I've been using the same RAM and CPU for around 6 years now. My current build is: Case: Antec 1200 CPU: Intel Q9550 2.83GHz GPU: Sapphire Ati Radeon HD 5870 Mobo: Asus P5Q Deluxe RAM: 4GB 400 MHz (that's what CPU-Z says) unbranded (I assume) Cooler: Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 7 Rev 2 PSU: Corsair 850W Modular I'm looking to upgrade the core components; the CPU, motherboard, RAM and cooler. I'm also tempted to upgrade from the ATI 5870 to a GTX 560 Ti. I'm looking for particular help concerning the motherboard and RAM. I use my PC for gaming and I like playing the latest titles as soon as they are released. I also do a lot of video encoding and it currently takes around 2.5 hours to process 30 minutes of raw FRAPS footage for my Youtube channel, so the upgrade is partly to future proof my rig as well as improve my encoding time. I will also be learning C++ starting very soon so low compiling times would be a nice bonus but I imagine whatever affects encoding would also affect compiling? (correct me if I'm wrong, I'm just sassuming that!) I'm wanting to go with an Intel i5 2500K unless someone can come up with a compelling argument for the new AMD Bulldozer CPU's beyond their lower price tag compared to the i5 2500K. My budget is in the region of £500.
http://www.scan.co.uk/savedbasket/de00a33ce2a949499883709cc2b06267 Threw in a 120GB SSD which you will thank me for later Also, what case do you have?
The Antec Kuhler 620 isn't bad for £40 if you don't want a mammoth heatsink such as the Dark Rock covering most of your board.
Why go from a 5870 to a 560Ti? That's a downgrade right there. You'll need to spend a lot of money to get noticeably better graphics performance than what the 5870 gives you; it's still a very capable card.
The 560Ti is a ok card but imo has always been fairly poorly priced. That and you already have a great card!
If you think the 5870 still has life in it then I'll happily save my money until such a time as there's a viable replacement I've looked at numerous motherboards to go with the if 2500K but am confused. Whats the differences between the chipsets. If I see two similarly-priced motherboards, one a P67, the other a Z68 - what's the difference between the two and how does it impact performance. Also RAM. 8GB of DDR3 - 1333MHz or 1600MHz - will there be any noticeable difference between the two variants?
The Z68 board lets you use the integrated graphics on the chip, P67 doesn't. There is a noticeable difference between 1600 and 1333, so its worth spending the little extra to get the boost in performance
