• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Possible i7 Comp?

Joined
Mar 2, 2008
Messages
1,645 (0.28/day)
Location
Raleigh, North Carolina
System Name Current
Processor i5 2500k @ 4.5
Motherboard ASRock Z77 Extreme4
Cooling Xigmatek Gaia
Memory 2x4G G-skill Sniper
Video Card(s) GTX 680
Storage 128 Crucial M4, 1 TB Seagate Baracuda
Display(s) Shimian Achieva 27"
Case Corsair 400R
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Corsais HX-620
Software Windows 7
Alright, let me put in my two cents here.

You're not doing anything too cpu intensive, nor anything that will really utilize all four cores. Why not drop down to a 720BE I have no issues playing anything with eye candy on and all. A bit of a mild overclock (just adjusting multiplier and voltages) and you get a great gaming pc on a budget.

I have one of those chips that can unlock fourth core, and for everyday computing and gaming I don't really notice any difference between 3 vs 4 cores @ 3.6ghz.


So maybe save a little bit of money, and put it towards a great monitor or just saving money in general.
 

SundM001

New Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2008
Messages
29 (0.01/day)
Location
Orange, California - U.S.
System Name Electronic Joyride
Processor Intel Core i7 3820 at stock speed
Motherboard Asus X79 Pro
Cooling Corsair H80
Memory 4X4Gb Corsair Vengence DDR3 1600 9-9-9-24
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 580
Storage OCZ Vortex 120Gb SSD/Kingston SSDNow 64Gb Cache/WD Caviar Black 7200 1TB
Display(s) LG Electronics Flatron E2360 LED
Case Coolermaster Trooper
Audio Device(s) Onboard Realtek HD
Power Supply PC Power and Cooling Silencer 950w
Software Windows 7 Home Premium 64
I would not suggest you stick with the stock CPU cooler.

Although i use the Thermaltake Spin-Q (just for a small OC) I recommend
the Zalman CNPS 9900.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118046

Kenshai is correct if you want to save some $$$. I know there is a few games that are out that utilize multi-core, but there are no games yet anyway that would demand a quad. Plus there are dual and triple cores that have been "unlocked" through the right mobo and bios combination to have all four cores function.

http://www.techpowerup.com/?92330 for dual core
 
Joined
Mar 2, 2008
Messages
1,645 (0.28/day)
Location
Raleigh, North Carolina
System Name Current
Processor i5 2500k @ 4.5
Motherboard ASRock Z77 Extreme4
Cooling Xigmatek Gaia
Memory 2x4G G-skill Sniper
Video Card(s) GTX 680
Storage 128 Crucial M4, 1 TB Seagate Baracuda
Display(s) Shimian Achieva 27"
Case Corsair 400R
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Corsais HX-620
Software Windows 7
I would not suggest you stick with the stock CPU cooler.

Although i use the Thermaltake Spin-Q (just for a small OC) I recommend
the Zalman CNPS 9900.



http://www.techpowerup.com/?92330 for dual core

That Zalman is overpriced, the xigmatek coolers are an absolute steal. My 720BE doesn't budge over 35° @ 1.55v with my 1283. Honestly you wouldn't even need better cooling for the 720be from what I understand they run very cool even with stock cooling.
 

fire2havoc

New Member
Joined
May 12, 2009
Messages
133 (0.02/day)
Processor i7 920 @ 3.8 GHz + HT, 1.25v
Motherboard Gigabyte EX58-UD5
Cooling Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme
Memory 6GB G.Skill DDR3 1600
Video Card(s) HIS 6950 2GB
Storage WD 640GB Black + 2x WD 1TB Green
Display(s) 30" Dell U3011 H-IPS
Case Antec P180B
Audio Device(s) On-Board Sound
Power Supply Corsair 850TX
Software Windows 7 Professional x64

Paintface

New Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2008
Messages
389 (0.07/day)
Processor E5200 @ 3.7ghz
Motherboard DFI LanParty DK P35 DARK
Cooling Zalman CPU + case cooling
Memory OCZ Reaper HPC DDR2 4GB 1066
Video Card(s) Saphire 4890 Vapor-X OCed
Storage Raptor 74GB + 640GB sata + 1TB sata ( all WD)
Display(s) BENQ 24inch LCD 1080p
Case my desk
Audio Device(s) Creative Audigy 2 ZS
Power Supply OCZ gameXstream 700w
Software Windows 7 x64 ultimate
ill give my input on the cooler, if he doesnt plan to OC which is his full right to do, the stock cooler will be fine.

the 940 model comes with a "special" cooler , with copper heatpipes etc, i put it on my old AMD 6000 and works like a dream and isnt loud at all. i cant imagine it not doing a good job on the 940.

