I5/GA-P55-UDP4 w/5770 (or 4890) or 955 BE/M4A79XTD EVO w/2 5770

[bradf1979]

Ok, 5850's are OOS everywhere and I'd like to order ASAP. My budget is $700 and I'm upgrading my current system... With the other required parts, RAM and PS I have two options for CPU/Mobo and Video.

My gaming resolution is 1680x1050 which will probably stay that way for quite a while, it could eventually to to full 1080P (1920x1080) but that will be a while...

My two core component choices are:

Core i5/750 2.66Ghz with Gigabyte GA-P55-UD4 and either a 5770 or a 4890 (or possibly a GTX 260 Core 216).

or

AMD Phenom II 955 BE with Asus M4A79XTD EVO and two 5770's in crossfire (limited to x8/x8 on that motherboard).

--

Both of these come to roughly the same price on NewEgg, I just can't decide which would be better and last longest... My current setup E6600 with an 8800 GTS 640MB has lasted 2.5 years.

[Mind_Reader7]

My vote is on the second rig. It's far better for gaming, and still has enough power to do anything else.

[jjjc_93]

I would go the second rig aswell.. But swap those 5770's out for a singe 5850 or 5870 .

[LMHmedchem]

Originally Posted by Mind_Reader7

My vote is on the second rig. It's far better for gaming, and still has enough power to do anything else.

How do you figure that the PII 955 is "much better" for gaming?

According to this review (thanks to davidhammock200 for the link),
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets...px?i=3634&p=16

in 3 out of 4 cases, the i5 was better for gaming than the PII 965, let alone the 955. Now the comparison is only for 4 games, so you might want to find a few more, especially if the games you play most are not on the list.

The i5 will also be limited to 2x8x crossfire/SLI, but reviews show that it still scales similarly well to the 2x16x CF/SLI on the X58 chipset. Significant differences only appeared for extreme systems.
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3649

The i5 will probably cost at least $100 US more, so if that means having to drop down a level with the video card(s), then you might want the less expensive CPU/MOBO and the better card. I am sure that the PII is a great system, but I would get the i5 if you can stretch enough to get an HD 5850. The 5770 also has scored very well. I would re-use hard drives, optical drives, etc, to get the best video card you can.

For me, that also applies to CF/SLI, I would get the best 1-card system you can (probably HD 5850), and then think about adding a second card later if necessary.

LMHmedchem

[Mind_Reader7]

Lol, games aren't that CPU intensive. You'd benefit from more GPU power.

[jjjc_93]

I voted the second rig because he could get stronger graphics. Games will benefit more from that .

[LMHmedchem]

Originally Posted by Mind_Reader7

Lol, games aren't that CPU intensive. You'd benefit from more GPU power.

Everything is CPU intensive, to a point. That aside, I am just a moron who can't read. I didn't see that the AMD rig was CF.

In this case, the issue isn't CPU power, but chipset design. The 1156 chipset connects the graphics card directly to the CPU, so there is a significant advantage in gaming. That is one reason why the i5 750 still beats the PII 965, even though the 965 has an 800MHz faster clock, even understanding that you can't directly compare clock speed Intel/AMD.

My vote was for a single HD 5850 with an i5 750, but maybe that wasn't one of the options. The 5850 is 30-40% faster than the 5770, and that combined with the better interface to the CPU means that the difference in performance may not be that great.

2x 5770 comes to $330. The single HD 5850 should be about $300. I would get a single 5850 now and look to add a second card later if necessary.

I might actually look at just keeping your current MOBO and CPU. You really won't see that much of a difference upgrading that part of your rig. I guess the exception would be if you know you want to crossfire and can't on your current board.

If you get a new setup, I think the i5 will perform somewhat better in the long run.

LMHmedchem

Additional Comment:

Checking some reviews, a 5770 CF is somewhat better than a single 5850. The differences range from ~12% faster for Crysis Warhead to ~38% faster for Far Cry 2. I would definitely look up numbers for the specific games you play, as it appears to make a significant difference.

In some cases, the differences are between 130FPS and 150FPS. I am not sure how much that changes the user experience outside of competition.

As an aside, in the numbers above, both cards were tested on an i7 system, so the difference in numbers does not reflect the more efficient GPU interface when comparing socket 1156 to AM3. This means that the advantages of a 5770 CF on an AM3 chipset will not be as great as it would be comparing 5770 CF and 5850, both on a 1156 socket. The proposed AMD MOBO is also only 2x8x lanes, and that should be figured in. Why not get a 2x16x lanes board if you are thinking of CF, they are often not that much more expensive?

On the other hand, a good CF 1156 board goes for $170, so that is something else to consider.

Do you live near a microcenter? They have the i5 750 for $150, in store, and that could help bring the cost down a bit.