If you plan to purchase the K model of CPU, that means you intend to overclock. Otherwise, it is a waste of money. If you do overclock, you need a decent cooler for it. Your old CPU cooler may not be compatible with newer sockets. If your case has room, the Coolermaster Hyper Evo 212 is good for the price.
Also, keep in mind the 3570K performs on par with the 4670K when both are overclocked. You might be able to save some money or get a better motherboard by using it instead of the newer LGA1150 socket.
Since you're replacing the motherboard, you will need a new OS license. It would be a good time to get a SSD for use as your OS and gaming drive. The greatly improved loading speeds, reduced hitching in games, and overall improved system responsiveness make SSDs worth using.
You could make an argument that so long as it doesn't stretch the budget, buying the K-edition is worthwhile even if you don't plan to overclock it - because then at least you have the option by swapping out a $30 heat sink, as opposed to having to swap out the entire $200 cpu later on.
Aside from that small and slight comment, I pretty much agree with Syntax entirely.
I don't know how to overclock. So no, I'm not going to overclock the CPU. The 3570k you are talking about tough is not listed in any stores so I don't know how I could acquire that. (From ebay.co.uk the CPU costs as much as the 4670)
The difference between the 4670 and 4670k is 20 euro not much, honestly.
Yes I hear that comment too much, I know SSD is fast etc etc still expensive. I'm on a tight budget, I am 100% sure upgrading my system will make the games run better than buying an SSD as I can't even play some of the modern games anymore without sluttering.
Anyway excluding the CPU any recommendations for the GPU, RAM and specially the motherboard?
One thing, unless you can't afford a better GPU, i would avoid the 750 series, their not really all that great, even the 660's are a much more powerful GPU. Typical 750ti for instance only has 640 cuda cores, where the 660 has 960 Cuda cores. clock speeds are relatively similar. One of the reasons why the 750's are at the cheaper end of the spectrum, lower price maybe, but you lose out on the cards performance.
Thank you for pointing that out. Sadly the 660 card you are talking about is not in that store nor on another I am probably going to buy the parts from.
There's the GTX 650 but they perform almost identical to the GTX 750 based on some quick google research.
There's a 100 euro jump from the GTX 750 to GTX 760 and goes even higher.
I currently have a GTX 460 so it's always going to be an improvement. I posted here to get the best of the best within the budget thanks to you people that know more than me hehe
[Edit]
Once all parts are settled I'll check the total cost and if I can afford it I may see on getting the GTX 760 instead which has 1152 Cuda Cores over 640 Cuda Cores.
Thank you for pointing that out. Sadly the 660 card you are talking about is not in that store nor on another I am probably going to buy the parts from.
There's the GTX 650 but they perform almost identical to the GTX 750 based on some quick google research.
There's a 100 euro jump from the GTX 750 to GTX 760 and goes even higher.
I currently have a GTX 460 so it's always going to be an improvement. I posted here to get the best of the best within the budget thanks to you people that know more than me hehe
[Edit]
Once all parts are settled I'll check the total cost and if I can afford it I may see on getting the GTX 760 instead which has 1152 Cuda Cores over 640 Cuda Cores.
You might want to consider not using the ultramalta one tbh, unless they have a branch where you live, which given you also live in Malta, is a possibility, but performance wise, the 660, really does outperform the 750ti by quite a bit, at least 15 - 20% and if you go by the none 'stock' variety, like the MSI twin frozr, then its actually even more. Might be worth considering also that the difference between the performance of a GTX 460, and a 750ti is also the difference between a 750ti and a GTX 660, personally i think that you might want to consider shopping around a bit more.
If you're tight on money, get i3-4130 processor instead and save 100€ with that, then you can spend the money saved on SSD. Or if you're aiming for highest framerates possible, then try to save a bit on the processor and invest it on GPU. I5-4670 processor choice is a bit overkill for GTX 750 GPU, and for non-gaming use it's huge overkill on a system that doesn't have SSD hard disk.
Thank you for pointing that out. Sadly the 660 card you are talking about is not in that store nor on another I am probably going to buy the parts from.
There's the GTX 650 but they perform almost identical to the GTX 750 based on some quick google research.
There's a 100 euro jump from the GTX 750 to GTX 760 and goes even higher.
