I5-760 or phenomX4 or phenom X6? - for only 3d games

[kriss332]

Hi all,
I hav some specific qstns,to build a rig for 3d gaming, only 3D games.
Well 1st the CPU?
I hav options- i5-760 (152$) OR Phenom II-X4 955 (168$) OR Phenom II-X6 1075T (210$) OR Phenom II-X6 1090T BE(250$) ( ALL INDIAN PRICES)
I went thru benchmarks, in 3d gaming some say, i5 & X4 955 are neck to neck. But the general opinion holds i5 much high than x4.
Practicaly going- i5 is a dead end socket with no upgradability.
Whereas x4 is on AM3 with support for x6 & may b for Bulldozer. ( wudn't prefer x6 as of now,as it is much costlier).
Other qstn is- do 3D games utilise 6 cores? I dont think so. Present games also merely use all 4 cores fully. But keeping a future option open for 6 cores is wise.
Intel has good horses but AMD too stands good.
Will it b good 2 pickup any economic quad core & better invest in good GPU for 3d?
I wud need SLI/Crossfire in future so compatible mobo is must. Plz list some mobos & approx. prices.
No OCing with i5 (Turbo boost is enough), but OCing wud b needed if it is AMD.
A good PSU is ghoose chase here, so plz tell some specifications of a good PSU.
All suggestions r most most welcome. Thanks

 

[buzznut]

I'd advise you to read the article on the front page:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/phenom-ii-x6-1100t-thuban-amd,2810.html

And I wouldn't count on AM3 support for bulldozer. It will likely be AM3+ only.

Looking at the prices you've mentioned, I'd say the i5 is the best choice.

Some games use 3 cores, 4 cores less so. (Dirt 2 and a couple others I think.) I don't know of any titles that use 6 cores. Unless you're video/photo/audio editing or a serious multitasker the 6 cores are more than you need.

Yes, much better idea to get a Quad and invest in a powerful graphics card. I wouldn't spend too much on a motherboard right now as you say most current platforms are changing in the very near future. Probably the best advice currently is wait til Feb to upgrade if you already have a rig...

 

[acer0169]

I've just got myself a X6 1090T and it's a big improvement over my X3 720BE. Although games are only running on a few of the 6 cores, I'm getting up to 10FPS more in games which was a surprise. Mainly my upgrade was for multitasking as I have two screens and normally fill them both with resource-heavy programs as I'm a designer by trade.

If you're only planning on gaming, I would suggest getting a good quad core and overclocking it as far as you can. 3.8 or 4.0 is a nice target.

 

[kriss332]

Well
Thanx Acer & Buzznut !
I guess, i5-760 shud b a perfect choice & no worries for overclocking, as it has Turbo upto 3.2 (may b m rite).
But what about futureproofing ? When games bcome quite CPU hungry, can just overclocking help it?
1 thing- i5 has external bus of only 2 GB/s, while X4 has 8 GB/s. Going 2 matter much in 3d?
Anybody any suggestions for mobo?
In future i may need SLI/CROSSFIRE for raising FPS & may need to overclock abit ( OCing not very important).
Anybody ?

 

[Gamer-girl]

Turbo boost is really more to help in single and multi-threaded situations. It is hardly noticeable if the game is optimized to use all the cores.

What do you mean by future-proofing? 2-3 years? 5-6 years?
you can't really be future-proof, read this

I think in games the L3 cache is more important.

Motherboards: Asus and Gigabyte are the most reliable brands.

SLI/CROSSFIRE will depend on how high your resolution is and again how far into the future are you talking about?
Keep in mind that 2 cards will draw more power than 1 higher end card

The good thing about the LGA1156 socket is it can support both SLI and CROSSFIRE

 

[kriss332]

Ya, moore's law is fine at its place. But i need 2 decide if i5-750/760 wud b able 2 cope up wid future coming games by just OCing it? By futureproofing i mean upgradability (not 4-5 yrs) but just for some good time.let it b either by OCing or by really upgrading. As such 1156 socket is a dead end for i5. For next upgrade i don wanna again change cpu & mobo. I know i m talking like a twit. But guys what after sometime when i5 becomes a poor game's choice. * Can high OCing help out at that time ? Thats the qstn.
*Well guys, plz suggest few good mobos for sli/crossfire also.
*any good gpu by 3D gaming view.
Thanks

 

[kriss332]

Ya, moore's law is fine at its place. But i need 2 decide if i5-750/760 wud b able 2 cope up wid future coming games by just OCing it? By futureproofing i mean upgradability (not 4-5 yrs) but just for some good time.let it b either by OCing or by really upgrading. As such 1156 socket is a dead end for i5. For next upgrade i don wanna again change cpu & mobo. I know i m talking like a twit. But guys what after sometime when i5 becomes a poor game's choice. * Can high OCing help out at that time ? Thats the qstn.
*Well guys, plz suggest few good mobos for sli/crossfire also.
*any good gpu by 3D gaming view.
Thanks

 

[buzznut]

Gamer girl made some good suggestions, look for P55 motherboards with sli/crossfire capabilities from Gigabyte or Asus.
For the foreseeable future the i5 will be quite good for playing games. Did you read the article I suggested?

