Sandy Bridge (Builds, Discussion and Random Shit)

Just curious, what's the projected best time to try to get a Sandy Bridge laptop this year? And what will be the approximate costs?

As soon as they come out, or the closest sale. They should have started shipping by now rbh, and costs would be about the same as the Nehalem-based ones in the same market categories, just with better chips.
 
Do you guys reckon I'd have trouble clearing 2 of these Gigabyte GTX 580s on an X58 Sabertooth mobo? (I know its not sandy bridge...)

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They will fit just fine :) -All normal two-slot cards will :)
 
Hey guys, need your opinion on this build. Will the RAM be compatible? It just says for 775/am3, but it is still DDR3 right?


Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3Ghz 1155pin Boxed CPU $248.0
ASUS P8P67-PRO-V3 P67 DDR3 Intel 1155pin Motherboard $239.0
Coolermaster Hyper-212+ (Universal) CPU Cooler $33.0
HIS 1GB 6870 PCI-E VGA Card $220.0
Corsair TX-650 ATX Power Supply Unit $114.0
Antec 900 Nine-Hundred Gaming Tower without PSU $117.0
Patriot Gamer 4GB Kit(2Gx2) DDR3 1600 (For Intel 775pin, AM3) $59
TOTAL AU$ 1,030
 
Hey guys, need your opinion on this build. Will the RAM be compatible? It just says for 775/am3, but it is still DDR3 right?


Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3Ghz 1155pin Boxed CPU $248.0
ASUS P8P67-PRO-V3 P67 DDR3 Intel 1155pin Motherboard $239.0
Coolermaster Hyper-212+ (Universal) CPU Cooler $33.0
HIS 1GB 6870 PCI-E VGA Card $220.0
Corsair TX-650 ATX Power Supply Unit $114.0
Antec 900 Nine-Hundred Gaming Tower without PSU $117.0
Patriot Gamer 4GB Kit(2Gx2) DDR3 1600 (For Intel 775pin, AM3) $59
TOTAL AU$ 1,030

I would take a GTX 560TI and OC it tp 1GHZ any day.
Go for the update of the TX650 PSU ;)

Other than that it looks fine :)
 
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Cross-posted
So, I've got this RAM. And I remembered that XMP is not enabled by default on the UD4 B3. So I go to BIOS and enable it and while at the memory settings I set Performance Enhance [Turbo] to Performance Enhance [Extreme] after seeing that the memory shows as running at 800mhz in CPUZ(I guess this is because it's dual channel). But I get an overclocking error at startup so I do a Load Optimized Defaults and then re-enable XMP while leaing it at the defaulted Turbo. No harm done, right?
 
I would take a GTX 560TI and OC it tp 1GHZ any day.
Go for the update of the TX650 PSU ;)

Other than that it looks fine :)

I'll probably wait for the 6950 as it isn't out here (australia) yet in the shop where i get my stuff. I read you can flash it with a 6970 bios and get all shader processors running
 
I'll probably wait for the 6950 as it isn't out here (australia) yet in the shop where i get my stuff. I read you can flash it with a 6970 bios and get all shader processors running

Reference models only.

It's also wiser to flash to a 6950 bios with the shader's unlocked as the 6970 could damage the card.
 
They will fit just fine :) -All normal two-slot cards will :)

Cool. Just wanted to make sure since the different cooling setup looks taller than normal. The asus GTX580 definitely wouldn't fit though lol.

The other alternative is the MSI GTX580, which is essentially a reference card.
 
I'll probably wait for the 6950 as it isn't out here (australia) yet in the shop where i get my stuff. I read you can flash it with a 6970 bios and get all shader processors running

I would personally take a GTX 560TI over a 6950 ;)
OC'ed to 1Ghz it's almost just as good as an unlocked 6950 and still more quiet. + Cheaper :)

Cool. Just wanted to make sure since the different cooling setup looks taller than normal. The asus GTX580 definitely wouldn't fit though lol.

The other alternative is the MSI GTX580, which is essentially a reference card.

Not that Asus cooler is absolutely enormous! :b
The MSI is a good choice as well. I think I would take that is I had to choose :)
 
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Hi Guys

I wanted to get some opinions on my build which I hope to buy very soon. Just want to check that everything is compatible with everything else (I darn nearly decided on an incompatible motherboard before I started doing some serious reading on all this new stuff. It's awfully confusing!). I also don't yet have the cash for a graphics card, but looking for something around $150 or so.

Thermaltake Armor A60 Black Mid Tower
2 2x2GB G.Skill Ripjaws X Edition Dual Channel 1333MHz (8GB) (it's cheaper than 2X4GB but which is recommended?)
Gigabyte H67M-UD2H-B3 s1155
Intel i5 2500K 3.3GHz Sandy Bridge CPU
G.Skill Phoenix Pro Series 60GB SSD Sata II MLC 2.5'' (Drive for OS, programs)
Caviar Black 1TB 7200RPM, 64MB, SATA III WD1002FAEX (storage drive)
Seasonic RetailS12II-520Bronze 520W PSU (not 100% on that one, any better ideas? Is it enough Wattage, and will it be reliable? I don't want to go cheap on the PSU but no reason to go overboard right?)
Either Arctic Freezer 7 rev. 2 or Hyper 212+ CPU cooler. I guess the H212+ is better but is it worth getting?