I currently have a GTX 460 so it's always going to be an improvement. I posted here to get the best of the best within the budget thanks to you people that know more than me hehe
[Edit]
Once all parts are settled I'll check the total cost and if I can afford it I may see on getting the GTX 760 instead which has 1152 Cuda Cores over 640 Cuda Cores.
You might want to consider not using the ultramalta one tbh, unless they have a branch where you live, which given you also live in Malta, is a possibility, but performance wise, the 660, really does outperform the 750ti by quite a bit, at least 15 - 20% and if you go by the none 'stock' variety, like the MSI twin frozr, then its actually even more. Might be worth considering also that the difference between the performance of a GTX 460, and a 750ti is also the difference between a 750ti and a GTX 660, personally i think that you might want to consider shopping around a bit more.
Sadly in malta there aren't much choices if you want to upgrade your system.
I'll check on ebay on the GTX 660 and compare the cost tough. If the total cost excluding the GPU is not that high I might go for the GTX 760 which has almost double the Cuda of the 750ti.
Also for the other person. I know SSD is faster but again, they are expensive and I'm not going to buy a cheaper part to have a small SSD drive.
Sorry if I sound harsh but I don't want an SSD not until they are so expensive. I have no problems loading games from my normal hard drive.
[Edit]
I'll see on checking and compare prices from here and amazon with paypal converter as the other I used (xe.com) doesn't give accurate conversation of currencies.
Might save a few bucks and be able to get a better Motherboard or GPU.
I don't know how to overclock. So no, I'm not going to overclock the CPU. The 3570k you are talking about tough is not listed in any stores so I don't know how I could acquire that. (From ebay.co.uk the CPU costs as much as the 4670)
The difference between the 4670 and 4670k is 20 euro not much, honestly.
Yes I hear that comment too much, I know SSD is fast etc etc still expensive. I'm on a tight budget, I am 100% sure upgrading my system will make the games run better than buying an SSD as I can't even play some of the modern games anymore without sluttering.
Anyway excluding the CPU any recommendations for the GPU, RAM and specially the motherboard?
Thanks
You missed the point of using a Sandy Bridge CPU instead of Haswell. The motherboards are cheaper because they have been around longer.
The Core i3 idea mentioned by Vrika is also valid. You could save money now by using a Core i3 then upgrade to an overclockable i5 when you have the money to do so. The single-threaded performance should be close enough to the same.
I suggest you do overclock. It isn't hard. Just make some changes to the BIOS to increase the clock speed. On a 3570k, you should be able to push the clock speed up to 3.8GHz without risking anything. Many motherboards have protection built in so that if you do mess something up, they will reset to last known good BIOS settings upon three failed POST attempts.
If you follow Ridelynn's advice and put an aftermarket cooler on later, you will have to remove the motherboard from the case to install special brackets for mounting the new cooler. It is easier to do it the first time than to have to take the motherboard out later.
Friendly advise derived from personal experience: get a fast SSD (500+ MB/s read - write) and you will NOT regret it. Your pc will operate on a whole new level.
Also, 185 euros are a bit of an overkill for the GTX 750 Ti. Here in Greece the Asus GTX 750 Ti 2GB goes for 156 euros. Granted, in terms if power consumption and size it's by miles the best card on the market right now. It doesn't even require a power connector from the PSU.
Hi, so I made a thread similar few months ago but now I'm close to do it. (Next month or the one after tops)
To cut to the point, I'll post my current specs, post what I am going to upgrade and then post what I currently have in mind for you people to see if it's good or there is anything better in that price range. (Price range is 400-600 Euro, depending if I'll change the GPU or not)
(The price range is for the hardware only, I know I'll need a new OS)
Current specs:
Power Supply - Corsair 650W
Motherboard - ASUS P5QD Turbo
GPU - GTX 480 Special Edition
CPU - Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 2.66 GHz
RAM - 4 GB DDR2 800 MHz
Hard Drive - 1 TB
What I am going to upgrade:
CPU, RAM, Motherboard and maybe GPU
What I have in mind:
CPU - From Q8400 2.66 GHz to i5 4670k 3.4GHz (245 Euro)
That's it. Feel free to point other sites if you find something cheaper but remember I'm in europe so no american sites as I have to pay 18% VAT which probably makes it close to the same price. (Tried on ebay)
Thanks
No, the 1866 is not worth 100 euro.
