New gaming computer, need aproval

[Erik Van Hoof]

Hello,
I want to buy a new computer made for hardcoregaming but with relatively limited funds. It has to last several years and then I buy a new one again.

This is the setup I want to install:

motherboard: Gigabyte 1156 GA-P55A-UD4 USB3 SATA3 1394
processor: Intel 1156 Quad Core I7 860 2.8GHz
graphics card: Sapphire Radeon HD 5970 2048MB
power supply: Cooler Master PSU Silent pro 850W ATX SLI (Modulair)
memory: Kingston DDR3 4GB 1333MHz (2x2GB) CL9
dvd-rw:Samsung SH-S223C DVDRW SATA 22x (will be upgraded if i have new money)
case: Antec Nine Hundred/Ultimate Gamer Case
windows: MS Windows 7 Home Premium OEM NL, DVD 64Bit
hdd (500gb, this is my current one)

I' m from Belgium so prizes might be a bit different. this built costs me about 1500€ (about 18O0$ at this moment I think). I heared 1156 is more then good enough for this setup.
I will buy it in the first week of august normally.

THX for reading and hopefully helping

 

[Heir]

Hello,
I want to buy a new computer made for hardcoregaming but with relatively limited funds. It has to last several years and then I buy a new one again.

This is the setup I want to install:

motherboard: Gigabyte 1156 GA-P55A-UD4 USB3 SATA3 1394
processor: Intel 1156 Quad Core I7 860 2.8GHz
graphics card: Sapphire Radeon HD 5970 2048MB
power supply: Cooler Master PSU Silent pro 850W ATX SLI (Modulair)
memory: Kingston DDR3 4GB 1333MHz (2x2GB) CL9
dvd-rw:Samsung SH-S223C DVDRW SATA 22x (will be upgraded if i have new money)
case: Antec Nine Hundred/Ultimate Gamer Case
windows: MS Windows 7 Home Premium OEM NL, DVD 64Bit
hdd (500gb, this is my current one)

I' m from Belgium so prizes might be a bit different. this built costs me about 1500€ (about 18O0$ at this moment I think). I heared 1156 is more then good enough for this setup.
I will buy it in the first week of august normally.

THX for reading and hopefully helping

Try these parts because i5 750 can easily be overclocked to match the i7 860 and because your GPU is too strong for your current set up and when you get the CPU to match the 5970 it would be a lower price and more bang for the buck.

CPU: Intel i5 750 Quad Core 2.6Ghz
Mobo: Asus P7P55D-E Pro Crossfire Ready
GPU: Radeon 5850 Crossfired or Radeon 5870 Crossfired

 

[coldsleep]

Agreed on the i5-750. The is no reason to buy the i7-860 for gaming, as hyperthreading isn't used in games.

What resolution are you gaming at? If you are gaming at 1920x1080 or above, then either a single 5870 or 480 should be enough for now, and you could add one later if the graphics start to get slow. If you want to go with a 5970, crossfire 5870s, or SLI 470/480s and you have the money for it, go ahead, but it shouldn't be necessary today.

 

[Erik Van Hoof]

thx for the quick reply but I don't like overclocking because I have never done it and most of all because then the waranty is gone. and if I am correct the 5970 has everything 2ce as good as the 5870 so thats why I chose that one.

specifications of the 5970:
http://www.amd.com/uk/products/desktop/graphics/ati-radeon-hd-5000/hd-5970/Pages/ati-radeon-hd-5970-specifications.aspx

specifications of the 5870:
http://www.amd.com/uk/products/desktop/graphics/ati-radeon-hd-5000/hd-5870/Pages/ati-radeon-hd-5870-specifications.aspx

And if I am correct 2x crossfire 5870 is about 30 -50% improval? So i assumed the 5970 is still better.

Normally I game in 1600-1200 but I also need a new screen... but thats the last thing on my list.

