Is this 1 years worth of futurproofing?

[spacecowboy9891]

I did my first build in 2005 and ever since have been upgrading at christmas. Luckily last year the 8800gt allowed all of us to have then enthusiast level graphics, however now I can feel that the card is becoming dated in many 1900x1200 applications. I was considering many different upgrades and have settled on a graphics intensive upgrade cycle. I just want you all to see what I am going for and any issues you see with my build or suggestions. While I have researched considerably I am always open to different perspectives.

Have:

24 Inch 1900x1200 acer monitor
p5w dh delux mother board
2 gb xms2 pc6400 4-4-4-12 memory
2 250 gb wd 7200 rpm drives
1 36 gb wd 10000 rpm raptor
1 500 gb wd 7299 rpm drive
8800gt xfx overclocked to hell
e6400 @ 3.0 ghz
750 watt power supply ( I can't remember the specs because I just got it but I know it is ok)
dvd drive
cooler master centurion 5 case

Want:
1.5 TB samsung drive
2 4870 HIS graphics cards
Xigmatek HDT-S1283 cooler
3 ultra kaze fans
(Some fan controller) help?
2 more gb ram
possibly some headphones

Ok, I am going to give some justification. My hard drives are full and I don't delete stuff. I have a crossfire board and can't quite afford the 4870x2. The cooler is amazing and I don't really care about noise other than my music for roommate.

Thanks,
Arthur

 

[spacecowboy9891]

Oh and I forgot to mention I am also considering a nice sound card. Only if noticeable differences stand out from on board sound. Raid 0 was always an option on the raptor also. I can pick one up for cheap now.

 

[TidusZ]

Having bought an x-fi gamer to go with my z5500's, I can say that the sound card was a waste of $100. The speakers were a nice buy though.

ps: we got the same avatar and the same centurion 5, high five!

 

[spacecowboy9891]

Oh okay, I have heard lots of bad things about sound cards but I do like quality. I guess they were right. Cool case an avatar

 

[jae]

Originally posted by: spacecowboy9891

Have:

24 Inch 1900x1200 acer monitor
p5w dh delux mother board
2 gb xms2 pc6400 4-4-4-12 memory
2 250 gb wd 7200 rpm drives
1 36 gb wd 10000 rpm raptor
1 500 gb wd 7299 rpm drive
8800gt xfx overclocked to hell
e6400 @ 3.0 ghz
750 watt power supply ( I can't remember the specs because I just got it but I know it is ok)
dvd drive
cooler master centurion 5 case

Want:
1.5 TB samsung drive
2 4870 HIS graphics cards
Xigmatek HDT-S1283 cooler
3 ultra kaze fans
(Some fan controller) help?
2 more gb ram
possibly some headphones

Ok, I am going to give some justification. My hard drives are full and I don't delete stuff. I have a crossfire board and can't quite afford the 4870x2. The cooler is amazing and I don't really care about noise other than my music for roommate.

Thanks,
Arthur

why not keep your Western Digital family growing with an 1TB BE GTX280's and core 216's are cheap, nvidia not an option this round? Throw in 4GB (2x2GB) since ram is so cheap (hopefully you have a 64-bit OS)

 

[spacecowboy9891]

Well the reason I went with the ati is simply because I have a crossfire motherboard. I will get a 64 bit os. I just saw how the 4870x2 killed the gtx280 in many senerios and sli isn't an option. That's my delema.

 

[yh125d]

Instead of spending 400-480 on a couple of 4870s, maybe wait a bit and spend the 450-500 the GTX295 is expected at?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

probably because the economy will force lay offs and the game makers/programers making un-future proofing games will be working at a gas station, if lucky, so your choices will be future proof for years after the recession

 

[JackMDS]

What "Future proof" Game means in functional terms?

 

[heyheybooboo]

I don't know where you could find benchies but the HIS 2 x HD4850 1GBs are roughly the same price as the 2 x HD4870 512s.

Depending upon your gameage (and, of course, the Crossfire drivers) it might be worth trading off a little speed for bigger, complex texture bufferage.

 

[Denithor]

So many harddrives...Suggest you pick up a couple of 1TB WD Caviar Blacks and replace all those smaller drives.

Pick up one of the improved SSDs in a couple of months to replace the Raptor. It will seriously make your system more "snappy" in just about everything (read this).

If you're running a 32-bit OS buy 2x2GB (G.Skill DDR2-800 for $40 shipped at newegg) and swap for your 2x1GB sticks. If you've got a 64-bit OS just drop in an extra 4GB and smile.

