New Rig: Intel i5-2500k

[Lordbob75]

Hey all,

Just got in my new CPU today, Intel's i5-2500k "Sandybridge", along with my 8gb of DDR3 RAM. The motherboard (an EFI ASUS) should be arriving tomorrow.

The CPU is going to be water cooled, and at least a little overclocked.

For now, here are some picture to drool over while I wait on my new parts. I will upload build pictures when completed as well










As you can see, the RAM is awesomely HUGE (about 14cm long)


The RAM is 6cm high, that is a HUGE heatsink!

~Lordbob

 

[Mashed1316]

Nice nice, Lordbob!! which watercooler? Corsair H50/H70? and did you checked the RAM specs? i've read that Intel recommends 1.5V RAM modules for Sandy Bridge builds (don't know if this affects the system somehow) :huh:

 

[Lordbob75]

Nice nice, Lordbob!! which watercooler? Corsair H50/H70? and did you checked the RAM specs? i've read that Intel recommends 1.5V RAM modules for Sandy Bridge builds (don't know if this affects the system somehow) :huh:

I built my own custom watercooling loop, using a triple radiator, a swiftech pump, a (awesome looking) reservoir, and a Koolance CPU cooler.

The RAM is designed to be used WITH the i3/5/7 sandybridge
~Lordbob

 

[Mashed1316]

Ohhhhh awesome okokokok then just ignore what i said about the ram xD hahaha i want to see pics of the finished build, btw

 

[pparks1]

I cannot believe the awesome prices of these new Sandy Bridge CPU's. They demolish everything else out there aside from the i7-980X and they compete right along with it for 1/3 the price.

I'm helping a coworker spec out a Sandy Bridge rig for gaming and it's pretty awesome what you can get for $1,000 or less.

 

[Lordbob75]

I cannot believe the awesome prices of these new Sandy Bridge CPU's. They demolish everything else out there aside from the i7-980X and they compete right along with it for 1/3 the price.

I'm helping a coworker spec out a Sandy Bridge rig for gaming and it's pretty awesome what you can get for $1,000 or less.

I wish I had the cash to spare for the i7-2600k (was only $330), but I decided I needed to save a little bit...

~Lordbob

 

[Everlong]

Looking good. Been pricing up Sandy Bridge stuff for possibly upgrading to one around April. The i5s are definitely the best for priceerformance ratio (I'm leaning towards getting the same CPU you've got, or if I can stretch the funds, an i7), and motherboards aren't too expensive either. I've got my eye on the ASUS Sabertooth P67.

 

[Lordbob75]

Looking good. Been pricing up Sandy Bridge stuff for possibly upgrading to one around April. The i5s are definitely the best for priceerformance ratio (I'm leaning towards getting the same CPU you've got, or if I can stretch the funds, an i7), and motherboards aren't too expensive either. I've got my eye on the ASUS Sabertooth P67.

To be honest, another 100 for the i7 is a great deal.

~Lordbob

 

[pparks1]

To be honest, another 100 for the i7 is a great deal.

However, saving $100 on a CPU could buy you an SSD and the overall performance boost for almost everything would be greater. Either way, a state-of-the-art Core i7 CPU for less than $350 is fantastic.

 

[Lordbob75]

To be honest, another 100 for the i7 is a great deal.

However, saving $100 on a CPU could buy you an SSD and the overall performance boost for almost everything would be greater. Either way, a state-of-the-art Core i7 CPU for less than $350 is fantastic.

I already had an SSD

But I totally agree with that, it would. Besides the 4 cores on the i5 are more than enough, the hyperthreading on the i7 just isn't needed.

~Lordbob

 

[Sardonicus]

I just bought the i7-2600, which is a compromise, as I don't need the unlocked 2600k. Got it from Microcenter for $249 ($275 with tax). My board from Newegg will arrive in about 5 hours.

Whether it's the i5-2500k, i7-2600 or the i7-2600k, you can't go wrong. They're great processors.

 

[Everlong]

I'm not really too fussed about SSDs at this point in time. I'd rather get a second Caviar Black HDD and RAID0 two together, which I'll most likely end up doing at one point. I'll end up getting an SSD sometime in the future.

