PC Upgrade, any recommendations?

Hey guys,

It's upgrade time for me, been thinking of getting something decent. Thought I would get some advice from you guys before I go out and spend cash on items people have previously had problems with or who recommend alternatives. Can you guys maybe help me out? Especially the impulse buyers :D


This is the system I have been looking at, please let me know what you think:

Zalman Z9 Plus case - link (considering another option)
Asus P8P67 Deluxe - link
Intel Core i7 2600k - link
Corsair XMS3 4x2GB 1600Mhz - link
Huntkey X7 900W modular - link
AMD HD6970 - link
Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM



So what do you think?


Thanks for any advice.:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by XeroS1x

Hey guys,

It's upgrade time for me, been thinking of getting something decent. Thought I would get some advice from you guys before I go out and spend cash on items people have previously had problems with or who recommend alternatives. Can you guys maybe help me out? Especially the impulse buyers :D


This is the system I have been looking at, please let me know what you think:

Zalman Z9 Plus case - link (considering another option)
Asus P8P67 Deluxe - link
Intel Core i7 2600k - link
Corsair XMS3 4x2GB 1600Mhz - link
Huntkey X7 900W modular - link
AMD HD6970 - link
Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM



So what do you think?


Thanks for any advice.:)

---

I would get the ASUS Maximus iv extreme mobo, the Coolermaster silent power pro 1000w(dont know huntkey really) and then finally get the GTX580, it is after all the fastest single graphics card in the world. Have a look at my specs but you also have not given us a budget to work with.

It (the psu) has 80+ silver which is very good. Although at that price there are corsairs, thermaltakes, antec, seasonics and xfx psu that i would trust more.

A budget would be nice so that we can suggest items that you need. Also, in case you didn't know, AMD are launching their new processors in June (not sure on SA release date) which may mix up the market a bit. So if you don't mind holding off on your mobo and processor you might find that either the pricing of intel's decrease or that you would want one of the new AMDs.

Hey guys,

Thanks for the response. My budget is around 14-15k

@Frank007 - I was considering the GTX580 until I saw benchmarks of the HD6970 in crossfire mode, the GTX580 is better, but it's also more expensive. The 6970 also has 2GB's of memory. I was looking at the Maximus extreme, but I don't see that many places which have it for LGA 1155, am I looking in the wrong place?

@Darth - The other power supplies at that price point either seem to have lower wattage. The brands you mentioned also seem to be above R1300, can you recommend a specific model?

Not trying to be impatient, but I would like to order my PC soon, as I would like to get shot of my current one. I am a fan of the Intel processors and would kind of like to stick with them. Thanks for the info though:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by XeroS1x

Hey guys,

Thanks for the response. My budget is around 14-15k

@Frank007 - I was considering the GTX580 until I saw benchmarks of the HD6970 in crossfire mode, the GTX580 is better, but it's also more expensive. The 6970 also has 2GB's of memory. I was looking at the Maximus extreme, but I don't see that many places which have it for LGA 1155, am I looking in the wrong place?

@Darth - The other power supplies at that price point either seem to have lower wattage. The brands you mentioned also seem to be above R1300, can you recommend a specific model?

Not trying to be impatient, but I would like to order my PC soon, as I would like to get shot of my current one. I am a fan of the Intel processors and would kind of like to stick with them. Thanks for the info though:)

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Cool man but i would really consider the GTX580. if you sli that card there is not much that can top it. Its really a very good card, i just got one a while ago, the price difference of about R500 is really worth it. I also have the ASUS Maximus iv extreme and it is the one to go for. Ask Zaps if they can source it for you. i am sure they can!

Have you looked at www.computersonly.co.za ? They also carry a large amount of Asus goodies.

Computersonly does not have it on there website. if you call them they might be able to get it for you aswell.

http://www.computersonly.co.za/produ...tegoryid=49977

Titan-ice do have the Maximus iv extreme:

http://titan-ice.co.za/catalog/produ...oducts_id=5179

@DenSweep - Yep, looked at their pricelist, nothing really listed there except for the P8P67 boards from Asus.

@Frank007 - Thanks, I just realized the price of the Maximus iv Extreme, it's a little out of my budget unfortunately:(

I'm looking at a little bit under that price range. Something more like this http://titan-ice.co.za/catalog/produ...oducts_id=5263

for R2900 roughly.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by XeroS1x

Hey guys,

It's upgrade time for me, been thinking of getting something decent. Thought I would get some advice from you guys before I go out and spend cash on items people have previously had problems with or who recommend alternatives. Can you guys maybe help me out? Especially the impulse buyers :D


This is the system I have been looking at, please let me know what you think:

Zalman Z9 Plus case - link (considering another option)
Asus P8P67 Deluxe - link
Intel Core i7 2600k - link
Corsair XMS3 4x2GB 1600Mhz - link
Huntkey X7 900W modular - link
AMD HD6970 - link
Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM



So what do you think?


Thanks for any advice.:)

---

The P8P67 Deluxe board will go really nicely with the unlocked multiplier of the 2600k (imo the best board for OC'ing), everything else seems decent (although I also don't know Huntkey, I would look at Corsair/Cougar personally). With that system it would be ideal to go with the GTX580 (If possible go for the Gigabyte factory OC'd) but you are definitely not going to bottleneck anywhere.

When it comes to overclocking Sandy Bridge the motherboard isn't that important. They all OC pretty much the same with the high end boards giving you a few MHz extra. It's 90% dependant on how good your CPU is and only like 10% mobo.

I'd replace the graphics card with this http://www.zapsonline.com/51439-inno...ddn-j5kwx.html and rather put the money towards a better PSU. Look at the Antec TP-750, Corsair HX750 or the HX850W. The 570 is about on par with the 6970 and has more overclocking head room.