$500 for CPU MB & RAM in Brisbane Options

[Bala_Matt]

Hi everyone,

I've managed to convince my wife (treasurer) that I need $500 to upgrade chip board and ram. I will only deal with dealers that I can visit in south east queensland eg Umart.

I think I want i5 2500k and a MB and 4 or 8gb of ram. Will upgrade graphics later, within 6 months or less.

I would like to overclock but won't be pushing it as some more skilled Atomicans do. However I am likely to hang on to this chip board and ram combo for a few years, therefore may push the overclocking a bit in a year or so (depending on the needs of games).

I've priced i5 2500k at $227 leaving $273 in the budget.

So I am wondering on a suitable motherboard and ram and cooler (if necessary) I have a Cooler Master TX2 at the moment. I mistakenly told dasa that I have a 212+.

I do want Firewire 400 (the normal/basic firewire). Aside from this I do not need anything particularly out of the ordinary. Long life and eventual overclocking would be nice priorities to consider.

Thoughts?

thanks

[chilli]

This should cover all the bases:



You should be able to get better prices if you shop around, or get 4GB of ram to make it $500.

[Bala_Matt]

Thanks for the suggestion Chilli, looks pretty good to me.

I read that the cooler is really big. How can I/we check that it will fit that board without blocking the ram or my Gigabyte GTX260 OC?

I just don't want any unpleasant surprises when I build it at home :)

[Bala_Matt]

Is there any chance that the Gigabyte board will fit a 775 cooler. Basically I'm asking if my Coolermaster TX2 will work.

Thanks

[mudg3]

Hey Bala can you spare an extra $25 at all?

CODE

G Skill 8G(2x4G) DDR3 1333MHZ PC3-10666 CL9(8GBRL)                                            $55.00
Intel Core i5 2500K Processor LGA1155 3.3GHz CPU                                                $227.00
Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3 4xDDR3 HDMI GLAN 2xPCI-E CrossFireX SLI SATA3 RA        $155.00
Antec KUHLER H2O 620 CPU cooler                                                                        $88.00
                                                                                                              Total          $525.00

I'd recommend the 620 from personal use but Im pretty sure If you get an Asrock board they have a second set of mounting holes for 775 coolers. As I could use my old TRUE 775 bracket no an asrock board worth looking into if you want to save the money. But I can confirm it.

[vestige]

Also, does the coolermaster v6 fit with the height of corsair vengeance ram?

[Dasa]

Also, does the coolermaster v6 fit with the height of corsair vengeance ram?

who cares its a crappy hsf anyway

[vestige]

haha, fair enough. I thought it performed fairly well? And come on man its like a CAR ENGINE and you can change the COLOURS. vroom vroom

[Dasa]

haha, fair enough. I thought it performed fairly well? And come on man its like a CAR ENGINE and you can change the COLOURS. vroom vroom

on a hot cpu it can beat the cm 212+ by a fair bit but then it costs twice as much and makes a lot more noise
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardw...-review-12.html

put it up against the arcon which costs $10 more and the v6gt is over 10c hotter at the same noise level or 5c hotter when both have the stock fans at max rpm
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/d...ng_6.html#sect0

[Bala_Matt]

I can do $525, if I push the missus I could stretch a bit more with a compelling reason.

Is the Kuhler quiet enough, I assume it must be a bit cooler fir the extra price you recommend.

Does it fit with the ram, board and GTX 260.

My case is plenty big.

[mudg3]

The units are very quiet

[Xen]

haha, fair enough. I thought it performed fairly well? And come on man its like a CAR ENGINE and you can change the COLOURS. vroom vroom

on a hot cpu it can beat the cm 212+ by a fair bit but then it costs twice as much and makes a lot more noise
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardw...-review-12.html

put it up against the arcon which costs $10 more and the v6gt is over 10c hotter at the same noise level or 5c hotter when both have the stock fans at max rpm
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/d...ng_6.html#sect0

I used to love the noise of a couple of delta fans going full speed.

I think I'm lucky i enjoy the noise of anything :)

[chilli]

put it up against the arcon which costs $10 more and the v6gt is over 10c hotter at the same noise level or 5c hotter when both have the stock fans at max rpm
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/d...ng_6.html#sect0

Actually the Archon is $15 more with it on special.

The Coolermaster cools as well as the D14 at stock speeds, for $30 less: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1352/6/ ..It is noisier than the D14 but could hardly could be called crappy.

