spitfire99

Distinguished
Nov 27, 2011
35
0
18,530
Approximate Purchase Date: next 2 months

Budget Range: about $ 600

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming mostly

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, headset

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: wont be buying online ( not available in country)

Country: Pakistan

Parts Preferences: Any

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: thats part of my question

Monitor Resolution: 1280x1024


I am planning on buying an i5 2500 ( is 2500 quadcore ). but i dont know which graphic card is good. i am currently looking at hd 57701gb for crossfire and the 550ti for SLI. also im not sure of the motherboard. i need one that can support sli or crossfire . is coolermaster extreme 600w good for this rig ? and help will be appreciated.
 
you would be much better off to get a single card. see toms article on crossfire/sli microstutter. I cant imagine why you would need it, especially since your monitor is such a low resolution. if you want the option or plan to upgrade your monitor you could still get a multi gpu motherboard, get a single better performance card that would cost the same as the dual gpu set up, and always get a second a few years down the road when you need more performance.
 

rmiiirusty

Distinguished
Nov 25, 2011
474
0
18,810



yes 2500 is quad but not hyper threading(not important for gaming anyway)
Im not really sure what to suggest because I don't know what is available to you. Being limited to local retail it would be nice to know what is available. if the i5 2500 is available then I assume you can get a mobo with an 1155 socket. There are many good ones out there the best quality and warrantee is with an asus mobo.
I'm not sure what prices are like there but if possible I would go ahead and spend a little more and get the
i5 2500k. You may not want to overclock now but you might change your mind later and if not well, the k will have a higher resale value later.
And.. even tho you dont want to overclock I would still suggest a board with either a p67 or z68 chipset.
They are the later models and carry more features than the earlier chipsets.also most of these type boards will offer you crossfire and sli options.
I myself have been quite satisfied with a single nvidea midrange card and haven't yet found a game I cant play.
My mobo is micro atx Asus maximus iv gene-z it is republic of gamers edition . One of asuses best of the best and here in america it can be had for $169.00 It has the z68 chip and features out the ying yang. see if it is available to you. your vendor might be able to order things that you don't see on the shelf.

your psu will be good for single gpu even a higher end gpu should be fine but if you go sli consider a slightly higher w like 700 or so just to be sure.

are you sure you have checked on pricing. by the time you add thei5 2500, a compatible mobo and a descent gpu you will be out of money not having bought psu,ram case,hdd and or ssd, optic drive(cd or Dvd rom),and an operating system like windows 7 etc...

If you have to stay in your budget I have some other suggestions but let me know

also,
Let me know if this has been helpful
 

spitfire99

Distinguished
Nov 27, 2011
35
0
18,530
Thanks for the reply :D
so i already have case , hdd , monitor , os etc. if the micro atx Asus maximus u suggested can support the i5 2500 and hd 5770 in crossfire then im buying that. would add 6 gb of ram with this . anyway i just have a question. instead of the i5 2500 will the i3 530 be a good choice for gaming ? and well we dont use dollars here so wrote the budget randomly lol. im open to any suggestions though i want mid-ranged prodcuts as i want my rig to last atleast 2-2.5 years
 

orangeswim

Distinguished
Nov 27, 2011
1
0
18,510


Check out the graphics card chart of the month. I agree with someone elses comment that you shouldnt need to SLI. I am assuming that the weather/climate will be hotter than expected, so running SLI/Crossfire will not be a good configuration if you do not have a board that spaces out the two graphics cards and additional cooling.

For gaming, just get a strong single card.
180-200$ for the processor i5-2400
110-120$ HD6770
50+ for a good case + any additional fans/cooling
10+ cheapest cd/dvd drive (to install games, unless you can just get them from your disk drive)
50-80+ largest drive but 5200 RPM or faster
? motherboard that can handle 2nd gen i5.
? 4gbDDR3 ram(1 dimm, so you can expand later)
? PSU. Get a good PSU with 80plus certification if possible. minimum of 450W

Numbers do not actually add up to 600$.
You can actually settle for a HD6770. I have a HD6770m and it handles 1280x1024 fine ( Starcraft 2 high settings, TESV:Skyrim max settings, Shogun 2 max settings, L4D max settings).

Note for PSU, coolermaster says that minimum W for this build is 290w.

600$ is a little tight for a gaming rig with SLI/crossfire, specially if you cant buy things online where it can be cheaper.
 

rmiiirusty

Distinguished
Nov 25, 2011
474
0
18,810



The i3-530 is dual core and older and yes it would be a good gaming cpu as any processor with over 2.5 g and dual core will do. However the socket you would need to shop for is 1156 with that cpu and therefore the maximus iv gene-z mobo wouldn't work. If you can, try to stay with the 1155 socket cpu as it will be more upgradeable and at the moment has the best features on the market.
If you are sure you dont want to overclock and just want what you need, consider an i3-2100 or 2120 sandy bridge cpu they will work with that board . you might save a few bucks on the board to if you choose a lower spec 1155 mobo because as wonderful as the board is, it is designed for massive overclocking . You could still go with a p67 or z68 chipset because they are the newer boards and have more of the newer stuff like sataIII 6g and usb3.0 etc.If you go with 1155 socket mobo any second gen sandy bridge cpu should work i3,i5,i7, as long as it is 2nd generation and at least 2.5 g should be fine.
 

rmiiirusty

Distinguished
Nov 25, 2011
474
0
18,810
If you can accomplish desired performance with one gpu you are always better off because the second card doubles you expense but does not double your performance. You are better off to get 1 really good card for now and if in the future you see the need to upgrade the prices on that card will have dropped and it will save you money in the long run.