What concerns me is the graphicscard, the 750 performs just slightly over what you have right now so you wont notice much difference.
Skip upgrading the graphicscard until you can afford a GTX 770 which is a considerable upgrade. The Nvidia cards ending with 50 are made for gamers with a low budget but the performance is not that impressive and upgrading to one is not worth the money since you have an old but top performing card.
By 100 euro I meant that they both cost near 100 euro.
And yea I have been scolded a lot on the GPU choice already I may go for the GTX 760 or the GTX 660 depending on how much the total cost will be on the motherboard, cpu and ram.
Hi, so I made a thread similar few months ago but now I'm close to do it. (Next month or the one after tops)
To cut to the point, I'll post my current specs, post what I am going to upgrade and then post what I currently have in mind for you people to see if it's good or there is anything better in that price range. (Price range is 400-600 Euro, depending if I'll change the GPU or not)
(The price range is for the hardware only, I know I'll need a new OS)
Current specs:
Power Supply - Corsair 650W
Motherboard - ASUS P5QD Turbo
GPU - GTX 480 Special Edition
CPU - Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 2.66 GHz
RAM - 4 GB DDR2 800 MHz
Hard Drive - 1 TB
What I am going to upgrade:
CPU, RAM, Motherboard and maybe GPU
What I have in mind:
CPU - From Q8400 2.66 GHz to i5 4670k 3.4GHz (245 Euro)
That's it. Feel free to point other sites if you find something cheaper but remember I'm in europe so no american sites as I have to pay 18% VAT which probably makes it close to the same price. (Tried on ebay)
Thanks
No, the 1866 is not worth 100 euro.
What concerns me is the graphicscard, the 750 performs just slightly over what you have right now so you wont notice much difference.
Skip upgrading the graphicscard until you can afford a GTX 770 which is a considerable upgrade. The Nvidia cards ending with 50 are made for gamers with a low budget but the performance is not that impressive and upgrading to one is not worth the money since you have an old but top performing card.
I agree. RAM speed increase is negligible and you won't be able to even use that extra RAM speed unless you overclock.
If you don't intend to overclock, go with non-K i5. It will give you most bang for your buck.
I would skip GPU upgrade if you're short on cash. If you really have to buy something, don't buy 750ti because it's slower than the one you have (see comparison) . Try to go for at least AMD r9 280x or Nvidia GTX 770.
SSD performance is thing you will notice the most. It won't improve your framerate in games, but it will make your PC run smooth as butter.
If faster memory is essentially the same price, then get the faster memory. If not, get the cheaper memory. I could understand paying an extra $1 for faster memory, but not $10 unless you're going to be gaming on integrated graphics. A new CPU will mean that you need DDR3 memory rather than DDR2, so you will need to get new memory of some sort, though.
You may want to think about not upgrading the video card at this time. It's easy to upgrade a video card independently of everything else and your CPU is more of a problem than your video card. A GeForce GTX 750 is actually substantially slower than a GTX 480 and not that much faster than a GTX 460. You said that you had both a GTX 480 and a 460; they're two very different cards.
If you're tight on money, get i3-4130 processor instead and save 100€ with that, then you can spend the money saved on SSD.
I would strongly advise against that. If you need to save some money on a CPU, the way to do it is by going AMD. A Core i5-4670K is a substantially better CPU for gaming purposes than anything AMD offers; it's just a matter of whether you can afford it. Still, if you have to choose between getting the faster CPU without a new video card versus getting both a slower new CPU and also a new video card, I'd recommend the former. Get a Core i5-4670K today and you probably won't need to replace it until the motherboard dies--which could plausibly be a decade away or more.
I have a GTX 460 SE not GTX 480 was a misspelling, my fault heh
Thanks for pointing it out.
---------------------------------
Well yes, I am going to upgrade the motherboard (Still would love some suggestions), ram from my current 4GB DDR2 to 8GB DDR3, a new CPU as mine is now old 2.66GHz to 3.4GHz heh and if I have spare money either GTX 660 or GTX 760 we'll see.
