2500k overkill?

[zoofie]

Hi there
About to build an updated 'gaming' rig, after a 4 year old computer. I say 'gaming' because the only thing i will be playing is Diablo 3, so nothing hardcore!
My budget is about £450 to get a graphics card, ram, motherboard, ram and PSU. (and a new cpu cooler maybe).

I'm pretty much settled on a HD 6850 due to value for money, and 4gb ram - but stuck on the rest!
In my budget i could have an i5 2500k on a z68 motherboard, but i'm wondering if this is overkill for what i'm going to be using it for! (just Diablo 3 as the most demanding game).

Should i just go for a lower i5 and maybe stretch for a 6870?

Thanks in advance!

 

[amuffin]

Go with the i3-2120 and a 6870.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/333749-31-muffin-dollar-gaming-build

 

[ebola28]

agree with amuffin, and you can use the stock cooler for it as well

 

[zoofie]

i3 good enough for D3? An extra bit to get a low end i5 wouldn't be worth it?

 

[amuffin]

Games aren't really made for the cpu, they are made for the gpu! Getting a higher end gpu will benefit you, especially in a game like D3. And hey, later on you can upgrade to a sandybridge i5, i7 or ivybrige i3,i5 or i7!

 

[zoofie]

Yeah good point! I just heard that D3 does utilize 4 cores, like Starcraft 2.
Is there a big difference between the 6850 vs 6870?

Sorry to keep posting, thanks for your help though!

 

[PCgamer81]

If it is any help, I have an i5 2500k and Starcraft 2 is as smooth as butter.

I would definitely recommend a Z68 motherboard, an i5 2500k, and if you can wing it, a 7870 - which is the best GPU on the market (all things considered).

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Ya have RAM in ya list twice and no CPU

Could save a bit with P67 MoBo. ....I dont see anythung ejre that makes 768 a must have .... at least not for 3-4 years.

http://www.ukgamingcomputers.co.uk/difference-between-h67-p67-z68-and-h61-chipsets-a-22.html

....your budget is @ $717 US dollars......here's what ya cud do here on this side of the pond:

graphics card $210 - 900Mhz GTX 560 Ti
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&N=-1&isNodeId=1&Description=560+Ti+900Mhz&x=0&y=0

ram $55 - 8 GB Corsair DDR3-1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=-1&IsNodeId=1&Description=560%20Ti%20900Mhz&bop=And&CompareItemList=147|20-233-196^20-233-196-TS%2C20-233-186^20-233-186-TS%2C20-233-199^20-233-199-TS

motherboard $110 - ASUS P8P67-M PRO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131707

PSU $65 - CORSAIR TX650 V2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020

CPU $220 - Intel 2500k
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Total $660

Understood that in UK ya pay a bit more but w/ some shopping shud be able to come close.

 

[zoofie]

Ah yeah sorry, i meant CPU

Thanks for the input all! I have no real intention to overclock, should i go for the 2400 intead - or are the stock speeds for 2500k still worth it?

 

[Uther39]

Hi there
About to build an updated 'gaming' rig, after a 4 year old computer. I say 'gaming' because the only thing i will be playing is Diablo 3, so nothing hardcore!
My budget is about £450 to get a graphics card, ram, motherboard, ram and PSU. (and a new cpu cooler maybe).

I'm pretty much settled on a HD 6850 due to value for money, and 4gb ram - but stuck on the rest!
In my budget i could have an i5 2500k on a z68 motherboard, but i'm wondering if this is overkill for what i'm going to be using it for! (just Diablo 3 as the most demanding game).

Should i just go for a lower i5 and maybe stretch for a 6870?

Thanks in advance!

This will do you perfectly and has a clear upgrade path....


Intel Core i5 2400, S1155, Sdy Bridge, Quad, 3.1GHz, HD2000 IGP 850Mhz, 6MB Cache, 95W, Retail
£123.15 £147.78
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/intel-core-i5-2400-s1155-sdy-bridge-quad-31ghz-hd2000-igp-850mhz-6mb-cache-95w-retail
MSI Z77A-G43, Intel Z77, S 1155, DDR3, SATA III - 6Gb/s, SATA RAID, PCIe 3.0 (x16), D-Sub/ DVI-D/ HDMI, ATX
£65.77 £78.92
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi-z77a-g43-intel-z77-s-1155-ddr3-sata-iii-6gb-s-sata-raid-pcie-30-(x16)-d-sub-dvi-d-hdmi-atx
4GB (2x2GB) Corsair DDR3 XMS3 Classic, PC3-12800 (1600), Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 9-9-9-24, 1.50V
£18.16 £21.79
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/4gb-(2x2gb)-corsair-ddr3-xms3-classic-pc3-12800-(1600)-non-ecc-unbuffered-cas-9-9-9-24-150v
1GB XFX HD 6870 Double D cooling, 4200MHz GDDR5, GPU 900MHz, 1120 Stream Processors, 2x DVI/ HDMI/ 2x mini DisplayPort
£110.68 £132.82
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-xfx-hd-6870-double-d-cooling-4200mhz-gddr5-gpu-900mhz-1120-stream-processors-2x-dvi-hdmi-2x-mini
650W PSU, Corsair Enthusiast Series 650TXV2UK, 85% Eff', 80 PLUS Bronze, SLI/CrossFire, EPS 12V, Quiet Fan, ATX v2.31
£55.44 £66.53
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/650w-psu-corsair-enthusiast-series-650txv2uk-85-eff-80-plus-bronze-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-quiet-fan-a


Total£457.43

 

[iam2thecrowe]

there is nothing wrong with the lower end i5's either.like the 2400, 2320 etc. i3 2100 is a good budget gaming chouice. stay away from amd's FX lineup for games, the dual core i3 2100 will best the costlier 8 core AMD cpu in most games.

