[plasmeh]

First post - yay!

I'm migrating from this setup:
E6850 @ 3.5Ghz w/ Artic Cooling Freezer Pro 7
XFX Alpha Dog 8800GT SLI
4GB DDR2-800 Wintec RAM
MSI P6N SLI Platinum
Corsair 600W GS600

To this setup:
i5 2500k (stock cooler for now, anyone have tips as to what cooler to go with?)
2x MSI Twin Frozr II GTX 560 Ti 1GB (SLI)
8GB (2x4GB) Patriot 5 DDR3-1600
Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3
Corsair 600W GS600 (reusing)

I originally was just going to toss the 8800GT's and grab 2 560 Ti's, but I realized immediately that they would be HUGELY bottlenecked by the E6850. It's been a good processor, but it just won't cut it now. I have one of the GTX 560 Ti's hooked up right now with the E6850 while I wait for parts and the CPU is at 100% in Crysis 2 constantly, the GPU is at 65-70% load. (DX11, Ultra graphics)

Anyway, I'll be posting back with benchmark results and impressions. I snagged the GTX 560 Ti's for $178.99 a piece off ebay, $200 for the i5, $40 for the ram, and $130 for the motherboard. $727.98 total. Hope this is a good setup! Games to be played: Crysis 2, MW2, Battlefield 3, BFBC2.

PS. I know a lot of people will be wagging their finger at me for using a 600W PSU, but it's served me well with the 8800GT's and all the calculations I am seeing say my setup will suffice with a 500-550W PSU. If it doesn't work, I'll upgrade it, but I'm on a tight budget until I sell off my old stuff!

 

[MX5J6]

I really think you should have at least s 700-750w for the SLI of 2 560 ti's. And I would also recommend you go eitthe MSI 560 Ti Hawk over the twin frozr 2. Just my opinion hope it helps. Good luck with the build.

 

[Astonished]

Welcome to ocn!

Nice rig man. I'm sure someone below me will recommend you a nice cooler, can't think of many off the top of my head. Are you going to be overcloking a lot?

Twin frozr ii

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

 

[plasmeh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MX5J6;15224047
I really think you should have at least s 700-750w for the SLI of 2 560 ti's. And I would also recommend you go eitthe MSI 560 Ti Hawk over the twin frozr 2. Just my opinion hope it helps. Good luck with the build.

Yeah, if it turns out that the 600W just doesn't cut it, my next question will be which PSU should I go for

We'll see how it handles it all first, though. I've already got the Twin Frozr's in hand and they run COLD, like ridiculously cold.
Quote:

Originally Posted by Astonished;15224055
Welcome to ocn!

Nice rig man. I'm sure someone below me will recommend you a nice cooler, can't think of many off the top of my head. Are you going to be overcloking a lot?

Twin frozr ii

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

Thanks! I know that the 2500k can reach quite ridiculous speeds with the right cooler, I may give it a moderate OC, perhaps 4GHz as long as it is stable? I won't be trying to OC it before I get an aftermarket cooler, though.

 

[MX5J6]

Ah ok that's good then and try the Cooler Master 212 EVO. Its an upgrade from the standard 212+ usually suggested.

 

[Dustin1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by plasmeh;15224084
Yeah, if it turns out that the 600W just doesn't cut it, my next question will be which PSU should I go for

We'll see how it handles it all first, though. I've already got the Twin Frozr's in hand and they run COLD, like ridiculously cold.

Thanks! I know that the 2500k can reach quite ridiculous speeds with the right cooler, I may give it a moderate OC, perhaps 4GHz as long as it is stable? I won't be trying to OC it before I get an aftermarket cooler, though.

AX / HX 750 or 850 if you want A LOT of headroom.

As for the 2500k, a small cooler would suffice. A 4Ghz OC on these chips are really nothing compared to what they can do, so maybe a 212+ or a H50/H60 would do you just fine for such a small OC. Hell, the 212+ would cover you up to 4.5Ghz + maybe 4.7-4.8Ghz max. But make sure when you OC that you try to keep your vcore at the bare minimum. (Less than/right at 1.4v is what most people use for air unless they have a dubbed out air cooler lol, max is 1.52 which you should never see unless your suicide running or under water) but with that cooler, if the temps are good, 1.45v would be my max.

But considering I need 1.36v for 4.7Ghz, your chip may vary from clock-to-clock, but for 4.0Ghz shouldn't need a very big bump, if not a bump, but non at all.

Goodluck and let us know if you need anything else!

 

[plasmeh]

Thanks for the quick replies guys. I'll keep the PSU in mind. I figured 4GHz is pretty safe and should give me longetivity from it while still giving a nice boost over stock. I'll check out the mentioned coolers and see which one will suit me. I'll try to keep the vcore in the 1.3's and lower hopefully.

 

[plasmeh]

Took a look into the 212+ and the 212 EVO. I think with the budget constraint I'm under I'll opt for the 212+ since I'm not looking for a crazy OC. That leaves room in case the PSU ends up needing to be upgraded in a few weeks as well. 212+ is on a slight sale at newegg for $26.99 with free 3 day shipping, so I think I'll go for that option. Thanks!