New (partial) Build under $500

igormon

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Dec 13, 2007
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So I waited for IVY. I then read that IVY runs hotter, much hotter when OCed. This to me completely killed any reason to get that cpu and made me regret not getting this build in December.

So, here we have it. Main use is for gaming.


NCIX Bundle Deal Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core Unlocked CPU & ASUS P8Z68-V Pro GEN3 Motherboard $369.99

Corsair CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B Vengeance Blue 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Dual Channel Memory Kit $44.79

ModXStream Pro 700W PSU (recently bought to replace current rig failed PSU)

GTX 470 (Will be replaced within a few months)

Harddrives I have, I am waiting to hear back from a buddy of mine on an SSD deal he may have to offer.

So my main question is what do you guys think about the mobo/cpu bundle and the memory purchase. I do plan to OC and I do plan to use this PC for a long time.

My current rig, mobo, cpu, ram is about 4-5 years old. The only thing upgraded was some more memory and the video card. I am not one who upgrades whenever something new comes out I upgrade when I need to and because I game a lot It has come that time that I do actually notice lag in games more than I feel comfortable with.

I have a few concerns however, my first concern is this motherboard seems to have some useless features to it. I wouldn't consider it if it wasn't part of the bundle. The GEN3 means nothing as I am not getting an IB which means I wont be using 3.0.

For now I know that PCIE 2.0 isnt even saturated, however 2-3 years from now?

I can live with an OC SB when Haswell comes out, however in my eyes a video card does not "last" as long. I don't THINK I will regret anything by pretty much restricting to 2.0 but what do you guys think?

So to sum it up, should I pull the trigger on this or not? It isn't what I expected for my new build, its a CPU that has been out for over a year now but quite frankly I'm tired of waiting, and to wait another year for Haswell seems a bit over the top.
 

zhihao50

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Sep 23, 2011
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Have you actually read a few ivy bridge reviews? They seems to say that it runs about 10C hotter if OCed properly and OC about 2 multiplier less then Sandybridge.

That being compensated with a slight increase in IPS resulting in no net performance change. See this page http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ivy-bridge-benchmark-core-i7-3770k,3181-9.html

1.15V, 4.5Ghz at 80C seems to to be the best balance right now.
4.5 Ghz is also about where most OC i5 2500k lives. The long term stability trend is still yet to be seen and I am waiting for it. But if Ivybridge can live at 4.5 for normal use then I am happy.

Summery there is not much difference Ivybridge and Sandybridge. If you want to go with Sandybridge then there is not much lost. Dual graphric card doesn't seems to saturate pcie 2.0 yet so you can always extend your graphic card's life by going SLi.
 

igormon

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Dec 13, 2007
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May have been a bit premature on the IB judgement I agree but the fact of the matter is the decision between the two was really close for me so the smallest "flaw" you can say appeared to be the decision maker.

The only real bonus to IB I see is the 3.0 support, but as you said going dual GPU can be a substitute in the future for getting a completely new card I suppose.

Also I may experiment with pushing the 2500k (if temps and stability permit) past the 4.5ghz mark. The other addition is its cheaper atm (due to the sale).

Thanks for your input.