 

[DaGooN]

i was thinking of getting a new i7 2600k with a Gigabyte UD7 but i think ill wait for the new Z68 & 2011. by then the price on the new i5/i7 k will have gone down and i can then see if the new tech is worth it over 1155.

what Batch is that Chip? some site's have a nice batch list going on Batch vs OC Vs Vcore max ect.
http://www.overclock.net/intel-cpus/915087-sandy-bridge-voltage-mhz-list.html

some only go to 4.5 lol ONLY! Crazy huh.
Happy for you

got this info from trusted source..

Sandybridge maximum safe voltages

Core Voltage - Not recommended too exceed 1.38v, doing so could kill the CPU, we therefor recommend a range of 1.325-1.350v if overclocking.
Memory Voltage - Intel recommend 1.50v plus/minus 5% which means upto 1.58v is the safe recommended limit. In our testing we have found 1.65v has caused no issues.
BCLK Base Clock - This is strictly a NO, anyone using base clock overclocking could/will cause damange to CPU/Mainboard. (Set manually to 100)
PLL Voltage - Do not exceed 1.9v!!



Processor - Basically we recommend customers not to exceed 1.35v to play it safe, all our bundles are set at 1.3250v or lower, any competitors offering bundles above 4.6GHz you should be enquiring as to what voltage they are using as we believe anything over 1.38v will limit CPU lifespan and anything over 1.42v will likely kill the CPU or severely limit its lifespan.

Memory - Intel recommend 1.50v plus/minus 5% which means 1.60v is the ideal safe maximum, but we have found in our testing all 1.65v memory is fine. We have also found most new 1.65v like Corsair XMS3 will run at its rated timings with just 1.50-1.55v which is well within Intel specifications. So people upgrading to Sandybridge you can still use your old DDR3, but we do recommend you run it at 1.60v or less. We are shipping most of our bundles which feature Corsair XMS at 1.50v-1.55v at rated timings. We've also discussed with Asus and MSI regarding voltages for memory and they also confirm in their testing 1.65v caused no issues with reliability.

Base Clock - To put it simple if you value the life of your components, do not overclock using base clock!

PLL Voltage - Again do not exceed 1.9v!


These are just guidelines we recommend you follow, if you want to push more voltage through your CPU's then just be aware they could die on you.

Not all CPU's are as fragile as others, we have experimented upto 1.50v Vcore and 1.70v memory and had zero issues with reliability, so it seems some of fine when pushing hard

so they are just guidelines from intel. much like the i7 ect
there has been alot of problems with these new sandybridge chips, i would put it down to early Bios's ect..

 

[Lordbob75]

Well, all the parts came in today, and it is up and running. I rearranged my watercooling loop, and it took me like 5 hours to get the pump to start (it kept stalling from bubbles).

Anyways, its running REALLY nice so far. My only concern is that Windows only uses 4 gigs of RAM (I have 8). Windows recognizes all 8, but says 4 are in hardware reserve... Any ideas?

~Lordbob

 

[sygnus21]

My only concern is that Windows only uses 4 gigs of RAM (I have 8). Windows recognizes all 8, but says 4 are in hardware reserve... Any ideas?

Hmmm.... that's interesting. Maybe something with the new boards, might be BIOS issue/setting.

Check with ASUS forums and see what they are reporting.

 

[Lordbob75]

My only concern is that Windows only uses 4 gigs of RAM (I have 8). Windows recognizes all 8, but says 4 are in hardware reserve... Any ideas?

Hmmm.... that's interesting. Maybe something with the new boards, might be BIOS issue/setting.

Check with ASUS forums and see what they are reporting.

I took a look, and it looks like there are a few others with the (exact) same problem.
One member with the same components talked to tech support, and they had him flash his BIOS (which fixed it), so looks like I will be doing that in a minute.

~Lordbob

 

[Tews]

Dear Lord of Bobs... I hate you!!!


j/k ... Nice rig!!

 

[Lordbob75]

Dear Lord of Bobs... I hate you!!!


j/k ... Nice rig!!

Thanks Tews, running real nice like right now (except for that RAM issue)

~Lordbob

 

[Tews]

I know you must be happy with it Dave! I bought a new i5 650 rig just before Sandybridge came out ... I really wish now that I had waited, but I really like it ...

 

[bagavan]

WOW!! Wish I had such a nice build..