Forced to Change Build by Budget, Need Help

[taargustaargus]

An unexpected medical bill came up, leaving me with much less money for my new system. My previous build had included an i5 2500k and a p8z68 motherboard.

My question is - will an intel i5 2400 and a h67 motherboard be just as good for high end gaming? I already have a gtx 570 for the gpu, and I want to be able to play Diablo 3 on max if it ever comes out

 

[drunkducki]

it will be fine

 

[geofelt]

You might even be able to go lower.
Read this article on <$200 gaming cpu's. The benchmarks were run using a GTX480 which is comparable to your GTX570.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu-core-i3-2100-phenom-ii-x6-1075t,2859-8.html

 

[diellur]

We really need an idea of budget here, but it would also help to know your long-term aspirations. For instance, were you planning on OCing that i5-2500K? If so, you could stretch for a S1155 motherboard that you're happy with and get a budget CPU like the G840. You'll get good gaming performance from that, and then can upgrade the CPU when you have a bit more cash.

 

[taargustaargus]

I was planning to do the easy OC on the 2500k by just changing the multiplier and going for 4.3gz. It might not be necessary, I'm not sure. I tend to play new games so good performance on demanding games is key. My total build with the i5 is around 560 dollars, because I'm using a few parts from my old pc. I'm just trying to see if I can get comparable performance while saving some money. If I'm only going to save like 50 bucks I might just stick with the i5, so I'm just digging around to see what my options are.

Also - I don't get to upgrade very often, so whatever I build I will have for at least the next 2-3 years.

 

[diellur]

As you already have the GTX 570, you've got one of the main bits of kit you need. If you want to OC, then you really need a P67 motherboard. A Z68 is good too, but adds SSD caching and integrated GPU. Neither are essential IMHO.

Looking on Newegg (not my natural habitat, being in the UK...), you can get an i5-2500K, a MSI P67A-G43 mobo and 2x4GB Corsair RAM for a total of $394.97 (including rebates). Not sure what else you're needing, but that would be the basis of a good build and leave you $165 to play with. A case, decent PSU and HDD shouldn't exceed that, I'd hope...

 

[geofelt]

1) Are you near a microcenter? If so, they will sell you a 2500K for $180.
That is a great deal.
2) If you get a 2500K, then by all means use a P67 or Z68 based motherboard which is necessary to use the overclock capabilities.

3) Otherwise, since you have a GTX570, you already have the most important gaming component. any sandy bridge duo will be strong enough to drive it well in most games.