Expandable PC 'budget'

[Elfo]

I'm looking at second-hand micro and RAM and I just found some Kingston HyperX Predator 2x4Gb @ 2400 Mhz modules. These: hxpredator2pkhr. Are they good for €60 to accompany a Sandy or Ivy and give it some juice? They have a lifetime warranty and Intel XMP profile (what is this, what is this? ;D).

[Fassou]

The memories that are 1.50V and at least PC12800 CL9, although if they exceed 1600Mhz, they could make OC a little easier for you.

Salu2!

PD: Intel XMP

[Sylver]

I have some G.Skill Ripjaws 2x4Gb PC12800 CL9, they cost me €40 second-hand last summer, now you should be able to find them for a little less.

Regards

[Obione]

Getting a good power supply is a good idea and as for the memory, it's not something you'll notice but they cost the same 1866 as 1333.

As for the case and cooler, I would settle for 300R + Silver Arrow SB-E, if you want to upgrade the motherboard you can go for a Z77-D3H for example.

I forgot about the power supply, I would almost go for a TX550M, for a little more it's a more serious power supply with 5 years of warranty.

[Elfo]

Well, as usually happens in this little world, and more now that I'm back to it, with what I've been able to get out of here I've already been weighing things up and looking for some second-hand parts.

For now I've picked up 2x8Gb Crucial Ballistix for 70€ and I have a Asrock Z77 Pro4-M lined up for 80€. I've saved 30€ compared to getting them new (the memos are at 99€ and the motherboard at 86€ not including shipping) and I'm looking for an i3 to do some OC for 70/80€ (I have some candidates already). For now I'll make use of the case, power supply and monitor. I have at home a Thermaltake Shark (of the old ones) and an LC Power of 480W modular with active PFC that I could mount temporarily until I get rid of the laptop and have cash to get myself the Corsair skeleton.

Do you see any drawbacks to this? As the distribution of components is classic ATX (power supply up) and now I doubt if it's the most appropriate and even if the power supply will be 100% compatible with the motherboard or if I might get a shock...

Best regards!

[Yorus]

I'm not an overclocker, but as far as I know, any current Intel micro that doesn't end in 'K' will be locked. So the minimum will be an i5 'K' or hold out for now with the locked micros.

[Elfo]

@Yorus:

I'm not an overclocker, but as far as I know, any current Intel micro that doesn't end in 'K' will be locked. So the minimum will be an i5 'K' or hold out while with the locked micros.

Yes, I've read something about the 'non K' micros. Anyway, a K I understand brings the unlocked multiplier, and I also understand that some Asrock (I swear the Z77 Pro4-M also) allow 'basic OC' by FSB even having the micro locked ('not K').

Some light on this would be great because if I have to forget about getting an affordable micro for 70/80€ (with that I can aspire to an i3) and get used to going for an i5 because OC by FSB is not recommended (rather efficient), I'm already forgetting

Thanks in advance!

[Obione]

You can scratch 4 points above the turbo with any non-K and a little base clock (104-105), the problem is that you don't have turbo with the 3220 so you can only scratch about 1GHz.

[Elfo]

@Obione:

You can scrape 4 points above turbo with any non-K and a little base clock (104-105), the problem is that you don't have turbo with the 3220 so you can only scrape about 1GHz.

I'm haggling to get an Intel Core i3-2120, they ask for 80€ with cooler but I would like it bare. With a Hydro H80/H100 and the Z77 Pro4-M could I get 4GHz or more? And more importantly, is it worth investing the Hydro money in an i5 and a more affordable fan? Thanks in advance.

[_Neptunno_]

I'm not sure if that i3 is second-hand, I guess so because of the "bargaining". Anyway, if you're considering second-hand options, there are some i7 1366 like 920/950 for about 100-130€.

I have both :troll: and both are second-hand, and I'm happier than a Christmas. Although this is always the case, the truth is that a 2500k from second-hand would be my ideal in your case... I love that micro for price/power/OC :ugly:

But well... it's just an idea!!

Perhaps the first option of the G860, improving the motherboard a little, could be the ideal. I think you could hold on with it until you get an i7.
Obviously, it will pull much less than the i3 you mention... that is, almost the thing depends more on when you decide to expand the PC, and the power you need currently and for a medium or near future.

Greetings!!

[Sylver]

Buy a second-hand 2500K if you find one, as the micros don't burn out like they used to and that's a beast that will last for many years performing and without failing at the expense of its OC capability :sisi:
And if you also put an H100 in it, it will be more than happy at 5Ghz forever :ugly:

Regards

[Obione]

@Elfo:

I'm haggling to get a Intel Core i3-2120, they ask for 80€ with cooler but I would like it bare. Could I get 4GHz or more with a Hydro H80/H100 and the Z77 Pro4-M? And more importantly, is it worth investing the money of the Hydro in an i5 and a more affordable fan? Thanks in advance.

Have you got the motherboard already? It doesn't convince me too much, nor the hydro performance/price, I would stick with the Silver Arrow SB-E but well, if you want more performance to OC a 3570K there's the H100i.

With the 2120 we are in the same situation, you don't have turbo.

