Ivy Bridge Upgrade: Comments Welcome

[Loremonger]

Updated 05/03/2012.

Thanks for the comments so far. See updated build below.

I like to go mid-range gaming grade. This is what I've come up with. Let me know what you think:

• ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
• Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz
• 128GB SSD SAMSUNG 830 Series or Crucial M4, depending on available deals. I would prefer the Samsung, but if I can get the M4 for half the price, that would be fine, too.
• G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
• COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus

Reusing these parts:

• Antec 900 Case.
• OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W Modular High Performance Power Supply http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341018
• Asus ENGTX560 DCII OC Geforce 560
• SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
• SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM SATA Model SH-222BB/BEBE - OEM

I will use this for gaming and home office work.
The budget is $600.
I will be buying my parts from USA sellers.
I prefer Intel and Nvidia.
I will do a moderate overclock, nothing crazy.
My screen is 22: 1680 x 1050.
I plan to buy the parts throughout this month as deals become available and build at the beginning of next month.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

Get ripjaws x or z 2x4gb ddr3 1600 cas 9 for sub $50

3570k is fine

Get Samsung 830 if the price isn't much higher

Get a 560 ti 448 or preferably amd 7850, both are very overclock able

Get the biostar z77 atx for $80 at newegg

 

[mfenn]

If your power supply failed, won't you need a new power supply?

As for the parts you've picked out:
- Mobo: Good
- CPU: Good
- SSD : Both are good, but the M4 is stupid cheap right now at $125.
- RAM: There's no compelling reason to get 2x2GB right now if you want 8GB of RAM total. 2x4GB kits like this Patriot are much better value.

 

[Loremonger]

If your power supply failed, won't you need a new power supply?

As for the parts you've picked out:
- Mobo: Good
- CPU: Good
- SSD : Both are good, but the M4 is stupid cheap right now at $125.
- RAM: There's no compelling reason to get 2x2GB right now if you want 8GB of RAM total. 2x4GB kits like this Patriot are much better value.

Thanks for the suggestions. I have already replaced the PSU with the one in the reused parts list. I updated the build. See OP.

 

[lehtv]

How far are you looking to overclock? 212+ will get you to about 4.2-4.4 at decent temps, depending on the chip.

Instead of Ripjaws, get the Patriot RAM. Cheaper, same specs.

+1 to Crucial M4. To mount it in your Antec 900, you'll need a 3.5" to 2.5" adapter bracket.

 

[Loremonger]

How far are you looking to overclock? 212+ will get you to about 4.2-4.4 at decent temps, depending on the chip.

Instead of Ripjaws, get the Patriot RAM. Cheaper, same specs.

+1 to Crucial M4. To mount it in your Antec 900, you'll need a 3.5" to 2.5" adapter bracket.

That's fine on the OC. I don't need to push this thing too far, and I really don't want to spend any more on a heatsink than that.

Thanks for the info.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

How far are you looking to overclock? 212+ will get you to about 4.2-4.4 at decent temps, depending on the chip.

+1 to Crucial M4.

This

 

[LagunaX]

I would recommend this ram for $6 more (plus $0.99 shipping) over the Patriot.
Read the reviews at the Egg where it is always sold out:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820147096
It is available at Microcenter:
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0380720

Seems a decent amount of the Patriot reviews are DOA or faulty.

With the Samsung you can go all the way up to DDR3 2400.

That is one of the advantages of z77 and IB's strong IMC - you can take advantage of the high bandwidth for read/write/copy/faster game loading.

You'll be able to do:
c8 DDR3 1600
C9 DDR3 1866-2000
C9 or 10 DDR3 2133
C10-11 DDR3 2200-2400

 

[mfenn]

I would recommend this ram for $6 more (plus $0.99 shipping) over the Patriot.
Read the reviews at the Egg where it is always sold out:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820147096
It is available at Microcenter:
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0380720

Seems a decent amount of the Patriot reviews are DOA or faulty.

With the Samsung you can go all the way up to DDR3 2400.

That is one of the advantages of z77 and IB's strong IMC - you can take advantage of the high bandwidth for read/write/copy/faster game loading.

You'll be able to do:
c8 DDR3 1600
C9 DDR3 1866-2000
C9 or 10 DDR3 2133
C10-11 DDR3 2200-2400

Link to benchmarks showing where RAM speed makes a difference for any of those tasks.

 

[LagunaX]

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Samsung/MV-3V4G3/6.html

Why pair ddr3 1600 when z77 can handle 2400-2600 easy?

I'm surprised mfenn that you're not a proponent of this ram, being Mr. System Builder.

$46.99 low voltage 2x4gb DDR3 1600 that can do C8 1600 all the way up to c11 2400?

I'd buy it (I did buy it) just for the super low profile that can fit under any monster heatsink...

 

[mfenn]

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Samsung/MV-3V4G3/6.html

Why pair ddr3 1600 when z77 can handle 2400-2600 easy?

I'm surprised mfenn that you're not a proponent of this ram, being Mr. System Builder.

$46.99 low voltage 2x4gb DDR3 1600 that can do C8 1600 all the way up to c11 2400?

I'd buy it (I did buy it) just for the super low profile that can fit under any monster heatsink...

As I figured, mostly useful in synthetics. It is a decent boost though. Feel free to buy the RAM and OC it, I will list it as an alternative in my thread.

 

[LagunaX]

Kudos mfenn, it truly is the best value in DDR3 for the price, lower CAS, overclocking scaling, low profile compatibility, and even greeness if left stock at 1.35v.

It is truly amazing and fun ram, pick up a pair (if you can get one) and try it:thumbsup: