Alright guys I'm currently planning my new PC build but I'm unsure on what motherboard and PSU to go for. So far the build consists of: CPU - i5 2500k http://www.ebuyer.com/product/2515 [...] m=products GPU - Sapphire Radeon 5850 Extreme http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] -SP&tool=3 RAM - GSkill 2 x 4GB DDR3 1600 http://www.ebuyer.com/product/264750 HDD - Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB http://www.ebuyer.com/product/173804 Case - Coolermaster Storm Scout http://www.scan.co.uk/products/coo [...] u-(gaming) OS - Windows 7 Premium 64-bit I've looked around at the likes of Asus P8P67 but don't really know what to look for in motherboards. Ideally I'm looking for a mobo below £120 which supports crossfire as I'll probably end up buying another 5850 at some point. With that in mind, I guess I'll need a fairly high power PSU to make it future proof. Oh, the PC will only really be stretched by gaming, with the likes of BF:BC2, Crysis and then the up and coming BF3. To give you an idea of the difference it will make, I'm currently running a 2 and a half year old comp with a Dual Core E7300, 9800GT, 4GB DDR2 800 on XP. Any advice is much appreciated
Welcome to HWF! Love the sandy bridge cpu, you've got more than enough memory, a nice case, and a great graphics card. Those will go great together. However, i don't suggest that Hard Drive, just because it's using an old SATA 2 connection when you could be using a SATA 3 connection at the same price! Check this one out. For starters, what you want to look for in a motherboard is a good brand name, supported cpu socket, supported memory, if it's crossfire/sli compatible, if it supports the latest usb 3.0/sata 3 connections (something i recommend everyone to look for), and so forth... So you want to look for durability, compatibility, price, and quantity. By quantity i mean enough ram slots, usb ports, and sata ports, or pcie ports for any future upgrades you may need. Ample motherboards will have 3 pcie ports, 6-8 usb ports, 4-6 sata ports, and at least 4 memory slots. But you don't always have to stick in this range, but it's a good point of reference. This board right here is nice and supports crossfire and SLI: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...583&cm_re=MSI_P67A-G43-_-13-130-583-_-Product I use power supply calculators to determine the type of power supply you need. Checking here and here, i recommend around 750W (taking into account crossfire cards). And i recommend going modular, which allows you to remove unnecessary cables. This one will do the trick. It's $90, but never sacrifice performance for price when it comes to a motherboard... you'll end up spending more if you do. Besides, it's a good brand and was the cheapest out of the other 750W... Now all you need is a good cpu heatsink and thermal paste. This one will keep your temps pretty cool. You can get something similar and cheaper if you find, but make sure it fits into a 1155 socket. If you decide to get that one, below are options to include thermal paste. Make sure you do that as you need to spread the paste over your the heatsink head
Hey cube, thanks for the response. Those PSU calculators are very helpful, I think I'm gonna go for the Coolermaster Silent Pro 700W as there is a combo deal with the Storm case on ebuyer for a great price. Regarding the custom CPU cooler, I'm assuming its necessary when overclocking the 2500k? I don't have experience in overclocking however will be looking to try it with the 2500k with the use of guides etc online. One question though, is there any problem with running the CPU at stock speed for a while and then overclocking it when I feel the need for more speed, or should you overclock right away? I'll look around for prices for the mobo you suggested. Also, is there actually much difference between SATA2 and SATA3? Cheers
Definitely necessary if you plan on overclocking. You want your temps to be around 30 idle and 60 during max load. Those are considered good temps. You can overclock whenever you feel the need to. Keep in mind that consistent overclocking reduces a cpu's longevity. By how much really depends... Yes, SATA3 effectively doubles the speeds of SATA2, going from 3Gb/s (Gigabits per second) to 6Gb/s. Just in case you were wondering, 1 Gigabit = .125 Gigabytes (GB). So, 6Gb=.75GB (750 MB).
