Official "Upgrade Help" Thread

[FEN1X]

Lol Zen I think we are doing about the same thing.

Anyway. I currently have a Biostar 590 Sli Deluxe mobo, AMD4600+ X2, 8800GTS 320MB x2, 2GB DDR2 800 Muskin Ram, 320GB HDD, 500W Hunkey Hercules PSU.


I think my CPU and PSU are kinda bottlenecking my graphics. Ive been thinking about getting a whole new rig, but since im buying a laptop as well I need to keep to a budget.


I wanted to upgrade to a quad-core with a PSU big enough to handle my 2 cards. Ill keep the HDD, my case etc. But in buying a new CPU I realise I need a new mobo and ram as well.


Im looking at either a:
Intel Core i7 920 (2.66Ghz, 8MB L3 cache) @ R3065
MSI Intel P55-GD65 @ R1766

or
Amd socket AM3 Phenom2 x4, Quad-core 955 (3.2Ghz) Black edition R2959.19
BIOSTAR TA790GX T-Series Motherboard, AM3 , DDR3, ATX R1358.08


with the best affordable ram and powerful enough PSU to fit in with it.


I dont really want to go over R7000.

What do you guys suggest?


PS: This is for gaming, and I will be installing my new Windows 7 Ulitmate 64 bit on it. :D

[Zen]

Fenix, hate to break it to you, but the P55 won't support the 920. The P55 supports LGA1156, the 920 is LGA1366. You have to get yourself an X58 board for the 920.

[Black.Dragon]

@Fenix

Okay, first of all Zen was right, you have the wrong motherboard there, second, if you go look around on Google you'll see that the Intel core i7 920 is better then even the best AMD CPU, in fact even the i5 trumps it. Also the i7 supports tri-channel RAM, and most of the AMD Phenom II motherboards that I have seen, only support dual-channel.

@Zen

Zen, has I see it, the i7-920 tops the i7-860 in many ways, First of it supports tri-channel RAM, it is also better for multi-GPU systems, dont let that extra 1,4 Ghz get to you, you can easily OC the 920 to 2,8Ghz, infact you can get it to the low and mid 3's, so basicly i7-920 > i7-860.

[goleastro]

My i7 920 is @ 3.26ghz so yes 920 > 860.

[Chevron]

Lol Zen I think we are doing about the same thing.

Anyway. I currently have a Biostar 590 Sli Deluxe mobo, AMD4600+ X2, 8800GTS 320MB x2, 2GB DDR2 800 Muskin Ram, 320GB HDD, 500W Hunkey Hercules PSU.


I think my CPU and PSU are kinda bottlenecking my graphics. Ive been thinking about getting a whole new rig, but since im buying a laptop as well I need to keep to a budget.


I wanted to upgrade to a quad-core with a PSU big enough to handle my 2 cards. Ill keep the HDD, my case etc. But in buying a new CPU I realise I need a new mobo and ram as well.


Im looking at either a:
Intel Core i7 920 (2.66Ghz, 8MB L3 cache) @ R3065
MSI Intel P55-GD65 @ R1766

or
Amd socket AM3 Phenom2 x4, Quad-core 955 (3.2Ghz) Black edition R2959.19
BIOSTAR TA790GX T-Series Motherboard, AM3 , DDR3, ATX R1358.08


with the best affordable ram and powerful enough PSU to fit in with it.


I dont really want to go over R7000.

What do you guys suggest?


PS: This is for gaming, and I will be installing my new Windows 7 Ulitmate 64 bit on it. :D

If it's for gaming definitely take the Phenom2. Besides being in budget and actually performing on the level of the 920 when it comes to applications that only support 4 threads it's the best choice for bang for buck.

[FEN1X]

If it's for gaming definitely take the Phenom2. Besides being in budget and actually performing on the level of the 920 when it comes to applications that only support 4 threads it's the best choice for bang for buck.

Thing is though, that I do want it to last as long as possible. Wouldnt the i7 not be a better long term investment? I looked at some charts on Toms's hardware in every game except for one the i7 was better. Id prefer spending more and getting more for longer. But you guys are the experts. I have always been an AMD user, and my next card will be a AMD, for sure, but from what I've seen the i7 outperforms a phenom most of the time.

