[Voidsplit]

Hey Folks, haven't upgraded my Cpu/Mobo in quite awhile and am just sort of wondering what the best bang for buck i5/i7 mobo +ram combo (with overclock ability) that i should pickup, please give me suggestions and keep it as cheap as you can! on a students budget!

 

[this n00b again]

hmm the best bang for the buck would be going amd.

If your set on intel, i think alot of people go with the i5 750 seems to be a good bang for the buck, but if you can get your hands on a i7 930, for about the same price. definitely go there.

 

[NameUnknown]

Socket 1366 - i7 930
it can be had for 200 at a Microcenter, about 215 after tax and shipping if you have someone in the states buy it for you.
Cant really say on a particular systemboard, havent had an intel system since the hyperthreaded P4s

A lot of people though have been doing good with EVGA boards, higher end MSI boards, a lot of Gigabyte and Asus boards.
If you are going to be using 3 GPUs, make sure you get a board with an NF200 chip depending on the GPU. It will split the lanes so you get full x16 lanes. Not really an issue unless you have 480s or more powerful in an x8 lane.

Socket AM3 - Phenom II 1055T
it can be had for 195 at a Microcenter, about 210 after tax and shipping if you have someone in the states buy it for you. OC'd it will run with an OC'd i7 930, mobos are cheaper as well. Would sstick to Asus, Gigabyte, & MSI boards.
890FX is the best of the chipsets that AMD has, if you want to use an Nvidia chipset, your board options are limited. You can still get 790FX boards, only difference, no SATA3 or USB3. If you get a 790FX, DFi boards are good boards as well, but the company is no longer making them but they will continune to service them. If you arent using multi GPU, then a 890X or an 880 board. Those chipsets will have fewer slots or else the same number of slots but fewer lanes per slot.

RAM:
A lot of people have been liking the newer G.Skill RAM, ECO and Trident. There is also your higher end more expensive Mushkin and Corsair RAM which will do while if you dont mind the money

Honestly though, my generic G.Skill RAM hasnt hindered any OC yet and it was only 105 for a 4gb kit. So you dont have to buy high end to get good ram

 

[Voidsplit]

hmm i was under the impression that AMD couldnt touch intel at the moment.. what will the amd clock to?

 

[NameUnknown]

1055Ts will hit 4.0 most of the time with good air or decent water cooling
most of the 1090Ts will go over 4.0 with good air or decent water cooling
The reason they can run with them is that the two extra physical cores are better than a sudo core (hyperthreading.). This isnt to say that in certain applications that the i7 wont pull ahead, but in gaming and general use, you wont see any difference between the chips.

 

[koven]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Voidsplit hmm i was under the impression that AMD couldnt touch intel at the moment.. what will the amd clock to?

clock for clock, AMD is far behind intel... for example, an i5 7x0 at 4.0ghz is far superior to an x4 9xxat 4.0ghz

hopefully AMD will have caught up when bulldozer comes out