Asus P8P67 and Core i7 2600, good idea?

[plunx]

I currently have an Asus P5KC, Core 2 Duo e6850, and 4GB of Patriot Sector 5 RAM. I'm thinking of purchasring an Asus P8P67 along with a Core i7 2600. Would this be a good idea, or are there any issues with this combination?

Also, does anyone know any information on the overclocking possibilities with the board? I'm on a limited budget and this motherboard and CPU seem like a really good deal, I just want to be sure I'm making the right choice before I buy them.

Any feedback or help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[LDNL]

If youre buying a P67/Z67 board make sure the processor is 2500K / 2600K or there wont be any overclocking

[LagunaX]

If you want to take advantage of Intel's Smart Response Technology, go Asus Z68 - a small SSD plus your conventional drive gives you hybrid performance.

If you don't care or plan on a primary SSD/Velociraptor and secondary storage drive, P8P67 is fine.

Minimum model is the P8P67 for the 8 phase power regulation.

This board is fine for a single card setup.

It also overclocks fine with a 2600k and good cooling:

[plunx]

Thanks a whole lot for letting me know about to k series, luckily Microcenter has it for $279 which is only $30 more than the regular 2600.

The problem is that I'm on a real tight budget and I don't want to spend too much for a motherboard, that's why the particular ASUS P8P67 caught my eye. I know that the Asus Z68 boards are incredible, but they're just a little too high priced for me.

Microcenter has the ASUS P8P67 for $110 and the 2600k for $279, which doesn't seem too bad, I was just more curious about the performance of the motherboard itself.

Also, another question, is there a specific amount of power that these processors need more than, say, Cure 2 Duos? In other words, would I have to buy a new power supply to power the system?

[LagunaX]

If you don't do a lot of video encoding and just do regular stuff and gaming, the 2500k is plenty.
The 2600k doesn't really do better for gaming than the 2500k at the same ghz as far as the way games are written - put that $100 towards a better air cooler, gpu, psu, etc.

You should have a 500w psu for overclocking the cpu - probably 750-850w it you are going to use a modern gpu that requires a 6 and an 8 pin pci-e plug (5870, 6950, etc.)

Try to get a costa rica chip (FPO/Batch starts with 3) and on the serial number look for extremely low (less than 20) or high (higher than 80) last 2 digits.

4gb ddr3 is extremely cheap and 8gb is cheap also - get some ddr3 1600.

You might want to buy your modern gpu secondhand off the forums.

Otherwise a 6870 or a gtx 560 overclock are decent price point cards.

[plunx]

I'm just a normal gamer, I don't do any sort of video encoding at all. The video card I'm currently using is a POV 465 GTX flashed to a 470 so I don't think the power of the card would be a problem. I only have 4GB of 1333MHz RAM. The current power supply that I had is a Raidmax RX-630Z (630W) but I've noticed that power connector near the CPU socket is 8-pin:



My power supply only has two 4-pin power adapters. That's going to be a major problem I assume?

And by the way I'm not trying to make a super-powerful system, I'm just trying to perform a decent upgrade without having to spend an arm and a leg.

[entropy13]

Originally Posted by plunx

My power supply only has two 4-pin power adapters. That's going to be a major problem I assume?

Not really. You just plug both of the 4-pins. A single 4-pin is for ATX12V, while an 8-pin is for EPS12V. Two 4-pins makes one 8-pin (for obvious reasons LOL).

[DanishDevil]

If you're a gamer, don't waste your time with a 2600K. Get a 2500K. That will also keep power consumption down. The i# 2xxx series is quite power efficient, so you should be good if you're stable with what you're on now. Your GPU and a 2500K should do great with gaming. I'm maxing everything out on a 2500K @ 4GHz, and a GTX 570 with 95% of all modern games at 1920x1200. Performance increase from 4GB 1333 to 8GB 1600 or 1866 won't be a ton (maybe 5-10FPS depending on the game).

[plunx]

Thanks entropy13 for letting me know, I sorta figure that's what it was but I wasn't sure they'd both fit in together.

DanishDevil, I would definitely go for the 2500k especially for the price but unfortunately Microcenter doesn't stock those apparently and that's where I'm going to buy the goods. I'm one of those people that like to get things right then, especially when I see a good price (like on that Asus board and the 2600k).

