How will my rig fare?

[boeoz]

Hi guys, new here! Just been tinkering around with cfg so far, ripping some games in preparation for when my rig arrives! Currently using a laptop.

What kind of performance will I get from this spec?

Intel Core i5 2500k 3.3 Ghz
Sapphire RADEON HD6950 2GB
Corsair Vengeance 8GB (4GB x2)

Will this fan be sufficient to overclock the CPU to around 4Ghz or should I spend more?

[coud]

Yes games will run at fairly good framerates and overclocking from 3.3Ghz to 4.0Ghz shouldn't be a problem with that fan.

[boeoz]

Yes games will run at fairly good framerates and overclocking from 3.3Ghz to 4.0Ghz shouldn't be a problem with that fan.

Thanks
I've been a console gamer all my life and this will be my first ever rig, so I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing. Is the amount you overclock your CPU largely dependant on the cooling? How high could I clock a 2500k and what kind of fan would I need to do it?

[coud]

That third party fan you suggested will be used to replace the stock fan.

Overclocking your CPU is dependant on temperatures idle and under load yes but there are other factors that have to be taken into consideration aswell.

I suggest you read up on how to overclock for beginners like this one

http://techreport.com/articles.x/13815

[boeoz]

That third party fan you suggested will be used to replace the stock fan.

Overclocking your CPU is dependant on temperatures idle and under load yes but there are other factors that have to be taken into consideration aswell.

I suggest you read up on how to overclock for beginners like this one

http://techreport.com/articles.x/13815

Thanks for the link, will give it a read tonight
Just thinking, is that GPU overkill for Dolphin? Wouldn't mind knocking a bit off the price with a different GPU. How about the GTX 560 1GB?
Or maybe this HD 6870?

[NaturalViolence]

Will this fan be sufficient to overclock the CPU to around 4Ghz or should I spend more?

Spend more. You should still be able to get to 4GHz since that's not very hard to do on sandy bridge.

Some resources for you (the second link is for low profile coolers):
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm

Just thinking, is that GPU overkill for Dolphin?

Yes.

Wouldn't mind knocking a bit off the price with a different GPU. How about the GTX 560 1GB?

Sure, that would get the job done. Are you planning on doing any PC gaming or just using emulators?

[boeoz]

This cooler has been recommended to me by two friends now, and after a quick Google search, it seems to be universally liked.

Honestly, it will mainly be for emulation. I may buy the odd game here and there during Steam sales, but I mainly game on consoles due to all my friends having Xbox LIVE. So yeah, mainly for Dolphin.

Should I go for the GTX 560TI or save £40 and go with the HD 6870?

[AnyOldName3]

If your planning on doing Nvidia optimised pc games such as battlefield 3 you'll see that a GTX560 will do just as well as a HD6950, but for non Nvidia optimized games the HD6950 will win out. For dolphin they're both on the overkill side as it is far more CPU than GPU heavy, and they are pretty good GPUs.

[NaturalViolence]

This cooler has been recommended to me by two friends now, and after a quick Google search, it seems to be universally liked.

It's decent as a low budget cooler.

If your planning on doing Nvidia optimised pc games such as battlefield 3 you'll see that a GTX560 will do just as well as a HD6950, but for non Nvidia optimized games the HD6950 will win out. For dolphin they're both on the overkill side as it is far more CPU than GPU heavy, and they are pretty good GPUs.

You realize that a 6950 is $40 more than a GTX 560 right? The GTX 560 competes with the 6870, the GTX 560 TI competes with the 6950.

Should I go for the GTX 560TI or save £40 and go with the HD 6870?

It's up to you. A GTX 560/6870 is still more than fast enough for 4x IR. A GTX 560 is also fast enough for 1.5K x 2K in PCSX2.

[boeoz]

Thanks for the help, guys. I'm gonna go for the GTX 560TI, I think
Shopped around, and the rig is now at a total of £687.96. Not too shabby!