In addition, for use of USB 3.0 (which there aren't many devices, and they hardly use the available bandwidth) AMD may be a better choice as they have the PCI express lanes to support that technology. But this will likely change when new architectures are released next year.
Again, if you are that concerned about future proofing then why not just wait a couple of months to see what is offered at CES in January?

 

[acer0169]

i5 seems to beat the X4's in benchmarks, but I do sometimes wonder how correct they are. Benchmarks constantly show different results, and the X4's often out perform in games? Maybe AMD chips give your RAM and GPU's a little better bandwidth or whatever (I dunno lol) but whichever you think is more powerful, it's obvious that you get a lot more for your money with AMD.

My 1090T at 4.0GHz rivals the 980x from Intel. Mine - £200, Intel - £750. Erm.. I'll lose 10FPS for £550 thanks

 

[kriss332]

Ya buzznut, i read the link u gave.thanx.
Well the whole morale of the discussion i got is, that certainly i5-760 instead of x4.
I think OCing i5 cud even beat x6 by large gaps.
True?
So i go for i5. save abit money & wil invest in gpu.
Any advices for approx 200$ gpu? Dunno if 200$ can do good for a gpu. Plz keep 3D gaming in mind. Only 3d. Theh is a half of FPS drop in 3d.

 

[kriss332]

Hey frnds, can i get a mAtx board? Possible in 3d gaming? I fear, heating will bcome an issue.
Honestly, i m not in a mood of getting a high cooler. Moreover its hard 2 find a good one here.

 

[kriss332]

People, anybody with any idea about a best budget SLI/CROSSFIRE mobo?
I dont wan fancy things in mobo (usb 3 etc kinda things). Just a mobo which supports a good speed in gaming. Basically, jsut for my need (3d gaming). I know gig/asus r worth best, But they r in numbers & i m getting mad by researching. I want 2 buy cheapest mobo (as big as i can save on mobo) & nice gpu. May b a gaming addict has a good idea. Thanks & thanks alot.

 

[kriss332]

I wud want a mobo upto 100 $,too sweet if below this. Dunno if it will not sacrifice on the quality & transfer speeds.
Here's a list i found that will give sli/crossfire ( a must c bfore buy- www.hardware-revolution.com/p55-motherboards-crossfire-sli-performance-problem/ ). Plz suggest a bang for the buck.
-ASRock P55 Deluxe (Two-Way SLI)
-Asrock P55 Extreme (Two-Way SLI)

-ASUS Maximus III Formula (Two-Way SLI)
-Asus Maximus III Gene (Two-Way SLI)
-ASUS P7P55 WS SuperComputer (Three-Way SLI, equipped with NF200)
-ASUS P7P55D Deluxe (Two-Way SLI)
-Asus P7P55D Premium (Two-Way SLI)
-ASUS P7P55D PRO (Two-Way SLI)
-Asus P7P55D EVO

-BIOSTAR T5 XE (No SLI)
-Biostar T5 XE CFX-SLI (Two-Way SLI)
-BIOSTAR TPOWER i55 (Two-Way SLI)

-Evga P55 (Two-Way SLI)
-Evga P55 Classified 200 (Three-Way SLI)
-EVGA P55 FTW (Two-Way SLI)
-Evga P55 FTW 200 (Three-Way SLI)
-EVGA P55 Micro (Two-Way SLI)
-EVGA P55 LE 123-LF-E653-KR

-GIGABYTE GA-P55M-UD4
-Gigabyte GA-P55-UD4
-GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD4P
-GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD5
-GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD6

-Intel DP55KG
-Intel DP55SB
-Intel DP55WB
-Intel DP55WG

-MSI P55-GD65
-MSI P55-GD80
In meantime i'll search bout thr prices.

 

[vgamedude]

Hey! If your looking for a GPU you might want to look at the RADEON 6850s, and RADEON 6870.