If you do decide to get a custom cooler, i have the zalman CNPS9500 installed on the 940 next to me and works great.

about the 720 / 940 dilemma, the price difference is so small just go for the 940, the 4th core is hit and miss thing, also since he wants to keep that rig for a long time a quadcore might be alot more beneficial compared to a tricore.

About the OC part, forget whatever you have read about FSB , deviders, northbridge voltage....
only thing that counts is that you have an AMD black edition.
ever noticed how cpus have a 200mhz difference in clockspeed? thats cause they run at 200mhz internally to explain it simple, and internally this speed gets multiplied for example by 15 for the 940, which makes 3000mhz. Mainboards give you the chance to change this value, but of course intel and AMD usually wont let you and lock that multiplier, cause in the end every core2quad and phenom is the same chip, with a different multiplier and if it was unlocked everyone would simply buy the cheapest chip and turn up the multiplier :)
But thats the nice thing about AMD, they give you an unlocked chip called black edition at $160, so all you have to do is go to the bios, set the multiplier from 15 to 17, restart, and your chip will run at 3.4ghz(i havent met anyone where this didnt work), no need to increase voltages, so the chip wont get alot warmer either. There wont be any stress on the mainboard or ram, they simply think its a phenom 960 that was installed and run at the same speed.

also i again strongly suggest spending 30 dollar that you saved by going AM2 on a 4890, if you are a gamer this is what will make the biggest difference.
 
Joined
Mar 2, 2008
Messages
1,645 (0.28/day)
Location
Raleigh, North Carolina
System Name Current
Processor i5 2500k @ 4.5
Motherboard ASRock Z77 Extreme4
Cooling Xigmatek Gaia
Memory 2x4G G-skill Sniper
Video Card(s) GTX 680
Storage 128 Crucial M4, 1 TB Seagate Baracuda
Display(s) Shimian Achieva 27"
Case Corsair 400R
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Corsais HX-620
Software Windows 7
ill give my input on the cooler, if he doesnt plan to OC which is his full right to do, the stock cooler will be fine.

the 940 model comes with a "special" cooler , with copper heatpipes etc, i put it on my old AMD 6000 and works like a dream and isnt loud at all. i cant imagine it not doing a good job on the 940.

If you do decide to get a custom cooler, i have the zalman CNPS9500 installed on the 940 next to me and works great.

about the 720 / 940 dilemma, the price difference is so small just go for the 940, the 4th core is hit and miss thing, also since he wants to keep that rig for a long time a quadcore might be alot more beneficial compared to a tricore.

About the OC part, forget whatever you have read about FSB , deviders, northbridge voltage....
only thing that counts is that you have an AMD black edition.
ever noticed how cpus have a 200mhz difference in clockspeed? thats cause they run at 200mhz internally to explain it simple, and internally this speed gets multiplied for example by 15 for the 940, which makes 3000mhz. Mainboards give you the chance to change this value, but of course intel and AMD usually wont let you and lock that multiplier, cause in the end every core2quad and phenom is the same chip, with a different multiplier and if it was unlocked everyone would simply buy the cheapest chip and turn up the multiplier :)
But thats the nice thing about AMD, they give you an unlocked chip called black edition at $160, so all you have to do is go to the bios, set the multiplier from 15 to 17, restart, and your chip will run at 3.4ghz(i havent met anyone where this didnt work), no need to increase voltages, so the chip wont get alot warmer either. There wont be any stress on the mainboard or ram, they simply think its a phenom 960 that was installed and run at the same speed.

also i again strongly suggest spending 30 dollar that you saved by going AM2 on a 4890, if you are a gamer this is what will make the biggest difference.


I wasn't saying for him to go for the x3 that can unlock, I was stating that in everyday tasks, gaming and slight video conversion. That I can't really tell the difference between having that extra core from 2.8 all the way up to 3.6.

Really for a budget of his, $50 is a rather decent chunk of money that he could toss elsewhere. The X4's are more bench friendly but there isn't anything that the X3 couldn't handle.

Couldn't agree more on the black edition, basically overclocks itself.
 

Paintface

New Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2008
Messages
389 (0.07/day)
Processor E5200 @ 3.7ghz
Motherboard DFI LanParty DK P35 DARK
Cooling Zalman CPU + case cooling
Memory OCZ Reaper HPC DDR2 4GB 1066
Video Card(s) Saphire 4890 Vapor-X OCed
Storage Raptor 74GB + 640GB sata + 1TB sata ( all WD)
Display(s) BENQ 24inch LCD 1080p
Case my desk
Audio Device(s) Creative Audigy 2 ZS
Power Supply OCZ gameXstream 700w
Software Windows 7 x64 ultimate
I wasn't saying for him to go for the x3 that can unlock, I was stating that in everyday tasks, gaming and slight video conversion. That I can't really tell the difference between having that extra core from 2.8 all the way up to 3.6.