 

[amuffin]

Don't forget windows!

 

[CaedenV]

Ah yeah sorry, i meant CPU

Thanks for the input all! I have no real intention to overclock, should i go for the 2400 intead - or are the stock speeds for 2500k still worth it?

The duel core i3 should be more than enough power for D3 if paired with a 1/2 decent GPU. Windows will put all of it's processes on the HT cores when gaming as the game will run on the 2 physical cores, and the SB architecture is pretty fast (as fast or faster than most AMD quad cores). The i5 2400 is a little faster for some applications, but it is not going to be a night and day difference for 'light' games that are not CPU bound. If I was doing a build with your budget I would be much more concerned with the GPU and trying to cram an SSD in there if possible.

Even with a locked "non K" processor you can OC the turbo boost a bit, which will help out on a load, and it will not allow you to OC to a point where you could possibly damage the CPU. When the CPU is not in use it will go back down to it's idle of 1.6GHz. My i7 2600 idles at 1.6GHz, and when under load it jumps up to ~4.2GHz (4.18xxx). Unless I am mistaken you could do this same trick with an i3 or i5 as well. Obviously as the non K skews are not binned for OCing your mileage will vary, and you will need a board capable of OCing (p67 or z68) in order to do this.
If absolutely not OCing then just get a nice simple H61 board for ~$75USD as there is little benefit to the more expensive boards unless you happen to have a few USB3 devices laying around (unlikely, and you can always get a USB3 card later when you do get a USB3 device. They are a little expensive now, but by the time USB3 really gets popular they will drop in price).

 

[zoofie]

The duel core i3 should be more than enough power for D3 if paired with a 1/2 decent GPU. Windows will put all of it's processes on the HT cores when gaming as the game will run on the 2 physical cores, and the SB architecture is pretty fast (as fast or faster than most AMD quad cores). The i5 2400 is a little faster for some applications, but it is not going to be a night and day difference for 'light' games that are not CPU bound. If I was doing a build with your budget I would be much more concerned with the GPU and trying to cram an SSD in there if possible.

Even with a locked "non K" processor you can OC the turbo boost a bit, which will help out on a load, and it will not allow you to OC to a point where you could possibly damage the CPU. When the CPU is not in use it will go back down to it's idle of 1.6GHz. My i7 2600 idles at 1.6GHz, and when under load it jumps up to ~4.2GHz (4.18xxx). Unless I am mistaken you could do this same trick with an i3 or i5 as well. Obviously as the non K skews are not binned for OCing your mileage will vary, and you will need a board capable of OCing (p67 or z68) in order to do this.
If absolutely not OCing then just get a nice simple H61 board for ~$75USD as there is little benefit to the more expensive boards unless you happen to have a few USB3 devices laying around (unlikely, and you can always get a USB3 card later when you do get a USB3 device. They are a little expensive now, but by the time USB3 really gets popular they will drop in price).

Awesome thanks alot for the help!
Yes i think i might just get a H61 board, but would that be 'future proof' for things such as ivy bridge?

A really stupid question, but do SSDs speed up game performance - or just boot/load times?

Thanks again!

 

[amuffin]

Just boot/load times, as for ivy support the best option right now is a z68 or z77 motherboard.

 

[zoofie]

Might aswell spend an extra £15 or so and get a z68. ASrock seem the cheapest motherboards, are they good enough?

 

[Redmar89]

In my opinion it's always good to invest in a good CPU, but since you are on a tight budget i would also recommend the I3 for diablo 3 and invest in a good GPU

 

[Uther39]

ERRR look a Z77 build for £450 did you even notice OP ?

This will do you perfectly and has a clear upgrade path....


Intel Core i5 2400, S1155, Sdy Bridge, Quad, 3.1GHz, HD2000 IGP 850Mhz, 6MB Cache, 95W, Retail
£123.15 £147.78
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/int [...] 95w-retail
MSI Z77A-G43, Intel Z77, S 1155, DDR3, SATA III - 6Gb/s, SATA RAID, PCIe 3.0 (x16), D-Sub/ DVI-D/ HDMI, ATX
£65.77 £78.92
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi [...] d-hdmi-atx
4GB (2x2GB) Corsair DDR3 XMS3 Classic, PC3-12800 (1600), Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 9-9-9-24, 1.50V
£18.16 £21.79
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/4gb [...] -9-24-150v
1GB XFX HD 6870 Double D cooling, 4200MHz GDDR5, GPU 900MHz, 1120 Stream Processors, 2x DVI/ HDMI/ 2x mini DisplayPort
£110.68 £132.82
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb [...] mi-2x-mini
650W PSU, Corsair Enthusiast Series 650TXV2UK, 85% Eff', 80 PLUS Bronze, SLI/CrossFire, EPS 12V, Quiet Fan, ATX v2.31
£55.44 £66.53
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/650 [...] uiet-fan-a


Total£457.43