[McDangerous]

TBH FEN1X, when gaming at higher resolutions like 1680 and upwards and high detail settings, your processor will give you 5fps more at max. Your video cards are much more important. I'd much rather take this PhenomII 945 for R1900, buy the Biostar motherboard, keep your PSU, sell your 8800s and buy an HD 5850 or 5870. You'll see a large boost in performance, have no Sli compatibility or scaling issues and be ready for DX11. That setup will last you quite a while, honestly. EDIT: And now that I've thought about it, you'll save quite a bit of cash too!

If you're an nVidiot, then go for the i5 with a P55 mobo and wait for the GTX 300 series sometime within the next decade.

BTW, post the specs of your PSU up here, especially the efficiency and 12V amperage.

[FEN1X]

I can get these for:
AMD Phenom II X4 ,965 , 8MB, AM3, 3.4GHZ L2 Cache Quad Core R 2,285 incl.
ASUS AMD Socket AM3, AMD 790FX R 1,966 incl.

Core I-7 2.6Ghz 920 LGA 1366(1600FSB 8MB) R 2,620 incl.
ASUS Intel X58, LGA1366 R 2,392 incl.

Not a bad price for either?

Then these for:
650W ATX Power Supply- Huntkey Titan R 796 incl.
2GB DDRIII-1800 Hyper X (Kingston) x3 R 1800 incl.


AMD total: R6847
Intel total: R7508

[McDangerous]

I see you've discovered PCInt? :) Their prices are really really good. If you've got the cash, go for the i7 man. It is the better processor. Purely for gaming the difference should be negligible, but you'll be pretty well setup for the future too.

Maybe just try and get a bigger PSU, like an 850W. That way, you're almost assured to have enough power for most Crossfire/SLi setups. Since you're "future-proofing"

[FEN1X]

I see you've discovered PCInt? :) Their prices are really really good. If you've got the cash, go for the i7 man. It is the better processor. Purely for gaming the difference should be negligible, but you'll be pretty well setup for the future too.

Maybe just try and get a bigger PSU, like an 850W. That way, you're almost assured to have enough power for most Crossfire/SLi setups. Since you're "future-proofing"

Spot on :D

The next PSU up is a 900W, but is R1400 :/

[McDangerous]

Don't get me wrong dude, if you're sure you aren't going to go for any hardcore crossfire setups (like two 5870s or GTX285s or something) then that 650W should be fine for almost any single gfx card. I'd take that i7 combo with the 650W and ram as is. It'll give you a pretty sweet setup for sure.

[FEN1X]

Oh shiiiiiiiiii....

Looked closer at the mobo specs... both don't support SLi :/
Only one with right specs is: ASUS Intel X58, LGA1366, 6.4GT/s QPI, 6xTriple DDR3 2000(O.C), 3xPCI-x16(CrossFire & SLI), 1xPCI-x4, 2xPCI, 6xSATAII(Raid 0,1,5,10), 1x eSATA, 2xGbe Lan, 8ch-Sound HD, Max 14xUSB, 2xIEEE1394, ATX R 2,905 inc

Sigh... Can anyone else spot any glaring errors.

[Chevron]

I can get these for:
AMD Phenom II X4 ,965 , 8MB, AM3, 3.4GHZ L2 Cache Quad Core R 2,285 incl.
ASUS AMD Socket AM3, AMD 790FX R 1,966 incl.

Core I-7 2.6Ghz 920 LGA 1366(1600FSB 8MB) R 2,620 incl.
ASUS Intel X58, LGA1366 R 2,392 incl.

Not a bad price for either?

Then these for:
650W ATX Power Supply- Huntkey Titan R 796 incl.
2GB DDRIII-1800 Hyper X (Kingston) x3 R 1800 incl.


AMD total: R6847
Intel total: R7508

Since the 920 performs on the level of 955 the 965 should be better. Plus you save R700 which you can use to get a better graphics card.

[FEN1X]

Another option:

ASUS Intel P55, LGA1156, 4xDual DDR3 2133(O.C), 3xPCI-x16(CrossFire & SLI), 2xPCI-x1, 2xPCI, 6xSATAII(Raid 0,1,5,10), 1x eSATA, 1xATA133, 2xGbe Lan, 10ch-Sound HD, Max 14xUSB, 2xIEEE1394, ATX (For Core i5) R 2,436 incl
Core i5-750 Core LGA1156 2.66GHz 8Mb Cache R 1,822 incl.
2GB DDRIII-1800 Hyper X (Kingston) x2 R 1300 incl.
650W ATX Power Supply- Huntkey Titan R 796 incl.
1TB-7200RPM 32MB Cache SATA II (Seagate) R 762 incl.