Really for a budget of his, $50 is a rather decent chunk of money that he could toss elsewhere. The X4's are more bench friendly but there isn't anything that the X3 couldn't handle.

Couldn't agree more on the black edition, basically overclocks itself.

i agree , if he cant afford the 4890, i have him rather go for the 720BE and spent that money on the videocard.
 

AM4A1

New Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2007
Messages
84 (0.01/day)
Location
New York, NY
Processor Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz
Motherboard MSI PM8M-V (MS-7104 v1)
Cooling Thermaltake TR2 M12 A4012-02
Memory 2X512 MB PC3200 DDR SDRAM (3.0-4-4-8 @ 200 MHz) (2.5-4-4-7 @ 166 MHz)
Video Card(s) RADEON 9250 (128 MB)
Storage Maxtor 6L100P0, WDC WD800BB-22JHC0, Maxtor 6Y160P0, WDC WD4000AAJS-00YFA0
Display(s) Sceptre X5S-Naga
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC655 @ VIA AC'97 Enhanced Audio Controller
Power Supply Corsair HX620W (CMPSU-620HX)
Software Windows XP Professional 32-Bit
i agree , if he cant afford the 4890, i have him rather go for the 720BE and spent that money on the videocard.

i think i'll probably do this. i just have a hard time choosing which 4870, if you guys can help out with that, that would be great!

is this acer 22" any good?

One Final Check:

CPU + MOBO
RAM
CASE
 
Last edited:

AM4A1

New Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2007
Messages
84 (0.01/day)
Location
New York, NY
Processor Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz
Motherboard MSI PM8M-V (MS-7104 v1)
Cooling Thermaltake TR2 M12 A4012-02
Memory 2X512 MB PC3200 DDR SDRAM (3.0-4-4-8 @ 200 MHz) (2.5-4-4-7 @ 166 MHz)
Video Card(s) RADEON 9250 (128 MB)
Storage Maxtor 6L100P0, WDC WD800BB-22JHC0, Maxtor 6Y160P0, WDC WD4000AAJS-00YFA0
Display(s) Sceptre X5S-Naga
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC655 @ VIA AC'97 Enhanced Audio Controller
Power Supply Corsair HX620W (CMPSU-620HX)
Software Windows XP Professional 32-Bit
i think i'll probably do this. i just have a hard time choosing which 4870, if you guys can help out with that, that would be great!

is this acer 22" any good?

One Final Check:

CPU + MOBO
RAM
CASE

some help guys? please. about to purchase soon, just need a final check and some recommendations.
 
Joined
Mar 2, 2008
Messages
1,645 (0.28/day)
Location
Raleigh, North Carolina
System Name Current
Processor i5 2500k @ 4.5
Motherboard ASRock Z77 Extreme4
Cooling Xigmatek Gaia
Memory 2x4G G-skill Sniper
Video Card(s) GTX 680
Storage 128 Crucial M4, 1 TB Seagate Baracuda
Display(s) Shimian Achieva 27"
Case Corsair 400R
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Corsais HX-620
Software Windows 7
That acer 22" will work just fine, it's a great monitor for the money. Same ram I'm using very similar motherboard, same processor. Looks damn good to me :p
 

AM4A1

New Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2007
Messages
84 (0.01/day)
Location
New York, NY
Processor Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz
Motherboard MSI PM8M-V (MS-7104 v1)
Cooling Thermaltake TR2 M12 A4012-02
Memory 2X512 MB PC3200 DDR SDRAM (3.0-4-4-8 @ 200 MHz) (2.5-4-4-7 @ 166 MHz)
Video Card(s) RADEON 9250 (128 MB)
Storage Maxtor 6L100P0, WDC WD800BB-22JHC0, Maxtor 6Y160P0, WDC WD4000AAJS-00YFA0
Display(s) Sceptre X5S-Naga
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC655 @ VIA AC'97 Enhanced Audio Controller
Power Supply Corsair HX620W (CMPSU-620HX)
Software Windows XP Professional 32-Bit
That acer 22" will work just fine, it's a great monitor for the money. Same ram I'm using very similar motherboard, same processor. Looks damn good to me :p

that's great news, btw are these fan filters any good?
 
Joined
Mar 2, 2008
Messages
1,645 (0.28/day)
Location
Raleigh, North Carolina
System Name Current
Processor i5 2500k @ 4.5
Motherboard ASRock Z77 Extreme4
Cooling Xigmatek Gaia
Memory 2x4G G-skill Sniper
Video Card(s) GTX 680
Storage 128 Crucial M4, 1 TB Seagate Baracuda
Display(s) Shimian Achieva 27"
Case Corsair 400R
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Corsais HX-620
Software Windows 7
I'm not sure they will fit on the 300, if the fans mount the same way as the 900. I don't bother using em, I just clean my computer out monthly, in my dusty apartment it's not so bad.
 
Top