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Intel or AMD for an hd5870?

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Hi, putting a new system together for my wife. She currently has a core 2 duo (1.5ghz) laptop with an 8600m gs video processor and her sims 3 game ran horribly on it. She has asked me to build her a new desktop to replace it. I got a few things together already but need help picking out a proccesor and a case.

Items I have:

500gb Samsung f3 (newegg $45)
850 watt coolmaster PSU quad rail (26a per video card rail) got it at compusa for $85 when they went out of buisness.
dvd burner
xfx hd5870 (bought today on newegg on a whim because they actually had one and it idles at 27 watts $379 )
hp 24 lcd 1900x1200

Need recomendation for a processor. was leaning toward a 945 phenom II but dont know if i should go with ddr3 or a ddr2 mommyboard. Am considering a core I7 but that adds a lot of money to the picture and I already went overboard with the videocard (wanted an hd5850).

Also would love recomendations for the tiniest case this video card will fit in (antec 300 too big for where I want to put it and would like something smaller than a Antec Mini P180)

Budgetwise Im thinking $400-$500 but can go higher if you make a strong case. build time is within 2-3 weeks.

Will be running Windows 7. Sims 3 is bout the toughest game this game will see right away, but I think she is going to buy bioshock 2 when it comes out (she also plays dinner dash.... hd5870 playing dinner dash....oh the irony). Will also be running 24/7 as it will be an orb tv streaming machine for our cell phones. The power suppy is an 80+ certified one and I was considering a power efficent variant for the CPU because of this (the 27 watt idle power of the videocard was also a sell point to me).

Thanks ahead of time. I appreicate any input on this.
Ken

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http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?Ite... Combo Discount: -$30.00 Combo Price: $339.98 Free Shipping*
ASUS P7P55D PRO LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
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COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

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COOLER MASTER HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP Black Steel + Plastic and Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

I bought the hd5870 because its direct x 11 and i think its going to hard to find them for at least a month and didnt want it holding me up. I hoping this computer will last at leaset 3 years. The case recomendations are a bit big. I plan on tucking this out of the way and maybe get an extenal dvd burner for the desk. Is the Core I7 860 worth the 100 bucks over the i5 and should I pretty much discard an AMD powered system?

This is the smallest case I think on newegg that might fit everything is

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

but its cheap looking and I'm not sure if the videocard can be cramed in it (the video card i think is 10.5 inches long) and has crappy cooling. I gues I can look at micro atx cases if I get a smaller motherboard, but that darn card is big and the power supply has a hugh bundle of wires I will need to hide/stuff away.
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Ouch, the Gods are playing games with me today. Newegg just sent me a void order email saying the item was backordeded on the videocard (even after i had it in my basket and paid for it!) UGGGGGHHHHH!!!! oh well. Atleast I can just wait for the hd5850 now.

Thanks
Ken

spunks said:
Ouch, the Gods are playing games with me today. Newegg just sent me a void order email saying the item was backordeded on the videocard (even after i had it in my basket and paid for it!) UGGGGGHHHHH!!!! oh well. Atleast I can just wait for the hd5850 now.

Thanks
Ken


actually thats the good news. the 5870 is an overkill for sims 3, and seeing the games your wife plays isn't that demanding. 5850 would be better. go with the i5 750 build. but not with that asus motherboard someone suggested. get a cheaper mobo.

are you going to be overclocking?
also post in this format
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advic...

Hey, I think the builds back on. I just ordered a hd5870 through zipzoom fly. ended up being like 22 dollars more though and nows it has a diamond label. Lets see if the Gods are still playing with me....

considering the usage you might as well use a phenom x3 720 be/ gigabyte ga-770-ud3p mb and 4 gig of ddr3 .

She just doesnt need the power of a quad whether amd or intel

you also dont need an 850watt psu
650 max

The power supply is over a year old, i just never used it and its sitting in the closet. Overkill yes, but its something i dont have to buy. And I would totaly agree that a quad core is overkill today, but a higher end system from three years ago would be pretty darn slow today (what would that be anyway, a core 2 e6300?) that being said, the triple core does look promising, and I tought about that alot. I wonder how much I can undervolt it and still get over 2.0ghz. I would love a system that idles under 100 watts, but starting to look like a dream I think. I think I have setteled on this lian case. let me know what you guys think.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

spunks said:
The power supply is over a year old, i just never used it and its sitting in the closet. Overkill yes, but its something i dont have to buy. And I would totaly agree that a quad core is overkill today, but a higher end system from three years ago would be pretty darn slow today (what would that be anyway, a core 2 e6300?) that being said, the triple core does look promising, and I tought about that alot. I wonder how much I can undervolt it and still get over 2.0ghz. I would love a system that idles under 100 watts, but starting to look like a dream I think. I think I have setteled on this lian case. let me know what you guys think.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...


in that case it makes perfect sense. triple core with a 5870? youre going to spend 390 on a video card but skimp on the cpu especially when you can get an i5 for 199.99 or a 955be for 189.99? go for the quad (id go for the intel because of the oc potential, but thats just preference) you wont regret in it

ewood said:
in that case it makes perfect sense. triple core with a 5870? youre going to spend 390 on a video card but skimp on the cpu especially when you can get an i5 for 199.99 or a 955be for 189.99? go for the quad (id go for the intel because of the oc potential, but thats just preference) you wont regret in it


+1 for the i5.

obsidian86 said:
im gonna say amd rumor has it that the new ati drivers will be optimised for amd/ati


and between between and amd and intel mobo with the same features the amd will generally be much much cheaper. still cant ignore the i5s performance but both have very pronounced benefits. also amd has committed to releasing 6 core (buldozer?) for am3 so future upgradability is there.

I'm not really trying to skimp. I bought the hd5870 (though I should have probably waited for a hd5850) because it only uses 27 watts at idle. I can afford an I7 920, but dont know how much undervolting and underclocking will take down the idle power. Not many people do this. right now im looking at a AMD Phenom II X4 905e with a 65watt TDP and maybe a 785g chipset, though if anybody knows if the 790 series chipsets use less power at idle let me know. This computer is going to be on all the time and i really hate wasting electricity (though i dont care if its using 500 watts if someone is using it).

If a dual core atom processor was good enough to encoded and stream video, id build a little mini itx system and just dedicate it to doing that and not be too worried about leaving the other one on all day. But its not. by the time I put together a little system powerful enough to stream the video at low power I'm into around 600 bucks, so I'd rather just build an efficient system that I can leave on that has enough horse power to drive any game at 1900x1200.

1994235,14,341639 said:
I'm not really trying to skimp. I bought the hd5870 (though I should have probably waited for a hd5850) because it only uses 27 watts at idle. I can afford an I7 920, but dont know how much undervolting and underclocking will take down the idle power. Not many people do this. right now im looking at a AMD Phenom II X4 905e with a 65watt TDP and maybe a 785g chipset, though if anybody knows if the 790 series chipsets use less power at idle let me know. This computer is going to be on all the time and i really hate wasting electricity (though i dont care if its using 500 watts if someone is using it).


sorry about that, i didn't realize that low power was your reason for buying the 5870 (i should have read more carefully). 27w at idle is impressive to say the least. as a rule of thumb a chipset without integrated graphics will use less power than the same chipset with integrated graphics. however the differences may not be that large. obsidian seems on the right track with the 790x, i would choose that one if low idle power was a priority. keep in mind that usually the less voltage regulators the more efficient as well.
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