Originally posted by Bloodaxes Well I was looking at the socket 1150 parts since it's the "newest" technology or so they call it.
Just because a technology is "newer" doesn't make it better. As it has been pointed out with the GTX480 vs 750Ti, newer model lines don't necessarily perform better. The upgrade to Haswell from Sandy Bridge was mostly just a die shrink, which makes the CPU use less power. It is only marginally better at performance. The die shrink also resulted in not being able to dissipate heat as well, which means it isn't able to overclock as much as its predecessor.
Originally posted by Bloodaxes Well I was looking at the socket 1150 parts since it's the "newest" technology or so they call it.
Just because a technology is "newer" doesn't make it better. As it has been pointed out with the GTX480 vs 750Ti, newer model lines don't necessarily perform better. The upgrade to Haswell from Sandy Bridge was mostly just a die shrink, which makes the CPU use less power. It is only marginally better at performance. The die shrink also resulted in not being able to dissipate heat as well, which means it isn't able to overclock as much as its predecessor.
Sandy Bridge to Ivy Bridge was the die shrink, though there were some relatively minor architectural differences, too; Haswell has more differences in architecture, but the primary benefit there is reduced idle power consumption. That's a huge deal in laptops, but inconsequential in desktops.
The prices of AMD's R9's have dropped. They are a better buy ATM.
Overclocking is definately a good option but would require a mobo with VRM sinks. I can't reccomend OC on a non VRM sinked mobo.
AMD could definately be a good choice. FX 8320 is 160$ and can handle 61C permanently. Overclocking it is as simple as raising the system bus and raising/lowering the ram timings in the motherboard. As long as your voltages are unchanged you cannot damage anything. The money saved on CPU can go toward motherboard and heatsink.
You are buying a system on a budget. Intel quad cores are not the way to go. AMD's offerings in the lower end trump intel's.
Intel's cheapest quad core is 189$. For that price difference you can get an after market heatsink and 8 cores from AMD overclocked.
Even if you don't OC at that price point it's AMD 8 core @4ghz vs Intel quad core @3/3.2.
So no one can suggest me a good motherboard for current and future needs?
Taking in mind the scope atm is to get 8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz, i5 4670k and depending on the cost of the motherboard either a GTX 660 or GTX 760.
But forget the graphic card as that can always be changed afterwards. Just need some suggestions on motherboards that can last a while when I upgrade my system again. (Use amazon or any american site you want and I'll try search for it on amazon or here in malta stores)
Hard to go wrong with Asus, MSI, Gigabyte, or maybe Asrock. Even the budget models of these boards will overclock at least mildly, and the worst crime you will commit is overpaying for a bunch of features you won't use.
The Z97 is the current new kid on the block, but only works with 1150/Haswell. The difference between it and the previous Z87 isn't much - a bit better SSD support, native mSATA support, some PCI lane changes that don't impact a lot. The Z87 is still very much a good viable option for a long-lived PC and will probably be a few dollars cheaper.
Ig you go with Sandy/Ivy Socket 1155, get the Z77 version. There is no "new" motherboards for these and likely never will be since they are older chips. They will give you similar features and performance though - the biggest difference as far as desktops are concerned were the integrated graphics, which gamers probably won't be using anyway.
If you can save some money by dropping down from Haswell to Ivy/Sandy on any of the components, it's a good deal because they will all perform similarly in a desktop (especially if you overclock at all). All these motherboards will use the same RAM, HDD, SDD, power supply, case, graphics cards, etc.
You want to stay away from H-anything (H81, H77, etc) in a gaming rig. They are a lot cheaper, but they also reduce your Turbo boost clocks significantly and eliminate overclocking all together, as they are business and cheap home PC oriented. On a budget Socket 2011 or X79 is pretty well out too.
I hesitate to say Asrock, the boards seem to work well enough based on reviews and folks here using them, and they do tend to be a bit less expensive than the other 3 big names, but they are also generally reported to be a step down in build quality, so YMMV.
When I was making this thread I was actually looking at the motherboards but I don't understand much on motherboards I kept it open for suggestions. All I look in motherboards is how much ram slots it has and what type of memory it can store since I don't know what to look for differences.
