Some starter Questions

[halomon]

Hello,

My old system is finally at it's end. It just can't play the new games anymore. It's lasted 6 years though so it doesn't owe me anything.

I've decided to give building it my self this time. I know my way around the inside of a box well enough and things are very plug and play nowadays.

I've reviewed some of the guides for parts buying and such and I'm looking at an Intel quad for sure. A few questions though that I have not been able to find a clear answer to.

Graphics: Is 2 512MB cards cross fired better than a 1GB card. Cost for performance wise.

I've reviewed the builds at http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/269162-31-recommended-builds-usage
and was wondering what is the difference between the performance of a budget and a gamer system. Is there a big increase in performance for the increase in price? I haven't settled on a budget for my new system yet. I'm willing to spend a few hundred more for a large increase in performance, but I'm not willing to buy the latest stuff just to get the latest stuff. The system I have now cost me $800CND when I bought it and like I wrote it lasted me 6 years with only a ram upgrade and a new graphics card.

Halomon

 

[thacondor]

what games you playing and at what resolution? any salvage parts? check out the threads on how to ask for advice... need something to go off of here though

 

[dpaul8]

For less than $1000 CDN you could put together a top notch i5-750 system using a P55 motherboard that will be hard to beat from a performance versus cost perspective. The i5-750 holds holds up well against the i7-860 or i7-920 according to the following review.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3641&p=1

The dollars you save on a i5-750 / P55 Mobo system could be used to get a nicer graphics card, case, or PSU. This at least would be a good starting point to begin your research. Ultimately, you may decide a i7-920 / X58 Mobo with crossfired triple 5890 video cards is the best performance versus cost ratio. Only you can make that decision.

Good Luck!

 

[dpaul8]

I know you are living in Canada, but if you plan on visiting the US soon and are in a city with a Microcenter, you can purchase a i5-750 for $150 US, a i7-860 for $230 US, or a i7-920 for $200 US. Of course, you might have to pay customs on the purchase when you bring it back into Canada.