So the story is, I am thinking also about overclocking it a bit. I heard that 4.5GHz is fine for this CPU. Would that shorten the life though? Is my RAM ok for that overclock? I have never overclocked before and the idea frightens me slightly, although I am very technically minded and shouldn't find it a problem to do. Also, would maybe a slightly less overclock be a better idea? 4GHz is also fine I'm sure. Would my setup be good enough for this?
 
^ You can't overclock on a H67 motherboard. Wait till you get the money for a GFX and buy a P67 motherboard at that point. Maybe a very cheap GFX to start with? :)
- Or wait for the Z68 boards to arrive.

It works like this:
H67: No OC, open for onboard graphics
P67: Open for OC, no onboard graphics
Z68: Both

Edit: Forgot to answer some of the other things: I would go for a Corsair TX650 V2 PSU. Only because it's more reliable than Seasonic :)
The ram is just fine. The way Sandy Bridge is made it almost doesn't matter what RAM you got for OC. Also with the way they are made it's extreeemly easty to OC. I could learn my sister how to do it in 5 minutes! :D If you have good enough airflow you could easily run it at 4.5GHz, I think those coolers are good enough to handle it :)
 
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Darn, you see this mobo stuff is so confusing!! I never knew the difference. In fact I chose the H67 because it had onboard graphics and it saves me buying a graphics card until I have the money...Do you mean X58 maybe? I don't see Z68 anywhere....at least not Gigabyte.

How are you supposed to know about the mobo's overclocking capabilities?? Where is that written?

By the way, how good are the onboard graphics and sound on the H67MA-UD2H? I'm not so concerned about the graphics cos I"m sure I'll buy a card, but sound wise? Do you need a sound card these days? I'm a musician and I do some audio editing. I have decent ($120 Altec Lansing) speakers. Would I notice any difference? Would it makes any difference in games??
 
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The Z68 boards arent out yet. X58 is a different socket :)

You just have to know about the chips I guess :D

The on board graphics in Sandy Bridge isn't in the motherboards like I usually is. It's in the CPU and they are quite good. As far as I know they are not far from the GTS 450's :)
Unless you do hardcore sound editing you don't need a soundcard ;)
 
A GTS 450??? Are you serious?? That's a 1GB card that's quite expensive over here! To be honest, not sure I would have bought a card much better than that anyway! So are you saying I don't even need to buy a graphics card for some light gaming??

So what do you guys think? To get the H67 board with virtually no overclocking ability, but it has good onboard graphics and will save me having to buy a graphics card for a while? Or to save up longer, get the P67 AND a graphics card, AND overclock the chip to 4.4GHz or so? I guess I could get a cheaper graphics card now and upgrade later...

By the way is it possible to use the onboard graphics AND a graphics card simultaneously? Say, if you want to use the ports for something? Guess there's no point in doing that, but just wondering...you could also combine the power of the two somehow, like crossfire, could be nice!
 
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A GTS 450??? Are you serious?? That's a 1GB card that's quite expensive over here! To be honest, not sure I would have bought a card much better than that anyway! So are you saying I don't even need to buy a graphics card for some light gaming??

Okay, I have no idea why wrote GTS 450. Maybe because I was looking at the card just before :b
I ment GT 430, but it seems it's not true. 2500k Benchmarks

And please notice I edited my first answer a while ago to answer some of your other questions. I was just a little slow to edit it ;)

Edit: No it's not possible to run them at the same time :)
 
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How about the Corsair CX500 or CX600? They're both considerably cheaper here? Also, when are the Z68 boards supposed to arrive, and will they be much more expensive than the H67/P67? As it stands, The P67 in my country is quite a bit more expensive than the H67. Then you have to add on the price of the graphics card. I guess if I'm already going to get one I should get a decent one straight away otherwise I'm wasting my money. Now add on the more expensive PSU than I reckoned, and the slightly more expensive cooler (H212+ I think I'll get) which I didn't bank on, and the other stuff and it's getting rather pricey!! I hate the whole computer equipment vicious cycle!!
 
Well, if you arent going to get a serious GFX they are fine, but if you are then go for the TX650 :)

I don't know when they will come, but it can't be long. I recon the cheapest Z68 are going to cost about the same as a mid H67 :)
 
Actually the only reason I chose that mobo was that it had 4 RAM slots, which I think is important. Is it better to do 2X4GB or 4X2GB? Or doesn't matter? Also, I was reading here: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1575137

People are moaning about the lack of onboard graphics in the H67, but honestly, who doesn't buy an add-on graphics card in the end anyway?? I want to, I just am not sure if I want to splash out on it immediately, or wait till i have more cash and then do it...

I can see myself waiting for the Z68, and probably ending up spending more money in the end :p

Also what's up with this GPU in the processor itself?? Does this have an effect only if you have onboard graphics? Or does it always help? I wish somebody could just tabulate all the differences between the different motherboards...it's so confusing!!

You know what would make this a whole lot easier?? If somebody would tell me whether I really need to overclock or not?? I've heard you can still get the 3.3GHz 2500k up to 3.7GHz even on the H67 board. I want to get the most out of my computer, but I'm on a budget here and don't want to spend money for nothing. On the other hand, if it's a case of spending an extra $50 and getting a much better computer with a longer lifespan, I'm all for that! I should point out that I change computers maybe every 5 years or so...
 
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