Anyway, there's so many variants of the Z87 I was looking at initially I got confused.
Comments
If you plan to purchase the K model of CPU, that means you intend to overclock. Otherwise, it is a waste of money. If you do overclock, you need a decent cooler for it. Your old CPU cooler may not be compatible with newer sockets. If your case has room, the Coolermaster Hyper Evo 212 is good for the price.
Also, keep in mind the 3570K performs on par with the 4670K when both are overclocked. You might be able to save some money or get a better motherboard by using it instead of the newer LGA1150 socket.
Since you're replacing the motherboard, you will need a new OS license. It would be a good time to get a SSD for use as your OS and gaming drive. The greatly improved loading speeds, reduced hitching in games, and overall improved system responsiveness make SSDs worth using.
You could make an argument that so long as it doesn't stretch the budget, buying the K-edition is worthwhile even if you don't plan to overclock it - because then at least you have the option by swapping out a $30 heat sink, as opposed to having to swap out the entire $200 cpu later on.
Aside from that small and slight comment, I pretty much agree with Syntax entirely.
The price as I said in the first post is for the parts only.
I know about having to get a new OS license.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
On topic.
I don't know how to overclock. So no, I'm not going to overclock the CPU. The 3570k you are talking about tough is not listed in any stores so I don't know how I could acquire that. (From ebay.co.uk the CPU costs as much as the 4670)
The difference between the 4670 and 4670k is 20 euro not much, honestly.
Yes I hear that comment too much, I know SSD is fast etc etc still expensive. I'm on a tight budget, I am 100% sure upgrading my system will make the games run better than buying an SSD as I can't even play some of the modern games anymore without sluttering.
Anyway excluding the CPU any recommendations for the GPU, RAM and specially the motherboard?
Thanks
Thank you for pointing that out. Sadly the 660 card you are talking about is not in that store nor on another I am probably going to buy the parts from.
There's the GTX 650 but they perform almost identical to the GTX 750 based on some quick google research.
There's a 100 euro jump from the GTX 750 to GTX 760 and goes even higher.
I currently have a GTX 460 so it's always going to be an improvement. I posted here to get the best of the best within the budget thanks to you people that know more than me hehe
[Edit]
Once all parts are settled I'll check the total cost and if I can afford it I may see on getting the GTX 760 instead which has 1152 Cuda Cores over 640 Cuda Cores.
http://www.ultramalta.com/EVGA-GeForce-GTX-760-ACX-Dual-Bios--2GB_p_983.html
You might want to consider not using the ultramalta one tbh, unless they have a branch where you live, which given you also live in Malta, is a possibility, but performance wise, the 660, really does outperform the 750ti by quite a bit, at least 15 - 20% and if you go by the none 'stock' variety, like the MSI twin frozr, then its actually even more. Might be worth considering also that the difference between the performance of a GTX 460, and a 750ti is also the difference between a 750ti and a GTX 660, personally i think that you might want to consider shopping around a bit more.
If I were you, I'd try to upgrade to SSD.
If you're tight on money, get i3-4130 processor instead and save 100€ with that, then you can spend the money saved on SSD. Or if you're aiming for highest framerates possible, then try to save a bit on the processor and invest it on GPU. I5-4670 processor choice is a bit overkill for GTX 750 GPU, and for non-gaming use it's huge overkill on a system that doesn't have SSD hard disk.
Sadly in malta there aren't much choices if you want to upgrade your system.
I'll check on ebay on the GTX 660 and compare the cost tough. If the total cost excluding the GPU is not that high I might go for the GTX 760 which has almost double the Cuda of the 750ti.
Also for the other person. I know SSD is faster but again, they are expensive and I'm not going to buy a cheaper part to have a small SSD drive.
Sorry if I sound harsh but I don't want an SSD not until they are so expensive. I have no problems loading games from my normal hard drive.
[Edit]
I'll see on checking and compare prices from here and amazon with paypal converter as the other I used (xe.com) doesn't give accurate conversation of currencies.
Might save a few bucks and be able to get a better Motherboard or GPU.
You missed the point of using a Sandy Bridge CPU instead of Haswell. The motherboards are cheaper because they have been around longer.
