Upgrading computer

[Compnewbie01]

It has been a few years since I built my most recent computer which has a E6550 CPU. I plan on upgrading only the mobo and CPU at the moment since my 9800GTX+ graphics card is plenty strong for what I need at the moment.

This is the CPU/mobo combo that I am looking at.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115072

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130583



Anyone have any experience with these? I am trying to keep my budget in the $300-400 range and want to leave the possibility of upgrading things later on such as RAM and graphics card.

 

[nyker96]

are you still on ddr2? if so, you need to buy new ddr3 ram. the combo looks fine.

 

[Compnewbie01]

Will DDR2 not work? If not I can pick up new RAM for cheap.

 

[MrTeal]

No, DDR2 won't work. If you keep your eye out for a good deal you can buy an 8GB DDR3 for as much or less than you can sell a 4GB DDR2 for, so it's not a huge deal to switch.

 

[paperwastage]

2x4GB DDR3 often comes on sale for like $30... it's cheap

eg the link below, but branded RAM(aka G.Skill, ...) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820313086

any microcenter near you? believe their i5 2500k is still $180

any reason that particular mobo, not a Z68?

 

[Smoblikat]

I would get a different board. That one doesnt have a very large power phase, so it wont overclock as safely as other boards.

 

[Compnewbie01]

I don't know what a Z68 motherboard is and am out of the technology loop. I picked it because the price was right, had decent reviews, and seemed to have everything I would need.

I also do not plan to overclock. I just want a quality board that works.

 

[paperwastage]

for SandyBridge chipsets, you have
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA_1155

<~lowest cost>
H61 - lowest cost, low frills, using IGP on chip (usually no usb 3.0, no sata6)
H67 - H61 stuff plus (there is USB 3.0, sata 6)
P67 - H67 stuff but CANNOT use IGP on chip(meaning you need a discrete card). You can overclock though
Z68 - H67 + P67: can use IGP on chip AND you can overclock AND you can use an SSD as a cache for a larger HDD
<~highest cost>

plus some other "business" chipsets like B65 and Q67

 

[postmortemIA]

Z68 board from intel is as cheap as his option... any reason not to pick it? CPU practically overclocks itself, so no big deal if mobo has limited OC options. I am in similar boat.

 

[richierich1212]

Z68 board from intel is as cheap as his option... any reason not to pick it? CPU practically overclocks itself, so no big deal if mobo has limited OC options. I am in similar boat.

Reviews are atrocius

 

[teddyv]

I recently upgraded from an AMD 939-based system c.2005 to an Intel i5-2500k and an Asus P8Z68V-LX and 2x4 gigs of Corsair Vengeance 1600 RAM. I had a free copy of Win7 Ultimate from the release years ago laying around as well. I bought it all at Microcenter and got the CPU for $180, the mobo for $55 with the $60 off package deal, and the RAM for $35 with a pricematch. I reused everything else.

The V-LX is a basic board but had everything I wanted including SATA 6 & USB3, plus the new Bios is fantastic. Upgrading was easy, completely plug and play. The only real issue I had was having to save all my stuff onto a portable drive as Win7 requires a clean install from XP. Interestingly enough, Win7 saved the entire contents of my HD except the XP OS into a folder called "Windows.Old" so the external drive wasn't even needed. With some of the programs like Photoshop 6.0 and Dreamweaver, I just copied the folders from windows.old to the new program directory and they work fine.

Total cost to upgrade was under $300 and Holy Cow does this thing fly!

 

[fastamdman]

Do you plan on overclocking? If you aren't going to overclock grab the 2500 instead of the 2500k. As far as the motherboard goes I would find a nice z68 motherboard that fits your price range. Z68 motherboards give you the option to upgrade to Ivy Bridge later on down the road when it comes out this year and they are overall better boards and give you more/better options for a few other things.

 

[Puppies04]

P67 - H67 stuff but CANNOT use IGP on chip(meaning you need a discrete card). You can overclock though

You are describing P67 here, H67 can use the iGPU but cannot overclock.

 

[fastamdman]

Can't h67 overclock via bclk?

 

[paperwastage]

You are describing P67 here, H67 can use the iGPU but cannot overclock.

i was talking about P67 = H67 features minus IGP plus overclocking

H67 features meaning USB 3, SATA6

Can't h67 overclock via bclk?

maybe.. dunno

but for SandyBridge, you dont want to touch the bclk(default = 100) too much, since the PCIe frequency is tied to it... maybe up to 102-105, which gives you like 5&#37; benefit...

 

[MrTeal]

i was talking about P67 = H67 features minus IGP plus overclocking

H67 features meaning USB 3, SATA6

H67 doesn't have USB 3.0.

 

[paperwastage]

H67 doesn't have USB 3.0.

fine... to be nit picky, H67(and none of the 1155 SB chipsets) doesnt have 3.0 in the specs, but most manufacturers put usb 3.0 in

just to differentiate H61 vs H67

H61 is low cost... but SOME manufacturers put in sata 6 or usb 3.0

H67 is more "mainstream"... MOST manufacturers have USB 3.0 and SATA6 that differentiates it from the lower cost H61

 

[dpk33]

I also do not plan to overclock. I just want a quality board that works.

If you don't plan on overclocking, save $10 and get a 2500, not 2500k. An H61 or H67 board will do.