I'm by no means a computer expert, but I'm doing research and am about to build a computer, and from what I hear both of these cards are amazing. I'm buying the 6870.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102909&cm_re=radeon_6870-_-14-102-909-_-Product

That's the 6870 I'm getting. Take a look at it. See what you think, and see what other people think about it. Judging from what I've read and the benchmarks and performance etc. it seems like a good card.

Again not an expert, on my first PC build, just thought I'd post and try to help a little

Edit: I linked the Sapphire version of the card but it seems that the XFX might be a bit better though.

 

[kriss332]

Thanks Gamedude. Its a wise buy for that card, u mite hav researched alot. i've searched for its reviews,but is it strong enough 2 stand in 3d performance? Like, fps get approxly half as v switch 2 3d.

 

[vibhas]

Thanks Gamedude. Its a wise buy for that card, u mite hav researched alot. i've searched for its reviews,but is it strong enough 2 stand in 3d performance? Like, fps get approxly half as v switch 2 3d.

Hey mate, I'm from India too although I came to New Zealand when I was just a lil 2 year old.

Anyways, could you quote the prices in India from whichever store(s) you can buy from for the prices of these GPUs.

GTX 460 - 768MB (Cheapest one)
GTX 460 - 1 gb (cheapest one)
HD 6850
HD 6870
GTX 570
GTX 470


GTX 460 in America is the sweet spot or was until recently as 2 of them worked within 5% of the performance of the HD 5970 (Worlds fastest card for many many many months). Most likely I see either getting 1 or 2 GTX 460's or getting 1 GTX 570 in your budget.

The GTX 460 - 768mb/1 gig version is practically the same unless your monitor is going to be playing games on a 30" monitor (The MB only matters at high resolutions from very large monitors).

The GTX 460 ~ HD 6850 and the GTX 460 is probably cheaper for same performance so buy whichever is cheaper - although i recommend the GTX 460 compared to the HD 6850 if you are going to get the i5 750/760 (Which you should).

The HD 6870 is a bit better than the GTX 460, but you can overclock the GTX 460 a lot more.

2 x GTX 460's in SLI is very VERY good. (Better than Tendulkar ).

The GTX 570 is also very good - It is slightly better than 2 x GTX 460's and it may be easier to have just 1 very good card, so if it is within your budget definitely go for the GTX 570.
If it isn't go for 2 x GTX 460's, if that isn't, go for 1 x GTX 460 looking to buy a second one later.

Note mate, you seem to be extremely worried about 3d performance. You shouldn't be. All these cards are designed to play the most demanding games at decent resolutions, and the best of them at any resolution.
There's only a few (Like 1-2 games in the whole gaming industry) that a GTX 570 coupled with an i5 750 would struggle to get above 30 fps (30 fps is playable fps, thats what ps3's and xbox 360's run at all the time) given 1920x1200 resolution and maybe not even that.

 

[vindictive]

NVIDIAfor3D

 

[kriss332]

Hi Vibhas, nice 2 hear frm u. Kya haal hai yaar. Hows life going ther? Do u speak Hindi though being ther? Cool 2 c u buddy. Well thanks alot for yor suggestion. U know, u saved alot of labour of mine. As i ws going 2 scratch the web like hell for GPU reviews.I think initialy 1 Gtx460 is enough. Another 1 laterz, m going 2 use a 21" monitor & i m not going 2 jump in highest end games rite now,will go for them laterz as they get somewat old. U know whole lot of pple r just getting everythng from torrents. So a bit waiting is always a savings. Now a cheap sli/crossfire mobo remains. Hope i'll search it out 2day. Cud u give me yor ID if u don mind. I m on - naveen_krishali@yahoo.com . TC,bi

 

[kriss332]

Guys, just run yor horses for this- can i get a decent mobo which is cheaper. Any other chipset than p55 for SLI/CROSSFIRE ? I saw this board - P7 P55D Deluxe for- 150 $. Two way SLI. Any technical snags? or can somebody suggest any better thing for good gaming? Processor- i5-760, 2x460 SLI. I wan 2 save on mobo for good buy on gpu.

 

[kriss332]

Guys, just run yor horses for this- can i get a decent mobo which is cheaper. Any other chipset than p55 for SLI/CROSSFIRE ? I saw this board - P7 P55D Deluxe for- 150 $. Two way SLI. Any technical snags? or can somebody suggest any better thing for good gaming? Processor- i5-760, 2x460 SLI. I wan 2 save on mobo for good buy on gpu.

 

[kriss332]

Best answer selected by kriss332.

 

[Maziar]

This topic has been closed by Maziar