chosing gpu and cpu

[tdog43]

I'm building a new pc and I'm having trouble matching cpu with gpu.
1. gpu will either be 5770, 5850 or least likely 5830
2. cpu amd 635, 945 or 955- I'm not into overclocking.

I want to play call of duty mw2, mass effect 2 RE 5 bad company 2 and I'm to sure what res. I go pretty lite in the past because did have the power. as I write this my Asus 22lcd is set at 1280 x 768.

question how to balance for the best money. Go higher on cpu or gpu

I will go a higher cpu if you tell me a lower gpu will work.

help watch way to go

 

[Sp12]

I'm building a new pc and I'm having trouble matching cpu with gpu.
1. gpu will either be 5770, 5850 or least likely 5830
2. cpu amd 635, 945 or 955- I'm not into overclocking.

I want to play call of duty mw2, mass effect 2 RE 5 bad company 2 and I'm to sure what res. I go pretty lite in the past because did have the power. as I write this my Asus 22lcd is set at 1280 x 768.

question how to balance for the best money. Go higher on cpu or gpu

I will go a higher cpu if you tell me a lower gpu will work.

help watch way to go

What is your LCD's native (maximum) resolution?

 

[DaveSimmons]

5770 is good for a 16x10 display and gives you some future proofing at 12x7. It's a bit weak for 19x12 -- for that you'd want the 5850.

 

[tdog43]

what is your lcd's native (maximum) resolution?

1920 x 1080

 

[tdog43]

5770 is good for a 16x10 display and gives you some future proofing at 12x7. It's a bit weak for 19x12 -- for that you'd want the 5850.

what about cpu then

 

[DaveSimmons]

> what about CPU then

http://www.anandtech.com/show/2923/6

The 955 is up to 25% faster at 16x10, so I'd get it or the 945 over the 635.

 

[faxon]

if you need to compromise somewhere, focus more on the CPU, but try and get a phenom 2 core if possible. i would say 955+5850 if you have the money. if you live near a frys we have some pretty regular deals posted with a good board + cpu for about the price of the cpu, sometimes a bit more, but sometimes a lot less. i got a 965 BE and a gigabyte 785G board with DDR3 support for $165 a while back for a friend, should keep an eye out for a deal like that

 

[pmurgs]

tdog43, the only game I play out of your list is BC2 so I can only comment on what BC2 needs. BC2 reallys likes decent quad core cpus. So don't skimp on the cpu too much.

If you get a decent quad core cpu, a 5850 will play BC2 online with everything on high at 1920x1080 with 40 to 60 fps.

The reference design 5850's are also great overclockers, which can easily be done using MSI Afterburner (free program) to push your 5850 to 5870 (at stock speeds) performance. Reference design 5850's are great overclockers which is why I bought one.

If you need to save money, then a 5770 will do if you drop the resolution or lower the graphics settings. For BC2 I'd go for the lower gpu but higher cpu if forced to choose.

I wouldn't recommend a 5830 as they are not good value for money, compared to the cheaper but almost as fast 5770 or the slightly more expensive but a lot faster 5850.

 

[BFG10K]

Get the 5850. Don't compromise on the GPU because it'll hold back performance the most overall, especially at 1080p with AA.

 

[deimos3428]

In this case there are wide gaps between each option, so it's simply a matter of what you can afford not balance. What's your budget?

(I'm ignoring the 945, and the prices are ballparked from newegg.com without considering rebates.)

635+5770 = $250
955+5770 = $310 (+60)
635+5850 = $380 (+70)
955+5850 = $440 (+60)

 

[happy medium]

I'd go right in the middle.

Phenom 940 for 125$ AND A 5830 FOR 200$ =325$

Thats only 15$ more then the 5770+955. The 5830 overclocks nice, 90% of a 5850.
In this case it might be worth it.

 

[f4phantom2500]

I'd go right in the middle.

