Need Upgrade Advice

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Odom

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Hi All

I'm at the stage where I'd like to upgrade my computer but I'm fairly clueless as to where to go. My current problem is as to whether I should move to an i5 or an i7 CPU and which mobo to use. I'm looking at moving to an ATI HD5850 or 5870 as a GFX card depending on what I spend on the mobo, cpu and RAM.

My current specs are:

Mobo: ASUS RoG Commando
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo EE600 @ 2.4GHz
RAM: 2GB
GFX Card: ASUS Geforece 8800 GTS

I already have a beefy power supply (Enermax 1000watt) and storage isn't an issue.

My budget is R8K - R10k. In a push I could probably go to R12k but only if it's going to be worth it. I'd prefer to stick to Intel so either i5 or i7.

Thanks in advance.
 
What are you going to use the machine for? What will you be doing the most on it? Any advice without that info is useless
 
Sorry, mainly for gaming. Thought it might be obvious based on my previous specs :P
 
Mainly gaming go for i5 750 or Phenom 965, but I see you prefer Intel. The added threads and triple channel memory on the LGA1366 platform are wasted on games (and are expensive). The i5 750 should set you back about R2100, a good motherboard between R1500 - 2000. 4gb DDR3 memory another R1500. So thats about R5500, leaving you more than enough cash to get the 5870 :)
 
No point going i5. If you have to go Intel then it's a i7 920 or 930 with a 5850
 
i think the i5 would be a better choice, it is slower than the i7 obviously but are you going to notice the difference in frames? nope, stick to the i5 and get the 5870.


i fully agree with what Archer says. His got your plan laid out.
 
Thanks for the advice.

In terms of i5 motherboards, any specific brands that are better than others or are they all pretty much the same? I don't intend to do anything funny with my HD5870 so I take it brand there is unimportant? In terms of ram should I just get a 2x2GB kit or would it be worth spending a bit more on getting a 4x2GB kit?
 
I've not had recent experience with i5 boards, but you should be safe with Asus, MSI, Gigabyte. If you are not going to OC the 5870 then brand does not matter, try get the 3DFX from wootware, cheapest 5870 you'll find and still 3 year warranty (iirc). Finally for games 4gb is more than enough, you'll find that you'll almost never go over 3gb
 
Actually debating splashing out a bit and grabbing an Asus Maximus III Gen mobo. I could probably sneak it in and just be a little bit over budget. Worth splashing out on a RoG i5 board?
 
RoG board looks awesome, but it really is a waste if you are not planning on quite heavily overclocking your CPU. And remember, you still want to get a decent CPU cooler, unless you dont mind the whining of the stock cooler
 
Good point. Probably just going to go for a p7p55d board then. In terms of CPU cooler are there any coolers out the box that support 1156 sockets or do the majority still need brackets at the back of the mobo to do it?
 
One other thing.. do you plan on crossfire? the 1156 only does 8x and 8x not 16x and 16x like the 1366. Most people say it's about 5% knock in performance. But only relevant if you going xfire.

Are you going to OC? if yes then get the i5 750 and a decent cooler. The i7 860 which has hyper threading usually need it to be turned off the get the same speeds as the i5. Same with the i7 920.
So assume you gave all 3 three at 4GHz. Then they basically identical in performance and you wont notice a difference in games. thus i5 750 = i7 860 = i7 920...
Save money and get the i5 like archer said (my route :) as u can see).

And most of them i know of use a bracket.
 
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