Best CPU + Mobo + SSD for value rig

[SPS]

HI guys it's been a while since I've posted my own thread..

So basically I've been out the loop a bit recently since IvyBridge came in and I'm wanting to know what the best CPU is for value for gaming and for a non overclocker.

Is it still the i5 SB 2500? Or is IvyBridge paired with a Z77 mobo better?

Let's say the budget for a new gaming PC is £800 that leaves around £150 - £180 for a CPU?

Post your suggestions with a mobo you would use it with.

Thanks a lot peeps

EDIT: I'm also looking for a good value SSD and this rig won't be for me.

 

[Josh Weston]

I'd say that the 2500 is still your best bet. That being said, through Aria, the 2500k is cheaper than the non-k skew, and it comes with HD3000 graphics as opposed to HD2000. You may not be using iGraphics, but I figure it's not a bad thing to have either.

2500k = £151.14

MSI Z77A-G43 = £75.59

Prices found on Aria.

My friend has that motherboard and speaks very highly of it

Although i'm not sure if it likes multi card set-ups...

 

[dugdiamond]

^^^ this

 

[SPS]

It looks to be that way. After a mobo that can support xfire or sli.

Not sure about Asus recently, keep reading little things here and there that are putting me off their mobos

 

[Jadarite]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Basically ivybridge paired with a z77 mobo is the better choice because with the ivybridge processors they support the pci-e 3.0 speed[/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Intel Core i5-3450 S1155 3.1GHz 6MB £144.99[/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Asus P8Z77-M PRO S1155 Intel Z77 DDR3 mATX £111.99[/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]and also i would suggest a Corsair TX750 Modular Power Supply £87.99[/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]　[/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]All prices are from [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]www.dabs.com and if you spend over £150 then try code june10 as this might get you £10 off[/font][/font]

 

[SPS]

Hmm AFAIK PCI3.0 is useless atm.

This is what I have atm:

 

[Josh Weston]

Hmm AFAIK PCI3.0 is useless atm.

This is what I have atm:

Looks good to me

What case are you going to be using?

 

[Master&Puppet]

You looking at building an entirely new rig?

Why not just upgrade your gpu and get an ssd? Or do you have plans for your current 1090 build (which is fine for gaming btw).

M&P

 

[SPS]

You looking at building an entirely new rig?

Why not just upgrade your gpu and get an ssd? Or do you have plans for your current 1090 build (which is fine for gaming btw).

M&P

Nah it's not for me mate, someone asked me to help, then I realised I'm kinda out of the loop lol.

Looks good to me

What case are you going to be using?

I dunno it's not for me so they will choose a case

 

[Master&Puppet]

Ah ok,

Well add a case on top of this?

P.s. I noticed you had a 'k' series cpu but no cooler in your list so I just went the same way...

Hmm AFAIK PCI3.0 is useless atm.

Not if you run 2x pcie3 cards on 1155 - but useless for a single card setup, yes.

 

[SPS]

Ah ok,

Well add a case on top of this?

P.s. I noticed you had a 'k' series cpu but no cooler in your list so I just went the same way...

Not if you run 2x pcie3 cards on 1155 - but useless for a single card setup, yes.

That looks pretty decent tbh with a 670. The only reason I had the k chip in is because it was cheaper than the non-k lol

How easy is it to set up 1600MHz ram with IB? Do you need to set it in the BIOS? I'm not building it you see so it needs to be as straight forward as possible.

 

[jamesriley94]

Setting RAM at 1600mhz is very easy on my motherboard, may vary from BIOS to BIOS though.

I just have a drop down list where I can select any value so I could put it straight up there.

Tried to get my mushkin blackline (rated 1600mhz) above that to 1800 and it didnt like that at all. Not sure where I'm going wrong

 

[Josh Weston]

If your RAM is rated for a certain speed from the manufacturer, all you need to do, on an Intel board, at least, is to enable XMP (Extreme Memory Profile). That sets it all up for you.

As for a good budget SSD, I can fully recommend the Mushkin Chronos.

 

[SPS]

Ah ok cheers guys

 

[yassarikhan786]

You can also set the timings and frequency manually

 

[Master&Puppet]

How easy is it to set up 1600MHz ram with IB? Do you need to set it in the BIOS? I'm not building it you see so it needs to be as straight forward as possible.

Yea as others have said (and because I have a MSI z77 board myself) all that needs to be done is go into bios and select 1600 from the drop down menu. Heck even if that was to complicated for him it would still run at 1333 by default which isn't going to make much difference (but 1600 is the same price as 1333).

 

[SPS]

Yea as others have said (and because I have a MSI z77 board myself) all that needs to be done is go into bios and select 1600 from the drop down menu. Heck even if that was to complicated for him it would still run at 1333 by default which isn't going to make much difference (but 1600 is the same price as 1333).

Ah cool, should be no problemo then

 

[SPS]

Also, I have never owned an SSD so do they need to set anything in the BIOS? I've heard you have to changed it to AHCI?

 

[Master&Puppet]

I own the 60gb Chronos and all I did was plug it in, format it and install. Has worked flawlessly! I recommend the firmware is updated from mushkin's site immediately after windows install (before he starts populating with documents etc).

Download and run it from here:

http://www.mushkin.c...SSDCR120GB.aspx

It will do it's thing like a program installer. I had no issues with it messing up windows or anything.

 

[SPS]

I own the 60gb Chronos and all I did was plug it in, format it and install. Has worked flawlessly! I recommend the firmware is updated from mushkin's site immediately after windows install (before he starts populating with documents etc).

Download and run it from here:

http://www.mushkin.c...SSDCR120GB.aspx

It will do it's thing like a program installer. I had no issues with it messing up windows or anything.

Ok cheers dude