[Elfo]

I already got the motherboard, yes. The Z77 Pro4-M. I sweated to get the micro I mentioned at the end because I'm starting to think that the optimal choice would be a 2500K. I was lucky to spot three things (case, motherboard and memos) and be able to get them second-hand with a warranty and almost new, I can wait to look around more sites for a top-notch one

Obione, the Silver Arrow is another very good option, yes. Let's see when I sort out the micro issue and what's left of my budget and I seriously consider it (in PC Componentes there are Hydro H100 -not i- refurbished at the price of H60, it seems to have quite good reviews).

For now, my next machine is starting to take shape: Corsair Carbide 300R + Asrock Z77 Pro4-M + 2x8Gb Crucial BS 1600MHz. It came out for 220€ this trio all with a warranty of at least 10 months

I'm going blind for the 2500K and for the power supply I'm almost decided on a Corsair modular one, I still doubt if 500 or 650W. I'm considering getting more power in case I get into gaming in the long term and get a kit like SLI (I've never touched one :rolleyes:) at a good price, because as I see it, graphics cards are something that flies in second-hand circles…

Many thanks to everyone for the answers, it's been a joy to get back into it ;D

[Sylver]

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Mete la TX650 V2 modular, que la tengo yo y me va de lujo con el crossfire de 5850 Xtreme, no te arrepentirás cuando te dé el volunto de montar dos gráficas

Y del 2500K tampoco tendrás queja, ya con el turbo se comporta de lujo, así que si lo llevas a los 4 y pico o 5 ghz ya verás…

Saludos

[Obione]

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Crossfire en esa placa mal asunto, el 2º PCIe es x4 2.0.

[Elfo]

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Buah, me pierdo por momentos. Según las especificaciones:

- 1 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 slot (PCIE1: x16 mode)
- 2 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots (PCIE3: x1 mode; PCIE4: x4 mode)
- 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 slot
- Supports AMD Quad CrossFireX™ and CrossFireX™

¿Hay varios tipos de CrossFire? ¿Tiene que ser una gráfica ATI? Perdonad es que yo a nivel gráfico me quedé en la GF4 MX440 de 64Mb, y luego ya las integradas me eran suficientes… :rolleyes:

[Sylver]

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Así rápidamente, el CrossfireX es exclusivo de ATI y el SLI exclusivo de nVidia. El Quad Crossfire son 4 gráficas y el Tri-crossfire son 3. En nVidia sería Quad SLI y Tri-SLI :sisi: Cada tecnología tiene su cablecito puente particular que engacha una gráfica con otra:

!

Montar un Crossfire o un SLI en una pareja de PCIe x16 y PCIe x4 no es malo, sólo que pierde algo de rendimiento, pero nada apoteósico ni destructivo

¡Saludos!

[Elfo]

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Estoy apollardao… La placa que he pillado es la Z77 Extreme4-M, no la Pro4-M. Haciendo presupuestos y revisando precios se me hizo la cabeza un lío y me acabo de dar cuenta ahora (que me ha llegado) que todo el rato estaba poniendo Pro4-M en lugar de Extreme4-M. Creo que es la hermana pequeña de tu placa, Sylver

[Obione]

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A título de comentario, pone quad no porque puedas pinchar 4 sino porque puedes pinchar 2 con Crossfire interno (es decir 2 gráficas con 2 micros, aunque esto sería un despropósito con un PCIe x4 2.0).

Yo desde luego no montaría 2 gráficas en un PCIe x4 2.0, por lo menos un x8/x4 3.0. Aunque sea un % bajo, tienes que andarte con caps (drivers multiGPU) y siempre hay juegos que o bien no rinden todo lo que deberían en Cross o bien tardan en pulir drivers, tienes también el tema de memoria que no se suma y más probabilidades de sufrir microstuttering… Vamos que me iría antes a una gama alta que a por 2 medias y para esto con la TX550M ya vas bien. Ojo que tampoco te digo que no pilles una TX650M pero vamos, para una gráfica + OC con el hardware actual jugando no tragas más de 400W.

Review CPU scaling Techpowerup (6% con 7970, 14 con 680 @ 1200p):

[Sylver]

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@Elfo:

Estoy apollardao… La placa que he pillado es la Z77 Extreme4-M, no la Pro4-M. Haciendo presupuestos y revisando precios se me hizo la cabeza un lío y me acabo de dar cuenta ahora (que me ha llegado) que todo el rato estaba poniendo Pro4-M en lugar de Extreme4-M. Creo que es la hermana pequeña de tu placa, Sylver

Si, es la hermana chiquitilla, pero también peleona como puedes comprobar

También es cierto lo que dice Obione acerca del Quad Crossfire. Aunque el microstuttering está fastidiando bastante últimamente, en gamas medias no se ha estado notando tanto, es en realidad en configuraciones multi-gpu más bestias y a resoluciones enormes.
De todas formas, la Extreme4-M sí tiene dos PCIe x16 aunque funcionen a x8 en modo dual:

@ASRock:

• 2 x ranuras PCI Express 3.0 x16 (PCIE1/PCIE3: modo single a x16 (PCIE1) / x8 (PCIE3) o modo dual a x8/x8)

Y sobre la fuente pues totalmente de acuerdo con Obione, TX550M o TX650M te irán bien, aunque yo soy de curarme en salud y meter más potencia, pero sin llegar a exagerar, claro

¡Saludos!