Need Help with i5-750 and ATI 5850

[squirrel15]

Ok, I'm getting desperate for help. Is there any way I can put an Intel i5-750 and a ATI 5850 in the same rig for about $800 to $850. I would like a P55 MoBo for future crossfiring maybe. I've looked at newegg all over for combos and deals. I wanted a 5770 originally but heard that its DX11 is ok and that I should get the 5850. I tried lowing my CPU/MoBo to some of the cheaper AMD brands so I can get the 5850 but that didnt really work since I'm sacrificing too CPU and MoBo.
I dont need a monitor/keyboard/mouse but need everything else including DVD burner, Case, Hard drive etc. My brother is giving me his monitor, I honestly dont know what res it is but its not too big. So is there any way I can get a i5-750, ATI 5850, and a P55 MoBo all in one build!?

 

[soulbro]

Damn close:

Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD3L LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard
Newegg.com - OCZ Gold 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1333LV4GK
Newegg.com - VisionTek 900297 Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity
Combo: Antec TWO HUNDRED S Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail + Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified ... - Retail
Newegg.com - LG Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD Burner - Bulk
Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Total cost: $862 after MIR

Unless I messed something up?

Also keep in mind that if your bro's monitor isn't very big, it's probably not very high-res, either, which means a 5850 might not be any better than a 5770...

-Will

 

[anonymousdude]

Only thing that is missing is the OS which is another $100

 

[soulbro]

Ah, yes. If you need a Windows license too, you may be in trouble....

 

[EXT64]

And the UD3 (and all low end P55s) are a no go for any serious Crossfire (can't do 8x/8x).

You may want to wait a month if possible in the hope Fermi will lower ATI prices a hair.

 

[squirrel15]

I did your exact build soulbro and its $966 for me. I do live in California and there is sales tax which tacked on a good $72 dollars for me and the shipping was $24 because of where I live in CA. But thanks, ill definitely use it as a guideline for my build now.
EXT64, what motherboard would I have to get to be able to Crossfire seriously? Should I really wait for the Fermi to release in hopes that it will lower some of the ATI prices? When is the Fermi's scheduled release date?

 

[anonymousdude]

I did your exact build soulbro and its $966 for me. I do live in California and there is sales tax which tacked on a good $72 dollars for me and the shipping was $24 because of where I live in CA. But thanks, ill definitely use it as a guideline for my build now.
EXT64, what motherboard would I have to get to be able to Crossfire seriously? Should I really wait for the Fermi to release in hopes that it will lower some of the ATI prices? When is the Fermi's scheduled release date?

The motherboard would need to have at least x8 x8 to be able to crossfire seriously. x16 16 would be preferred if you were to use cards like 5970's but otherwise x16 x16 is not worth the extra money for the minor boost in performance compared to x8 x8. a x4 link is a quarter of a x16 link and would hold back any modern gaming card. Depends when you need to build this. If you aren't in a hurry then wait. If you are the don't.

 

[nick3913]

I don't know much about computers myself and was here asking questions a few weeks ago. I pretty much have the same build, i5 and 5850. I was thinking of crossfiring later too, when I have some more money and 5850's went down in price. I was told to look at 750 watts, so you might want to make sure you have enough to power both cards. Good luck and I hope everything works out for you :]

 

[EXT64]

For the Gigabyte boards the UD4P is the first that can do 8x/8x. 1156 is limited to 8x/8x at best (can't do 16x/16x natively).

 

[soulbro]

750W should handle four cards; two should be doable on less.

 

[squirrel15]

So can the Gigabyte boards (UD4P) do up to 16x/16x? Whats the best 8x/8x board?

 

[soulbro]

Hey Squirrel,

Like EXT64 was saying, you can't do 16x/16x with the Intel 1156 platform. The best you can hope for is 8x/8x.

The cheapest 8x/8x board I can find on Newegg is this Biostar board. No idea if it's any good or not, but it got decent reviews from the handful of people who wrote about it.

-Will

 

[squirrel15]

Thanks, but what about this card?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358
Does it do the same thing as your biostar board?

 

[soulbro]

That board is a different socket type altogether (LGA 775); it won't even work with an i5-750.

 

[squirrel15]

Oh i didnt see that. If I got a 5850, and didnt want to crossfire, how long would it be before I would have to get a new video card to keep up with newer games?

 

[soulbro]

I'd guess at least a year or two...but I suppose it depends on what you mean by "keep up with." I've got the 5850, and Crysis is the only thing I've played that it can't max out. It laughs at Dragon Age and Far Cry 2.

 

[squirrel15]

If i crossfire a 5770 and a 5850, will it only be able to run at the5770's power?

 

[EXT64]

I don't think that would work very well, if at all. And yes, if it could work, best case scenario would be the 5850 running like a 5770.

 

[squirrel15]

Idk if I'm going to crossfire in the future, im not a serious gamer, I do want to play quite a bit but Idk about crossfiring i the future. Whats the best motherboard I can for my 5850 if I'm not planning on CFing.

 

[EXT64]

I think that is a good plan, as I find getting a good card every couple years versus getting 2 cards and keeping them longer (3-4 years?) is more enjoyable, cost effective, and convenient.

If you drop the dual card option things look a little nicer in the MB department. While all now would technically fit the bill, the (Gigabyte) P55-UD3 and its derivatives are solid single card boards.

 

[squirrel15]

Alright thanks a lot guys. All of this has been very helpful! I didnt even know what tomshardware was a week ago. I'll try and fit an 5850 into my budget, if I cant, then I can always get the 5770 and upgrade a few things with the extra $140 bucks. Thanks again guys. This was all very helpful.

 

[squirrel15]

Does it matter if I get a micro motherboard or a normal one? whats the diiference? advantages and disadvantages of having a micro?

 

[soulbro]

Micro-ATX boards are smaller than ATX boards; that's about it. The size of your case determines the largest board size you can use. ATX cases fit ATX boards, Micro-ATX boards, and, I think, Mini-ITX boards (not sure about that last one). But if you have a Micro-ATX case, the largest board you can fit is a Micro-ATX.

Otherwise, there's no real difference. Some micro boards may be less featureful than full-sized ATX boards, though, so make sure whatever you get has everything you want! In general, I'd say go for a full ATX board and case, unless you particularly need/want your machine to be small. If nothing else, it'll be easier to work with when you put it together, modify it, etc.

 

[squirrel15]

Best answer selected by Squirrel15.