I normally buy a computer for 5 years or so, (untill I need to play every game in low/medium.) and I only change things that are broken. This way I don't end up with an old computer with still fairly good hardware in it. I pay a lot of money in 1 time so I don't need to buy new stuff every year to be able to play everything.

again thx for helping me out

 

[Erik Van Hoof]

oh and the 5870 crossfire will probably cost me about 200€ extra or so + maybe an even higher power supply And I' m allready 300€ above my original budget hehe, I saw the mobo and it cotsts 10€ extra so I can agree with that one maybe

 

[coldsleep]

thx for the quick reply but I don't like overclocking because I have never done it and most of all because then the waranty is gone. and if I am correct the 5970 has everything 2ce as good as the 5870 so thats why I chose that one.

There's no need to overclock the i5-750.

According to THG's Best Gaming CPUs, the i5-750 is the top recommendation. You can pay more, but you're not going to get your money's worth for it. These benchmarks from Anandtech back that up. Hyperthreading serves no purpose in a gaming machine.

5870s in CrossFire should be better than a single 5970, though it may not be by a huge amount. A 5970 is actually 2 5870 cores downclocked to 5850 speeds, so it's more accurately equivalent to CrossFired 5850s.

The 5970 is a fine card, but it will be overkill for your current monitor. If you plan on upgrading eventually, that's fine, but if there's no plan to do so, you could just as easily get a single 5870, 470, or 480 and be fine on that resolution.

 

[Erik Van Hoof]

hmm I've watched all the benchmarks of the games and in most cases there is no difference indeed...

about the hyperthreading you might not be fully correct (or I am)
I read this on the link you gave me:

"While the Core i5 performs similarly, there are a few applications and games that can take advantage of the Core i7-900-series' Hyper-Threading and triple-channel memory features, so spending the extra money on the Core i7-930 can pay off, particularly if you plan to overclock."

2x 5870 is a little bit better then 1x 5970 but if you have only 1x 5870 then you really see the difference. So i Thought about buying 1x 5970 for 2 years maybe and buy a second one later? I really am not sure what I want lol, this sucks.

Sorry for trying to act smart hehe, it's just that I always seem to downgrade (I started with 1366 processor, downgraded to i7 and now even i5) You guys know a lot more of it then me so you probably are right but it seems wrong to me because it are older products... At least that' s how I experience it

 

[coldsleep]

In that quote, I would read that as two separate thoughts: "a few games" and "applications".

I have yet to run into a game that sees a major benefit from hyperthreading. Many applications can use it, however. Photoshop and audio/video editing software see a major boost from hyperthreading. If you do much of that sort of work, it's worth the extra money for an i7.

The problem is that for gaming, a 1366 setup costs about $200-300 more over here, unsure what the price difference in Belgium would be. But I don't think it's worth that amount of money if you're just gaming. If you wanted to both game and do some sort of editing or other processor intensive task, then maybe you could justify the added expense.

For a lot of people, they can either afford a 1366 system and a 5770/5850 or an 1156 system and a 5870/5970. For gaming, it makes more sense to go with 1156 and the better graphics card, as the graphics card is almost always going to be the best source of higher fps.

Don't let me talk you out of a 5970. It's an excellent card. I was just trying to provide other options if you're not going to upgrade your monitor any time soon.

 

[Erik Van Hoof]

I hope that the games coming out soon don't use hyperthreading then

about applications like photoshop and such... not gonna happen I totally hate photo's so hell no, I'm not going to put my time in that hehe

I think I'll buy the i5 then, (saves me 70€) and still the 5970, I think it will last longer before it' s outdated. And who knows, maybe the prize goes to 8€ or so, then i buy 100 and put them all in crossfire. Then I will send one to you guys for helping me hehe

Thx and should you or some1 else have more super ideas, feel free to spam them.

 

[Heir]

the 5970 is an overkill, planning to crossfire it is even more of an overkill like omfg. If you get it with i5 your not getting your moneys worth of balance. for now get the best bang for the buck atm which is i5 750 and you can get ATI 5850 and crossfire it later on. by the time you buy a new rig the 5970s will be the bang for the buck and you can get it to that so it wont be so overkill