New build questions

spancs156

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Oct 22, 2012
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Greetings,

This is my first ever post on a tech forum so I'll do my best to put down all the info I need. I'm currently building a system (used mainly for gaming; BF3, Crysis2, demanding games) around an i5 2400 that I got from an Intel program ( it's an engineering sample and I work at Intel). So the i5 2400 is what I have to work with and can't change that. I have already purchased an EVGA Geforce 560ti graphics card so I can't change that either. My question lies mainly in what motherboard/ RAM to get.

I've been looking around at ram and have my eye on this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231568&name=Desktop-Memory

It says in the details that in order to achieve the speeds advertised I would need to enable Intel XMP. This is where I get a little confused: I know that the 15 2400 can't be overclocked in a practical way (I've seen posts on the possibility of overclocking a 2400, but since its multipliers are locked you can't do it in any real meaningful way). Does that mean I wouldn't be able to use intel XMP? I'm assuming that the XMP is a form of overclocking the ram, am I wrong in that assumption? Does that even have anything to do with the CPU?

Also, I've been looking at this motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131837

I know this motherboard has a Z77 chipset and is made to overclock, but would there be any conflict with it and the 2400? I am trying to future proof as much as possible and plan on dropping in an i7 ivy k series if I ever need to upgrade once the price comes down.

Another question: The power supply in my current rig is an OCZ x stream 500W. I would definitely like to upgrade it to a 750W, but would my 500W run this new system I'm planning or do I need to make the upgrade to the 750W now? I plan on adding another gtx 560ti in the future, and know I would need a beefier PSU for that, I'm just trying to find out how long I can hold off.

I'm not new to PC building, but my last build was about 4 years ago, so I'm pretty out of date. Any suggestions would be well appreciated! (especially about the i5/XMP thing). Thanks in advance!
 
Solution
yeah you need to futureproof your build and get a z77 motherboard. I'd discourage you with that motherboard. A friend of mine have that, its not a good overclocking board (since you want to futureproof). You'd be better off with a P8Z77-M PRO or P8Z77-V. One of the most popular Z77 board today is the Asrock Z77 Extreme 4

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293&name=Intel-Motherboards

http://community.futuremark.com/hardware/
futuremark is down right now but you can check that later and see that the asrock board is the most popular board. Well popularity proves performance if you ask me. You cannot get that popular if you're performing badly.

If you still want an ASUS, I'd recommend P8Z77-V.. not the LK

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bliq

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Since you can't overclock, an H77 motherboard would probably do just fine for you. 500W will power this system just fine. But it probably won't be enough to add a second 560ti. that said, most people never end up buying the second card down the road- they just buy a new card.
 

spancs156

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Oct 22, 2012
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Thanks for the quick reply! The main reason for the Z77 would be to futureproof more if I were to drop in a k series later. The H77 wouldnt work nearly as well if I were to put a k series ivy in there later correct? And about the whole XMP profile: do I need to even worry about my CPU with that?
 

najirion

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yeah you need to futureproof your build and get a z77 motherboard. I'd discourage you with that motherboard. A friend of mine have that, its not a good overclocking board (since you want to futureproof). You'd be better off with a P8Z77-M PRO or P8Z77-V. One of the most popular Z77 board today is the Asrock Z77 Extreme 4

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293&name=Intel-Motherboards

http://community.futuremark.com/hardware/
futuremark is down right now but you can check that later and see that the asrock board is the most popular board. Well popularity proves performance if you ask me. You cannot get that popular if you're performing badly.

If you still want an ASUS, I'd recommend P8Z77-V.. not the LK

About the PSU, I think you should upgrade that later. We have a similar build. I have i5-2500k and evga gtx 560ti. Im using a corsair TX 650 which actually runs hot when I am playing. So it means im loading the PSU pretty high or around 70-85% load perhaps. Was using a HD 6770 before and my PSU never gets hot. Yeah you would need 750w or even 800w+ if you do gtx 560ti SLI..
 
Solution

NoUserBar

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Nov 1, 2011
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I see no reason to believe that your psu wouldn't drive your rig fine.

Are you planning to have two systems? You can hold off your change to a higher watt if you like if you don't want both systems running.

At first I thought the ram was pricey, but then I realized it has tight timings.. That is why it is priced so high. But you can go lower priced ram if you want, the timeservings aren't that important if it's still 9-10 for 1600 I believe.

Aaaand you motherboard looks fine as well.. For your i5. If you want K series later on I'd suggest P8Z77-V or pro.



aaand I was ninja'd

Posting this anyway lol, I looked at this thread and looked at other articles and when I previewed this article before posting my post other people said the same thing. So yeah.

Good stuff
I was actually looking at this thread: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/312062-30-asrock-extreme4-asus-p8z77

Since it was similar.
 

spancs156

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Oct 22, 2012
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Thanks for the posts! In that case I think I'll switch to the asrock Z77 motherboard. As far as the RAM goes, if I overclock it does that rely only on the motherboard and RAM, or does the CPU play a role as well?