New system build

[Samwise]

Building a new system, gaming is the focus, but want an overall fast system as well and may do some video editing in the future. The games I play now (Lord of the Rings Online, World in Conflict) don't really require the 5850 and the ones I'm looking at in the somewhat near future (Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3) probably won't either. But who knows about the future. I don't know if I should get a cheaper videocard like a GTX 260 216, 4870, or 4890 which are good enough for now and upgrade in a year or two, or get the 5850 and be set for at least a couple years and is quieter and cooler. I'd really like to have faster load times on the games I am playing as well. I'll be getting the processor from microcenter for $162 for the 750 or $248 for the 860 after tax. What do you guys think?

 

[philosofool]

The 5850 is going to drop in price a lot in the next year. There's no reason, given what you're playing right now, to pay for a 5800 series card.

If your current card is fine, sick with it for six months to a year and get the 860 now.

If your current card isn't fine, get the 860 now and an HD 4850 until it's not good enough.

Processors and graphics cards can be on a totally separate upgrade schedule, and your situation sound like one that's ideal for separating the two.

 

[Samwise]

That's true, I likely will upgrade my video card at least once before I upgrade my processor in 3-4 years. I am actually selling my current video card with my processor and motherboard so I will need to get a new video card. You think the 860 is worth the extra $86?

 

[Samwise]

I run everything at 1900x1200 resolution, you think a 4850 will be enough? What about a 5750 or 5770?

 

[Ayah]

I think a 5750 is about on par with the 4850, and a 5770 is slower than a 4870. A 4850 can be had for 100$ CAD, and a 4870 for 30$ more. (I assumine American prices stand at roughly the same ratio)
The 4870 is the current king of bang for the buck. If you want to be running at 19X12, you'll want the 4870 at minimum.
The difference between the 750 and 860 is pretty much just HT, which doesn't really seem to be that amazing for games, and a 750 will run a fair bit cooler than an 860 due to the extra power consumed by HT.

 

[betasub]

Originally posted by: Ayah
If you want to be running at 19X12, you'll want the 4870 1GB at minimum.

edited

 

[imported_Scoop]

Latter of the two options if I had to choose. You say you don't think 5850 will be of much use, do you think you'll benefit of a faster CPU more? I think the money is better spent on the GPU, i5 750 is plenty of processing power.

 

[Samwise]

I found a pretty sweet deal on a sapphire 4890 for $180, $20 rebate, free shipping. I think I may just go with that. 5850 is impossible to find and I don't know if it would be worth at least $100 more.

Still debating about the 860 though. I know it won't be much faster in games for fps, but I am wondering if loading times would be somewhat better. When 1 core is being used it is 266 MHz faster. I may do some video editing in the future so the HT would be nice for that. Otherwise I could go with a 920 build and it looks like I could do that for about $50 more than the 860, but I would get 6 GB of ram instead of 4 GB, plus the motherboard is a little nicer. What do you guys think?

 

[Samwise]

Originally posted by: Ayah
I think a 5750 is about on par with the 4850, and a 5770 is slower than a 4870. A 4850 can be had for 100$ CAD, and a 4870 for 30$ more. (I assumine American prices stand at roughly the same ratio)
The 4870 is the current king of bang for the buck. If you want to be running at 19X12, you'll want the 4870 at minimum.
The difference between the 750 and 860 is pretty much just HT, which doesn't really seem to be that amazing for games, and a 750 will run a fair bit cooler than an 860 due to the extra power consumed by HT.

Ayah, where are you finding a 4870 1 GB for $130? Would a 4870 512 MB for $125 be a better deal than the 4890 for $160?

 

[betasub]

Originally posted by: Samwise
Still debating about the 860 though. I know it won't be much faster in games for fps, but I am wondering if loading times would be somewhat better.

Loading times = storage device speed.

CPU / motherboard / interface are rarely limiting factors - should be plenty fast enough. For improved loading times, look to the fastest storage device you can afford (think SSD).

 

[Samwise]

My friend and I both have Western Digital Raptors and he recently built a system with a 920 and 6 GB of ram while I have a AMD 3800x2 with 2 GB ram and his load times are about 5-10x faster.

 

[OLpal]

Sam here is the system that i hope to build in 2 weeks!
Hope you can get some ideas from it!
All NewEgg stuff




Antec Nine Hundred Two Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811129058
-$30.00 Instant $139.95
$109.95

Western Digital Caviar Green WD15EADS 1.5TB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822136351
-$10.00 Instant $109.99
$99.99
SAPPHIRE 100283L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814102858
$159.99

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power ... - Retail
Item #: N82E16817139006

-$70.00 Instant
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$179.99
$109.99

Patriot G Series ?Sector 5? Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model PGV34G1600ELK - Retail
Item #: N82E16820220436
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate
$89.99

ASUS P7P55D PRO LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813131405
$169.99

Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I7860 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115214
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
$289.99

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
Item #: N82E16832116754
Return Policy: Software Return Policy
$109.99
Total = $1,139.88

 

[Samwise]

Thanks OLpal, do you think the 860 is worth the $86 over the 750 and why? Anyone else want to weigh in? Also I am starting to rethink the 5850 for its eyefinity and improved AA for the older games I play.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Unless phsyx appeals to you the i5 750/5850 would probably serve you better, and if you're into phsyx/cuda you'll probably want fermi and the 260 would probably be overkill for a secondary card. Either way might be good to just hold out with your current card till the dust settles on dx11. I personally got a 860 and a 9800gt since I wanted my old computer to stay intact; I'll make a decision on what final card to put in my computer in a few months.

 

[Samwise]

Thanks Ayashi, I am actually building a new system for a friend and he will need the videocard I have so I have to buy a new one. I see that you chose a 860 as well. Do you think it is worth the extra $86 over the 750 and why? Should I just bite the bullet and get both the 860 and the 5850?

 

[imported_Scoop]

Originally posted by: Samwise
Should I just bite the bullet and get both the 860 and the 5850?

/facepalm

Why didn't you tell us that it was an option from the start? 🙂

Decide your budget and get the fastest stuff you can afford. That's the only way to buy components.

 

[Samwise]

I just don't want to waste money on something if it is not worth it. Even if I could afford a $1000 processor I wouldn't buy it if there was processor for $250 that was 5% slower.

 

[Samwise]

Also, if you have a $600 budget and something for $700 is significantly better, wouldn't you find some way to make it work? I just want to know if people think the 860 is worth the $86 over the 750 and if the 5850 is worth the $100 over the 4890.