15 replies to this topic

[bkhoban]

Hey guys, this is my first post and I got these specs for AIDA64 Extreme Edition

CPU: AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5000+
GPU: EVGA e-GeForce GTX 550 Ti 2 GB
RAM: 2 GB DDR2-800 DDR2 SDRAM Have 2 of these
Windows Vista 32 Bit
MoBo: Asus M3A78-EM

I definitely need to upgrade the RAM which I will do ASAP. I really want to get a new processor and a MoBo.

I was thinking these:
Processor: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819115074
MoBo: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813157296

Not necessarily from newegg but that is the price range I am looking for. I just want to know what you guys think about these choices and if it wil run GW2 properly.

Also, my girlfriend wants to get a new graphics card to play GW2 and was wondering if she should just get the same one I have. She has an I7 and a ATI Radeon HD 4650 currently. It seems everything else she has is fine just needs a new card. We don't want to spend a whole lot on upgrades maybe around 150 for her card and about 300 for both my MoBo and processor together.

[Life_Infusion]

Firstly, do you live near microcenter? If you do, you can get an i5-3570k for $190+tax, with $50 off any Z77 motherboard.

The Asrock Z77 Pro4 doesn't have the overclock features of the Z77 Extreme 4, such as additional power phases.

As far as GPU:
For ~$110 you can get a HD 6870 now, which should be able to do 1080p (http://forums.redfla...rebate-1216809/). If you want a slower but newer card for $110 you could grab the HD 7770 (http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814150598).

By the end of the year when the HD 8000 series comes out it will be cheap for the 7850 and 7870 (those are ~$190 now: http://slickdeals.ne...850-190-shipped).

* The Nvidia GTX 560Ti is faster than the HD 6870 if you can find it for cheaper than $160. For now, the HD 7850/HD7870/HD6870 are the best value. The HD 7850 is around the GTX 570 in performance.

Edited by Life_Infusion, 24 August 2012 - 08:43 PM.

[dhatcher1]

Might as well get an i5 3470 or i5 2500K for within $10 of the same price.  You can get decent Z77 motherboards for as low as $80 (ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, ASRock)

[Angully]

http://www.bit-tech....d3h-b3-review/1
http://www.bit-tech....0k-cpu-review/1

An excellent combination great value for money!

[Life_Infusion]

Angully, on 24 August 2012 - 08:33 PM, said:

http://www.bit-tech....d3h-b3-review/1
http://www.bit-tech....0k-cpu-review/1

An excellent combination great value for money!

Z68 needs bios flash to get the i5-3570k working so you need to throw in the price of a Sandy Bridge Celeron/Pentium

P.S. if you want to throw in $230 for a GPU, there's a XFX 7870 for sale that price on Newegg

This is due to AMD price cuts starting this week, http://www.anandtech...-bundle-inbound

Edited by Life_Infusion, 24 August 2012 - 09:01 PM.

[dhatcher1]

If you are not going to overclock, a B75 motherboard is an inexpensive option for an i5 3470 or 3570.

[bkhoban]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I will look into them.

[bkhoban]

Can anyone tell me if the i5-3570k will fit into my current mother board which is a Asus M3A78-EM. The list I saw only listed AMD products

[eggrolls]

bkhoban, on 15 September 2012 - 12:39 AM, said:

Can anyone tell me if the i5-3570k will fit into my current mother board which is a Asus M3A78-EM. The list I saw only listed AMD products

no it won't. you need a new motherboard like the suggested ones above.

[jesh]

For your gf, I'd suggest an AMD HD 7770.
You can spend the extra 35 dollars on taking her somewhere nice to eat.
The performance is the same as the HD 6850 and close to the 6870 for a lot less money.

If you want more performance, these are a great price right now and can be overclocked to 560TI speeds.
560TIs are still 190+. At that price, the 7850 is a better deal.

Edited by jesh, 16 September 2012 - 07:00 AM.

[bkhoban]

I ended up buying the i5-3570k and got the Asrock Z77 Extreme4 for 50 bucks off but still need a new case because this thing is huge. Also I was reading the mobo manual and it says that it only DDR3 will work in the sockets so I just have this stuff sitting around now until I get enough cash to buy more parts.

With that being said can anyone recommend some memory sticks for me? I have my eye on a few cases on newegg.

[dhatcher1]

RAM is simple.  DDR3 1600 2x4GB kit.  1.5 Volt is important.  Gskill, Geil, Corsair, Mushkin, Kingston X, Crucial, AData brands are all fine.
I prefer not having tall heat spreaders/spikes because those can interfere with a CPU cooler.

[SuperNova]

Memory is all the same and you're paying for advertising...not sure why 1.5v is important either tbh unless you are overclocking it, and if you are then you are probably a benchmarker because overclocking memory is pretty much pointless otherwise.

[bkhoban]

I thought so but wanted to check with the experts first. I'll get 2 4gb sticks to start out then 2 more later. I was looking into Kingston it seems like a good brand and there are some good prices on newegg.

[Quaker]

The Ivy Bridge CPUs are spec'd for 1.5v RAM. Many people have found that 1.65v RAM works fine, but if you are buying new RAM, you may as well get 1.5v
Also, be careful because there are lots of specials on 1.65v RAM - I think they are simply clearing it out.

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820104255

[bkhoban]

Thanks Quaker. I'll add that to wish list for now