Building a new PC

[boom314]

So i have to get some new parts after my power supply blew out.

I currently have a Phenom 9850 Black Edition and 4gb ram. I am looking at going towards an Intel build. I have a 9600GT that I plan on reusing with the new setup.

I am looking at getting a new CPU, motherboard and some DDR3. I want to spend $300 at most for all of this. My boot drive is SATA3 so I would like to have something with a few of those plugs available. I was looking at the Core i3-2120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115077

I am not sure what a good motherboard would be that would allow me to upgrade to a i5 or i7 in the future.

What would you guys recommend? I dont do any hardcore gaming or video editing. Just a general PC with some light gaming and something that I could watch a good HD movie through. Perhaps with a Blue Ray drive later.

 

[janas19]

Me personally, if you don't do heavy gaming you may not need even the i3-2120. A SB Pentium like the G620 or even a Celeron G530 should do those tasks quite well. It all depends on what games you want to play.

 

[mfenn]

Me personally, if you don't do heavy gaming you may not need even the i3-2120. A SB Pentium like the G620 or even a Celeron G530 should do those tasks quite well. It all depends on what games you want to play.

:thumbsup: to this.

Pentium G850 + DDR3 1600 8GB combo $114
ASRock H67M $80
Total: $194

 

[Zap]

Do you live near a Micro Center? If so, you can get a Core i3-2100 with a Z68 chipset motherboard for $155+tax.

 

[jpeyton]

Do you live near a Micro Center? If so, you can get a Core i3-2100 with a Z68 chipset motherboard for $155+tax.

If his profile is accurate, he is a 320 mile (6 hour) round-trip from the Philly Microcenter.

 

[boom314]

the most graphics intense game on my computer is far cry 2. ill check out that g850. what is the difference between the h67 and z68 chipsets?

I wish there was a good computer store around here, all we have is best buy, and staples and they don't have much

 

[janas19]

the most graphics intense game on my computer is far cry 2. ill check out that g850. what is the difference between the h67 and z68 chipsets?

I wish there was a good computer store around here, all we have is best buy, and staples and they don't have much

Technically, an H67 allows you to utilize the SB IGP. A Z68 allows you to overclock a "K" model processor, and also features Intel's Smart Response Technology (SRT) which basically enables you to use a small SSD as a fast cache for common applications.

I bought an H61 board, wish I had've bought an H67 in retrospect. I'll probably choose to sell it at a loss so I can use the onboard video. Don't care about overclocking, so I don't need a Z68. SRT is nice but a little too costly for me.

 

[fffblackmage]

^To clarify, the Z68 chipset also supports the IGP.

 

[janas19]

^To clarify, the Z68 chipset also supports the IGP.

Oops. Thanks, fffblackmage

 

[boom314]

what is IGP? I might want to do mild overclocking to have this compare to my current cpu. Would I need the z86?

 

[janas19]

what is IGP? I might want to do mild overclocking to have this compare to my current cpu. Would I need the z86?

IGP is integrated graphics processor, a GPU core on the cpu die. Btw, SB is not like AMD, only the "K" model processors have their multipliers unlocked. The i5-2500k, for example, retails for around $230. Anything less and you're stuck at the preset speed

 

[boom314]

oh bummer. well then good thing the cpu could be upgraded.

 

[janas19]

Yep. You can upgrade down the road.

 

[mfenn]

the most graphics intense game on my computer is far cry 2. ill check out that g850. what is the difference between the h67 and z68 chipsets?

I wish there was a good computer store around here, all we have is best buy, and staples and they don't have much

A Z68 board does everything that an H67 board will do, plus it allows for overclocking and SRT (SSD caching). Overclocking support doesn't matter much if you're getting a locked chip like the G850. SRT might matter to you if you want to get a smallish SSD, but honestly you would be better off spending the price differential between H67 and Z68 on a bigger SSD.

 

[janas19]

A Z68 board does everything that an H67 board will do, plus it allows for overclocking and SRT (SSD caching). Overclocking support doesn't matter much if you're getting a locked chip like the G850. SRT might matter to you if you want to get a smallish SSD, but honestly you would be better off spending the price differential between H67 and Z68 on a bigger SSD.

Totally agree. :thumbup: :thumbup: