Speccing up Mobo/Ram/CPU/Cooler

Associate
Joined
19 Dec 2005
Posts
103
Been out of the loop for a while but this looks satisfactory to my overclocking needs. I already have a 5870, Coolermaster CM690 Adv II, Corsair 850W Psu. So this is all I should need:

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Just looking for validation really that this is the best I can do with a £400 budget.

Thanks in advance.
 
Caporegime
Joined
17 Jan 2010
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weston-super-mare
think this will we more ideal, will allow crossfire too.

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £111.61
(£94.99) £111.61
(£94.99)
ASRock 890GX Extreme3 AMD 890GX (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £99.99
(£85.10) £99.99
(£85.10)
Corsair Dominator 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMD4GX3M2A1600C9) £76.36
(£64.99) £76.36
(£64.99)
Titan Fenrir Evo CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1156/LGA1366/AMD K8/AM2/AM2+/AM3) £35.99
(£30.63) £35.99
(£30.63)
Samsung SH-S223L/RSMN 22x DVD±RW SATA Lightscribe ReWriter (Beige/Black/Silver) - Retail £14.99
(£12.76) £14.99
(£12.76)
Sub Total : £288.47
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.50
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £52.14
Total : £350.11

p.s, you dont need thermal compound, the cooler comes with a sachet.
 
Soldato
Joined
23 Apr 2009
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11,973
Location
Cheshire
Looks good.

Are you planning on crossfire in the future? If so, I think you will be better off with an AM3 board (something like this) and an Phenom II X4 chip.

I would also suggest this thermal paste instead of AS5. Its non-conductive, has no curing time, spreads well and generally performs better than AS5.

I would also suggest having a look at this RAM. It will be ever so slightly slower, but a fair but cheaper.
 
Associate
Joined
18 May 2010
Posts
30
Looks great, just if you want to cut costs a bit then getting the P55M-UD2 instead would be a great choice, a great board & you don't really gain much by going for the UD3 instead.

Also you could get some cheaper memory if you wanted to save some more, you'll barely be able to notice the difference in timing in a real-life situation.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
19 Dec 2005
Posts
103
think this will we more ideal, will allow crossfire too.

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £111.61
(£94.99) £111.61
(£94.99)
ASRock 890GX Extreme3 AMD 890GX (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £99.99
(£85.10) £99.99
(£85.10)
Corsair Dominator 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMD4GX3M2A1600C9) £76.36
(£64.99) £76.36
(£64.99)
Titan Fenrir Evo CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1156/LGA1366/AMD K8/AM2/AM2+/AM3) £35.99
(£30.63) £35.99
(£30.63)
Samsung SH-S223L/RSMN 22x DVD±RW SATA Lightscribe ReWriter (Beige/Black/Silver) - Retail £14.99
(£12.76) £14.99
(£12.76)
Sub Total : £288.47
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £9.50
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £52.14
Total : £350.11

p.s, you dont need thermal compound, the cooler comes with a sachet.

Hmmm, not really seen much about the AMDs overclocking. I've not been able to find any comparison articles. Is it better than the i5s for gaming?

Looks great, just if you want to cut costs a bit then getting the P55M-UD2 instead would be a great choice, a great board & you don't really gain much by going for the UD3 instead.

Also you could get some cheaper memory if you wanted to save some more, you'll barely be able to notice the difference in timing in a real-life situation.

Will the timings not make a difference when overclocking?
 
Associate
Joined
15 Apr 2010
Posts
102
Location
Over There
Been out of the loop for a while but this looks satisfactory to my overclocking needs. I already have a 5870, Coolermaster CM690 Adv II, Corsair 850W Psu. So this is all I should need...

Blimey, if you already have a 5870, a psu like that and a decent case may I inquire as to what cpu/mobo/ram you are already using? Or did you just buy the gpu, psu, case recently knowing they would fit your needs whichever way you went?
 
Caporegime
Joined
17 Jan 2010
Posts
66,802
Location
weston-super-mare
Hmmm, not really seen much about the AMDs overclocking. I've not been able to find any comparison articles. Is it better than the i5s for gaming?

heres a stock comparison between the i5 750 vs 955- http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/88?vs=109

overclocking with the black edition cpu is child's play, the multiplier is unlocked, just increase it one at a time for 200mhz increases, then a touch of voltage.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
19 Dec 2005
Posts
103
Blimey, if you already have a 5870, a psu like that and a decent case may I inquire as to what cpu/mobo/ram you are already using? Or did you just buy the gpu, psu, case recently knowing they would fit your needs whichever way you went?

I had a E2160 and ran it at 3Ghz on air, only had 2Gb DDR2 800mhz, I originally had a 7800GT with it and about 8 months ago finally upgraded to a 5870, but I started to notice I couldn't get the full performance out of it.

Normally I hand my computers down to my parents when I upgrade. Unfortunately it's been about 2~3 years since my last upgrade and the last PC I handed to my parents had a motherboard failure. So I took out the 5870 and put the 7800GT in it and gave it to my parents.

The reason I have a case is because I bought it when it was on offer. The PSU I bought off a friend.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
19 Dec 2005
Posts
103
your poor 5870 must hate being paired with that weak CPU, even at 3ghz, its just lacking important things such as decent amounts of cache.

Indeed.

Well, I'm now on the fence about which processor to get. Just trying to find some benchmarks of overclocked performance.
 
Associate
Joined
15 Apr 2010
Posts
102
Location
Over There
Ah right I did wonder if it was like that. Yeah ideal route to go though, in terms of switchin gpu first, paying a decent price to a friend for a cracking psu and buying a great case when on offer in advance. Can't go wrong with that approach.

As for the phenom's, the 4core 955/965/ 6core 1055t clock to 3.8 comfortably enough usually on air (such as the titan fenrir's), and perform almost identically in gaming at that speed.

Not much point getting the 965 as the 955 basically becomes it by clocking the 200mhz, and costs 15-20 less at that.

The 1055t clocks (as mentioned) by 800mhz-1ghz and is usually about 40 squid more than the 955, but of course could provide more longevity as it could be still viable when games are making use of 4+ cores.
 
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