Help working through some options, please - CPU and GPU dilemmas

[chihlidog]

Hey Tom's Hardware, I'll be ordering my new build in the next month or 2 and am just hoping to get some advice working through different options.

My current rig is an Athlon x2 6000+, 2 gigs of DDR2 and a 4850, Ive had it for a few years, it has served me well, but the CPU is definitely showing its age.

I have 2 main dilemmas right now. I cant decide between this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103858

and this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

I know that both of them will serve me well, but I'm not sure which one is going to suit me the best overall. This PC will be used for gaming at 1600x900. I'd love a top of the line i7 but I cant spend that much on a CPU, so I've decided to go with some the best AMD has to offer, just cant determine which one. I need some advice choosing one for the best gaming performance.

My second dilemma is this - I would like to keep costs down. I have a 4850 in my rig right now, and actually have another one laying around that came out of my wife's rig that she doesnt use anymore. Would I be better off running those in crossfire, or going with, say, a 5770? The Crossfired cards would be essentially free but would they perform as well as a 5000 series? Maybe even better?


Any advice would be greatly appreciated. For the rest of my new build, I plan on going with this:

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131636

Power Supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817148040

edited the RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231193

 

[mianmars]

1st off u selected the wrong ram, ur new mobo will have ddr3 not ddr2.

Secondly if u r buying it after a month or so by then Intel new CPU's would already be out and u can then either choose from them or either get a gud low price on a core i7 as i7 will definitely become cheaper with new CPU's out. So ur CPU + MOBO selection will have to hold on till Jan.

3rd point, 2 x 4850 will definitely out do a 5770.

 

[chihlidog]

Wow....thanks for catching the RAM. Noob mistake on my part. I'll be revising that.

Are the i7 CPUs expected to come down in the same range as the AMDs I listed? If so, even though I'm typically an AMD fan, I'd actually prefer to go with one of those based on the benchmarks I've seen.

 

[mianmars]

Currently i7 950 is priced around 280$, with new gen CPU's from Intel releasing early Jan, i expect i7 prices to drop considerably and a 950 might get closer to 200$ price tag which is almost the budget u have for the CPU.

So lets just wait and see wat happens.