*HELP* building a new rig

Fear Feathers

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So I've been saving money to build me a new computer. right now i have just about $400 to spend on a mobo + cpu together. I haven't been up to date with the latest stuff and don't know what mobo + cpu combo i should get that isn't expensive but at the same time would improves performance. I don't plan on spending any more than 400 on a mobo + cpu (actually around 300 would be better) So what I have now is a old intel Core 2 Duo E6700 which bottlenecks my gtx 295. Looking to get the most out of my money. Any suggestions?
 
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Intel Core i5-2500K: $219.99

ASUS P8P67 LE Motherboard
: $124.99

CORSAIR XMS3 8GB DDR3 (2x4GB) 1600mhz: $49.99


Grand Total: $394.97



Guaranteed to let your GTX 295 stretch its legs a little more. :P

In all seriousness though, I would buy that setup in a heartbeat. That's a nice CPU, motherboard, and RAM.



And before you ask, you need new RAM unless you've already got DDR3.


This, but instead of cruddy asus board:

ASrock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3

Actually supports SLI and CFX at 8x8x, better power delivery system, sexier design, etc
 
This, but instead of cruddy asus board:

ASrock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3

Actually supports SLI and CFX at 8x8x, better power delivery system, sexier design, etc

It also has a 2 year warranty.

The one I recommended has a 3 year warranty.


For what he's doing, he won't notice a difference, so the warranty is worth more than the "sexy" design.

I like that ASRock is getting better, but where they save money is on the length of the warranty, and for me, that's a MAJOR compromise.
 
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It also has a 2 year warranty.

The one I recommended has a 3 year warranty.


For what he's doing, he won't notice a difference, so the warranty is worth more than the "sexy" design.

I like that ASRock is getting better, but where they save money is on the length of the warranty, and for me, that's a MAJOR compromise.

you seriously think 1 year of warranty is worth:

-4+1 power delivery design- seriously going to limit overclocks past about 4.4Ghz
-Cruddy ASUS low end reputation-LE boards are the bottom of the line for a reason
-Lack of 8x8x Crossfire - 16x4x is going to be a serious bottleneck on whatever card is in the 4x slot
-Lack of SLI entirely-severely limits upgrade options with nvidia cards (which he has).
-wonky sata port placement- if you put a card in the second slot, it is going to cover 2 of the 4 ports on the bottom.
-P67 chipset-with Z68 out, why go with something that is already outdated?
-No post code LED- I find these extremely helpful for diagnosing problems, others could care less, to each their own
-No onboard pwr/rst switches-again, i find these extremely handy, much easier than trying to short the pins with a screw driver.
-No onboard video ports-Again, for diagnosing problems, they are useful. Also you get Lucid virtu support, saves a bit of power.

The only real advantages that i can think of with the LE are:
-As you mentioned 1 year longer warranty
-ASUS' EFI is a bit more matured and refined

In this situation i really don't think the pros of the LE out way the cons.
 
I've had 3 motherboards go bad on me before, 2 of those during the 3rd year. Those 3-year warranties saved me a lot of money.

To each their own. The ASRock board is a gamble, though. The only way it will be worth the money is if you can afford to replace it after 2 years. If you can, the ASRock is the better board.

I've had 3 video cards with lifetime warranties. All 3 of them have gone bad at least once (one of them I've had to RMA 4 times now.) Don't underestimate the power of a good warranty, because it will bite you in the butt when you're not looking...
 
thanks for all the replies guys. I my self have also been looking at getting the cite i5 25k CPU
Note the only prob is a mobo. I'll take a look at those two mobos when i'm on my desktop
 
Okay so this is what i got so far.
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if you guys can pick out something better (thats cheaper) feel free to let me know!

for a cpu cooler i currently have my eyes on Thermaltake Frio Overclocking-Ready (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106150). does anyone have any other recommendations?


thanks guys
 
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