I guess bottom line is that I wanna spend as little money as possible but still be impressed with the system.

[DanishDevil]

WTH your MicroCenter doesn't stock 2500Ks? They've got to!



Plenty in stock as far as the web site man! If they're telling you they don't stock them there, order one online for in-store pickup for $180 + tax!

[plunx]

Holy crap, I must not have scrolled down enough when I was searching for it. I feel like such a dumbass.

So basically if I were to get that Asus motherboard and this 2500k i5, I'd be flying with my 4GB of 1333MHz RAM and GTX 470?

I personally don't like the fact that the processor is an i5 and not and i7.. What exactly is the difference in performance that I might see if I use the 2500k i5 rather than the 2600k i7?

[Crap Daddy]

You will certainly fly! You will not see any performance diff between the i5 and i7 in GAMING. They both overclock the same. I might suggest and ASRock board, they nailed it pretty nice on the P67 chipset. I use the P67 Extreme4, very good mobo for the price cheaper than ASUS in the same category and more features. Check the prices on that.

[plunx]

So the i5 processors are about the same for games that the i7? I would've never guessed! I figured the price difference had something to do with it, but that makes me feel great because that's going to save me near $100 which is wonderful.

What are the chances of overclocking a 2500k upwards to 4.5GHz-5Ghz with efficient air cooling? I know it probably won't matter to me too much considering the resolutions that I play my games at, I'm just sort of a closet-overclocker. I had my Core 2 Duo e6850 3.0 at 3.73 (533x7.) and I thought I was a king. Hahah.

I just kinda feel like grabbing the Asus P8P67 and the 2500k and and buying that tomorrow. And my 630W power supply is definitely enough for regular game playing and whatnot, right?

[Crap Daddy]

Don't expect 5GHz on that cheap board and keep in mind that not so many chips can reach so high and that you will need a lot of voltage to get there. BUT up to 4.4 is very easy, from then on you'll have to work your way up. The PSU is enough if it's from a respected brand. With SB you overclock the turbo ratio so you'll effectively use it only when it's needed.

[plunx]

But still, with something like 4.4GHz, I'll still be very satisfied right? That's my biggest concern because of the money issue. I really don't want to buy the items and then not be as satistied as I want to be, but from what you're telling me I'm pretty sure I will be.

And I will DEFINITELY notice a difference in games and graphics, right?

[The Witcher]

If you are a gamer who likes to overclock a lot then get the 2600K, you can overclock it to 4.8Ghz and more, some people were able to overclock it to 5.5Ghz !

believe me, you will need the extra speed because of the new demanding upcoming games such as Skyrim, BF3...etc

[Crap Daddy]

Plunx, you don't really need 4.4, it's just for your personal satisfaction. The stock clocks for the 2500K 3.3GHz is enough but you will not see it at those clocks since turbo kicks in and you'll have 3.7 on one core, 3.6 with 2, 3.5 with 3 and in BFBC2 you'll have 3.4. I can tell you that I went from an C2D E8400 to the 2500K with the same card - GTX275 overclocked - and in most of the games I saw an increase of up to 30% and much smoother gameplay. The only game with no benefit was Crysis 1 but we all know that the game is GPU dependand.

[plunx]

Yeah, I'm going to stick with the Asus board and the 2500k. Don't really need to extra kick of the 2600k especially considering the price, plus I wouldn't be overclocking on this board too much anyway. Thanks a lot Crap Daddy, you've really helped me out on deciding on what to get. Take care.

[Crap Daddy]

You're welcome and may the force (of the Sandy bridge) be with you!

[erixx]

Yeah Crap Daddy is great, nothing to add. Well maybe one little thing: If you are a bit newbie or like auto settings... I have the ASRock board coming from Asus, and I miss EPU compatible with overclocking, and having 4 levels. With Asrock it is all the time 1600 Mhz or 4200 Mhz. I mean, it stays most part of the day at 1600 Mhz and rarely goes to 4200 (when gaming and littel more) . Is the sandy bridge THAT efficient that it does nearly ALL at IDLE speeds? ....