Advice for upgrade

[fredone]

upgrade ivy i5 on sb board + gpu

Hi guys, I have a stable (been using it for a year with no hiccups at all) hackintosh based on the following hardware:

i3 2100
Gigabyte h67m b2 d3 lg 1155
nvidia gt 430
8 gb Kingston ram
600 wat psu
3x500 Gb HD
1x2 Tb HD

I am looking to upgrade it so that I can step onto Mountain Lion and draw one more year of use without tampering after the upgrade is done (might not have the time to repair at all during the year, work+studies are very time consuming hehe), so I guess I should maybe upgrade to a i5 processor and a new gpu.

My doubt is, will an ivy bridge processor work on my sandy bridge motherboard? I've been googling but I am confused with the bios and whatnot? :S

And, what is a good gpu to use? I definitely do not feel like a 660ti is a good investment for me (too expensive), will a gtx 550 or 560 work? I have noticed that some people report that it works, but I am confused since my current screen has only a vga connector (big and nice, do not wish to change the screen!), and people report those gfx to work on dvi or hdmi... so idk if those gfx are ok for me. Oh, and even though I am not a hardcore gamer, would like to play occasionally skyrym and the such , oh, and GTA5 whenever is out!

What do you people think about the radeon hd6870?

I am upgrading the boot disk to a 120 Gb ssd, probably a samsung 830, any advice on this? What is the brand / model you'd recommend? --> OK, advice stolen from a different build advice post : Sandisk Extreme, Samsung 830, or Crucial M4

THANKS!!!

 

[Going Bald]

I am upgrading the boot disk to a 120 Gb ssd, probably a samsung 830, any advice on this? What is the brand / model you'd recommend? --> OK, advice stolen from a different build advice post : Sandisk Extreme, Samsung 830, or Crucial M4
THANKS!!!

The Sandisk Extreme has great reviews, is probably best bang for the buck, but has troublesome (IMHO) Sandforce controller.
The Samsung 830 uses Samsung's proprietary controller and the Crucial M4 uses a Marvel controller.
Check AnandTech for reviews and comparisons.

I bought the Samsung 830 because of the AnandTech review.

 

[fredone]

Thanks Going Bald, I checked the info and think that I will order the Samsung 830

What would be a good cheapo gpu with a bit more performance than the GT640 that will work in Mountain Lion?

 

[Going Bald]

Thanks Going Bald, I checked the info and think that I will order the Samsung 830

What would be a good cheapo gpu with a bit more performance than the GT640 that will work in Mountain Lion?

I'll have to leave the gfx card question for someone else - the last card I bought was the GT520.
Take a look at the customac under the resources button - there are several cards in the recommended list.

 

[fredone]

Thanks for your reply Going Bald! I've actually checked the info and googled but can't seem to find the info on wether vga is working for every listed gfx card or if it's brand (and brand customization) dependant. I guess a gfx560 ti would cut it for a year of light gaming (can't wait for gta v!!) once I understand the artifacts situation, or else I will get a gt640 and game on the xbox. I just don't want to change the monitor (why waste?)nor do I feel like working on a 2 screen setup, so vga out of the box is a must. I will get a 27" in a year or so when I move, then I can discard the current screen.

Now, just in case anyone is in my situation: an ivy core will work on a some sandy bridge mobos via bios update. For people on the Gigabyte side, like me, p67 h67 and z68 among others can use bios v7 to enable compatibility. Now, idk wether to get a sandy i5 or i7 or an ivy counterpart (price and heat will guide my decision after some research).

As of today I've ordered the samsung 830 ssd and the tp link 4800 wifi card (yay, no more ethernet cable mess in the room!)

Ok, time for more research and e-window shopping, any help gpu wise is welcome!!!

 

[Koalaman]

Ivy Bridge is socket 1155, so is Sandy. So yes and Ivy Bridge CPu will work in your MB.

 

[Koalaman]

And, if you don't need hyper threading (Video editing heavy Cpu loads) go with the i5 then overclock it!


And I have no artifacts on my ASUS Gtx 560Ti Top edition

 

[fredone]

Thanks for your feedback Koalaman! However, could you let me know if:

Your gtx works with vga out of the box? (via dvi to vga adapter I guess)

Can you OC if not on a Z68 board? Can you OC a non K core i5? I guess an i5 would be ideal, coupled with a noctua cooler or a Corsair H60 liquid cooling system

Thanks for the help!!

KoalaMan, great maintenance guide btw!!! Kudos

 

[Jamesbond007]

And, if you don't need hyper threading (Video editing heavy Cpu loads) go with the i5 then overclock it!


And I have no artifacts on my ASUS Gtx 560Ti Top edition

Overclock? Then the OP will need to replace the motherboard as well!

 

[Jamesbond007]

Thanks for your feedback Koalaman! However, could you let me know if:

Your gtx works with vga out of the box? (via dvi to vga adapter I guess)

Can you OC if not on a Z68 board? Can you OC a non K core i5? I guess an i5 would be ideal, coupled with a noctua cooler or a Corsair H60 liquid cooling system

Thanks for the help!!

KoalaMan, great maintenance guide btw!!! Kudos

If you want to overclock, you need a K CPU such as the Core i5 2500K AND a motherboard that supports such a feature (which means a Z68/Z77 motherboard).