whats a better option

[fourdegrees11]

What would be better for a gaming setup at 1680 x 1050. Won't be used for anything else other then internet usage. Motherboard will be ASUS M4A78-E AM2+/AM3 790GX, I plan to upgrade the CPU in 1-2 years regardless of which one I get now. Currently running a Pentium 4 3.2ghz, GeForce 6800 GT Dell.


AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma 2.7GHz $65
SAPPHIRE 100260SR Radeon HD 4850 X2 1GB $245
total = $310 (free shipping)

or

AMD Phenom II X3 710 2.6GHz $124
ASUS EAH4870 DK TOP/HTDI/512MD5 Radeon HD 4870 512MB $165
total = $290 (free shipping)

 

[mpilchfamily]

Any reason your considering an old Phenom but not the better performing C2D.

Yes in many cases the Phenom II outperforms the C2D but the new i7 CPUs from Intel out perform them all.

 

[heyheybooboo]

PhII 720BE

and

Wait a few weeks to see how low the HD4870 prices go ...

 

[fourdegrees11]

the reason for considering a 7750 is price, its only $65 shipped. that would allow me to buy a much more powerful GPU. I can also still use a motherboard that will have many future upgrade options with AM3, where as an intel 775 might not continue to receive new cpu options.

Im just not sure how big of a drop I would get from the cpu difference, I've always been led to believe that a GPU was more important.

 

[fourdegrees11]

oops double

 

[Denithor]

GPU has more impact but only if the CPU can properly push it. At 1680x1050 the 4870 will have no problems giving you a nice experience. From the reviews the 4850x2 is too noisy for my taste and the 1GB model doesn't perform nearly as well as the 2GB card.

Kuma is a crappy chip - basically just a dual-core version of the PhI architecture - meaning sub-par gaming performance. With all the heat & power consumption of the PhI chips. Fail.

Do you already have the motherboard or not? If not, look for a combo deal with the X3, there are some great deals out there.

 

[fourdegrees11]

Originally posted by: Denithor
GPU has more impact but only if the CPU can properly push it. At 1680x1050 the 4870 will have no problems giving you a nice experience. From the reviews the 4850x2 is too noisy for my taste and the 1GB model doesn't perform nearly as well as the 2GB card.

Kuma is a crappy chip - basically just a dual-core version of the PhI architecture - meaning sub-par gaming performance. With all the heat & power consumption of the PhI chips. Fail.

Do you already have the motherboard or not? If not, look for a combo deal with the X3, there are some great deals out there.

good point on the CPU needing to feed the GPU, I hadn't really considered that. The 720/4870 would probably be the best choice, but I think I'm going to wait til next month to see what AMD brings out, heard something about PII dual cores.

I dont have the motherboard, but thats not something I want to cheap out on.