XFX 4850 1gb/Video Card help

In Crossfire, the 4850 would be forced to perform no better than the 3870. Two of those 4850's as I have currently in Xfire would do nicely.

Edit Not sure a 3xxx will Xfire with a 4xxx card.

Im thinking maybe a single GTS 250 1gb card, for $150.. and if he wants more down the road, he can buy another GTS 250 and SLi them... those 2 would perform better than 2 4850's... right?

There's no reason to crossfire a 3870 with a 4850, it will just take the performance of the 3870 and downgrade the 4850 to match it, meaning you will just get the performance of two 3870s. This is troubling because it's two generations behind, it's not cheap, and it performs like garbage. Get a single HD 5850. That will be enough to take care of his needs and includes DirectX 11 support.

I'm not sure why your dad needs all that power assuming he doesn't play games. I'd recommend an i5 860.

At that price point the HD 4870 outperforms it and is cheaper or the same price. Why does your dad need SLi or Crossfire? It's gimmicky, especially with low-end cards.

I dont know why he want's the i7. He want's the 3.3ghz, so he wont have to worry about upgrading anytime soon. He has a Dell XPS that he paid $4500 for about 5 years ago... Im building this computer for him as a surprise before I leave for my basic training for the army in Jan. So Im trying to get as close to what he said he wants, as possible.

Those 5850's are NICE... but saddly, everyone is sold out at newegg.... Would the GTS 2501gb be a good card? It's $100 cheaper than the 5850. I'd like the get the best bang for the buck with a video card, something cheap'ish but will still play new games on high settings... Other than the video card debate... my only other problem is a case.... I find nice cases, but no dust filters for them... so I guess Im going to build it in the NZXT Tempest, because that's the case I have and it's nice.

The i7/x58 performs so well with a Xfire/SLI setup. But then DX11 cards and Windows 7 are here. So, sure a GTS 250 is a great choice for your Dad, I'm sure He'll like it...I would for sure. I want to buy one for my son.   How 'bout sit him back on his heels with this. Best of luck in Boot.  

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

http://www.corsair.com/cinema/movie.aspx?id=1140825

http://www.corsair.com/cinema/movie.aspx?id=1140829

DANG!!!!

That case is SOOO NICE!!! Out of my price range though. I've got $2000 to spend and I'd like to keep it around $1600... and I've got a build on newegg and after the instant savings, it's $1556. That's everything, I have the NZXT Tempest case in there now but I want to find a dif. one in the same price range as the NZXT, with good airflow and dustfilters.

Im going to use this case.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Ok first off, no one buys an I7, and say "well he doesn't game to hard so i'm not gonna put a high end gpu in it". If your gogin with (2) 4850's you should go with a quad core extrem or something, not the i7. If your gonna spend money on the i7 you want the best gpu to match it. In that case you want (2) 5870's crossfired. You will never get your i7 to actually work if you couple it with a midrange gamer card. I have a 4850, and it is a nice card for my system, but i would never couple it with a i7. I'm still runnning an old school q6600.

im going 5850 single for now... will Xfire shortly after. thanks

If your father games at all, then a single HD5770 would be my choice. Yes, it's quite expensive I know, but unlike the GTS250 and HD4850 is has DX11 for the future not to mention better connectivity, HD sound, lower power requirements and its quiet, (I can hardly hear mine, even under heavy load).
If gaming is not the issue, the HD4850/GTS250 look good, they're cheaper and offer plenty of performance.
If gaming is not a requirement at all the HD4550 will be far more than he needs and I'm only mentioning it because it has better HD outputs than the motherboard onboard video.

And good luck with the new career.

Thank you... I dont think the 5770 is expensive at all.. $180... nahh lol. I paid $400 for my GTX 285 black edition...

I've been thinking about the 5770 though, over the 5850 but I've heard the 5770 isnt that strong of a card.. and if I go that route, I was going to buy him another 5770 for his birthday in a few months.

A single card review:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/HIS/HD_5770/

And in Crossfire:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-5770-review-tes...

I was so impressed I bought one to replace my ailing 8800GT, even though I'm on XP  Still, the new build is only a few months away