Upgrade

[pariah89]

I was thinking of upgrading to this....can anyone give their opinions on whether I should do it or stick with my current rig?..

My new rig would be..

NZXT Tempest case
MSI K9A2 790FX Platinum motherboard
AMD Phenom 9850 CPU
4 GB of DDR2 Corsair RAM
Western Digital Caviar GP 500 GB Hard Drive
Sapphire Radeon 3870 X2
Lite-On 20 X DVD Burner
PC Power and Cooling 750w Quad Silencer Power Supply

Either I upgrade to this or just get a new video card..which would be the ATI card listed above...I used to have an AMD/ATI configuration before they even merged...an I was so happy..I miss having such an awesome machine for such a good price...not only was my gaming awesome...but I felt happy with my rig at all times...just a personal satisfaction thing I had with it...I can't explain it...I just love AMD and ATI...:) or just AMD as they call it...but I prefer to call them ATI....what do ya guys think?

[ivybat]

The difference between buying just a graphics card and building an entirely new rig is huge.

Though AMD technically builds better processors at a better price, intel is muscling them out and people don't seem optimistic about the future of AMD. Aside from personal satisfaction, what reason would you have to go back to AMD for your CPU? Have you had a bad experience with your intel CPU?

From the looks of it, you seem to have a nice rig lined up, and an enviable budget, but I have to question your choice of AMD/ATi over intel and nVidia, who have clearly been leading the market for almost two years now.

If I were you, I would first stick with just the 3870X2 and wait for the dust to settle. If AMD can keep its head above water, then you can go ahead and buy the new mobo, CPU, etc., etc., and a new 3870X2 and CrossfireX them. That'll be classy.

Bottom line is that it just doesn't seem safe to invest so heavily in AMD at such a volatile time.

Good luck, enjoy your sweet rigs however you end up building them :)

[pariah89]

Yea..I don't know..I mean...I was just happy with the purchase..you get more bang for your buck for AMD...and I keep thinking something will happen to AMD and there would go affordable CPU's..plus I keep hearing that their quad cores are true quad cores.

I was gonna simply just upgrade the video card but I thought I would get just a new rig..I love my power supply...silent as the night...but I wonder if it's powerful enough to handle a 3870 X2...then again..by the time I get the cash for the new video card...the 4870 should be out....

I could go the intel route ..again... since their q6600 is less than $220 on newegg while the phenom I want is $235 and would require me changing more parts..

...I had one before...loved it...and I don't want to take my back on it...
and I REALLY want that tempest case...it is SO bad ***...but I don't want to take apart my computer for a mere case change unless it is a new computer all together...

Unless AMD plans on releasing updated versions of their Phenom processors again that perform better...

[Jade_Samurai]

Personally Im an Intel/Nvidia man, so i may be a tad bias! personally if i was buying now, i would definitively get one of the new CPU's from intel, just released 2 weeks ago or something, the quad core 8 series CPU's, when the 8 series came out only in thier duel core stage, they whooped the pants off intels high end quad core cpu's for much cheaper (price/performance is insane)!!

But as Ivybat said, intel and nvidia are incredibly strong at the moment, they currently have the top of the line stuff in each of there markets, so i spose you would only go with AMD/ATi if you had other motives

On the nVidia front, the 9800GX2, the 9800GTX is terrible! not worth the stuff its made of, may as well get an 8800 ultra card if you want the 9800GTX! but the GX2, thats a diff story!

if you cheack out 'tomshardware.com' they have some fantastic CPU and VGA charts plus many 'Value' ratings on many many MANY products from all 3 and a half AMD/ATI, nVidia and Intel, really helpful when looking for the right stuff.

But really it all comes down to what you feel comfortable with, if you wait for the next gen stuff to come out, then you'll be waiting for ever, because there will always be something new around the corner and then you'll never get that rig of your dreams!
If you haven't already, take your hand at OCing your current rig, see if you cant squeeze some life out of it yet! and just wait abit longer untill your choice is clearer.
but its up to you mostly!

Have fun building your rig!! i personally like designing them as much as i like playing on them! (not the spending money though... i dont like that part! lol)

[ivybat]

I see what you're thinking pariah, but though the AMD chips are true quad (true triple, too), the intel chips are still faster for the price. This is because intel has just been muscling AMD out by pumping up their frequency (just throw in volts and make more GHz, rather than get a better architecture).

What this also means, though, is that intel right now is making all sorts of CPUs that are amazing for overclocking.

If I were you, I would stay with the rig you have now. You should upgrade when you need to, not just to have the latest stuff.

ps,
a case change should take about 30 minutes unless you have EXTREMELY tidy and careful cable management. You should work on your speed =P

[Exitialis]

I'm currently thinking about upgrading my system and im going with:

Asustek GeForce 8800GT 1GB DDR3 PCIE Dual DVI 600/1.8Ghz £150.41

Intel Quad Core Q6600 2.4GHz S775 £138.48

Asustek S775 Intel X38 ATX Audio Lan £146.91

OCZ Technology 2X2GBKIT REAPER 240PIN PC2-6400 DDR2 800MHZ £70.25

Following these suggestions:

Yeah that should play nicely - if you drop the RAM speed to 667MHz (and tighten the timings which are more important with the Core architecture) and bump the FSB of the Q6600 to 1333 (so that the RAM and FSB are in sync) you'll have a 600MHz faster processor and should get some very good performance out of that setup. The Q6600 will almost certainly do that with no other requirement that your typing "1333" (or possible 333 if it lists it pre-quad pumped) into the BIOS FSB option.

