what cpu for build?

jjj807

Senior member
Jun 20, 2004
395
0
71
I plan on getting a ati 4890 video card with windows 7 64 bit machine
Should I go intel and quad core?
I do heavy gaming and web browsing.
I also want a mobo capable of DDR3, what socket should I go with
I was thinking socket 1156, i-5 system?
Thoughts, TIA
 

dajeepster

Golden Member
Apr 15, 2001
1,974
16
81
go lga1156 i7-860 over the i5. Higher clock and hyperthreading when you need it... if trying to save money.. go i5
 

cbn

Lifer
Mar 27, 2009
12,968
221
106
I plan on getting a ati 4890 video card with windows 7 64 bit machine
Should I go intel and quad core?
I do heavy gaming and web browsing.
I also want a mobo capable of DDR3, what socket should I go with
I was thinking socket 1156, i-5 system?
Thoughts, TIA


What games do you plan on playing? RTS, RPG, Online FPS....or a mix of these?

How big of a PSU do you want to run? Do you mind mounting a Tower cooler?
 
Oct 27, 2007
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If the primary purpose for the CPU is gaming and you don't do a lot of CPU intensive desktop work (web browsing doesn't count) then AMD is the way to go. The chips are much cheaper and virtually indistinguishable in almost every game.

On the other hand if you're doing lots of media encoding or similar CPU intensive desktop tasks and you don't mind supporting evil, anti-competitive companies then go for an Intel chip.
 
Oct 27, 2007
17,010
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The best bang for buck high-end AMD CPU at the moment is the X4 955 Black Edition. It's slightly slower than the 965 but significantly cheaper and still very quick. I'm actually putting together a 955BE system with a 4890 running Windows 7 64-bit tomorrow, I'll let you know how it goes :)