Total: R7180

Apparently the i5 is better for gaming?

[FEN1X]

Since the 920 performs on the level of 955 the 965 should be better. Plus you save R700 which you can use to get a better graphics card.

Thing is I need a mobo with SLi support.

[goleastro]

The i5 isn't better for gaming, it is basically the same as an i7 920 for now.. But in the 'future' the i7 will be better for gaming.

Also, try looking at the msi x58 pro, relatively cheap and it supports sli and crossfire. I've also had great overclocks with it. My 920 (as i mentioned before) is at 3.2ghz stable and my ram timings lowered to with no hassals.

[Chevron]

Thing is I need a mobo with SLi support.

Sell your cards and use the money for a 4870. ;-)

[Black.Dragon]

If I were you I'd go for the i7 920 no matter how cheap the AMD is, the i7 will be here for a while so I'd say buy now and be safe for a couple of years, but the i5 is also a good right now, but it wont last you has long has a i7, for a motherboard for the i7 I'd say get a Asus, EVGA or a Gigabyte like these:

ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX: CPU socket 1366, Memory 6 x DIMM 24Gb DDR3(Supports tri-channel) 2000Mhz(OC), supports Intel extreme memory profile, 3 x PCIe 2.0 x16, 1 x PCIe x1, 2 x PCI, Supports 3-way SLI, supports ATI quad-GPU crossfireX, 8 x SATA, 2 x PS/2, 6 x USB 2.0, 1 x eSATA, 6 x Audio Ports.

EVGA X58 SLI LE LGA 1366 ATX: CPU socket 1366, 6 x DIMM 24Gb DDR3(supports tri-channel and Dual Channel) 1600Mhz+, 4 x PCIe 2.0 x16/x8/x4, 1 x PCIe x1, 1 x PCI, 6 x SATA ports, 1 x PS/2, 8 x USB, 6 x Audio Conectors, FireWire, 3-Way SLI support.

EVGA X58 SLI Micro LGA 1366 Micro-ATX: CPU Socket 1366, 6 x DIMM 24Gb DDR3(tri-Channel) 1600Mhz+, 2 x PCIe x16, 1 x PCIe x1, 1 x PCI, 6 x SATA, 8 x USB, 6 x Audio Ports, Firewire, 2 way SLI.

GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD5 LGA 1366 ATX: CPU Socket 1366, 6 x DIMM 24Gb DDR3(tri-channel) 2100Mhz+, 3 x PCIe 2.0 x16(x16,x16,x8),1 x PCIe x4, 1 x PCIe x1, 2 x PCI, 10 x SATA, 3 way SLI, 3 Way Crossfire.

And a Motherboard for the 1156 Slots:

ASUS P7P55D EVO LGA 1156 ATX: CPU Socket 1156, 4 x DIMM 16GB DDR3(Dual Channel) 1600Mhz+, 3 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (Single at x16, Dual at x8, Single at x4), 2 x PCIe x1, 2 x PCI, 8 x SATA, 2 x PS/2, 8 x USB, 6 x Audio Ports, 2 way SLI support, 2 way Crossfire Support.

EVGA P55 SLI 132-LF-E655-KR LGA 1156 ATX: CPU Socket 1156, 4 x DIMM 16Gb DDR3(dual Channel) 2600Mhz+, 2 PCIe 2.0 x16 (x16, x8), 1 x PCIe x4, 1 x PCIe x1, 2 x PCI, 6 x SATA, 1 x PS/2, 6 x USB, 2 way SLI support.

There may be other motherboard out there but these are the ones I'd pick from, frankly, I dont trust other brands, maybe MSI though.

[FEN1X]

Sell your cards and use the money for a 4870. ;-)

:P

Such a mission though? Anyone want?

[Wesley]

Hey guys
Just have a question about my OCZ ModXtream psu. It came with a weierd japanese 2-pin power cable. Is it fine to just stick that into a 2-pin plug point or should I buy a 3-pin power cable?
Thanks alot!

Get the 3-pin, you don't want to be stuck to those horrible 2-pin plugs.

Right, straight to the point. I face a dilema with regards to upgrading, after Intel released their new i5 and i7 products I've been taking a peak at them. The two upgrade options I am looking at are the i7 860 and the i7 920.

Now I realise if I go for one that I won't be able to take the other without buying a new motherboard due to their different socket arrangements, namely LGA1156 & LGA1366 respectively.

