Best graphics card for my rig?

[stephenm1]

Hey guys, im looking to build a system over the next few weeks. I have around £1200 to spend, but obviously im looking to reduce this as much as i can.
I've came up with this rig so far and im wanting to know if a 5870, which i originally planned to use, would be a total overkill...if so what would be my best option?, as i say i dont mind spending up to £300 on the card but i dont want to be paying for extra headroom i would never/rarely feel the benefit of.

The standard of games i would be wanting to play, at maxed out settings would be Lord of the rings online, Napoeon TotalWar, and the upcoming Star wars the old republic.
The monitor i have is the Dell Ultrasharp at 1680x1050.

CPU: Intel i7-930 (Overclocked to 3.8GHz)
MOBO: Asus P6T deluxe V2
Case: Antec 1200
Memory: any 6GB DDR3 Tri-channelled with CAS8 @ 1600MHz
PSU: Antec cp-850W
Optical Drive: Sony DRU-870S
CPU Cooler: Coolermasters V8
Hard Drive : Samsung Spinpoint F3 1Tb
SSD: possibly will use one of these as a boot drive, and store a game on it
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium

Any input is greatly appreciated
Stephen

 

[ninelivesproductions]

Very good choice in parts. If I were you, I'd just get 5770, they are only 150+ for the good versions.
You could get 2 for $300, which would outperform even the 4-500 dollar cards.

Another option is a lower-priced 5850...

Heres a couple links:

5850: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161330&cm_re=5850-_-14-161-330-_-Product

5770: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447

Again, for what you're doing even a 5770 is a bit much, but its very future proof, and will last you a VERY long time.

Good luck! If you have any questions about the two cards mentioned above, just reply!

 

[borisof007]

Yay a nice parts post! I love these : )

A 5870 will be overkill a little bit, but not by that much, considering the money you're dropping on your other equipment. Nine suggested a dual 5770 setup, and that would totally do you well, however you "may" run into compatibility issues with crossfire or sli. I always suggest a 1 gpu solution if you can do it, therefore an overclocked 5850 or a GTX 470 aught to do the trick for quite some time.

The only reason I'm suggesting a slightly higher performance level than nine is because of the new Star Wars MMO. It's certainly no WoW when it comes to visuals, at least from what I've seen, so you may need the little bit of extra "umph" at 1680x1050 on high settings.

 

[Raidur]

The entire system is overkill for gaming tbh.

I wouldn't pair a setup like that with anything less than a 5870. (This setup is overkill for even that IMO)

Nice build though.

 

[thestrangebrew]

What other programs will you be running? Video editing? Stuff like that? If not I'd just go with an i5 750 and OC that if it's mainly for gaming and web surfing stuff. Save you a little cash. Also, you prob. wouldn't need an 850w psu, though I'm not sure what the specs are for 5850. I'm not sure you would even need 6gb of RAM depending on what you're using the rig for. Just my $.02.

 

[stephenm1]

What other programs will you be running? Video editing? Stuff like that? If not I'd just go with an i5 750 and OC that if it's mainly for gaming and web surfing stuff. Save you a little cash. Also, you prob. wouldn't need an 850w psu, though I'm not sure what the specs are for 5850. I'm not sure you would even need 6gb of RAM depending on what you're using the rig for. Just my $.02.

Hey
Thanks for the reply

I would only use the rig for gaming, web surfing and streaming films. Im not interested in graphics rendering, video editing or similar programs.

 

[thestrangebrew]

Hey
Thanks for the reply

I would only use the rig for gaming, web surfing and streaming films. Im not interested in graphics rendering, video editing or similar programs.

For this use, I'd def. go with an i5 750 then. I'm not a pc guru like some of the other guys on here, so I'd wait and see what everyone else has to say before committing, but I'd get a cheaper i5 750 or maybe even an amd phenom (I'll let the amd guys chime in on what proc to get for amd), and get the 5850 if you've got the cash. 5770 would be fine too, but I prefer a single more powerful gpu setup vs multi. 4gb RAM for windows 7 home would be enough as well.

 

[WR2]

i dont want to be paying for extra headroom i would never/rarely feel the benefit of

Does this apply just to the video card.. or the other parts as well?
What are the chances you'll replace that sweet Dell Ultrasharp 1680x1050 LCD with a newer, higher res model?

 

[stephenm1]

Does this apply just to the video card.. or the other parts as well?
What are the chances you'll replace that sweet Dell Ultrasharp 1680x1050 LCD with a newer, higher res model?

I'm open to suggestions for any part, looking into pricing a i5 750 build at the moment quickly.
As for the monitor sadly i cant change it, i only just bought the monitor near xmas, and to be honest its really good, but if i knew i would occur these kind of problems now i would have opted for a less advanced 24" model.

As far as a i5 750 build goes, my main concern is that tagged with a 5850, would it play Star Wars the old republic, Napoleon totalwar, lord of the rings etc..
I am not looking for flawless performance, but i would like to play them all maxed out, AA and AF can be sacrificed if need be

 

[thestrangebrew]

I'm not sure how cpu intensive these games are. I do know that games like BC2 are multi-core intensive, maybe most optimal with a quad-core so the cpu really matters. For the games you play however, I would think they're more gpu intensive, so that's where'd I'd go top dollar if you could afford it. I have little doubt you wouldn't be able to play those games you mentioned on high settings with an i5 and a 5850 though.

 

[WR2]

You're not the only one thinking the i5-750 makes a lot of sense. Here are a couple ideas from the guys over @ Bit-Tech:
Enthusiast Overclocker May 2010
Gaming Workhorse May 2010
Premium Player May 2010

 

[stephenm1]

You're not the only one thinking the i5-750 makes a lot of sense. Here are a couple ideas from the guys over @ Bit-Tech:
Enthusiast Overclocker May 2010
Gaming Workhorse May 2010
Premium Player May 2010

Sweet! thanks a ton dude