I5 2500k build - Mobo, Ram, and PSU question

[a2love]

Hi all,

I am going for an i5 2500k build.

XFX Radeon HD 6950 2GB GDDR5 PCI-E 2XDVI HDMI 2x Mini DisplayPort Video Card

But, when it comes to the mobo, ram, and psu I am at a loss. I was thinking about the following for a mobo combo:

ASUS P8P67 ATX P67 3PCI-E16 Motherboard + Intel Core i5 2500K Sandy Bridge CPU

For the Ram and PSU... I was likely going to grab something on this deal page from NCIX:

http://www.ncix.com/promo/promosale.php?webid=custapp-jan11


I was going to have NCIX build the machine for me... anyone think this is a good/bad idea? Haven't talked with anyone that has had it done before. If I don't have them do it, it frees me up alittle and I can buy from seperate dealers (i.e. newegg.ca).

 

[ScrewySqrl]

doing it yourself will save you $50.

However, NCIX pricematches within Canada, so if you find a part cheaper elsewhere, they'll match it.

 

[dsarchs]

I just bought nearly the same thing -- i5-2500k, HIS 6950...

I went with the asrock extreme 4 -- largely due to a sale but also based on this review.
I was looking at saving money while still getting x8/x8 pcie on a p67 motherboard -- from a decent company and felt any of these would have been just fine. A deal settled it for me:
asrock p67 extreme 4
gigabyte ga-p67a-ud3p (least interested in this because pcie is x16/x4)
msi p67a-gd55
asus p8p67 (pro/evo versions seem to basically add sli for a bit more money)

These were all around $150-$160 and the next step up seems to add $30-$40, at least

Also, I got G.skill 1333 CAS 7 1.5v ram. I'm aware that 1600 CAS 9 is a bit faster but newegg had a good sale on the former and I'm hopeful of overclocking to 1600 (we'll see how that goes).

The system hasn't arrived yet (hopefully today, though) so I can't actually tell you how stuff works. If you're not sure about building a system yourself this guy does a great job of explaining the entire process.

 

[a2love]

I was wondering about the HIS 6950 actually. They have the deal on now for $75 off.

 

[a2love]

Here is the HIS card. Anyone have comments on it versus the XFX above?

HIS Radeon HD 6950 2GB GDDR5 PCI-E 2XDVI HDMI 2x Mini DisplayPort Video Card

 

[joelmartinez]

the 6950 is a good card I prefer the xfx version because of the warranty

 

[joelmartinez]

for RAM and PSU i'm not sure because those items really depend on sales

RAM: get a kit that runs at least cas 9 at 1333 and 1.65v they should be preety cheap (35 dollars in US)
PSU: 650w from reputable brand (antec, corsair, seasonic, xfx, ocz) ALWAYS READ THE REVIEWS this is a component you don't want to mess up if going for a single card setup get a 450w psu

 

[alikum]

That 6950 is actually a good card. On top of that, you can hack it and turn it into a 6970 easily, that is if u can live with minor driver issues. As of this writing, 69xx series is not officially supported by AMD drivers (there's only a hotfix for it) and Catalyst 10.12 is rather quirky. Although I have not noticed any performance issues using 10.12 on my 6850, I did notice that when Windows turn your PC/Monitor into power saving mode, you will get a BSOD. You can fix it by turning power saving mode off in Windows and live with it til they come out with 10.13.

 

[joelmartinez]

I'm still rocking 10.11 because I wait to see if they're are glitches before updating vid card drivers, ATI 5850 (old but decent card)