Semi upgrading my PC

[Betatest]

Hello,
so I decided to move from AMD to Intel, here is the deal, I at the moment have Phenom II X940 BE OCed 3.4GHZ, GTX 460 1GB, 4GB RAM and I could switch to i5-2300/2320, would it be a huge jump in performance, I only game, I do not do anything else on my PC, I only play games mainly DotA 2 and MMOs (not the newest ones, but I like 60 FPS). Could someone recommend me a good low priced motherboard, I am not planning on overclocking.

Thanks

 

[jpeyton]

Here's a comparison of a Phenom II X4 @ 3.4GHz and a i5-2400 stock:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/102?vs=363

Sandy Bridge is hands-down better in games, but you might improve your gaming performance more by redirecting those funds towards a better video card instead. For the price of an i5 and motherboard, you could get a Radeon 6950 2GB:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/313?vs=293

But if you prefer to upgrade your CPU, an inexpensive Biostar H61 motherboard on Newegg runs about $50.

 

[Betatest]

I have "only" GTX 460 because I play on 1680x1050 and as I said, I do not play the latest games I mainly play CPU intensive games so thats why I want to change the CPU (DotA 2 = Source engine = CPU intensive not really GPU).

Also, Biostar is not really sold anywhere in the country I live in (EU) so any other suggestion for a motherboard?

 

[jpeyton]

Here's a good basic Sandy Bridge motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138332

 

[Betatest]

As I said in the post above, Biostar is not really sold anywhere in the country I live in. So could you suggest a different one?

 

[jpeyton]

Just go with the cheapest H61 or H67 chipset motherboard that is available in your country. If you have a link for a retailer or online store, I could find one board in particular.

 

[Betatest]

Would any of these be a good choice?

GIGABYTE H61M-S2V-B3, GIGABYTE H61M-S2-B3, MSI H61M-P23 (B3), ASUS P8H61-M LX (rev 3.0)?

Thanks

 

[jpeyton]

Would any of these be a good choice?

GIGABYTE H61M-S2V-B3, GIGABYTE H61M-S2-B3, MSI H61M-P23 (B3), ASUS P8H61-M LX (rev 3.0)?

Thanks

I like Gigabyte and Asus personally.

 

[mfenn]

I have "only" GTX 460 because I play on 1680x1050 and as I said, I do not play the latest games I mainly play CPU intensive games so thats why I want to change the CPU (DotA 2 = Source engine = CPU intensive not really GPU).

Let the Task Manager run in the background while you game and see if the cores are pegged. If they are, you are CPU limited. You can also try reducing your graphics options to minimum and see if the performance improves. If so, you are GPU limited.

My guess is that you're still GPU limited.

 

[Betatest]

I don't think so, I can even turn AA in DotA 2 and get the same exact FPS. I just prefer not to have it on.

 

[mfenn]

OK, in that case get the best $/GHz out of the i5 2300, i5 2400, or i5 2500. All of the boards are good, basic Sandy Bridge mobos.

 

[Betatest]

Also, I would like to ask if http://www.alza.cz/corsair-4gb-ddr3-1600mhz-cl9-vengeance-d216168.htm will work in the http://www.alza.cz/asus-p8h61-m-lx-rev-3-0-d241253.htm, it only says DDR3 1333, so I guess it wont?

 

[mfenn]

It'll work fine, the memory will downclock to DDR3 1333. That being said, this DIMM is a better deal.