Phenom 940 for 125$ AND A 5830 FOR 200$ =325$

Thats only 15$ more then the 5770+955. The 5830 overclocks nice, 90% of a 5850.
In this case it might be worth it.

except he's not overclocking...

don't worry so much about cpu as gpu. sure there will be a difference between the athlon and phenom, but if you can "only" afford the athlon 635 with the 5850, go with that. the higher the resolution, the more the gpu will matter. at 1920x1080, you'll appreciate the video card most. and don't worry, the 635 is still a kick ass cpu. you really can't go wrong with any of the parts you listed, they're all kick ass. the only one i would avoid is the 5830; from what i've read it's not much faster than the 5770, so i would suggest either the 5770 or the 5850.

 

[RussianSensation]

For a gaming rig, I'd get a 635 + 5850.

 

[toyota]

For a gaming rig, I'd get a 635 + 5850.

a stock 635 can not fully keep up with a 5850 in some cpu intensive games and will really bottleneck his next gpu upgrade. threads like this are pretty silly imo and the OP needs to stretch his budget if he is not willing to overclock. there is no point in buying a cpu that will already limit your current gpu choice and limit the performance of future gpu upgrades even further. imo saving 25-50 bucks on the cpu now will prove to be an ignorant decision especially since he is "not into overclocking".

 

[RussianSensation]

While a 635 is not going to match a Core i7 in performance, a 5770 for example is going to be a good 30%-45% slower, if not more, compared to a 5850 at 1920x1080 4AA in average fps. This is far more than the difference between a 635 and a Core i7 processor:

OP's games:

BF:BC2 1920x1080 4AA -http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/cpus-and-games-2010_4.html#sect1
i5 750 + 5850 = 41.8 avg (+40%) / 35 min (+94% faster!!!)
i7 965 + 5770 = 29.8 avg / 18 min

Call of Duty: MW2 1920x1080 4AA
i5 750 + 5850 = 80.1 avg (+38%) / 44 min
i7 965 + 5770 = 58.2 avg / 34 min

Resident Evil 5 1920x1080 4AA - http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/cpus-and-games-2010_7.html#sect2
i5 750 + 5850 = 86.2 avg (+31%) / 80 min (+78% faster!!!)
i7 965 + 5770 = 66 avg / 45 min

Mass Effect 2 1920x1080 4AA - http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/cpus-and-games-2010_8.html#sect1
i5 750 + 5850 = 63.7 avg (+45%) / 37 min
i7 965 + 5770 = 43.8 avg / 30 min

If OP intends to keep his system for a while, then sure a Core i5 750 system is the way to go. But if I was going to compromise for a gaming rig, the 5850 is the first place where I would put my money given the choices listed above. Not even a Core i7 @ 4.0ghz paired with a 5770 have a chance of being faster than a 635 + 5850 at 1920x1080 4AA in the majority of games.

The bottom line is, CPU bottlenecking is more applicable for the fastest cards such as GTX480/5970 and 5850 CF, etc. When comparing 2 modern processors at higher resolutions, the videocard is the more important component.

 

[f4phantom2500]

While a 635 is not going to match a Core i7 in performance, a 5770 for example is going to be a good 30% slower if not more compared to a 5850 at 1920x1080 4AA. This is far more than the difference between a 635 and a Core i7 processor.

If OP intends to keep his system for a while, then sure a Core i5 750 system is the way to go. But if I was going to compromise for a gaming rig, the 5850 is the first place where I put my money given the choices listed above.

right. while a 635 may bottleneck a 5850, if he has to make a compromise the money would be best spent on graphics.

 

[toyota]

right. while a 635 may bottleneck a 5850, if he has to make a compromise the money would be best spent on graphics.

and compromising for just 25-50 bucks is silly. do it right and get the Phenom 2 and 5850. if he cant save up that measly difference then he has bigger problems. heck he might even be skimping on the other parts of his pc too if he has to worry about 25-50 bucks on a complete build.

 

[RussianSensation]

Another alternative would be to get a 5770 now and then add a 2nd one later when the prices fall. This should ensure 5870 level of performance: http://www.legionhardware.com/artic...vs_geforce_gtx_470_and_radeon_hd_5850,11.html