can i play games? Read* for my spec

[Bositman]

If you're gonna change the processor in 2 months, this is a total waste of money...just wait till you get the cash and get an i5 2500k, you'll OC that beast by changing 2 BIOS settings in 10 minutes and have an amazingly powerful rig.

[kenneth1800]

yea but i need a pc because i sold the one i have right now...by monday i wont have a pc....and this is the only entrainment i have (watching movies,anime,games, etc..)

luckily i found a job on church ( cutting the frozen chicken) soo by december i think i will have enough money to buy the latest cpu wish is i7?...and the latest video card..

anyways.. is this good for now? the i3 2100?

[Bositman]

Yeah it should do fine for Kingdom Hearts and most not demanding games.

[kenneth1800]

hey do i have my fans installed well?

i have 1 80mm in front giving air from outside to inside (giving air to the motherboard)
1 90mm in the back from inside to outside ( throwing air out )
1 80mm in the plate that you remove to see all his stuff ram mobo etc,,, giving air from outside to inside (giving air to the motherboard too)

left side panel?.....

[kenneth1800]

also the power supply i have is codegen DUAL-575W 24 atx and 4 cpu...and the PR03-M z68 motherboard is 24 atx and 8 cpu...is this a problem?

im planning to get a 2500k by december and overclock it, that power supply is good? or i will need to get one whit 8 cpu pin, also i saw an adapter that change the 4 pins to 8...but i dont know if is good to do it..and more for a overclocked cpu

[Rezard]

Yeah-- Get a PSU with an 8-pin.

Sandy Bridge based processors @ 3.0Ghz+ (like that i3) are great for PCSX2, and will come close comparison to a Core 2 overclocked towards 4.0Ghz.

If you're gonna have a Z68, and plan on getting an OC capable Sandy CPU in the near future, I'd say it's a done deal.

[kenneth1800]

=) also looks like you have the 2500k that i want @4.9? oc
is stable? and what psu you have? how many w i should have for an 2500k @ 4.9 oc ?
and today i got my rams (g.skill sniper 4x4=8gb 1600mhz) i think i dont need more ram...right?

[Rezard]

No real need for any more RAM than 8gb these days, and 1600Mhz is plenty fast, too.

4.9Ghz was perfectly stable, and so was 5.0Ghz... until AVX was applied. lol
I haven't felt like pumping anymore voltage into the chip than I feel comfortable with (I had to grit my teeth going past 1.4v just for the 5.0Ghz achievement), so I've come to just run @ 4.5Ghz with peak Vcore of ~1.27v. This is easily handled by a ~$30 air cooler, and only reported up to 95W of power draw on it's own.

How many watts your PSU should be is more dependant on what GPU you'll be using, though. I'm using a relatively overkill 650W. Of course, some excess head-room is ideal for any build IMHO. (See my full system specs in my profile.)

[kenneth1800]

oh soo i dont need an specific psu W for the cpu oc? i only need W for the gpu? ok.

right now i dont understand too much about oc'ing an cpu but i hope i only have to change some settings in the BIOS, but dont worry i will yell about it when i get the 2500k Lol.
for now i bought the pentium g...something for only 80$ i was short in money soo i didnt bought the i3.

oh and i will need a good heatsink for the 2500k(oc) @ 4.9 right? tell me one ti put it on my wish list on ebay

[Rezard]

Though the CPU draw is typically second to the GPU, they are the two big power users in the system. I could suggest to you the example of my build, a 2500K and GTX 460. It is only something like 400W that's more technically required, but I wouldn't have gone with less than a 500W, but more inclined to have even a bit higher.

Probably one of the more important aspects that's overlooked would be the actual amount of that wattage to be delivered on the 12v rail. Check the amperage of said rail on the PSU, and multiply it by 12. That is how many watts the 12v sees, and is one of the reasons you can't really just say a wattage requirement. Again, it's depending on what GPU you're gonna be using, but something with more than 30a on the 12v would be a good minimum to shoot for.

You can also consider the efficientcy of the PSU. Something at least 80+ bronze certified would deliver the power better (less lost along the way). You may also want to consider a reliable brand, such as SeaSonic, Corsair or XFX.

OCing Sandy Bridge is simple, especially since there is no need to reduce one ratio to compensate a reference clock, or tweak RAM settings. When I first got mine, I literaly just started changing the CPU ratio. Got up to 4.5Ghz before I knew it.

There's no guarantee you'll be reaching 4.9Ghz with any cooler, especially if you're to keep your voltage sensible. One should only expect somewhere in the 4.0-4.5Ghz from a 2500K, and just be happy that more may be possible. Also, the use of AVX does increase temps, and decrease the OCing potential. Personally, I see no need for a better cooler than what I have (CM Hyper 212+), since the Vcore gets to the uncomfortable zone before temps.

But if you're really wanting a better cooler, I'd say consider a Noctua (NH-D14 comes to mind).