Stuck Between Two Processors

[MacHooper]

Approximate Purchase Date: The next few month

Budget Range: £750

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming (BF3, Mass Effect 3, Crysis 2, EVE Online and other new games) Video Special Effects and Editing, Web Browsing, College Work

Parts Not Required: Monitor (I will be upgrading it after I get this computer though), OS, HDD, Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Aria.co.uk novatech.co.uk

Country: UK

Parts Preferences: Intel processor

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Yes in the future

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 but might go for three monitors in the futur

Additional Comments: I would like a nice case


Here are the parts I have so far:

Processor - Intel Core I5 2500k
https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Processors+-+Intel/Core+i5+-+Socket+1155/Intel+Core+i5-2500K+3.30GHz+%28Sandybridge%29+Socket+LGA1155+Unlocked+Processor+-+Retail+?productId=43216

Motherboard - MSI Z77A-GD55
https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Motherboards+-+Intel/Socket+1155+-+Intel+Z77/MSI+Z77A-GD55+Intel+Z77+Socket+1155+DDR3+PCI-Express+Motherboard+?productId=48884

RAM - 4GB Mushkin Enhanced Blackline Frostbyte (Will add more sticks in the future)
https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Memory+-+RAM/DDR3/Single+Modules/4GB+Mushkin+Enhanced+Blackline+Frostbyte+%23991995+%281x4GB%29+1600+%28PC3-12800%29+240-Pin+DDR3+SDRAM+CAS+9-9-9-24+1.5V+?productId=48151

SSD - Crucial m4 64GB 2.5" SATA-III Solid State Hard Drive
https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Storage/Hard+Drives+-+SSD/30GB+-+90GB+SSD/Crucial+m4+64GB+2.5%22+SATA-III+Solid+State+Hard+Drive+?productId=44257

Cooler - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo
https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Coolers+-+Air/CPU+Coolers/Cooler+Master+Hyper+212+EVO+Quiet+CPU+Cooler+?productId=47248

Case - Zalman Z11
https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Cases/Midi+Tower/Zalman+Z11+Plus+Black+Midi+Tower+Chassis+w%2F+USB3.0+?productId=48831

Graphics Card - VTX3D Radeon HD 7850
https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Graphics+Cards+-+AMD/Radeon+HD+7850/VTX3D+Radeon+HD+7850+2048MB+GDDR5+PCI-Express+Graphics+Card+?productId=49126

Power Supply - 850W Corsair HX Series
https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Power+Supplies+-+PSUs/Modular+700-950W/850W+Corsair+HX+Series+80PLUS+Silver+Modular+Power+Supply+?productId=49399

Ok the one thing I am stuck with is seeing as I have to wait a few months for the money anyway, would it be worth going with ivy bridge or should I tick with the I5 2500k?

Thanks for the help guys I have been asking new build questions on this forum a lot haha sorry about that

 

[Outlander_04]

Ivy Bridge pricing will answer your question , and so will asking yourself if the 2500k is powerful enough

DONT use 1x 4 gig stick of RAM . Use a 2 x2 dual channel kit

You need a 500 watt psu

 

[MacHooper]

Why do i need a 500w psu there is already an 850w one in the build?

 

[Outlander_04]

Why do i need a 500w psu there is already an 850w one in the build?

An 850watt psu is massive overkill for your build . A waste of money , and less efficient than using an appropriate sized 500 watt psu

 

[samuelspark]

This ^

 

[MacHooper]

I have an 850W for future proofing

 

[MacHooper]

I have an 850W for future proofing

 

[PCgamer81]

SLI or Crossfire: Yes in the future

OP: Listen to those guys only if you are on the fence about adding a second card. But going by what you said, you did right by choosing a beefier PSU.

Take it from me. I had a 650w Antec EA 80+ that I chose for when I built my 6970 rig. Well, 3 months later it was on ebay and I had to go through the task of taking my rig apart and wrestling them wires all over again, not to mention the money it cost me not doing it right to begin with. Wanna know why? I was going crossfire and I didn't have the oomph to handle two 6970s. And I wanted to strangle those who said, "overkill, overkill" when I wanted to go a little stronger originally. The truth is, in the end you know better than any of us.

I picked up a nice 1000w seasonic platinum. But seeing as how power requirements are starting to level off and even drop in some instances, I think that 850w PSU is perfect and future proofed. It will give you plenty of wiggle room in the future.

Yeah, dude. You don't EVER wanna skimp on you PSU.

 

[PCgamer81]

An 850watt psu is massive overkill for your build . A waste of money , and less efficient than using an appropriate sized 500 watt psu

Anytime some one has SLI or Crossfire: Yes in the future in their description, you don't really wanna be giving that advice.

 

[PCgamer81]

Also, if you have any wiggle room in your budget (and if not, make room), I strongly suggest going with the 7870. It is the sweet spot in the 7000 series from everything I have gathered. Almost as good as a 7950, overclocks like a beast, beats a 6970, equal to or better than a 580 - it's a beast and the best pound for pound GPU currently on the market. I didn't believe it myself at first. But I did a little investigating and, it's true. The 7870 is the best card on the market, all things considered.

