Core i7+5850 or Core i5+5870?

[blu3flannel]

Should I go Core i7 930 with a HD 5850 or a Core i5 750 with a HD 5870? Keep in mind I will be Crossfiring at some point. Thanks.

 

[mindless728]

out of the 2, Core i5 + 5870, the x8 links in crossfire aren't really going to hamper performance that much (maybe 3-5%)

though have you though about a Phenom II + 5870

 

[mindless728]

i5 + 5870 for sure. i5-750 is perfect for gaming, and $179.99 at microcenter.com.

except not everyone lives near a microcenter (nearest one to me is 8 hrs btw)

though since goatsword mentioned the i5-750, if you do go i5, make sure it is that one (all of the others are dual cores with hyperthreading)

 

[goatsword]

i5 + 5870 for sure. i5-750 is perfect for gaming, and $179.99 at microcenter.com.

 

[blu3flannel]

Yeah, I live nowhere near a Microcenter. And from 9.9/10 of the benchmarks ive seen the Phenom II doesnt look like a great bet considering the prices are so similar.

 

[mindless728]

Yeah, I live nowhere near a Microcenter. And from 9.9/10 of the benchmarks ive seen the Phenom II doesnt look like a great bet considering the prices are so similar.

for gaming its a non-issue, as they are pretty much equal there (don't be looking at the 965 since the 955 can reach the same speed OC'ed)

EDIT: my Phenom II x4 810 @ 3GHz doesn't bottleneck my CF 4870's (tested, gpu-z shows 100% gpu load on both)

 

[blu3flannel]

Dunno, one with two PCIe 2.0 slots would be nice. Any suggestions?

 

[goatsword]

Microcenter.com is a web store too. Do you live near the Internet?

 

[blu3flannel]

I already have a 1080p monitor so i might just put the difference either to an i7 860 or water cooling.

 

[antisyzygy]

5870 and Core i5 for sure.

You could always go AMD and save money. (I always try to get people to go AMD ).

 

[blu3flannel]

Ehh, for the extra $15c i think the i5 edges out the AMD offerings at this point.

 

[antisyzygy]

Ehh, for the extra $15c i think the i5 edges out the AMD offerings at this point.

But you need to factor in price of motherboard and how long the AM3 slot will continue being standard (hence upgradeable)? Also, Intel has some really poor business practices that actually hurt innovation overall, such as Nvidia is claiming. Based on principal I will not buy another Intel product until they straighten themselves out for a few years. All this is my opinion, but I respect alternate ones as well.

 

[blu3flannel]

Ehh, im leaning towards intel because their older core i7s beat out AMDs new six-cores even though theyre aboutb2 years old. Plus upgrading isnt an issue as i will be rebuilding every two to three years.

 

[mindless728]

Ehh, im leaning towards intel because their older core i7s beat out AMDs new six-cores even though theyre aboutb2 years old. Plus upgrading isnt an issue as i will be rebuilding every two to three years.

keep in mind that in gaming, the difference is negligible

though if you do anything that is cpu intensive (ie video encoding), get the i7, it will shine in those apps

 

[blu3flannel]

I do some moderate Photoshopping and like two encodings a year, but other than that I just game, surf the net, play HD videos, and do homework. Would that change anything?

 

[whatelsematters]

i'd like to put in my two cents to recommend going with i5-750 if upgradability isn't a factor. i've got mine at 3.8 and like you, i usually rebuild every two or three years rather than upgrade. i'm not even sure why i have mine clocked so high, since i'm 90% a gamer and i'm never cpu bottlenecked. fun project i guess! with your minimal usage of hyperthreading and encoding, the 5870 and the 750 just make more sense.

read this post for a full discussion and breakdown of the i5 vs amd. i think you'll end up sticking with the i5.

 

[real world]

The i5 + 5870.

 

[blu3flannel]

Best answer selected by blu3flannel.