New computer advice - Z68, Sandybridge

tigerwolf · 31st March 2011, 2:01 PM

Im building my next rig and wanted some advice on what I should get.

I am going for a Sandy Bridge i5-2500 on a Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD4B3 P67 Motherboard.

My questions are:

Should I get the i5-2500K?- is this much of a benefit? (I haven't done much overclocking in the past but if I only do "safe/moderate" overclocking will I see much or a performance increase?)

Should I wait for the Z68 chipset/motherboard? The only feature that I am interested in is the SSD Caching, will this be worth it? Is it likely that the motherboard pricing for the Z68 will be similar to the GB board I have mentioned above?

Cheers Guys

stenchlord · 31st March 2011, 2:13 PM

It's all dependent on what hardware you have now and whether or not it does what you ask of it.

If it still runs all the applications and games you throw at it then is there a need to upgrade?

Bertross · 31st March 2011, 2:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stenchlord

It's all dependent on what hardware you have now and whether or not it does what you ask of it.

If it still runs all the applications and games you throw at it then is there a need to upgrade?

Stenchie its OCAU do we need a reason, its not PCPP :S

jesus i went from Gem batch Xeon + rampage to SB ud7 and 2600k!!!

also down graded from 570 to 6950 lol how crazy am i!

for the lolz though and yummy new hardware i would do it.

In answer to your question OP, Sandy is nice, what hardware you got now?

tigerwolf · 31st March 2011, 2:39 PM

I have an ASUS M2N

http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=74PPQIiEejvuIiHv

Im not sure on the CPU but its an AMD 64 AM2 but I think its something like a 3500+ or similar (not at home to check).

2GB of DDR2.

(I recently upgraded the GFX to a NV GTS450 from a 7600GT so I could play Dragon Age:Origins on high)

Im keen to try Dragon Age 2 and Crysis on this machine to see if they will play well enough to my liking.

Bertross · 31st March 2011, 2:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tigerwolf

I have an ASUS M2N

http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=74PPQIiEejvuIiHv

Im not sure on the CPU but its an AMD 64 AM2 but I think its something like a 3500+ or similar (not at home to check).

2GB of DDR2.

(I recently upgraded the GFX to a NV GTS450 from a 7600GT so I could play Dragon Age:Origins on high)

Im keen to try Dragon Age 2 and Crysis on this machine to see if they will play well enough to my liking.

Anything other then that will be awesome! You could go a budget build getting like a non K edition an 4GB ddr3 for $50 and a $150 SB mobo.

tigerwolf · 31st March 2011, 3:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bertross

Anything other then that will be awesome! You could go a budget build getting like a non K edition an 4GB ddr3 for $50 and a $150 SB mobo.

What I want to know, is it worth getting the K for the $$ (+$30 in my case), and if I should wait for the Z68 chipset motherboards that will come out later this year. They will have SSD caching but im not sure how that will work or if it will be any good.

slyls1 · 31st March 2011, 3:26 PM

Yes i would, you will have the headrom to overclock later

stenchlord · 31st March 2011, 4:17 PM

Considering your current hardware and what you want to do, I'd recommend upgrading now. Even the standard i5 2500 can be upped to 4.1GHz despite the locked multiplier, the two that I've used did that on stock vcore as well. If you think that you'd want to OC further than that then perhaps go for the i5 2500K but if not the standard 2500 will be more than enough for your requirements.

tigerwolf · 31st March 2011, 4:20 PM

I just read this and it appears that the Z68 allows overclocking for the H67 chipset (graphics and processor).

Am I right that you can overclock a i5-2500k and its not limited by the current motherboards?

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/t...-2100-tested/6

For anyone interested here is the info about the SSD Caching feature.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...hing,2888.html

tigerwolf · 31st March 2011, 8:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stenchlord

Considering your current hardware and what you want to do, I'd recommend upgrading now. Even the standard i5 2500 can be upped to 4.1GHz despite the locked multiplier, the two that I've used did that on stock vcore as well. If you think that you'd want to OC further than that then perhaps go for the i5 2500K but if not the standard 2500 will be more than enough for your requirements.

Thanks for this. I just went out and purchased them. Building it now.

Marcism · 1st April 2011, 3:27 AM

Definitely need some OC results!

Darien · 1st April 2011, 3:06 PM

I was planning to wait for Z68 purely for the SSD caching, but from what I've read in early previews it doesn't seem all that impressive - far less performance than just dedicating OS+programs to an SSD.

It seems to be mainly for people who can't afford 60GB or 120GB+ SSD's, or who can't be bothered manually symlinking programs/games or having data on a separate drive.

31st March 2011, 2:01 PM	#1
tigerwolf Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 15	New computer advice - Z68, Sandybridge Im building my next rig and wanted some advice on what I should get. I am going for a Sandy Bridge i5-2500 on a Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD4B3 P67 Motherboard. My questions are: Should I get the i5-2500K?- is this much of a benefit? (I haven't done much overclocking in the past but if I only do "safe/moderate" overclocking will I see much or a performance increase?) Should I wait for the Z68 chipset/motherboard? The only feature that I am interested in is the SSD Caching, will this be worth it? Is it likely that the motherboard pricing for the Z68 will be similar to the GB board I have mentioned above? Cheers Guys Last edited by tigerwolf; 31st March 2011 at 3:42 PM.

