cpu 'v' graphics cards

[mrdolittle]

Me and a friend are hoping to build another gaming rig shortly, now would a dual core amd 5000 have enough cpu power to push a 7950 gx2 to its full potential, or would we be better off getting a single card like a 7900gtx and saving a bit of money, thanks for any feedback

 

[cleeve]

At resolutions over 1024x768, the CPU matters less and less. It's the graphics card that will bottleneck gaming performance, so don't worry about that Athlon64 slowing you down.


The 7950 GX2 is great, but it's a waste unless you're running 1600x1200 with high levels of AA.

At lower resolutions (like 1280x1024 with 4xAA) you're just as well served with a single 7900 GTX or X1900 XTX.

Your best bang for the buck is the X1900 XT 256mb. Only $240 on newegg, and in the same performance league as the 7900 GTX/X1900 XTX...

...unless you really need the super-high resolutions and AA that the GX2 can provide.

 

[grant_77]

If you've got the money wait until the DX10 cards come out in a month or two.

So far reports say the higher end ones will run around 500-700 million transistors, and variable pipelines and possible dual core on a single chip.

If you've got the 500-700$ now, save it, the new cards will probably be in that price range and the present ones will drop.

 

[bliq]

If you've got the money wait until the DX10 cards come out in a month or two.

So far reports say the higher end ones will run around 500-700 million transistors, and variable pipelines and possible dual core on a single chip.

If you've got the 500-700$ now, save it, the new cards will probably be in that price range and the present ones will drop.

Why does everyone think DX10 will be out in a "month or two"? I wouldn't be surprised to hear that DX10 cards don't come out for 6-12 months and then ironing out bugs in the drivers for 6 months after that.

If you want to buy something now, buy it now. Why suffer for a a year or even 6 months. Buy DX10 when it's matured and when you've saved money again.