- Joined
- Jun 6, 2002
not bad in games, i just dont see it being worth it for gaming.
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Tough Decision. Better Video Card or Better CPU?
- Thread starter Mac
- Start date
not bad in games, i just dont see it being worth it for gaming.
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- Joined
- Apr 28, 2008
- Location
- Melb, AUS
the only reason i'd get one...is to game, fold and have bragging rights.
it's overkill for games...but good for the other 2
EDIT: and yes, system 2 would be more or a futureproof for you.
hey Rainless, i never knew that was the ideal way (CPU, PSU then GPU). i, by chance, started off with an e6400, shifty 650w coolermaster and a 7600gt.
i've followed your ideal way, except i am yet to change the PSU. it's not becuase it doesn't have enough juice, it's just a blo0dy vacuum cleaner. and i've upgraded to a 4850, which is sweeeeet
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2003
- Location
- Orlando, FL
I would rather get the best components that will last the longest through upgrade cycles: a good PSU, optical drive, keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, etc. For CPU, motherboard, and GPU just go for price/performance and sell it when you upgrade. A motherboard is kind of the odd one out because theoretically it is supposed to last upgrade cycles but in reality socket revisions, chipset updates, and memory type compatibility almost requires a new one.
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- Joined
- Feb 28, 2004
- Location
- Claymont Delaware 19703
Rig #2 all the way
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2008
- Location
- Melb, AUS
lol i should've pointed that out as well.
when i bought my first system, i bought very good speakers, screen, case, keyboard, mouse. these nearly cost half the price of my whole system ($1k AUD)
then i bought crappy Gigabyte 965P-S3 motherboard, generic 1gb ram, average 7600gt and midde range e6400 cpu.
i knew i was going to have to upgrade all the main components soon, so i spent more money on the peripherals and stuff i wuodln't upgrade.
- Joined
- May 12, 2005
- Location
- Home... again
get the 4890 at ewiz you can get em for 200 bux right now
20bunny 20 off code and 5% cash back
also get this ram
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10009825&prodlist=froogle
check cashback for ZZF too
20bunny 20 off code and 5% cash back
also get this ram
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10009825&prodlist=froogle
check cashback for ZZF too
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2006
the only reason i'd get one...is to game, fold and have bragging rights.
it's overkill for games...but good for the other 2
EDIT: and yes, system 2 would be more or a futureproof for you.
hey Rainless, i never knew that was the ideal way (CPU, PSU then GPU). i, by chance, started off with an e6400, shifty 650w coolermaster and a 7600gt.
i've followed your ideal way, except i am yet to change the PSU. it's not becuase it doesn't have enough juice, it's just a blo0dy vacuum cleaner. and i've upgraded to a 4850, which is sweeeeet
Wow... Very similar paths instead. Only you started with a 650 watt power supply and I started with a 460/480 watt. If I'd started with 650 I wouldn't have upgraded either... but I had financial constraints at the time.
You had a 7600GT and I had a 7600GS. Then I went 8800GTS then 260GTX... so at least I won out in the end!
It doesn't make sense upgrading to a more powerful vid card before upgrading your CPU. It wouldn't make any sense for me to have a 260GTX with only a 3.4 or 3.2ghz 24/7 overclock... on 65nm with just 2 megs level 2 cache at that...
Now I can dial in any speed at random and game on that. 4ghz, 4.5ghz, TWO gigahertz (2ghz not yet stable
) and I always update my PSU just before updating the vid card just because of slight changes in power supply specs over time (like SATA power ports and EPS 12.)
I also vote rig2. The entire i7 arch is much better than that core2duo system, plus its short 2 cores, and the 4890 is a fantastic vid card that will play anything you throw at it very well.
The double core video cards are nice to show off who is the fastest and new tech and such, but a single 4870 can run anything even on 30" monitors.
My overclocked 4830 plays everything, just need to lower aa a bit sometimes, at 1920x1200.
The double core video cards are nice to show off who is the fastest and new tech and such, but a single 4870 can run anything even on 30" monitors.
My overclocked 4830 plays everything, just need to lower aa a bit sometimes, at 1920x1200.
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2006
Well... I don't really think i7 has come of age YET.
New motherboards and whatnot will reveal its true potential.
But if you're buying a completely new rig NOW... then yeah, might as well go with the latest and greatest.
If he was upgrading... say from a P965 rig or something... he'd be better off with a Q9550 or better.
That way he could keep his same RAM, motherboard, etc...
But since he's going all new, you've gotta go with the latest CPU automatically.
He's already chosen though.
Well... I don't really think i7 has come of age YET.
New motherboards and whatnot will reveal its true potential.
But if you're buying a completely new rig NOW... then yeah, might as well go with the latest and greatest.
If he was upgrading... say from a P965 rig or something... he'd be better off with a Q9550 or better.
That way he could keep his same RAM, motherboard, etc...
But since he's going all new, you've gotta go with the latest CPU automatically.
He's already chosen though.
Well I would take a Phenom II or C2Q rig over the i7 in this situation. I agree it is not really mature yet. I still prefer ddr2-1066 for its price/speed/availability, you can get a ton it's so cheap. But not a dual core. Once you go quad core and get used to the extreme responsiveness of systems with it, and seemingly limitless cpu resources, its impossible to go back
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2006
Well I would take a Phenom II or C2Q rig over the i7 in this situation. I agree it is not really mature yet. I still prefer ddr2-1066 for its price/speed/availability, you can get a ton it's so cheap. But not a dual core. Once you go quad core and get used to the extreme responsiveness of systems with it, and seemingly limitless cpu resources, its impossible to go back
Probably why I haven't gone there yet.
I want 5ghz before I want a quadcore. Maybe once I get the my E8400 up to 5ghz I can start considering a Q9550.
That might be a while though... I'm kinda busy these days.
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