Old computer build: Intel i5-2500K

I have been building computers for almost 20 years now. That’s a long time and lots of computers built. However, I never took a picture of most of my builds until recently. It would be really cool if I had a picture of each machine throughout the years showing the progress and hardware change. The very first time I started taking photos of my build was back in 2011. Here are some pictures of my i5-2500k build.

Sandy Bridge was the King

Computer Specs:

CPU: Intel i5-2500k
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16 GB
GPU: Sapphier Radeon HD 6950
Cooler: Corsair H60
PSU: Corsair TX650
Case: Cooler Master HAF 22

When I first started building seriously for gaming, AMD’s Phenom II was my go to CPU. They were fast and cheap and generally favored by a lot of builders. I had the Phenom II X3 but I wasn’t able to unlock a 4th core so when Phenom II X4 965 BE came out in 2009, I immediately upgraded. Things were going well, no complaints about my quad-core CPU until Intel released their Sandy Bridge CPUs.

I hate to admit it but the new Sandy Bridge processors were just way faster than AMD and their pricing was not that bad either. I got the i5-2500k at roughly the same price as the Phenom X4 965 when it was launched. At the same price range, stock clocks, my i5-2500k destroys the Phenom X4 in speed. The difference is not noticeable if you are doing basic computer stuff but the 2500k shines when I start rendering and encoding videos. I decided that this will be my main CPU for the next 5 years or so.

Computer builds are never finished, never enough

Of course when you start building you are never satisfied with what you have. I felt I couldn’t overclock my 2500k with the H60 so I got the 1st gen Corsair H100. That solved the heating issue but now it doesn’t fit my case, so I got the Corsair 650D. I also want the fans to be more silent to I got the legendary Gentle Typhoons.

Final Sandy Bridge build

I figured at some point I got to stop adding stuff to my computer. For the final build I changed my video card to a GTX 580 and an Asetek 760GC for my cooler. The Asetek 760GC is cooling both my GPU and CPU with only a thick 120 mm radiator. Not the best when it comes to cooling but I like it for aesthetics.

Final Specs:

CPU: Intel i5-2500k (overclocked to 4.8 Ghz)
Motherboard: ASUS Maximus IV-E
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16 GB
GPU: EVGA GTX 580
Cooler: Asetek 760GC
PSU: Corsair HX650
SSD: Transcend 256 GB
Hard drive: WD Black 1 TB
Case: Corsair 650D

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