I would definitely suggest a single 4870 1GB today versus 2x4850 or a 4850X2. AVOID the 4850/4870 512MB, when you crank up the resolution & AA it just grinds to a halt in newer games (compare to the 1GB model). We're finally seeing the impact of higher VRAM for frame buffer, as textures go up significantly at high res/AA you just gotta have enough memory or the card will choke.

 

[jae]

Originally posted by: Denithor
So many harddrives...Suggest you pick up a couple of 1TB WD Caviar Blacks and replace all those smaller drives.

If you're running a 32-bit OS buy 2x2GB (G.Skill DDR2-800 for $40 shipped at newegg) and swap for your 2x1GB sticks. If you've got a 64-bit OS just drop in an extra 4GB and smile.

His next project could be a file server!

 

[akugami]

Originally posted by: Denithor
So many harddrives...Suggest you pick up a couple of 1TB WD Caviar Blacks and replace all those smaller drives.

If you're running a 32-bit OS buy 2x2GB (G.Skill DDR2-800 for $40 shipped at newegg) and swap for your 2x1GB sticks. If you've got a 64-bit OS just drop in an extra 4GB and smile.

I'd say not only get the 1TB WD Caviar Blacks but keep a couple of older drives for backup purposes. Purchase an external USB HD enclosure for backing up critical data.

No reason not to go 8GB of RAM since DDR2 RAM is so cheap. Get Vista 64 bit edition and you're good to go. Windows 7 is not going to do much in terms of gaming IMHO since Vista should run DX11 when it comes out.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: akugami
Get Vista 64 bit edition and you're good to go. Windows 7 is not going to do much in terms of gaming IMHO

Give us the inside dope!

 

[Denithor]

Originally posted by: Blain

Originally posted by: akugami
Get Vista 64 bit edition and you're good to go. Windows 7 is not going to do much in terms of gaming IMHO

Give us the inside dope!

Yes, please!

Actually, from what I hear, they're optimizing W7 for use on SSD, right? I'm planning a complete upgrade to W7/i7/SSD late 2009 once they fix the stutter problem with SSD drives and release Westmere.

 

[spacecowboy9891]

Well you all made me really think about my upgrade. I like the idea of a single card but I hate getting into the wait for the next card game. I really need the space right now so that is why the samsung was in mind.

 

[akugami]

Originally posted by: Denithor

Originally posted by: Blain

Originally posted by: akugami
Get Vista 64 bit edition and you're good to go. Windows 7 is not going to do much in terms of gaming IMHO

Give us the inside dope!

Yes, please!

Actually, from what I hear, they're optimizing W7 for use on SSD, right? I'm planning a complete upgrade to W7/i7/SSD late 2009 once they fix the stutter problem with SSD drives and release Westmere.

The thing is that the driver base and kernal remains unchanged from Vista. That means that barring some tweaks to the DX10 and DX11 drivers, performance should remain largely unchanged.

The main changes between Vista and Windows 7 seems to be UI related. There are of course the usual code base cleanup, better stability, bug fixes, etc. The underlying core remains the same with Vista and all things being equal should perform within a hair of each other.

I just can't see Windows 7 being significantly better than what we have on Vista since we still have to rely on both ATI and nVidia for video card drivers. This will dictate where our performance is coming from along with the quality of the video cards themselves. Obviously having gone out on a limb, it's likely I'll be proven wrong.

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: spacecowboy9891
Well you all made me really think about my upgrade. I like the idea of a single card but I hate getting into the wait for the next card game. I really need the space right now so that is why the samsung was in mind.

Well why don't you get an EVGA or BFG card then step-up to the new ones when they come out?

 

[spacecowboy9891]

Oh my god this is driving me crazy!!! Ok, so I know what I am going to do on everything but the graphics. Here are my options, and keep in mind I can't run sli so I would have to wait for a new board or just much better card to put another 260 in there.
Performance: 4870x2>4870 crossfire> 4850 crossfire or 4850x2> gtx260 216
Price: 4870x2>4870 crossfire> 4850x2>gtx 260 216> 4850 crossfire

 

[jae]

just get a single card for now, then buy a new one when a GFX upgrade would benefit you the most.

 

[spacecowboy9891]

Honestly that is what I am leaning towards, You know this is really kind of funny, back when there was ultra high end $650 and then what i could afford this was easy to chose a card. Hell now with the cheaper cards and multiple gpu setups this is enough to make the pope cuss. lol

 

[spacecowboy9891]

oops double post

 

[spacecowboy9891]

Well I just did it. I am getting the 4850 x2 2gb sapphire from newegg. Whew, amazing what 5 hours of comparing benchmarks and frames per dollar will do for you. One thing is for sure though. I am never getting myself in this crossfire not sli situation again. Next christmas must be i7!