I am totally lost in video card madness!!!

[xile042]

I have been designing, redesigning, and more redesigning. I have a pretty good idea of what I want to build, but I am always looking for tips and criticism. I want to post my newest specs (which I think might not change, I would need some convincing to change em). Afterwards, I wanna list some options for my video cards. Please share your thoughts on the GPU and also my sytem. Thanks.


Case- Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

Power Supply (PSU)- Antec Signature SG850 850W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified
Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Processor (CPU)- AMD Phenom 9950 2.6GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Black Edition Processor (Going to OC to 3.2)

CPU Cooler- COOLER MASTER RR-CCH-LB12-GP 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler (AKA The Hyper 212)

Memory (RAM)- OCZ SLI-Ready Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel (x2 for 8gigs)

Motherboard- SLI- Foxconn Destroyer AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA nForce 780a SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
Crossfire- MSI K9A2 Platinum AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard

Monitor- HP w2207h Black 22" 5ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor (1680 x 1050)

HDD- Western Digital RE3 WD3202ABYS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

CD/DVD- SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA

Fans- Antec 761345-75024-0 120mm Blue LED Case Fan (2 for optional case installations + 2 for the CPU cooler, taking stock off)

Scythe KM02-BK 5.25" Bay Fan Controller to control and monitor them all.

Now for the video card options.... bare with me.

2 evga gtx 260 sli
2 evga 9800 gtx+
2 his ati hd 4870 1g

Please help. It is driving me crazy. thanks.

Also, how might these video cards stack up in games such as crysis and cod4 in my resolution of 1680 x 1050?

 

[HVDynamo]

since you are going the route of AMD for processor (you will get more performance for your money with intel, but thats up to you) I would recommend going with the 790FX chipset and the radeon 4870 video cards mostly because Nvidia tends to have more stability issues with its chipsets. I tend to prefer to stick with chipsets that are built in the same company as the processors, I just feel that they have more of a heads up on whats going to happen with future CPU's and will tend to be more stable because of that. I am not sure how accurate that is, but its just a hunch of mine which holds true as far as an intel platform with an Nvidia chipset vs. an intel in house built chipset.

Thats my $.02
Good luck

 

[HVDynamo]

oh, and Crysis should play decently on that setup(it really doesn't play Great on any setup yet) and COD4 plays flawlessly on my older Athlon X2 4400+ with a single 9800GTX, I also play at 1680x1050.

 

[Primus462]

Should be a pretty sweet system. However, I am wondering if the video cards might be a little overkill for the 9950. Even using my 5000BE OCed to 3.2GHz with my 4870 512MB (OCed also), I was easily able to play COD4 and COD5 at 60+ FPS at 16850x1050 with max detail. Crysis, of course, is more demanding and I was averaging about 30 FPS. If your are going to go for that much graphics horsepower, you might be better going with Intel, unless you are planning on upgrading from the 9950 to the Phenom II at some point with that Foxconn or MSI mobo.

Oh, and good luck with the 9950. It runs hot! I am using an Antec 900 with the additional 120mm fan in the side panel and a Zalmon 9700 (2076 RPM) for the CPU. My case temp is 26C right now, but the 9950 (125W @ stock 2.6GHz) is reading 40C while only running Foxfire. As soon as all four cores are stressed, the temp easily shoots to 65C. I was hoping to OC to 3.2Ghz also, but with temps like this I am afraid to even try. I have yet to try reapplying the thermal paste, so maybe that will help with the temps.....

Good luck!

 

[Yoosty]

Now for the video card options.... bare with me.

2 evga gtx 260 sli
2 evga 9800 gtx+
2 his ati hd 4870 1g

Please help. It is driving me crazy. thanks.

If you can wait until after January 8th, Nvidia is launching the GTX295. GTX295 will feature two GPUs of 55nm GT200. And the number of stream processors is 480 (240×2), not 216×2 as we reported. Besides, its memory bus width is 896 bit (448bitx2), and memory size is 1792MB DDR3 (896MBx2).

Check out the G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail $49.99 Free Shipping (New DDR2 800 CL4 @ 1.8v~1.9v)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209

Which will run at your motherboard stock (Auto) voltage of 1.8v.

Hope this helps out some.

 

[xile042]

If I went Intel, what would be a good processor that I could OC for about $200-$250? And I will look into the gtx295, but also naming another option here, what about the 4870x2 2g?

 

[emp]

You got the wrong board, the one you are showing is equipped with an older SB600, you need a 790FX board equipped with an SB750 to get good overclocking performance.

DFI LP DK 790FXB-M2RSH AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136057

Foxconn A79A-S AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186149

If you won't be running resolutions beyond 1920x1200 then there's little point behind a 1GB card because there will be no gains, I would suggest that you get two HD 4870 512Mb @ $200 each. (Or the HD 4870 X2 if you can spare the cash)

SAPPHIRE 100259L Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102810

Finally, ditch the Phenom and wait until Jan 8th for AMD to release the Phenom II which will bring FAR more overclockability and higher gains clock per clock over Phenom. If you MUST build now, get the cheapest AM2 CPU available at newegg while you wait until then.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Windsor 2.0GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103067

Oh and about the CPU cooler, I would suggest something with the newer Heatpipe-Direct touch design (Sunbeam Core-Contact Freezer, Xigmatek HDT-S1283) that cools better and weighs less than the older Copper core based heatsinks (Hyper 212)

Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120mm "Core Contact Freezer" CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835207004

 

[danscan11]

I have been designing, redesigning, and more redesigning. I have a pretty good idea of what I want to build, but I am always looking for tips and criticism. I want to post my newest specs (which I think might not change, I would need some convincing to change em). Afterwards, I wanna list some options for my video cards. Please share your thoughts on the GPU and also my sytem. Thanks.


Case- Antec Twelve Hundred Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

Power Supply (PSU)- Antec Signature SG850 850W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified
Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Processor (CPU)- AMD Phenom 9950 2.6GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Black Edition Processor (Going to OC to 3.2)

CPU Cooler- COOLER MASTER RR-CCH-LB12-GP 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler (AKA The Hyper 212)

Memory (RAM)- OCZ SLI-Ready Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel (x2 for 8gigs)

Motherboard- SLI- Foxconn Destroyer AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA nForce 780a SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
Crossfire- MSI K9A2 Platinum AM2+/AM2 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard

Monitor- HP w2207h Black 22" 5ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor (1680 x 1050)

HDD- Western Digital RE3 WD3202ABYS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

CD/DVD- SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA

Fans- Antec 761345-75024-0 120mm Blue LED Case Fan (2 for optional case installations + 2 for the CPU cooler, taking stock off)

Scythe KM02-BK 5.25" Bay Fan Controller to control and monitor them all.

Now for the video card options.... bare with me.

2 evga gtx 260 sli
2 evga 9800 gtx+
2 his ati hd 4870 1g

Please help. It is driving me crazy. thanks.

Also, how might these video cards stack up in games such as crysis and cod4 in my resolution of 1680 x 1050?

video card-wise it looks like you wanna stay within that 100 range screw the 4870. Get either a GTX650, or a Radeon 7770, it looks like you wanna cross-fire SLI go for the 7770's I have a pair of 7750's I love AMD the 7770's are rated better than the 650's If you change your mind and do not want to SLI or cross-fire almost everyone here would tell you to not do that, then this is the card you should get quality durable and will run very smooth, quiet. Its $210.
GIGABYTE GV-N660OC-2GD GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

 

[danscan11]

Ummm......... why such an expensive case?

Sorry I have looked up your GPU choices 3 times and I keep getting price ranges of 35-200 bucks, what price range are you looking at?