 550 on the side
Antec 500W Power Supply

and here is the stuff what I'm going to upgrade towards, as a secondary option, if I feel like saving more cash;

Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000 BX80623I52400

Newegg.com - Intel BOZ68BC LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Newegg.com - CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2G 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8D

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7

Yes, the Mobo is indeed personal choice, seeing as I have most high end stuff on the side already. I thought AMD would be a good choice too, but seeing as I prefer power, Intel is my current option, as with the confirmation of a few folks.

For starters, with what you have listed, an 500watt Antec is fine (even after added the new cpu, etc. assuming you're keeping the same GTX 550ti graphics card for now) Your current power supply will power the new system with an upgraded graphics card to a AMD 6870/GTX 560 just fine given its a quality unit with bronze rated efficiency, which antecs PSU's are usually pretty decent.

If you're determined to have a Z68 Board, these are better alternatives.

Asus ASUS P8Z68-V PRO

Newegg.com - ASUS P8Z68-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

Asrock Extreme4

Newegg.com - ASRock Z68 EXTREME4 GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Solid boards, great support, lots of information out there for them.

Another thing, you picked Triple Channel RAM which is pointless as 1155 socket only supports dual channel
. You're paying more for absolutely no benefit.

Pick up one of these (2x4GB - 8GB performance ram under 50 bucks):

Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4G 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B

Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4G 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL

Again, if you want to get the most of your high end Z68 Motherboard, get a i5-2500k since you're already buying an aftermarket heatsink (the Hyper 212)

i5-2500k

Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K

There's NO point in getting a 200 USD overclocking motherboard if you're going to put a CPU in it that can't be overclocked (i5-2400 is not overclockable, only the integrated GPU on the chip is overclockable). Please, do your research before mindlessly rushing into your purchases because as it stands you're not putting what you're even using your computer for (gaming? general entertainment? multi-tasking? Video editing?) and what features will suit your needs best. With the current CPU you've chosen (the i5-2400) you may as well save 100 USD and get a decent H67 motherboard and save a couple more bucks and pair it with 8GB of 1333mhz RAM (2x4G.

Start questioning peoples reason for recommending what they're recommending and why, you'll find they don't much more outside of a quick google search and it could lead to you wasting money, afterall, they don't care...it's your money, not theirs and everyone thinks they're a computer expert on the internet. A little self research will go a long way to build exactly what you need and what you expect to get out of it (for the now and for the later) without later finding out you've gimped yourself or even did not get something that you may have wanted, or if you're just looking for a solid build to get what you need done for the next couple years until you're next CPU/Motherboard upgrade.

[Vinzix]

To answer the usage question. It will be for high end gaming.

Thanks for the suggestions.

[ironik420]

Vinzix chose triple channel in his Opening Post, I did the same. If you want dual-channel, here:

Newegg.com - Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 8GB (2 x 4G 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model 996988

49.99 USD, Dual Channel, 8 GB, Low Voltage (1.35v). It's what I'm using right now.

He doesn't know what he's picking. If you knew, you should have said to correct his mistake, that's why he's asking for advice. Not after the fact that it's already been corrected then continue to recommend the same memory saying its "cheaper". If you're going to give blind advice, then just don't give advice at all. It just makes it harder for those genuinely trying to help to explain what he needs when he's getting recommended wrong components.

[Vinzix]

You guys both give some good advice, no need to bash on eachother, lol. I'm glad I'm learning and I'll look into future options.

[ironik420]

Not bashing anyone, just saying what needs to be said honestly. I enjoy helping people learn about computers and getting them into building their own instead of buying over priced pre-builts. People who give misinformation and who are generally not helpful don't add anything but confusion to these kind of things for those looking to take their first steps into upgrading/building computer rigs themselves. It's far too simple to get it wrong

[WildStyle*]

People who give misinformation and who are generally not helpful don't add anything but confusion to these kind of things for those looking to take their first steps into upgrading/building computer rigs themselves.

That would be me...