From the site you linked:
i5-3570k = 253 euros after VAT
Motherboards for LGA1155
If you're not going to overclock, you could go with a lower model CPU and still get almost the same performance as the overclockable model.
i5-3330 = 185 euros after VAT
The Core i3 idea mentioned by Vrika is also valid. You could save money now by using a Core i3 then upgrade to an overclockable i5 when you have the money to do so. The single-threaded performance should be close enough to the same.
I suggest you do overclock. It isn't hard. Just make some changes to the BIOS to increase the clock speed. On a 3570k, you should be able to push the clock speed up to 3.8GHz without risking anything. Many motherboards have protection built in so that if you do mess something up, they will reset to last known good BIOS settings upon three failed POST attempts.
If you follow Ridelynn's advice and put an aftermarket cooler on later, you will have to remove the motherboard from the case to install special brackets for mounting the new cooler. It is easier to do it the first time than to have to take the motherboard out later.
Friendly advise derived from personal experience: get a fast SSD (500+ MB/s read - write) and you will NOT regret it. Your pc will operate on a whole new level.
Also, 185 euros are a bit of an overkill for the GTX 750 Ti. Here in Greece the Asus GTX 750 Ti 2GB goes for 156 euros. Granted, in terms if power consumption and size it's by miles the best card on the market right now. It doesn't even require a power connector from the PSU.
No, the 1866 is not worth 100 euro.
What concerns me is the graphicscard, the 750 performs just slightly over what you have right now so you wont notice much difference.
Skip upgrading the graphicscard until you can afford a GTX 770 which is a considerable upgrade. The Nvidia cards ending with 50 are made for gamers with a low budget but the performance is not that impressive and upgrading to one is not worth the money since you have an old but top performing card.
By 100 euro I meant that they both cost near 100 euro.
And yea I have been scolded a lot on the GPU choice already I may go for the GTX 760 or the GTX 660 depending on how much the total cost will be on the motherboard, cpu and ram.
I agree. RAM speed increase is negligible and you won't be able to even use that extra RAM speed unless you overclock.
If you don't intend to overclock, go with non-K i5. It will give you most bang for your buck.
I would skip GPU upgrade if you're short on cash. If you really have to buy something, don't buy 750ti because it's slower than the one you have (see comparison) . Try to go for at least AMD r9 280x or Nvidia GTX 770.
SSD performance is thing you will notice the most. It won't improve your framerate in games, but it will make your PC run smooth as butter.
If faster memory is essentially the same price, then get the faster memory. If not, get the cheaper memory. I could understand paying an extra $1 for faster memory, but not $10 unless you're going to be gaming on integrated graphics. A new CPU will mean that you need DDR3 memory rather than DDR2, so you will need to get new memory of some sort, though.
You may want to think about not upgrading the video card at this time. It's easy to upgrade a video card independently of everything else and your CPU is more of a problem than your video card. A GeForce GTX 750 is actually substantially slower than a GTX 480 and not that much faster than a GTX 460. You said that you had both a GTX 480 and a 460; they're two very different cards.
I would strongly advise against that. If you need to save some money on a CPU, the way to do it is by going AMD. A Core i5-4670K is a substantially better CPU for gaming purposes than anything AMD offers; it's just a matter of whether you can afford it. Still, if you have to choose between getting the faster CPU without a new video card versus getting both a slower new CPU and also a new video card, I'd recommend the former. Get a Core i5-4670K today and you probably won't need to replace it until the motherboard dies--which could plausibly be a decade away or more.
Dammit I forgot to change it in my first post.
I have a GTX 460 SE not GTX 480 was a misspelling, my fault heh
Thanks for pointing it out.
---------------------------------
Well yes, I am going to upgrade the motherboard (Still would love some suggestions), ram from my current 4GB DDR2 to 8GB DDR3, a new CPU as mine is now old 2.66GHz to 3.4GHz heh and if I have spare money either GTX 660 or GTX 760 we'll see.
Just because a technology is "newer" doesn't make it better. As it has been pointed out with the GTX480 vs 750Ti, newer model lines don't necessarily perform better. The upgrade to Haswell from Sandy Bridge was mostly just a die shrink, which makes the CPU use less power. It is only marginally better at performance. The die shrink also resulted in not being able to dissipate heat as well, which means it isn't able to overclock as much as its predecessor.
