Potentially looking at a new motherboard - Advice needed

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

BTW,you can actually overclock non-K series CPUs on some motherboards.

I would get these parts:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/intel...-gpu-27x-ratio
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi-z...n1-a-micro-atx
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-%...3-15-15-28-xmp

With an aftermarket cooler and an updated BIOS you should be able to overclock the CPU at a later date.

If you want UK based RMA get this motherboard although it might be not as good for overclocking:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigab...vi-hdmi-matx-m

[Macman]

GPU

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

GPU-Z would identify the exact model number of the card,but it looks like its a R9 270X.

That Core i5 setup should give you a few years of usage,and should last you a graphics card upgrade or two.

If you don't want to overclock,I would get this motherboard and CPU:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/gigab...l-lan-usb-30-m
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-Skylak.../dp/B010T6CWI2

[EndlessWaves]

What graphics card do you have??

Use GPU-Z as it could be an R9 285,R9 290 or R9 290X!!

The R9 200 description does cover a big range of cards from the £100 270 to the £450 290X.

Which one is irrelevent though, it's sufficient for the requirements and that's all that matters. Given the high core clock and 2GB of memory I'm guessing a 270X is most likely. It's not a 270 at that speed then that's a big overclock for a 285.

What features do you want from the motherboard? If you end up looking at a fairly expensive motherboard (£80+) then it makes sense to go for an i5-6600 and DDR4-2666. It would come in under budget but probably only by a couple of dozen quid.

If you you're not likely to be requiring anything more than the motherboard than £150 would get you an i3-4170, motherboard and 8GB of memory.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The R9 200 description does cover a big range of cards from the £100 270 to the £450 290X.

Which one is irrelevent though, it's sufficient for the requirements and that's all that matters. Given the high core clock and 2GB of memory I'm guessing a 270X is most likely. It's not a 270 at that speed and that's a big stock overclock for a 285.

What features do you want from the motherboard? If you end up looking at a fairly expensive motherboard (£80+) then it makes sense to go for an i5-6600 and DDR4-2666. It would come in under budget but probably only by a couple of dozen quid.

If you you're not likely to be requiring anything more than the motherboard than £150 would get you an i3-4170, motherboard and 8GB of memory.

Its more the case,if it were an R9 290,I wouldn't recommend a Core i3 with it. The higher end GPUs will increase the likelihood of a Core i3 bottlenecking it.

Anyway,as the OP has the budget and clearly does not upgrade all the time,as he still has a Core2 Quad,I would be getting a Core i5 6400 with a Z170 motherboard if he wants to overclock,or a Core i5 6500 with a B150 motherboard with 8GB of DDR4 and be done with it and the latter will come to around £250. Plus if the OP upgrades next year to a next gen card with DX12,I can see the Core i5 being a better fit too in DX12 games.

The lower end Intel boards only have two RAM slots,which means it limits the upgrade options for the OP.

[Macman]

11 months on...

Looking to make the plunge,

Asus Z170 Pro Gaming
Intel Core i5 S 1151
Corsair 2x8GB DDR4

Thoughts?

Again this is purely for gaming more than anything else, on a dual monitor setup, sometimes playing 2 games on Fullscreen Windowed Mode, Browsing Web, Spotify, Discord etc etc.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

11 months on...

Looking to make the plunge,

Asus Z170 Pro Gaming
Intel Core i5 S 1151
Corsair 2x8GB DDR4

Thoughts?

Again this is purely for gaming more than anything else, on a dual monitor setup, sometimes playing 2 games on Fullscreen Windowed Mode, Browsing Web, Spotify, Discord etc etc.

What CPU and motherboard do you have now??

Kaby Lake is launching soon which is basically Skylake with a better IGP and higher stock clockspeeds.

Also,I would seriously be considering a Core i7 6700 non-K too with a cheaper motherboard.

[Macman]

What CPU and motherboard do you have now??

Kaby Lake is launching soon which is basically Skylake with a better IGP and higher stock clockspeeds.

Also,I would seriously be considering a Core i7 6700 non-K too with a cheaper motherboard.

Thanks for your advice.

Currently have:-


I would've thought if I was more high-end gaming like Battlefield 1 or any other AAA game, fair enough but the vast majority of my gaming will be CSGO, EVE Online, King of the Kill. I thought an i5 would suffice as a i7 will cost me abit more?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Thanks for your advice.

Currently have:-


I would've thought if I was more high-end gaming like Battlefield 1 or any other AAA game, fair enough but the vast majority of my gaming will be CSGO, EVE Online, King of the Kill. I thought an i5 would suffice as a i7 will cost me abit more?

Well,the issue is for you are intending to overclock,the extra cost of the motherboard and the cooler will add to the price.

For instance,you can get a Core i7 6700 for £290:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-Quad-.../dp/B0136JONG8

This B150 motherboard is around £67:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-M-2-LG...&keywords=b150

This DDR4 should do the trick:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crucial-Bal...ords=16gb+ddr4

It should cost around the same overall as the setup you listed.

Also,apparently Kaby Lake is out next month and apparently some competition for AMD Ryzen is ending next month(althought I am not sure if that this means it is launching next month for a 4C/8T version though).

[Macman]

Well,the issue is for you are intending to overclock,the extra cost of the motherboard and the cooler will add to the price.

For instance,you can get a Core i7 6700 for £290:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-Quad-.../dp/B0136JONG8

This B150 motherboard is around £67:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-M-2-LG...&keywords=b150

This DDR4 should do the trick:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crucial-Bal...ords=16gb+ddr4

It should cost around the same overall as the setup you listed.

Also,apparently Kaby Lake is out next month and apparently some competition for AMD Ryzen is ending next month(althought I am not sure if that this means it is launching next month for a 4C/8T version though).

And if I don't want to overclock, what would you suggest?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

And if I don't want to overclock, what would you suggest?

I would get a B150 motherboard with 4 RAM slots.

[Macman]

Cheers Cat

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Cheers Cat

My mate Bagnaj97 on here is running a Core i7 6700 and a B150M motherboard and I am running a Xeon E3 1230 V2/Core i7 3770 and a B85 motherboard. A Core i7 should give you extra threads if any of your games starts to use them - its probably why your Q6600 has lasted so long.

Also Intel K series CPUs have no stock cooler.

Edit!!

The other alternative is to get a Core i5 6600.

Kaby Lake will basically have higher stock clockspeeds.

[Macman]

Got my new Mobo, Processor, RAM, Cooler and new casing.

Thank HEXUS members for the help (you know who you are), wouldn't of got it done without you guys. Learned some things in the process, smashing community.

Gracias