[Dasa]

Actually the Archon is $15 more with it on special.

yer and to make it worse the review i linked they wer using a second fan so add another $15 :)

[AMD AKIMBO]

what about the hr02 macho for $59 mine is silent with the stock fan check them out at least.
i am also a massive fan of asrock boards so i will recomend the z68 pro-3 for $119
2500k $229
gskill ripjaw x 1600mhz 8 gig $59
total $466

[Bala_Matt]

what about the hr02 macho for $59 mine is silent with the stock fan check them out at least.
i am also a massive fan of asrock boards so i will recomend the z68 pro-3 for $119
2500k $229
gskill ripjaw x 1600mhz 8 gig $59
total $466

I've been looking in Brisbane for that cooler. Did you see it somewhere in Brisbane? I like the sound of the cooler, but will only deal with bricks and mortar shops that I can visit.

Thanks

[chilli]

i am also a massive fan of asrock boards so i will recomend the z68 pro-3 for $119

don't think this board has firewire though..

I've been looking in Brisbane for that cooler. Did you see it somewhere in Brisbane? I like the sound of the cooler, but will only deal with bricks and mortar shops that I can visit.

You might be out of luck: http://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search...acho&spos=3

I wouldn't mind ordering online (PCCG are supposed to be very reliable) except by the time you add up shipping and the random extra charge for paying by credit card its often not worth it..


This post has been edited by chilli: Oct 6 2011, 09:52 PM

[Bala_Matt]

The Antec Kuhler H20 620 has caught my attention. I am looking to buy in a short amount of time.

Essentially I'm after any final feedback and/or considerations with picking this cooling option.

It will obviuosly running my i5 2500k with not particular plan for aggressive overclock.

It has got my interest because I believe that it is cool (enough) and particularly quiet. Is this a fair assessment?

Also regarding this cooler, I wonder if there is a place to use my existing Artic Cooling 120mm fan with it. The Artic Fan is PWM motherboard controlled etc. Could it stay in place at my 120mm case vent and have the Kuhler radiator attached followed by the Kuhler fan? Would it be useful for cooling and/or noise reduction?

BTW I am also narrowing final MB decision between gigabyte ud3 (with or without b3) and the Asrock extreme 3.

Thanks everyone, I appreciate all the input.

[GhostFaceKilla]

The Antec Kuhler H20 620 has caught my attention. I am looking to buy in a short amount of time.

Essentially I'm after any final feedback and/or considerations with picking this cooling option.

It will obviuosly running my i5 2500k with not particular plan for aggressive overclock.

It has got my interest because I believe that it is cool (enough) and particularly quiet. Is this a fair assessment?

Also regarding this cooler, I wonder if there is a place to use my existing Artic Cooling 120mm fan with it. The Artic Fan is PWM motherboard controlled etc. Could it stay in place at my 120mm case vent and have the Kuhler radiator attached followed by the Kuhler fan? Would it be useful for cooling and/or noise reduction?

BTW I am also narrowing final MB decision between gigabyte ud3 (with or without b3) and the Asrock extreme 3.

Thanks everyone, I appreciate all the input.

2 things

1. You can use any 120mm fan with that cooler. No problem. But you will want to use one with high static pressure to really suck air through the grill. People have had mixed results having a push/pull setup with that cooler. Its actually not really needed. Also in my experience for a push-pull setup to work efficiently, both fans should ideally be at the same RPM, move the same amount of air and have the same static pressure and so forth. I would also suggest you set the fan up as an intake (switch that back fan around) as this will keep your CPU cooler (despite Antec suggesting youe keep the fan as exhaust. However while having the fan as intake is good for the CPU it dumps more hot air into the system - this is not a problem at all if you have good exhaust fans on the top of your case but could be a problem if you dont have any other exhaust fans! Make sure you have good case ventelation and cooling when embarking in aftermarket coolers and overclocking.

Note there is NO point getting an aftermarket cooler if you are not going to overclock.

2. Any new socket 1115 mobo you buy SHOULD be with the new B3 stepping! Anything that does not have the new B3 stepping is old stock and dodgy!

This post has been edited by GhostFaceKilla: Oct 6 2011, 10:35 PM

[Bala_Matt]

I have front intake fan and the Artic Cooling 12025 PWM that I mentioned is the extraction fan. My case is Cooler Master AMMOBOX from a few years ago (has the handle).

I will overclock, my system (old that it is) is an overclocked Core2Duo 6750. I am just indicating that I will not be doing aggressive overclock, where many Atomicans choose to squeeze every last drop. I am happy to be a few 100 mhz back from that to assist in ensuring some longevity to my system.

Having kids now and less disposable income means I can't upgrade as much as I did in previous years. While I've been out of touch for a couple of years I used to do this stuff a lot. Slot A 700mhz Athlon was my first foray into Overclocking etc :)

Thanks for the info RE Fans.