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4890 Died & Need an Upgrade

S

Shadow_Riv

Junior Member
System Specs:

Windows 7 (64 bit)
CPU i5-750
Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 LGA 1156 Intel P55 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
HIS Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16
Spinpoint F3 500GB 7200 RPM
Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200 RPM
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
ATI Radeon HD 4890
Corsair CX600 600W PSU 80+
LG Monitor 1920x1200

Usage: A mixture of things. Gaming (Crysis, Sims 3, Call of Duty, Assassins Creed, etc...), streaming movies and videos, internet usage, etc...

Budget: $400-500

Details:

The PSU is brand new. The original was an Antec Basiq 500W that died on me so I upgraded. My original build is from Sep. 2009. I'm thinking I can upgrade only the GPU and work on the rest over the course of the year OR I can get the i5-2500k, a new MOBO, and the 6850 for about the same price as the 7970. I'm not really sure what to do at this point. I would like to purchase THIS week. Not an ATI fangirl by any means but because it's what I've always used I didn't even look into any Nvidia cards. Also, I prefer Newegg.com.

Cards I've looked at:

SAPPHIRE 11197-01-40G Radeon HD 7970 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card OC Version

HIS H785F2G2M Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
 
Is your cpu overclocked at all? If you got a 7970 im pretty sure that it will be bottlenecked. I would try to get a decent hs/f and get that cpu to around 3.6-3.8ghz.

A CM Hyper 212+ works wonders for the cost.

Also for the video card. A 7850 or 7870 I think would be the sweet spot for your current setup.
 
itzbiff said:
Is your cpu overclocked at all? If you got a 7970 im pretty sure that it will be bottlenecked. I would try to get a decent hs/f and get that cpu to around 3.6-3.8ghz.

A CM Hyper 212+ works wonders for the cost.

Also for the video card. A 7850 or 7870 I think would be the sweet spot for your current setup.
Click to expand...

This.

Get 2500k with 7850, oc both.
 
She can't. 😉

Thanks for the advice. If I buy the i5-2500k I would have to buy a new mobo as well since the one I have is an LGA 1156.
 
Yes you would unfortunately, friend of mine also adopted the early generation of i5s and is now stuck with a relatively unsupported motherboard.

I'd say go for the 2500k + new motherboard or consider the newer Ivy Bridge offerings, you can get the i5 3570 for $210 after rebate at TigerDirect which is the rough cost of an i5 2500k in the first place (unless you have access to a Micro Center). You could grab a Z77 board (there are a few under $100) or just grab a Z68 board after a bit of research to make sure a BIOS flash will let you fully utilize the 3570k.

As for the video card, the 6850 is pretty powerful for its price point and I believe an upgrade in just about every aspect compared to the 4890. I'd say your idea of a new CPU + motherboard + video card was pretty much on the money, and a much more effective and efficient way to improve your gameplay than a 7970
 
I'd recommend a different motherboard. That particular model has been susceptible to boot loops and also has crummy vrms making overclocking a nightmare.

Look for some Asrock boards. They are incredible bang for buck.
 
Also in the video card department you might want to check fs/ft around here. You might be able to find something like a gtx 470, 560, or a 6870, 6950 for a good price.
 
That's a bit on the pricey end don't you think?

I personally am considering:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138352
I like Biostar and it's pretty much the cheapest Z77 board on the market.

If not that then there's a few other ASRock, Biostar and Gigabyte boards that can be had for under $120. Unless there's a specific feature you like that only the higher-end boards have, no real reason to spend more money since they'll roughly be the same (there are differences but minute).
 
OVerLoRDI said:
Also in the video card department you might want to check fs/ft around here. You might be able to find something like a gtx 470, 560, or a 6870, 6950 for a good price.
Click to expand...

470 560 6870 are very close

Even 6950 is getting dated now, if you buy second hand at least go for 6970 or 570 or 560 ti 448 or 580

However I recommend 7850, it is a lot above the competition under $300
 
Shadow_Riv said:
Usage: A mixture of things. Gaming (Crysis, Sims 3, Call of Duty, Assassins Creed, etc...), streaming movies and videos, internet usage, etc...
Click to expand...

When we look at the bench marks of the i5-750 compared to the i5-2500k it is clear that the 2500k is a much better chip. But, notice that the 750 is posting some impressive numbers. Personally, I think that the I5-750 falls into the 'good enough' category. Combined with a good GPU it will get you good performance in nearly any game, even if that GPU is slightly bottlenecked by the CPU.

Personally, in your situation I would spend my money on something like a 7850 and then bank the rest of the budget for a CPU-MB-MEM upgrade in a year. (and then another GPU upgrade in a year after that, basically putting you in your own Tick-Tock path.)
 
Do you have a Micro Center nearby? Just dropped by the Hot Deals section and saw that Micro Center carries the 3570k for $190 though the one near me is out of stock, thought maybe you might live near one that still has some.
 
SMOGZINN said:
When we look at the bench marks of the i5-750 compared to the i5-2500k it is clear that the 2500k is a much better chip. But, notice that the 750 is posting some impressive numbers. Personally, I think that the I5-750 falls into the 'good enough' category. Combined with a good GPU it will get you good performance in nearly any game, even if that GPU is slightly bottlenecked by the CPU.

Personally, in your situation I would spend my money on something like a 7850 and then bank the rest of the budget for a CPU-MB-MEM upgrade in a year. (and then another GPU upgrade in a year after that, basically putting you in your own Tick-Tock path.)
Click to expand...

Agree 100%. An i5 750 isn't the new kid on the block anymore, but it's hardly a slow gaming CPU. Getting a 7850 or 7870 and saving the rest of the money for Haswell would be my recommendation as well.
 
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