And generally getting a PC good enough to play whatever i want at 1920x1200 on my screen at nice high resolutions withouit spending ridiculous amounts :D (i'm carrying over anything not listed there, case, DVD drive, hard drive etc.)

[ivybat]

Why X38, when X48s are out and an nVidia chipset seems to be the better choice for an nVidia card?

[Exitialis]

Edit: Here's why i wont go x48

http://www.trustedreviews.com/motherboards/review/2008/05/15/Intel-DX48BT2/p1

[pariah89]

Meh...I play mostly Half-Life Games..and I'd rather have a rig that is optimized to play those games. Now I can get an AMD (ATI) video card to put in my current rig, but I would love to have a Spider Platform. Imagine an entire system optimized for itself...:P Quad-Core CPU along with a dual-core GPU Solution along with the latest AMD Chipset. And from what I hear...AMD releases drivers for their video cards very often...regardless of why they do it...mistakes, trying to improve, whatever..they do it anyways and that makes me feel good that my video card is constantly updated seeing as how that is the component that will change most often in a gaming computer if any. In my opinion, the image quality on ATI cards is better. I've seen benchmarks on them doing better on videos and I am a movie buff, I watch them constantly on my PC. It's hard to explain, I am just not a fan of Intel, it is like Mcdonalds, Burger King is not as good, but I love Burger King...:) weird example...but I had to use something I like...:P

[ivybat]

If that's the case, then my advice to you is to wait until next generation then sell your current rig. Get yo'self a 4870 ;)


ps, don't let a review of an intel motherboard change your ideas about a chipset. intel makes horrid motherboards (except for the skulltrail :D)

[pariah89]

It turns out I am just getting the 3870 X2 for my current rig..:)...You guys think my PC Power and Cooling 610W power supply can handle it?

[ivybat]

for sure

[pariah89]

On second thought...anyone happen to know what the power requirements for the 4870 might be?..I keep reading things that it will blow out everything..Wonder if my 610W PC Power And Cooling Power Supply can handle it..

[ivybat]

no way a single graphics card will overload your single rail psu--worth waiting to find out for sure though

[pariah89]

I keep changing my mind...Can my 610 W PC Power and Cooling Silencer power supply handle 2 4850's in crossfire?

[ivybat]

Yes, http://ocia.net/reviews/pcpcsilencer500/page1.shtml

500W handles 2x 3870 like it's nothing

[pariah89]

WOW...definitely getting a new motherboard then because my current one only has 1 PCI express slot...which one do you think I should get? and do you think I should pop in a q6600 so it won't bottleneck?

[pariah89]

I was thinking of the
DFI LANPARTY DK X38-T2R

the other motherboards I saw had the second PCI Express slot at 4x instead of 16x

[ivybat]

did ya mean to finish your sentence there? hehe

i have the MSI x38, no complaints, if you're going to build this overkill system though i see no reason why you shouldn't be going x48, i hear great things about the msi x48 diamond

[pariah89]

Will my e6750 bottleneck an ATI 4870?

[ivybat]

it depends what you're using as a benchmark, but probably yes unless you start overclocking that sucker

[pariah89]

Well.I HAD a 4850...but I am returning it..the drivers suck and I am not impressed by the performance whatsoever. It was worse than my previous card. I overclocked my CPU to 3 ghz... Now I know I can handle a 9800 GTX. But I wonder if I can handle a GTX 260...power supply wise AND CPU bottle necking.

[ivybat]

I say wait. A GTX260 costs the same (a little more?) than TWO 4850's in crossfire, which are FAR superior, look at any review on the net. AFAIK most P35 boards can't handle crossfire (can yours?) If it can, go for the 4850's, if not, wait until you upgrade your whole system, but a 260 is a waste...

[pariah89]

No...my motherboard only has one PCI Express slot.

The XFX GTX 260 is 299.99 at TigerDirect.

Same price as the 4870 and the drivers for the ATI cards still haven't been released on their website. You just get the **** ones that come with the card itself.

I still ponder what to get...and if I do get one of them..Do I need to go past 3 ghz with my cpu?

[ivybat]

That's after the price cut...

Anyway,

Still say wait ;)

[pariah89]

Well..I got the GTX 260..:p...should I get a quad core to go with it?...or do you think my 3 ghz Core 2 Duo would do it justice. I don't want to lose performance because my graphics card is too intensive for my CPU.

[ivybat]

save up a bit, then get a wolfdale :D

[pariah89]

Dual-Core?....should I not get a Quad core? Wolfdales extra cache is the only difference I see..I have a 3 ghz Core 2 Duo with 1333mhz FSB. I can even go further...why not a quad core?

[ivybat]

buy an 8400, and OC it to 4ghz with stock cooling, then you'll see what i mean. :D

quad cores are pretty inefficient unelss you're doing **** like AutoCAD or Solidworks or Matlab... trust me, I know from experience.

I can't tell you how the next generation of games will be programmed,b ut that's how crysis and bioshock and cod4 work.

[MAXLD]

buy an 8400, and OC it to 4ghz with stock cooling, then you'll see what i mean. :D

Not that simple... stock cooling with 4GHz is playing with fire. :D And not all the E8400 reach 4GHz with a decent voltage...

[Jade_Samurai]

even that isnt so crash hot, sure its fast, but its super expensive and all the 8 cores are un-able to be used by most programs. so unless your happy playing 4 games at a time!!

[ivybat]

jade, what are you talkinga bout?