Sandy Bridge to Ivy Bridge was the die shrink, though there were some relatively minor architectural differences, too; Haswell has more differences in architecture, but the primary benefit there is reduced idle power consumption. That's a huge deal in laptops, but inconsequential in desktops.
So any suggestions on what motherboard I should pick?
Take as point of reference the 8GB DDR3 1600 MHz (With the option of upgrade in the future), an i5 4670k and for start GTX 660 or GTX 760.
You can check on amazon.co.uk too as there might be some cheaper deals than here but not totally sure yet.
Thanks
The prices of AMD's R9's have dropped. They are a better buy ATM.
Overclocking is definately a good option but would require a mobo with VRM sinks. I can't reccomend OC on a non VRM sinked mobo.
AMD could definately be a good choice. FX 8320 is 160$ and can handle 61C permanently. Overclocking it is as simple as raising the system bus and raising/lowering the ram timings in the motherboard. As long as your voltages are unchanged you cannot damage anything. The money saved on CPU can go toward motherboard and heatsink.
You are buying a system on a budget. Intel quad cores are not the way to go. AMD's offerings in the lower end trump intel's.
Intel's cheapest quad core is 189$. For that price difference you can get an after market heatsink and 8 cores from AMD overclocked.
Even if you don't OC at that price point it's AMD 8 core @4ghz vs Intel quad core @3/3.2.
Bump
So no one can suggest me a good motherboard for current and future needs?
Taking in mind the scope atm is to get 8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz, i5 4670k and depending on the cost of the motherboard either a GTX 660 or GTX 760.
But forget the graphic card as that can always be changed afterwards. Just need some suggestions on motherboards that can last a while when I upgrade my system again. (Use amazon or any american site you want and I'll try search for it on amazon or here in malta stores)
Thanks
Hard to go wrong with Asus, MSI, Gigabyte, or maybe Asrock. Even the budget models of these boards will overclock at least mildly, and the worst crime you will commit is overpaying for a bunch of features you won't use.
The Z97 is the current new kid on the block, but only works with 1150/Haswell. The difference between it and the previous Z87 isn't much - a bit better SSD support, native mSATA support, some PCI lane changes that don't impact a lot. The Z87 is still very much a good viable option for a long-lived PC and will probably be a few dollars cheaper.
Ig you go with Sandy/Ivy Socket 1155, get the Z77 version. There is no "new" motherboards for these and likely never will be since they are older chips. They will give you similar features and performance though - the biggest difference as far as desktops are concerned were the integrated graphics, which gamers probably won't be using anyway.
If you can save some money by dropping down from Haswell to Ivy/Sandy on any of the components, it's a good deal because they will all perform similarly in a desktop (especially if you overclock at all). All these motherboards will use the same RAM, HDD, SDD, power supply, case, graphics cards, etc.
You want to stay away from H-anything (H81, H77, etc) in a gaming rig. They are a lot cheaper, but they also reduce your Turbo boost clocks significantly and eliminate overclocking all together, as they are business and cheap home PC oriented. On a budget Socket 2011 or X79 is pretty well out too.
I hesitate to say Asrock, the boards seem to work well enough based on reviews and folks here using them, and they do tend to be a bit less expensive than the other 3 big names, but they are also generally reported to be a step down in build quality, so YMMV.
Thanks for replying.
When I was making this thread I was actually looking at the motherboards but I don't understand much on motherboards I kept it open for suggestions. All I look in motherboards is how much ram slots it has and what type of memory it can store since I don't know what to look for differences.
Anyway, there's so many variants of the Z87 I was looking at initially I got confused.
http://www.ultramalta.com/Socket-1150_c_192.html
I mean what is the highest difference between:
http://www.ultramalta.com/MSI-Z87-G45-GAMING-Motherboard-Socket-1155_p_659.html (160 euro)
http://www.ultramalta.com/MSI-Z87-G55-Motherboard-Socket-1150_p_1070.html (145 euro)
http://www.ultramalta.com/MSI-Z87-G41-PC-Mate-Motherboard-Socket-1150-DDR3_p_916.html (105 euro)
The more expensive ones have more slots etc?
Thanks for the help.