$350 mobo/cpu upgrade

[3.0charlie]

Bah, it's all part of the fun and more info. for us. That combo is ok (no USB3 though), and the 8Gb of ram would still fit in the 350$ budget.

[JJThomp]

I edited my old post with link to the benchmarks. This is what i recommend:
NCIX.com - Buy Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core Unlocked Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB - Intel - BX80623I52500K - in Canada

Price match this to NCIX
Agile Electronics - Buy Mfgs Part-#:GA-P67A-D3-B3 online in Canada

Re-use old ram or tell your son to pick it up himself soon. Honestly the i5 2500k is heads and shoulders above everyon else. Also I recommmend overclocking even though you said he wouldn't. It will literally take 5 minutes. Up the fsb up the multiplier run a test see if it's stable. 4.0 ghz on stock cooler easy with almost no temperature changes.

These CPU's are pretty sweet.

Alternatively if we stick to absolutely no overclocking.
NCIX.com - Buy Intel Core i5 2500 Quad Core Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB - Intel - BX80623I52500 - in Canada

Gigabyte H67A-UD3H-B3 ATX LGA1155 H67 DDR3 2PCI-E1 3PCI 1PCI-E16 CrossFireX SATA3 USB3.0 Motherboard - DirectCanada

The only problem is that you need to go up to $130 for a mobo to get ATX sized H67.
This means you are much better off budget wise to go with the P67 chipset anyways.

If you absolutely need ram check this out.

Buy The AMD Phenom II X6 925 Processor 3.2Mhz 125W AM3 Processor at Vuugo. Speak to one of our Customer Service Representatives for more information!

Gigabyte 890GPA-UD3H 890GX AM3 ATX DDR3 2PCI-E 2PCI SATA3 USB3.0 HDMI GBLAN CrossFireX Motherboard - DirectCanada

Ram: I know ideally you want 8 gb or more for CS5 but it's not in the budget. gigabyte said they would allow you to put bulldozer chips in this mobo which is why I picked it otherwise you could go less and pick up more ram.

NCIX.com - Buy G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL Ripjaws PC3-12800 4GB 2X2GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Core i5 1.5V Memory Kit - G.Skill - F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL - in Canada

pick up another one when you upgrade.

[neojjjk]

4gb ddr3 ~ 45$
Newegg.ca - GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Newegg.ca - Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52400
total = 360 $
or

4gb ddr3 ~ 45$
Newegg.ca - Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52400
Newegg.ca - Intel BOXDH67CLB3 LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
total = 335$

[SugarJ]

Thanks for all the options everyone! I'll try to nail this down in the next 24 hours, and let you know what we've done. And yes, I'd love to fit a 2500K in somehow, as he already has a decent HSF that will adjust to 1155.

[NI3]

AMD X6 Bundles:

NCIX.com - Buy NCIX Value Bundle Deal AMD Phenom II X6 1055T & MSI 870A-G45 870 ATX DDR3 Crossfire Motherboard - Bundle Deals - 1055T & 870A-G45 - in Canada

NCIX.com - Buy NCIX Bundle ASUS M4A87TD Evo AMD 870 SATA3 USB3 Motherboard + AMD Phenom II 1055T Hex Core CPU - Bundle Deals - M4A87TD EVO-1055 - in Canada

AMD X4 Bundles:

NCIX.com - Buy NCIX Gaming Bundle Deal AMD Phenom II X4 955 & Gigabyte GA-770T-USB3 Motherboard - Bundle Deals - GA-770T-USB3 & 955 - in Canada

NCIX.com - Buy ASUS M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 Radeon 4250 Motherboard + AMD Phenom II 965 Quad Core CPU Bundle - ASUS - M4A88TD-V+AMD965 - in Canada

NCIX.com - Buy NCIX Gaming Bundle Deal AMD Phenom II X4 955 Quad Core CPU & Gigabyte 890GPA-UD3H DDR3 Motherboard - Bundle Deals - 955 & GA-890GPA-UD3H - in Canada


Add 4GB DDR3 in there, and it is under budget by quite a bit, 8GB is still under budget.

[jcmaz]

Err... I'd pay a bit more for those "black socket" AM3+ compatible motherboards that are on the market right now.

Also, can't you just OC the E8400 and make it last another 2/3 months? See how he likes this "newfound experience" and then decide on what to do.

How is he frustrated?

[SugarJ]

LOL. The game has changed yet again. At 3:00 yesterday, we were going for a 2500K/P67 combo, which stretched the budget to $365 plus tax. This morning, I was offered a 1090T combo that I couldn't turn down. While it may lag a little behind SB chips in the Photoshop benches, it has now saved him enough to get a SSD boot drive into the budget. Thanks to everyone for all the help and suggestions.

[3.0charlie]

Just make sure you don't setup the Photoshop scratch disk as the SSD...

[SugarJ]

Thanks for the heads up. I'll make sure it's configured to use the HDD.

[_dangtx_]

so close to dozer release, would pain me to order mid-higher end :)

still, whats the final list looking like? :)