C2D to 2500k or 2600k BF3 under 800

xcedrin

October 29, 2011 2:59:52 AM

Hey guys,

I have been slowly upgrading my build:
E8400 3.0
Asus P5N-D
4gb Corsair
Now a 850psu Corsair
Now a 570 evga
Now a 24" Asus monitor
Now a Corsair 500r
Vista
1tb seagate HD 3yrs running

Next up is the cpu, mobo, mem, HD/SSD, and OS. I have 700 dollars. I live close to a micro center and have been looking into the MSI Z68 GD65 + 2600k combo.

msi gd65 - 2600k - h100 corsair - 1tb seagate sata 3.0 - 8gb corsair ddr3 1600 - win 7 hp 64bit

I have been an avid Asus user and was waiting for the p8z68-pro gen 3 to drop and it just recently did. I have been a Asus/corsair user since my first build. The wait was mainly due to the pci 3.0 as I tend to keep my mobo for 3 years. I'm getting close to purchasing my build but am having trouble deciding 2500k p8z68-pro gen 3 or the msi board with the i7 2600k from micro center. I would like to see the performance of an SSD but I'm not If i can afford one as I don't have much confidence in my current HD and would like to swap it out as well. It is almost full so 1tb would be ideal again. Is water cooling a good idea i plan on a moderate oc want to get above 4.0. Thoughts on a possible SSD is it worth it?The reviews scare me with the unreliability. Anyone wanna give it a shot and maybe give some discussion as to why you chose them over another.

More about : c2d 2500k 2600k bf3 800

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Outlander_04

Homebuilt system Master

October 29, 2011 3:43:31 AM

2500k's run cool and even OC really well on the stock cooler . Water is a waste of money IMO . A hyper 212 or Xigmatek 1283 cooler is plenty .

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xcedrin

October 29, 2011 3:50:56 AM

Thanks for the quick response. I was thinking about saving some greenbacks through the water cooler. Now SSD seems more of a reality for my final upgrade. I appreciate the advice as my build's rely heavily on home builder's reviews thanks to the Egg. I might add I'm upgrading to play BF3. My current setup shows 100% cpu usage with low settings. I waited for bulldozer as well but from the benchmarks I have seen it doesn't seem to compare to my current thoughts.

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holdingholder

October 29, 2011 4:11:31 AM

According to Tom's very one tests, BF3 is VERY gpu bound. Any reasonably modern dual core should run the game no problem. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/battlefield-3-graph...
Your gpu must be holding you back. If your going to do all that upgrading just for BF3 it's probably overkill, but if your dead set on a platform upgrade for overall performance, like the previous poster said stick to the 2500k and water cooling is very much overkill.

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xcedrin

October 29, 2011 4:15:08 AM

Really? I use evga precision to view gpu performance and task manager to view cpu performance. I notice no issues with my 570 but my e8400 is showing 100%usage during gameplay.

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xcedrin

November 5, 2011 4:12:28 AM

Well I made a decision and am going with the 2500k but what mobo @ MC for a combo? ASrock z68 extreme 4 vs msi gd65 vs asus p8z68 pro? I'm leaning more towards the Asus as I have never used anything else but them. Need some opinions on pci 3.0 and what benefits i will see in the future if any. The only reason i havn't bought the Asus is I was waiting for the gen3 versions of asus p8's to drop. Hasn't happened yet and I'm getting anxious. Also was thinking about a M4 128gb any problems with that selection? I was thinking about the Corsair Force series but from what I have read they have had many problems.

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