First Time Upgrading PC

[Deathwing514]

Hello Tom's Hardware community,

I am currently trying to upgrade my motherboard and cpu to the new lga 1155.

My current system is:

Case+PSU: XPS 710 Case and 750-watt Power Supply

Motherboard: NVIDIA nForce4 SLI Intel Edition (nforce 570 SLI)

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600(4MB L2 Cache 2.4GHz, 1066 FSB)

Graphics Card: EVGA 460GTX 768

Memory: 4GB Dual Channel DDR2

Optical Drive: Dual Drives:16x DVD-ROM Drive + 16x DVD+/- RW w/dbl layer write capable

Sound Card: Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio

Just for reference, this computer was built at around 2005-2006 by Dell

All i want to do is replace my motherboard and cpu.

While i figured out the CPU i am going to get which is the
Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Socket 1155 6MB Cache Retail Box Processor for the LGA 1155

I am completely lost for the motherboard, I keep hearing about the p67 motherboard but have little to no knowledge about motherboards in general besides its the heart of the PC.

To give more personal information, i am using this PC for one reason, Gaming.
I would like some recommendation toward a motherboard for the lga 1155 series that will do its job for gaming in general.

Also, if there is any information you need, i will gladly answer your question.

PS: Motherboard must support SLI

 

[Martin9630]

Hi there,

I would suggest a Asus P8P67-M Pro, it goes for around $120-$150 and supports quad SLI, but if you have a bit more money you might want to look at P8P67 Deluxe which is packed full of features.

Cheers.

 

[Martin9630]

Oh and the motherboards I have picked above don't support DDR2 RAM, so you will have to buy some DDR3.

 

[Deathwing514]

Thank You Martin, i have heard from the tech support that my XPS 710 Case is incompatible with the lga 1155 motherboard

this is what gcaven stated

"The stock Dell XPS 710 uses a BTX form factor. This was a proprietary system invented by Intel and Dell which was supposed to be the future standard. Only problem was, nobody bothered to tell the buying public and it was never picked up.

You will need to replace your case as ATX motherboards will not physically fit it without major modification (to the case). You may also need to swap out the power supply if it is non standard."

I just want to verify if his statement is true.

Can anyone please aid me and help me find answers to this statement. Also i heard my power supply made by dell might be incompatible. hopefully that statement is false because my 750watt seems more than enough to handle most situations

 

[Deathwing514]

Just to update on the situation, I have called Dell and they have stated that they are unsure if the Dell XPS 710 Case is big enough for the LGA1155 Motherboard.

Also, regarding the Power supply, Dell has stated that it is a standard edition and should be compatible with most motherboards. So replacing my psu will no longer be necessary


UPDATE

After much research toward the BTX, I am now fully aware of gcavan statement about the difference between BTX and ATX.

With this newfound knowledge, I am officially going to replace the case with a ATX compatible one. If anyone has a suggestion toward a case, i will be more than glad to hear it.

But hopefully someone will recommend a great lga 1155 motherboard for gaming.

PS: Martin Thanks for the recommendation of the Asus, ill defiantly check it out.

 

[Deathwing514]

I will wait for new releases for the lga 1155 till April.

Regarding the case, the Antec 900 seems to have a great coolant system and still look great at the same time.

I would like to ask your opinion on this LGA 1155 motherboard
MSI P67A-GD65 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Link:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130574

It seems to be reasonable priced and offers alot of features. What is your rating of this MSI product?