Partial Build - Mobo and Cooler help?

[Newmu]

Hey all,

Well, my old e8400 and HD 4870 system is really starting to show its age in games like BF3 and I've recently started doing a lot more CPU intensive work (rendering and image processing) so it's time for some upgrades. I'm thinking around $400-500(ish). I've got a good 500 watt Antec, and an alright case/storage system right now. So I'm really just thinking of gutting the CPU/mobo/RAM right now and am on the fence about upgrading GPU right this instant as I feel prices are going to be dropping fast in the next few months. 6950 2gb does seem to be a good deal at $250 though...

Odds are I'll be going with an i5-3570k or 2500k - anyone have particularly strong opinions either way? Save the $35 and put it towards GPU or no? I guess I'd like mobo and good aftermarket cooler recommendations for these guys as well as that's the area that I don't really know as well.

Thanks!

[JustAnEngineer]

Radeon HD6950 2gb does seem to be a good deal at $250.

I'd pick the Radeon HD7850 over the Radeon HD6950 if the prices were equal but they're not. Radeon HD7850 is $240 while Radeon HD6950 is back down to $200:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... ageSize=20

I'd like mobo and good aftermarket cooler recommendations.

You want a motherboard with the Z77 chipset. Do you need any legacy PCI slots or are your add-in cards all modern PCIe cards? Micro-ATX may be large enough for most builds. I'm partial to Asus motherboards, but other brands are cheaper.

For an aftermarket cooler, if your case is wide enough to accept a tall cooler like the CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Evo ($35), that's an excellent choice. If your case can't handle a cooler that tall and your RAM heatsinks aren't outrageously tall, the CoolerMaster GeminII-S524 ($31) does well enough.

[Newmu]

Oops, meant to type $200 for that. I do need one PCI for my Xonar DG, seems like even most micro atx's have one but I may just go with ATX. Looks like the Evo will fit as well and that does seem like a great cooler. Slightly worried about air obstruction to the top mounted PSU, but it has a huge 180-200 mm bottom mounted fan so it shouldn't be too much of an issue. Thanks for the help.

[JustAnEngineer]

There are other options, if you choose to move your PCI Xonar DG on to someone else with legacy PCI slots.
Asus Xonar DGX
Asus Xonar DSX
Asus Xonar DX
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Recon3D
Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium


Would the Asus P8Z77-V LK motherboard suit your needs?

[Newmu]

Yep, i looked at it from the TR review seems very nice. May end up going with it. Wish there were cheaper decent mobo's but I guess going with the latest high-end chipset cost more. Remember my LGA775 only cost around $80 when I got it.

[DPete27]

My ASRock Z77 Pro4-m was $60 with the purchase of an i5-3570K at Microcenter. I basically got a free motherboard at Microcenter compared to what both components would have cost on Newegg.

[Newmu]

Wow man, thanks so much for the Microcenter information. They've got great deals and there's one about a 15 minute drive away. How's the ASRock Pete? What kind of OC did you get? I'm a little more hesitant to go with a smaller brand on mobo's but maybe that's just bias. The Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H is looking pretty good at $115 with the i5-3750k and the 3750k is $50 cheaper than Newegg anyways. With the money this is saving, I can try to squeeze in a 7850 maybe...

[vargis14]

newmu,
Are you by the St davids microcenter?they have a pretty good selection.On cpus you get from 50-100$ off depending on what cpu you choose.Do you plan on overclocking?Sandy bridge will work in and overclock great in z77boards they use a little bit more power but they also hit higher clocks but at much lower temps.But that i5-3570k at 189$ instead of 249$ is hard to pass up.Even that 2500k at 169$ instead of 249$ is hard to pass up.Add the 50$ off on the motherboard with a cpu purchase and you save a lot of money.
Why do you think the Evo cpu cooler will be a problem it is supposed to mount with the fans mounted horizontally not vertically and with its tightly packed direct contact heatpipes i feel that is the most cost effective cooler for any rig.So if you plan on overclocking that ivy bridge you will need great cooling,they run a good 20c hotter then sandy,but perform a slight bit better per mhz say 5-10%
I have read many reviews on the Cooler Master 812 that uses heatpipes and a vertical vapor chamber(kinda like a real wide and flat heatpipe)plus it performs with the best air coolers out there noctua nd-14 and plantex,though it is 30$ more then the evo 212 its a good bit cheaper then the noctua or plantec cooler and smaller,and you can add a second fan for push pull setup.
I would sorta stay away from gigabyte they do not have any capacitors behind the cpu wierd.
ASUS
P8Z77-V LX Socket 1155 Z77 ATX Intel Motherboard 89.99$ when purchased with a 3570k
ASRock
Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Z77 ATX Intel Motherboard 89.99$ when purchased with a 3570k
they both have pci slots for you dg soundcard and the asrock does crossfire.
So for 280$ or so you get a nice cpu and board.
Do not buy your video card at Microcenter they much more then online,unless they have a sale.
I agree the 7850 is a much better video card then the 6950,sure it costs a little bit more but you get better overclockability and performace,along with lower power consumption.AMDs 7800 series is overlooked and the 7870 performs right with the 7950.
Do not worry about the second video card slot only 4x pci-e 3.0 that makes it like a 8x pci-e 2.0 slot,so you can add another card down the road

[DPete27]

Wow man, thanks so much for the Microcenter information. They've got great deals and there's one about a 15 minute drive away. How's the ASRock Pete? What kind of OC did you get? I'm a little more hesitant to go with a smaller brand on mobo's but maybe that's just bias. The Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H is looking pretty good at $115 with the i5-3750k and the 3750k is $50 cheaper than Newegg anyways. With the money this is saving, I can try to squeeze in a 7850 maybe...

I actually just picked it up this past weekend. I won't have time to assemble it until June 1st (its killing me to see it sitting on the table) plus I'm waiting on a couple other components to arrive. I will check back and comment at that time if you haven't purchased yet and let you know what I find.

I will offer this bit of information. I've been following ASRock motherboards since the Sandy-Bridge launch. I read TR, Anandtech, Tomshardware, Fudzilla, etc, etc, multiple times a day so you could say that this purchase was very well pre-meditated. I will admit that I really wanted the ASRock Z77 Extreme4-m instead, but microcenter doesn't carry that. (and I have little hope that they will in the near future, but that's another reason why I'm waiting to build until June 1st...possible exchange if they get it in)
From my research, ASRock delivers the best price/performance in the market. Their UEFI is right up there with Asus and MSI. Fan controls are good, but not quite as good as Asus. Asus' included software seems to be the biggest difference between them and ASRock, but I have a hard time justifying a $50 - $80+ premium for just that. (everything else being roughly equal)