[Aro2220]

Hiya!

I'm trying to upgrade my current computer

AMD 64 X2 3800+ (2ghz dual core)
3gb DDR ram
Nvidia 9600 GSO
550W P/S


After much deliberation over whether to go with the AM2+, AM3, 1156 or 1366, I think I've come to a conclusion.

While I do play a fair number of games, right now I want additional processing power since it's holding me back in video editing, screen capture, and stuff like that.

So, I'm looking at upgrading my CPU right now. Obviously this means new ram and a new motherboard.

I'm also interested in overclocking this new PC, so I'm interested in motherboards that are good for that.

What I think is the best deal for me is:

Intel i7-860 (1156)
4gb DDR3 1333 or 1600mhz


I found a nice motherboard (Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2)but it happens to be MicroATX.

From everything I've read, this board is quite capable of overclocking being one of the gigabyte ultra durables. There are just two things I'm not sure about...

1. with a modern video card (say the 5850) in a microATX board, what happens to my PCI slots? I read that one will be blocked and the other one will be very close to the board ie: extra heat. I might seriously want to put in a better sound card so I'll need a pci-slot for that. And I have an old wifi card that also uses a pci slot. Other than that, I don't need pci slots. I also don't need a second pci-slot since even though I game, I prefer using a single card (a lot of games I play don't take advantage of sli/crossfire)

2. As for the RAM, this board doesn't say it can use 1600mhz, but those seem to be the sweet spot for ddr3 ram right now. What happens if I put 1600mhz ram into this computer? Will it just downclock to 1333? Will it hinder my overclocking at all? If I see 1333mhz for about the same price, should I go for that? I've never overclocked before so I'm trying not to buy the wrong stuff.

I shop from newegg.ca, tigerdirect.ca and canadacomputers.com (I'll look at ncix.com but I don't like them). If you suggest any products please choose from one of those websites as I am Canadian and well, border tax and all that.

Thanks a lot for any help!

 

[Tyree]

For a gaming PC an i5 would be a better choice. Asus & Gigabyte are the best brands for Mobo's.
mATX Mobo's are generally not as good for OC'ing because their Bios are limited. I don't use any Gigabytes so the one you linked to might be a good OC'er.
Any double slot GPU is likely to interfere with the PCI slots but PCI slots are rarely used.

 

[Aro2220]

After reading your post I took another look at the i5-750 against the i7-860. The 860 has a higher base clock speed, but it's not that drastic. What it DOES have, is hyper threading.

This seems to be useful in video encoding...but it holds almost NO value for gaming since not many games out there seem to take advantage of multiple cores, let alone multiple threads.

I read that the microatx board can be overclocked fairly well...it's just that it might block the pci ports. I would love to have two pci ports...1 for a wireless adapter, and 1 for a better sound card...or perhaps bluetooth. I would also like more than 4 usb ports (printer, scanner, external hard drives, ipod charge cable, midi input, camera link, etc) Still, I could just unplug things that aren't needed.

Nevertheless, I think my budget is more important. The more money I save now the more I can spend on a more meaningful upgrade...a new video card.

Does anyone know common applications that take advantage of hyper threading? Is that the only reason you'd go for an i7-860?

 

[Phædrus241]

Video encoding, virtualization, some server software... Otherwise hyperthreading doesn't have much effect on performance. I think the i7 860 can overclock slightly higher than the i5, and actually gets a smidgen more performance than the i7 920 (though that can be OC'd to 5GHz). But otherwise it offers no real benefit over the i5 750.

 

[Tyree]

Perhaps that particular Mobo has good OC'ing capabilities. Generally, mATX Mobo's are limited or offer preset values based on percentages. As I said, I don't use Gigabyte Mobo's so I can't say with any certainty.
Onboard sound is quite good on the newer Mobo's. I also suggest giving it a try before investing in a dedicated sound card.

 

[Phædrus241]

The problem with mATX mobos is that there isn't room for a really good VRM, and a lacking VRM/northbridge heatsink, so you can't overclock too high or the motherboard will overheat, and generally you'll also see instability at a lower clock than you would with a full ATX mobo as well.

 

[Aro2220]

I read a review where someone overclocked the i5-750 to 4.3ghz on air using this mATX board. Apparently it has an excellent bios for overclocking.
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3652

Tyree, I think what you said is correct. Atx boards are easier to cool allowing them to overclock higher. However, if I want a good ATX board that's comparable I'm spending 50-75% more money on the motherboard. The truth is, I don't want to overclock that much because as you overclock the power consumption of the CPU goes up exponentially, almost.

I only have a 550 watt power supply that's a couple years old. I am seriously considering buying a new one.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171037

The main issue I might have with this board seems to be that my video card will sequester one of the PCI slots. I should still be able to use one. The other problem is I won't be able to SLI/Crossfire.

I don't plan on using sli/crossfire. To be honest, there are too many games that are incompatible for it and it's way too expensive (not just the cost of the cards, but the extra power consumption, the extra heat you have to deal with, etc)

Thanks for your help!

 

[Phædrus241]

Good call on SLI/CF. If your rig is set up for it using two cards can be a big boost, but I feel that if you're designing from the ground up it's best to stick with a single card.

What was the old power supply? If it was a quality brand it should still be good, if it was a junk unit then it would be a good idea to replace it. The CM Silent Pro 700W is a decent PSU, but a better choice would be the Corsair TX750W, higher quality and efficiency. The CM 700W is $115-35 = $80, and the Corsair is $108-20 = $88. I'd consider the extra $8 for the Corsair to be worth it.

 

[Aro2220]

I have to actually open up my computer case and pull out the power supply to find out what brand it is. There's nothing written on the back and the information is written on the top and that's blocked. I'll know in a few days when I take this computer apart to build the new one.

On the American Newegg.com the Corsair is 88 after mail in rebate (+tax+delivery) but on the Canadian site it's $130 after mail in rebate + tax + delivery. That's a pretty drastic mark up.

I shopped around and found it here for $80 after mail in rebate + tax + shipping -7% tax (ncix is in BC so since I live in Ontario, I only pay for GST (5%) and not PST (7%). Well anyway...nice find!!

If you recommend this power supply I might pick it up before the sale ends on the 1st. From what I've read about power supplies, Corsair is pretty good. Much better than Cooler Master.

 

[grimx133]

It'll suck once the HST comes in though. We'll have to pay the full tax, even though it's from out of province. I spent about 700 yesterday at ncix, figured might as well before they tax the heck out of us. Ncix owns one of the component stores in southern ontario, I've heard, think it was DirectCanada. If you're in southern ont, you may be able to find the odd deal that you can pick up, no shipping, and handy if you need to return something. Oh yah, spent some at newegg.ca yesterday too, they now have a warehouse in Mississauga, had one thing shipped from there last night.

 

[Aro2220]

HST is going to suck, I agree.

I also live in southern Ontario so I'm pretty happy with Newegg.ca and Tigerdirect.ca
I also use Canadacomputers occasionally since there's a store down the street.

Even so, shipping costs aren't too bad. I'm glad I have a few stores to choose from so I can shop around.

I think I'm going to grab the Gigabyte 5770 from ncix. It's about the same price as the 4870 and nearly as fast. And it uses less power and has dx11 and a few other nifty things.