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7870 or SSD?

Last response: in Systems
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7870 or 60GB SSD?

Total: 9 votes (2 blank votes)

  • 7870
  • 15 %
  • SSD
  • 72 %
  • Other
  • 15 %

So, originally I was going to use this build here:
http://pcpartpicker.com/b/x3o

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($32.12 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($42.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($25.97 @ Newegg)
Total: $926.02
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-06-10 06:12 EDT-0400)

But a friend of mine gave me a PSU he had left over from a previous build, leaving me with an extra $70. Do you guys think I should spend it on a small SSD or a 7870 (currently $315 from Newegg :) ). I know I can easily get 7870 performance by overclocking the 7850, but doesn't the 7870 scale up the same way and maintain its 5-10 FPS advantage? The most intensive games I will be playing are BF3 and Crysis 2, and hopefully C3 when it comes out. My resolution is 1920x1080.

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I'd probably get the SSD. An overclocked 7850 should handle even BF3 on a normal 1080p screen. Of course the 7870 will maintain its advantage if both are overclocked, and might even increase it since they're likely to be better binned parts thus overclocking higher.

The 7850 is more powerful than a GTX460, which is what I have. With my system I'm running Battlefield 3 very smoothly at all Ultra settings @1080p, except for AA which is set to FXAA in the driver panel, so you should have zero problems with your setup.

However if the PC is mainly for gaming then a GPU will almost always be a better investment than an SSD, unless it's for loading times or games that utilize a lot of streaming data.
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Khalan said:
However if the PC is mainly for gaming then a GPU will almost always be a better investment than an SSD, unless it's for loading times or games that utilize a lot of streaming data.

Yeah, I know a better GPU is usually more worth it for gaming, but if I can play what I want to play at max settings smoothly, do you think the SSD is better? I will be playing Skyrim and Civ 5 as well.

Also, does anyone know if the Antec 302 has good airflow and cable management? I Might sink a few bucks into a better case if the Antec is not very good.


jacknhut said:
Go with an SSD, bigest improvement to a PC you will ever notice.

Coming from a Core 2 Duo and a 4850, this PC better be a big improvement. :p 

I think the top choices are (in no order) Intel 520, Crucial M4, and Samsung 830. By the way ~120GB drives are usually faster than ~60GB models, plus 60GB can be a little tight.

Khalan said:
I think the top choices are (in no order) Intel 520, Crucial M4, and Samsung 830. By the way ~120GB drives are usually faster than ~60GB models, plus 60GB can be a little tight.

I guess I'll just buy an SSD later when I can scrape up the extra $40 for a 120GB. Thanks for all the help guys.

Merueth said:
I guess I'll just buy an SSD later when I can scrape up the extra $40 for a 120GB. Thanks for all the help guys.


Amazon has a 1 day sale right now on this Tier 2 Kingston Hyperx 3k SSD: I think you can afford the 90 GB one since its on sale for $75 bucks atm.


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007R67FHQ/ref=ox_sc_a...

Grab it fast while its still there, the coupon will not last much longer. Make sure you clip the coupon and it will show the correct price in cart.

jacknhut said:
Amazon has a 1 day sale right now on this Tier 2 Kingston Hyperx 3k SSD: I think you can afford the 90 GB one since its on sale for $75 bucks atm.


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007R67FHQ/ref=ox_sc_a...

Grab it fast while its still there, the coupon will not last much longer. Make sure you clip the coupon and it will show the correct price in cart.

I wish I could select this as the best answer. Thanks, I assume 90GB can hold OS, Steam, and 4-5 games comfortably, correct?

Recon, I can't afford the crucial ATM :( . I will consider the GTX 480, considering it's so cheap, but I was looking forward to overclocking the 7850 to see how high it will go.

Merueth said:
I wish I could select this as the best answer. Thanks, I assume 90GB can hold OS, Steam, and 4-5 games comfortably, correct?

Recon, I can't afford the crucial ATM :( . I will consider the GTX 480, considering it's so cheap, but I was looking forward to overclocking the 7850 to see how high it will go.


Quote:
Steam will install games to the SSD only, once installed you cannot change directories.

BF3 is a huge install, and updates are large.

So Steam will install everything to the SSD until it runs out of space? I would hope to at least squeeze BF3 and maybe one more game onto the SSD.

Merueth said:
I wish I could select this as the best answer. Thanks, I assume 90GB can hold OS, Steam, and 4-5 games comfortably, correct?


With a 90 GB SSD, you can install OS and probably 2-3 big games comfortably. If its smaller games, then maybe it can hold 4-5. Not sure about Steam though.
Read this guide to tweak the SSD so that you can save a lot of space after windows installation. I save about 20-30 GB off my SSD by following the guide. http://www.computing.net/howtos/show/solid-state-drive-...

Quote:
You will have no chance of steam on any SSD, as you add games, that space fill and fills.

I personally have my rig setup like this:

Sandy Bridge.
==============

i5 2500k@4.5GHZ 1.3V
EVGA Z68 FTW 3-way SLi mainboard
EVGA GTX 480 2-way SLi
Gelid icy vision rev 2.0 x2 for both 480\'s
8Gb G.skill RipjawsX DDR3 1600mhz CAS9
Corsair H100 4x Phobya G.silent 120mm Push/Pull
2x Samsung Spinpoint F3 7200RPM 1TB RAID-0 (media/games)
Crucial M4 64GB (Windows)
Silverstone Raven RV02-B chassis
Silverstone Strider 1000watt 80 plus silver Power supply


As you can see, the SSD loads up vital apps and the OS, that is all.
The RAID stup deals with media/games.

I see what you mean, but if I have extra space leftover after installing the OS, I can install a game like Skyrim, without installing steam, right?
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