Input needed on rig build

[J_Bay]

This is exactly why I asked for input! I'll check out the online shops again and take a look at the stuff you guys mentioned and then put together another list and see where it comes out.

@Slim I know the ROG boards are designed for OC, and they do cost more but one of the shops has them on special for a great price, so it made sense. Also, I have always wanted to try out over clocking, I'm just a little scared, lol!

Thanks again for all the advice, I'll take a look at all the stuff and get back to you!

[Slimshaedy]

The overclocking will be the same on a ROG board as another normal board, but the ROG board has switches which controls your PCI-E slots and have LN2 mode etc... But they're great boards none the less!

[J_Bay]

I like the idea of the one touch OC button. I was wondering what the reason is for the Intel mobo's to be so much more expensive than the AMD ones, even from the same manufacturer. Is it more expensive to licence the Intel tech?

[Slimshaedy]

I'm not exactly sure hey. Intel has always been better and on top of the market, coming out with better tech. But they make you spend money on a new platform when you want to upgrade. AMDs cpu and mobos are mostly compatable with eachother...
AMD makes a good budget rig but Intel would do the job better if you pay for it. Everyone has their own opinions on this matter though...

[J_Bay]

lol, I see this!

[J_Bay]

I've been reading a lot of reviews and benchmarks since you guys said I should look at the Sandy Bridge setup. They're definitely impressive chips. I found the Biostar TZ68A+ Motherboard at a very good price, which would then make Sandy Bridge not so expensive. I just wonder if it's a good board since all the others are so much more expensive?? Does anyone have any experience with this board, or just Biostar products in general??

[Slimshaedy]

Do you really need a Z68 chipset? The P67 is a bit cheaper but doesn't have onboard graphics and quicksynch video transcoding.
You plan on buying a gpu and I doubt you do any transcoding? Sorry I don't have any experience with Biostar

[J_Bay]

I read in the PC Format that you don't really need the Z68 Chipset, but this board is only R1000.00, which is pretty cheap, but when you run Crossfire it drops to 16X/4X, so now I'm not so sure...Is there a very big performance drop from 16X/16X or 8X/8X to 16X/4X?

[Slimshaedy]

No its hardly noticeable hey! A friend had his 2 560ti's insli in x8/x8, then put it into x16/x16 and I think he scored 100 points extra in 3d mark. You don't even notice the difference.

[J_Bay]

So 16x/4X with 6970's wouldn't be so bad?? The thing is I don't even know for sure if I will be going Crossfire, so it really isn't the end of the world, but I think R1000 for a Z68 board isn't too bad, it makes Sandy Bridge as cheap as AMD, which kind of makes the decision easy!

[Slimshaedy]

Isn't it x8/x8? X16/x4 is an odd configuration:) but yes that mobo is pretty cheap hey. I can't comment on the board and googling for me is difficult because I'm using my phone. What cpu do you plan on using?

[J_Bay]

i5 2500k, almost all the boards in that price range are 16/4, the only one that I can find that is 8/8 is the one Pilgrim pointed out, the Intel P8P67 Burrage.

[Slimshaedy]

O ok, well that's a good cpu! Just make sure the mobo has good overclocking options... So what's your list looking like now?

[J_Bay]

I'll put one together and then put it up! Most will stay the same except for the CPU, I'll bump it up to 8GB Ram(it's too late to turn back now!), and then the CPU and Mobo will change, just got to decide on a motherboard now!

[J_Bay]

So after getting a lot of helpful advice from people here, and reading several benchmarks, I have put together another possible list of components, this time based on an Intel Sandy Bridge platform. I know some stuff might cost a bit more than necessary but it's still within my budget(mostly!), and I like the components.

Sandy Bridge:
Core i5 2500K
Asus P8Z68 - V LGA1155 Main Board ----> I saw this for R1800.00, wich is only R300 on top of the Intel Burrage!
G. Skill Rip Jaw F3 - 12800 1600MHZ 8GB Kit DDR 3 ----> Good pricing on this ram!
Radeon HD6970 ---> I'll just take the cheapest one I can find when I buy, they're basically all the same!
Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1 TB HDD
Mukii Asroc Plus 750W PSU
Coolermaster V6 CPU Cooler ----> This is cheaper than the GT, will it still get the job done???
Coolermaster HAF 912 Advanced
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit

Total price comes to R10 766.06. It's a bit more than the IAMD system, but if the benchmarks are anything to go by I should be safe with this Rig for at least a couple of years before it needs upgrading...Hopefully!

[Slimshaedy]

Ya it looks pretty good:) again the P67 should be a little cheaper but its all your choice at the end of the day:) before you buy make sure the GPU and the cooler can fit inside the HAF 912

[J_Bay]

I think I read that they can, I know the HAF 912 lets you take out the one HDD Cage for longer cards, but I remember reading somewhere that the 6970 can sneak in with the cage in place, but either way it will fit. I'll check if the V6 cooler will fit...It's a damn nice looking cooler, lol!

[*Pilgrim*]

Hey J_Bay, I reckon you have a very good line up there. But I'm with Slimshaedy on the P67 vs Z68 mobo. If you get a Z68 that meets all your requirements go for it, but alternatively look for a P67 as they tend to be cheaper.

[J_Bay]

I was looking for a P67, but they're not all that much cheaper than the board I listed, I think its on special, lol!
I was wondering about OCing this chip. I know it has unlocked multipliers, and turbo boost. Normally when you OC an AMD BE chip, you disable turbo boost and up the multiplier and voltage appropriately.

I was wondering if you do the same with the K series, some sites say you OC the turbo speed, others say you disable turbo boost and up the base multiplier. I was also wondering if you could disable the power saving mode so that it runs at full speed all the time?

[Slimshaedy]

Sandybridge is a different story to all other platforms regarding OCing. You OC the turbo and its not necessary to disable C states, this has a considerable negative effect on your sata drives especially SSDs. You can leave EIST and all C states as is. When you get your chip I can help you:)

[J_Bay]

Thanks!!

[GDI_Lord]

AFAIK that's a triple channel CPU, so you might be FORCED to run three or six memory modules. If so (RTFM of that motherboard) I advise you to get 12GB of RAM instead of dropping to 6GB of RAM. We're running 24GB in our workstations at work and boy oh boy, let me tell you, set the page file to 16 megs and watch the machine FLY!!!

[Slimshaedy]

No GDI the Z68 is Dual channel memory:). They will be going triple channel with Ivybridge:)

[J_Bay]

Yip, Sandy Bridge is Dual Channel, thankfully, because that saves money, lol!

[StarBound]

And remember the socket 2011 is quad channel. No idea what this means for gaming though.