Tom's Hardware > Forum > Homebuilt Systems > New System Build > $250 A small upgrade

$250 A small upgrade

Forum Homebuilt Systems : New System Build - $250 A small upgrade

Tom's Hardware: Over 1.4 million members in 6 different countries available to answer all your high-tech questions. Sign up now! Its free!
Ask the community Add a reply
Word :    Username :           
 
mcwargod   10-15-2009 at 04:33:46 AM

this is my system right now

Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115215
running at 3.0 stock cooler
GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD4P LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128400

OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1600LV4GK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227482

Sparkle 9600 GT 512mb

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129042

Antec EarthWatts EA750 750W Continuous Power ATX12V version 2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371026

i have a 1920x1080 monitor what should my next upgrade me i was thinking either cpu cooler or a gfx card. would a sli/crossfire have major affect because of the x8 or no

Add a reply
Sponsored Links
Register or log in to remove.
Bronze Home Brew badge jbakerlent   10-15-2009 at 04:53:31 AM

Definitely upgrade the GPU, I would get a 5850 with your budget. To see how x8 crossfiring scales check out this article:
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdo [...] i=3649&p=1

------------------------------ How To Ask For Build Advice
Homebuilt PC Buying Guide
 Reply to jbakerlent
ohiou_grad_06   10-15-2009 at 04:57:52 AM

I think I'd be looking at a new gfx card. Depending what you want to spend, I think the new 5770's are on newegg at 160.

Reply to ohiou_grad_06
mcwargod   10-15-2009 at 05:53:24 AM

does anyone know if there are going to be price drops on any of the high end ati cards or when the new nvidia cards would be out? i am kind of a nvidia fan/intel fan but i can go ati if its better bang for buck

Message quoted 1 times
Reply to mcwargod
Bronze Home Brew badge jbakerlent   10-15-2009 at 05:57:55 AM

Currently, ATI not only has better bang for the buck, but has better performance without considering price for single GPU cards... There won't likely be good availability of 300 cards until Q1 2010. The 5000 series cards most likely won't drop in price for a long while.

------------------------------ How To Ask For Build Advice
Homebuilt PC Buying Guide
 Reply to jbakerlent
bob_vicktor   10-15-2009 at 06:01:34 AM

mcwargod wrote :

does anyone know if there are going to be price drops on any of the high end ati cards or when the new nvidia cards would be out? i am kind of a nvidia fan/intel fan but i can go ati if its better bang for buck



If you mean the 4800 series, their price drop already happened. A 5850, or 5770 at the very least, would be worth the cash though, if you can afford it. It uses less juice, and is more powerful then the 4870 and 4890.
http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 433-2.html

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by bob_vicktor on 10-15-2009 at 06:02:59 AM
Reply to bob_vicktor
masterasia   10-15-2009 at 06:08:46 AM

Batman Arkham Asylum looks fantastic with PhysX. If games didn't use PhysX, I wound't buy Nvidia. Is there something out there that will let ATI cards emulate PhysX? What about MSI's Big Bang?

Reply to masterasia
Bronze Home Brew badge jbakerlent   10-15-2009 at 06:37:03 AM

bob_vicktor wrote :

A 5850, or 5770 at the very least, would be worth the cash though, if you can afford it. It uses less juice, and is more powerful then the 4870 and 4890.
http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 433-2.html



Not exactly, the 4870 actually outperforms the 5850 easily and even the 5770. The 4890 dominates both of them. Of course, there are still other reasons to opt for the newer cards - efficiency, eyefinity, dx11, etc.

Message quoted 1 times
------------------------------ How To Ask For Build Advice
Homebuilt PC Buying Guide
 Reply to jbakerlent
bob_vicktor   10-15-2009 at 07:07:23 AM

jbakerlent wrote :

Not exactly, the 4870 actually outperforms the 5850 easily and even the 5770. The 4890 dominates both of them. Of course, there are still other reasons to opt for the newer cards - efficiency, eyefinity, dx11, etc.



No offense, but what chart are you looking at?
http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 433-7.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 33-11.html
(just a couple examples)

Anyway, I do agree that the other features are worth the cost, regardless of performance, but that also depends on what all you want to do with your computer.

Reply to bob_vicktor
megamanx00   10-15-2009 at 07:36:01 AM

Definitely a GPU upgrade. 5850s are a little more than $250 right now and a bit rare at the moment. You could go with a 4890 and a decent GPU cooler, or go with two 4870s instead as they are rather cheap now.


Message edited by megamanx00 on 10-15-2009 at 07:39:37 AM
Reply to megamanx00
ohiou_grad_06   10-15-2009 at 07:59:46 AM

You may mean the 5750, not the 5850. The thing to keep in mind the newer cards like a 5770, etc are still new, but they are dx11, and performance should improve as drivers mature.

Reply to ohiou_grad_06
Bronze Home Brew badge jbakerlent   10-15-2009 at 09:07:51 AM

Yeah, I meant 5750 and 5770 not 5850 and 5870 sorry for the confusion. The 4850/70 outperform the 5750/70 and both are outperformed by the 5850/70 to be clear.

------------------------------ How To Ask For Build Advice
Homebuilt PC Buying Guide
 Reply to jbakerlent
mcwargod   10-15-2009 at 05:29:55 PM

would it be worth it just to stretch my budget so i can get a 5870 or no. and im talking about a price drop for the 5800 series when the new nvidia cards come out. i am not in a big rush to upgrade so should i just wait to see what nvidia has to offer?


Message edited by mcwargod on 10-15-2009 at 05:32:04 PM
Reply to mcwargod
Ask the community Add a reply
Tom's Hardware > Forum > Homebuilt Systems > New System Build > $250 A small upgrade
Go to:

There are 564 identified and unidentified users. To see the list of identified users, Click here.

Forum map
Bestofmedia Forum ©
2000-2009 Bestofmedia Group
Page generated in 0.431 seconds
Sponsored links
  • Ask the community now
  • Publish
Ad
They won a badge
Join us in greeting them