New system build question

[kamehameha]

Hi everyone,

My computer just died on me and I'm looking to build a new system.
It went from 11 beeps to no beeps, so I'm presuming the Motherboard (GA EP43 DS3L) and CPU (Intel Core 2 Duo 8500) died.

My power supply (Seasonic S12II Bronze 620W) and GPU (PowerColour Radeon 6770) are purchased in 2011 and 2012 respectively and I presume they would still be usable. Also, I will also be using back the same casing as well the Seagate IDE 160 gb HDD as a back up.

I've read about the debate whether to go down the Haswell and Ivy Bridge route, which is where my dilemma lies.

My computer will mainly be used for games, movies and some office work. No graphics editing related work involved.
I do not intend to upgrade at all. If there are any incremental upgrades, it will be because a part has died and I need to replace it.

Based on my requirements, should I get:
1. Haswell Duo Core i3-4130+Asrock Z87 Extreme4 (USD 314)
2. Ivy Bridge i5-3350P+ASRock Z77 Extreme4 (USD 349)
3. Some other option (eg Haswell Quad Core i5 etc)

My budget is about USD 350 or so for the CPU and Motherboard.

Looking forward to your feedback.

 

[Outlander_04]

Z87 and Z77 motherboards are used when you want to overclock the processor , but both of the processors you list cannot be overclocked , ONly K sku parts are unlocked .

I'd build with the latest technology , and a quad core processor

Core i5-4430 $175
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54430

And an ASUS H87 motherboard $97
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-h87me
Its m-ATX but will work well and you probably do not need 7 expansion slots

The psu and graphics card will be fine .

The IDE hard drive will not connect to any SB , IB , or Haswell motherboard . You can get adapters that plug into a pci-e slot .
Im unsure whether they can be made bootable .

Your old RAM is also not going to be compatible . It will be DDR2 and you need DDR3

 

[kamehameha]

Hi Outlander, thanks for the quick reply.
Oh yes, I do not need to overclock. (You guys are really good 😀 )
You are also right to point out that I don't have much stuff to add, just only the GPU.
I chose both processors because it was the recommended gaming processors for last month.

I will be using the G-Skill Rip Jaw X 1866 CL9 (2x4gb) RAM, and a 1Tb Seagate SATA3 7200rpm as the main HDD. I may eventually add in another 1 Tb as a final backup and remove the IDE. And I will upgrade from XP to Windows 8. Good move?

The IDE acts as a backup for my data (it's also where all my data is and that I have no access to currently...). It doesn't have to boot.

Does the H77 work with Haswell? The link you provided was for a H87.
I believe you are referring to the H87 though.

Given that the difference between i5-4430 and i5-4570 is about $10, would the latter be a better choice?

 

[Outlander_04]

I made a mistake . The board I linked to is H87 and is the Haswell equivalent of the H77 .

It is compatible with the Haswell processor , and I have edited my earlier post

 

[kamehameha]

I made a mistake . The board I linked to is H87 and is the Haswell equivalent of the H77 .

It is compatible with the Haswell processor , and I have edited my earlier post

Thanks for clarifying.

Would the 0.2 ghz upgrade from 4430 to 4570 be worth the extra $10?
Or would it be insignificant/barely noticable and would be better to keep that $10?

 

[Outlander_04]

For $10 it is worth it

 

[kamehameha]

For $10 it is worth it

I just realized that the H87 does not seem to be able to use G-Skill Rip Jaw X 1866 CL9. It can only use the G-Skill Rip Jaw X 1600 CL9.
Is that correct?

 

[Outlander_04]

The memory controller is built in to the processor . Intel have set the top speed as 1600 MHz .

Many motherboards have a BIOS that lets you set it higher if the RAM is able to run faster . If you do you may be voiding the warranty on the processor . If you use more than 1.5 volts you may be shortening the life of the processor .

But many people do both and seldom have problems


It would be unusual to find an H87 board that did not let you run the RAM at 1866 [ though someone may make one ]

EDIT now I have checked the webpage for the board I linked earlier I see it says it has a limit with XMP of 1600 Mhz . XMP is a profile of RAM speed and voltage that you can apply . No doubt you can run it at 1866 MHz but you would have to manually input the RAM speed and timings

EDIT 2 : just checked a few other H87 boards and so far they all list only support for 1333 and 1600 Mhz memory . Mildly weird since the 1150 system I built two days ago with an H81 [ cut down H87 ] offered to run the Pentium G3220 's 1333 MHz controller at up to 1400 Mhz .

I guess the simplest work around is Z87 . But even then the warranty limitation applies if you run over 1600 MHz

 

[kamehameha]

The memory controller is built in to the processor . Intel have set the top speed as 1600 MHz .

Many motherboards have a BIOS that lets you set it higher if the RAM is able to run faster . If you do you may be voiding the warranty on the processor . If you use more than 1.5 volts you may be shortening the life of the processor .

But many people do both and seldom have problems


It would be unusual to find an H87 board that did not let you run the RAM at 1866 [ though someone may make one ]

EDIT now I have checked the webpage for the board I linked earlier I see it says it has a limit with XMP of 1600 Mhz . XMP is a profile of RAM speed and voltage that you can apply . No doubt you can run it at 1866 MHz but you would have to manually input the RAM speed and timings

EDIT 2 : just checked a few other H87 boards and so far they all list only support for 1333 and 1600 Mhz memory . Mildly weird since the 1150 system I built two days ago with an H81 [ cut down H87 ] offered to run the Pentium G3220 's 1333 MHz controller at up to 1400 Mhz .

I guess the simplest work around is Z87 . But even then the warranty limitation applies if you run over 1600 MHz

Thanks for the details.
I mentioned 1866 because I was under the impression that Haswell motherboards can only use 1866 RAM.
If that is not the case, I can use 1600. It is not of a major concern to me.

Would any H87 motherboard suffice? Or does Asus have the best H87 motherboard around? Seems like Asrock have good reviews.

 

[Outlander_04]

I think ASUS and Gigabyte make the best motherboards . Asrock are cheaper and the quality slips a little IMO . Probably not enough to matter . Who cares if a mb lasts 8 years instead of ten ? By then we will all be using photonic organically grown microprocessors [ or some other equally unlikely improvement ] .

The Asrock in my gaming computer works just fine .

Lots of the H87 board have old style PCI slots . Maybe people still make expansion cards for them , but they would be a tiny minority by now . Almost everything is pci-e .

 

[kamehameha]

I think ASUS and Gigabyte make the best motherboards . Asrock are cheaper and the quality slips a little IMO . Probably not enough to matter . Who cares if a mb lasts 8 years instead of ten ? By then we will all be using photonic organically grown microprocessors [ or some other equally unlikely improvement ] .

The Asrock in my gaming computer works just fine .

Lots of the H87 board have old style PCI slots . Maybe people still make expansion cards for them , but they would be a tiny minority by now . Almost everything is pci-e .

Wow, photonic organically grown microprocessors seems like a mouthful already lol
I just hope my new PC can last more than 5 years. The current died in 5 years

Thanks for the information. I'll try to look for more H87 board options before taking the plunge.