31st March 2011, 2:13 PM	#2
stenchlord Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Sydney, NSW Posts: 4,325	It's all dependent on what hardware you have now and whether or not it does what you ask of it. If it still runs all the applications and games you throw at it then is there a need to upgrade? __________________ MAIN 2700K \| CORSAIR H80 \| MAXIMUS IV GENE-Z \| 16GB RIPJAWS-X \| 2GB GTX-670 DIRECTCU II TOP \| M4 128GB \| VERTEX2 120GB \| AX850 \| ARC MINI \| IPS235V + TH-L47ET5A \| FILCO NINJA TKL RED \| G700 \| SOLO6C \| A700 STORAGE 2xHOTWAY \| 13TB BACKUP Q9400 \| MEGA SHADOW \| RAMPAGE FORMULA \| 4GB DOMINATOR \| 2GB HD6970 \| VERTEX2 60GB \| HX620 \| FT-01 \| E2420HD \| DAS PRO \| MAMBA \| Z2300 WORK HP 13.3" \| SU7300 1.3GHZ \| 4GB \| FORCE 60GB \| 32GB SDHC

31st March 2011, 3:26 PM	#7
slyls1 Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Adelaide Posts: 1,372	Yes i would, you will have the headrom to overclock later __________________ Gaming: i5 2500K@4.5Ghz TRUE 120, Z68XP-UD4, 8GB 1600 DDR3, OS: Intel 520 60GB, 1TB WD Black+Intel 330 60GB Cache, MSI GTX680 TF3 OC +50/+100, CM690 Adv II LanBox: i5 750@4Ghz TT Frio, Evga P55-SLi, 8GB 1600 DDR3, Kingston 64GB SSD, GTX570@900/3900, CM690 HTPC: X4 965, MA785GM-US2H, 8GB 800 DDR2, X-Fi Sound, 4TB, Antec NSK2400 Trades: $7K+

31st March 2011, 4:17 PM	#8
stenchlord Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Sydney, NSW Posts: 4,325	Considering your current hardware and what you want to do, I'd recommend upgrading now. Even the standard i5 2500 can be upped to 4.1GHz despite the locked multiplier, the two that I've used did that on stock vcore as well. If you think that you'd want to OC further than that then perhaps go for the i5 2500K but if not the standard 2500 will be more than enough for your requirements. __________________ MAIN 2700K \| CORSAIR H80 \| MAXIMUS IV GENE-Z \| 16GB RIPJAWS-X \| 2GB GTX-670 DIRECTCU II TOP \| M4 128GB \| VERTEX2 120GB \| AX850 \| ARC MINI \| IPS235V + TH-L47ET5A \| FILCO NINJA TKL RED \| G700 \| SOLO6C \| A700 STORAGE 2xHOTWAY \| 13TB BACKUP Q9400 \| MEGA SHADOW \| RAMPAGE FORMULA \| 4GB DOMINATOR \| 2GB HD6970 \| VERTEX2 60GB \| HX620 \| FT-01 \| E2420HD \| DAS PRO \| MAMBA \| Z2300 WORK HP 13.3" \| SU7300 1.3GHZ \| 4GB \| FORCE 60GB \| 32GB SDHC

31st March 2011, 4:20 PM	#9
tigerwolf Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 15	I just read this and it appears that the Z68 allows overclocking for the H67 chipset (graphics and processor). Am I right that you can overclock a i5-2500k and its not limited by the current motherboards? http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/t...-2100-tested/6 For anyone interested here is the info about the SSD Caching feature. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...hing,2888.html Last edited by tigerwolf; 31st March 2011 at 4:23 PM.

31st March 2011, 2:39 PM	#4
tigerwolf Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 15	I have an ASUS M2N http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=74PPQIiEejvuIiHv Im not sure on the CPU but its an AMD 64 AM2 but I think its something like a 3500+ or similar (not at home to check). 2GB of DDR2. (I recently upgraded the GFX to a NV GTS450 from a 7600GT so I could play Dragon Age:Origins on high) Im keen to try Dragon Age 2 and Crysis on this machine to see if they will play well enough to my liking.

1st April 2011, 3:27 AM	#11
Marcism Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Sydney Posts: 125	Definitely need some OC results! __________________ AUS PC: i7 860 3.8 \| Custom WC \| P7P55D-E Pro \| 6970 915/1450 \| 8GB Vengeance \| M4 128 \| 1TB Samsung F3 \| 1TB Green \| 2TB Green \| ST75F-P \| CM690 FIN PC: 960T \| Asus M5A78L-M LX \| 4830 \| 2GB Samsung \| Barracuda 250GB \| VX450 \| Ridiculous case

1st April 2011, 3:06 PM	#12
Darien Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 26	I was planning to wait for Z68 purely for the SSD caching, but from what I've read in early previews it doesn't seem all that impressive - far less performance than just dedicating OS+programs to an SSD. It seems to be mainly for people who can't afford 60GB or 120GB+ SSD's, or who can't be bothered manually symlinking programs/games or having data on a separate drive.