 

[neon neophyte]

sounds like ivybridge will land before you have the money anyway. ivybridge is launching later this month

 

[ojas]

Agree with PCgamer81.

^+1, ivy bridge goes live later this month, so it actually won't make sense to get an i5 2500k. Prices will be the same for by the time you'll buy, that's for sure.

It wouldn't have made sense to go for IB if you had already bought the 2500k. But since you haven't, go for the IB equivalent.

Higher efficiency, possibly better overclocking, PCIe 3.0, fully integrated USB 3.0, thunderbolt support...can't think of more at the moment. Oh yeah, almost the same price (we won't know till the 23rd).

 

[neon neophyte]

i have heard that ivybridge doesnt hit 5 ghz as easily as sandybridge

and theres always the worry that a smaller die is more sensitive and prone to burn out

sandybridge might remain the overclockers choice cpu. might not though. will be exciting to see ivybridge put through its paces

 

[PCgamer81]

What I want to know is whether or not there will be any real reason to abandon the Sandy Bridge for gaming consumers. Even the higher end Sandy Bridges are totally irrelevant for pure gamers. Will gamers have a legitimate reason to upgrade, at least any time in the foreseeable future, when even the very best of the current architecture can't be taken advantage of by the game-only crowd?

 

[neon neophyte]

pcgamer, thats not entirely true, theres games that will entirely use 2 of my 4 cores, even at 5ghz with just a single 6970 (equivilent.) lots of games are coded poorly. my most recent example is l.a. noire. 2 cores running at 100 percent.

 

[MacHooper]

Yeah I will be using it for gaming but I will also be doing video esiting and special effects, but I will wait and look at the reviews for overclocking and etc. once Ivy comes out if its worth it then I will get it if not I will go for sandy bridge

 

[MacHooper]

Thank you for all the help

 

[Tavo_Nova]

actually its better to get a beefier psu, there is no overkill on picking a computer part, it's just whether you can afford it or not, and are you willing to pay for it or not just those 2.

actually even i5 2500k gives all the games right now a kick in the butt. I don't think you would be needing any ivy bridge (if your coming from sandy) but well if your coming from pentium g or something core 2 duo or stuff then yeah it's a big upgrade (also if your coming from i3 2100 or so)

for example, a 850w quality has enough power for dual 680 but just barely in the minimum from the A's you also need to look at those A's, as it doesn't matter if you have a 5,000W corsair 80PLUS diamond with 1000% efficiency if it only has 10A's lol

 

[ahnilated]

An 850watt psu is massive overkill for your build . A waste of money , and less efficient than using an appropriate sized 500 watt psu

I have to differ with you. Power supplies are more efficient when they are run in the 40-80% range not 80-100% range. I also think you want to have a power supply that doesn't run over 60% all the time because then you could get fan noise as an issue.

 

[Outlander_04]

Anytime some one has SLI or Crossfire: Yes in the future in their description, you don't really wanna be giving that advice.

Two 7850's will crossfire on less than 600 watts .
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

In the context of this build 850 watts is massive overkill .

So if you dont know what you are talking about you dont really wanna be giving advice yourself

 

[azeem40]

According to Anandtech and Techpowerup, 650W is needed. He does know what he is talking about as do you. No need to be rude to him.

 

[Outlander_04]

According to Anandtech and Techpowerup, 650W is needed. He does know what he is talking about as do you. No need to be rude to him.

You are telling me not to be rude for paraphrasing the thing he wrote to me?

You should stop giving people advice on computers Azeem . A few days ago you were pleading for information on how to make your case fans run ...and at the same time you are the most prolific poster on this mb telling people which components to buy .
While I admire your enthusiasm , I think you should temper that with some experience first .

Evidently your social skills need some polishing too

 

[azeem40]

You remind me of Zpoon from zybez forums. Just as stubborn. Like I care what you think of my advice.

 

[BuBzXXL]

pcgamer, thats not entirely true, theres games that will entirely use 2 of my 4 cores, even at 5ghz with just a single 6970 (equivilent.) lots of games are coded poorly. my most recent example is l.a. noire. 2 cores running at 100 percent.

I enjoy playing L.A. Noire

 

[PCgamer81]

You are telling me not to be rude for paraphrasing the thing he wrote to me?

You should stop giving people advice on computers Azeem . A few days ago you were pleading for information on how to make your case fans run ...and at the same time you are the most prolific poster on this mb telling people which components to buy .
While I admire your enthusiasm , I think you should temper that with some experience first .

Evidently your social skills need some polishing too

No.

You are telling him to go with a 500w PSU when he has crossfire written in his build, plain as day.

You don't have to be the most prolific poster on this site to realize that's not good advice. And as another user posted, it is never good to be running a PSU near it's limit. He's 100% right.

OP: You never ever want to skimp on your PSU, especially when you are planning on crossfiring. It is always better to leave yourself plenty of wiggle room and never work your PSU near 100% - although in this case even a 500w PSU at 100% wouldn't suffice. You did right with the PSU you chose.