4890 CF , better to go i5 (x8,x8) or phenom II 955 (x16,x16)?

[twade]

Im building a system around crossfire 4890s and i need help on deciding whether to go with the i5 or phenom ii 955. With the i5 I would have x8,x8 lanes but with the 955 id get x16, x16 lanes.

 

[hunter315]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-5850,2433-14.html
You wont notice a significant difference if any which is why we generally recommend 790X or 790GX boards because they are significantly cheaper and wont penalize you.

How much is the price difference between the two setups? The i5 might perform a bit better in encoding tasks but for straight gaming i would suggest going for which ever is cheaper because there is only a marginal difference.

 

[IzzyCraft]

I'd just go with i5 set up if i have the budget as it is a better overall cpu

But the 955 option is better way to saving money although i5 probably has some cheap boards by now

955 vs i5 in 2 card set ups i'd get a i5 as the Lynnfield and boomfield tend to do great at scaling mutli gpu.

Really as stated above the difference is inconsequential with that set up 4890's don't require 2 x16 lanes of pcie 2.0 to run at full. So brand loyalty and other things can decide for you.

 

[EXT64]

If you do go i5, make sure to get a board that actually supports 16x/4x to 8x/8x switching. Many of the low end ones do not, but most of the mid and high do (they should specify whether they do or not).

 

[twade]

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=42279&vpn=GA-P55-UD4P&manufacture=Gigabyte

Would this board do x8,x8 ?

 

[paperfox]

1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16)
1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x8 (PCIEX8) (The PCIEX16 and PCIEX8 slots conforms to PCI Express 2.0 standard.)

this board appears to run 16x/8x

 

[impaledmango]

ya, ud4p is a fine board

 

[twade]

Ok thanks everyone for the help

 

[EXT64]

Yep, and the UD4P is the lowest Gigabyte Board that does the switching. The UD3 does not.

 

[jennyh]

What happens if you want to upgrade those 4890's in a year or two?

 

[impaledmango]

probbably sell em for w.e there worth and buy a dx11 card.

 

[impaledmango]

but jennh has a point, no point buying 2 4890s now, may aswell buy 2 5770s.

 

[anarchy4sale]

I beleive he already has em from an old system?