I'm not looking for a complete system, just a processor, motherboard and RAM (maybe a GFX card if I can push it, but only if I have cash to spare). I don't want to exceed R10k, and the sweet spot would be about R6k - R7k give or take R500.

The processors both cost roughly R3000. (Link)
Its the price difference between the X58 and the P55 motherboards that scare the living bejesus out of me. The cheapest* X58 board I can find is the Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R @ R2597.00, whereas the cheapest* P55 board I can find is the Asus P7P55D LE @ R1706.37.

Chances are if I go the X58 route, I'll take this board, I've always loved my DFi's. My current motherboard is a DFi. An alternative is the Asus P6V Deluxe V2 @ R3099. I've heard good and bads thing with Asus.

Now the P55 route. I'll probably take Asus P7P55D Pro or the Asus P7P55D Evo.

RAM, for the 920, I'll probably take Transcend TRI Channel DDR3 - 1333 Mhz 6GB Kit @ R1399 and for the 860 route, I'll probably take the Transcend aXeRAM 2 x 2GB Kit DDR3 - 1800Mhz @ R1399.

Any suggestions or comments or criticisms you may have please feel free to voice them, just please make them coherent and well founded.

In case you're wondering I'll be attaching all this to a CoolerMaster RealPower 550W with 3 S-ATA HDD's, a DVD-ROM and a 9800GT. (Might try and get a new GFX card, I'm eyeing out that HD5850)

* Just because its the cheapest doesn't mean I'll buy it, it served merely as a comparison.

I would go the P55 route because it is cheaper overall. With the i7 860 and the 920, you're looking at two similarly-priced chips that should perform almost exactly the same. The 860 just starts out a little faster, and Turbo boost is a bit higher as well.

One could always look towards the i5 750, which performs on the level of the i7 920 and despite the lack of the super-fast QPI interface, it still holds its own and has a much better price/performance ratio. It also drops Hyperthreading, but since when did that help anything, really?

So, for a Core i5 rig:

Intel Core i5 750 (2.66Ghz, 8MB L3 cache) @ R2090

And then your choice between:

MSI Intel P55-CD53 @ R1374
Asus P7P55D @ R1833
Gigabyte P55 GA-P55-UD3P @ R2528 (as always, it's the most expensive)

All 3 boards fared very well in a recent roundup by Tom's Hardware, with the Asus and the Gigabyte taking top spots. Personally I'd take the Asus because of it's price, their reputation, and that really sweet cooler.



As for the RAM requirements, you can take a set of this:

OCZ Reaper HPC Edition DDR3-1600MHz 4GB (2 x 2GB) @ R1303

Taking the Gigabyte, your total is R5921, lowering to around R4000 if you choose the MSI motherboard. Then the leftover money goes towards a new HD5850!

:P

Such a mission though? Anyone want?

Take a look at what I suggested to Zen, maybe you'll like it, although I see nothing wrong with what you posted up 2 hours ago.

If I were you I'd go for the i7 920 no matter how cheap the AMD is, the i7 will be here for a while so I'd say buy now and be safe for a couple of years, but the i5 is also a good right now, but it wont last you has long has a i7, for a motherboard for the i7 I'd say get a Asus, EVGA or a Gigabyte like these:

Why do people always assume that the LGA1366 platform is more "future-proof" than LGA1156? Or even the AM3 platform, because if AMD's past is anything to go by, their AM3 motherboards will outlast Intel's sockets for quite some time. Five years ago Intel made the move to LGA775. Four years later, they changed to LGA1366 and screwed everyone over who went out and bought a new high-end rig at that time. Who's to say the LGA1366 socket will be around for another four years? Intel might come up with something better than that in three years, or less.

The point that I would like to make here is that choosing an AMD build would save you money, and the AM3 socket will stick around for quite some time, longer than Intel's because of AMD's continual efforts to ensure their new chips are backwards-compatible with the previous generation. Choosing to take the LGA1366 platform purely because it's the more expensive, and therefore "longer-lasting" option, just doesn't make any sense.

Additionally, you seem to also think that the LGA1156 platform will die out quicker than LGA1366. It will not, let me assure you, Intel would be shooting themselves in the foot if they were. LGA1156 is a board targeted at the mainstream market, while LGA1366 is for enthusiasts, overclockers, professional workstations, and people with too much money. LGA1366 will stay firmly in that position, while LGA1156 will end up becoming as cheap as the cheapest G31 motherboards today, probably even before July next year.