So my 7600GS died ...

[FreedomEclipse]

hmm very tough choices, the 8800 is proving to be long in the tooth so that be out of the way, Id say a 4870 2GB and Perhaps a Core i7 or Phenom 955 setup.

buying a 2Gb card is a waste unless you run at super high resolutions & the 4870 cant handle super high resolutions. Most games dont map to 2gb on the graphics card so the overall performance is that of a 1Gb 4870 + 1 or 2 extra fps in possibly up to 2 games.

save your cash & buy a 1Gb 4870, they still perform exceptionally well & since the prices are continuously falling. theres no reason not to go with a 4870.

If the red camp is not quite to your tastes then theres always the choice of a Nvidia GTX260/275 which still provide excellent bang for buck.

 

[cdawall]

Given he gets the i7 for 150ish I would not wait for the i5. Go for the i7, not gonna get a better deal for a chip of that power any time soon.

because when the release i5 the only i7's that will be out will retail for over $500 which means if anything goes wrong with his i7 he is screwed

 

[CDdude55]

I would go choice #1, if you have the cash for it should last you longer then the other choices.

 

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

some insight

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3570&p=1

 

[newtekie1]

I like choice 1, if you want to spend the money.

If not, I'd look into an HD4670 as a quick cheap fix to get your current system back up and running. Maybe drop in an E5300 or something around there. Should give you a halfway decent machine(capable of GTA) for a little over $100.

 

[JrRacinFan]

Up that video card a little bit more, closer to GTS250/HD4850. Also HD4870's are starting to drop in price closer to $130. Regarding the quad, Q8300 and up.

 

[Cold Storm]

Bro, Sorry to hear about the card. really am... TO me, if you have the money right now, I'd get i7 to save money.. I know it's kinda hard there to get stuff there and pricing on bringing things in.. We know that! lol.. But, I am one with BTA and Cda.. Wait for i5 if you can.. that way you can save up on money to get the stuff there, and that way, if there's people pricing out to go from i7-i5 (there are those who will due to trying to get hwbot scores first), you can get the chip and stuff cheaper.. But, that's how I'm going at it with i5 coming around the corner.. You can ether get a i5 or i7 soon..

 

[Ketxxx]

P5Q-E is pretty solid, I vote buy faster DDR2 and a 3870, upgrade to a C2D when you can. Much cheaper and you will get performance thats pretty good still.

 

[boomstik360]

P5Q-E is pretty solid, I vote buy faster DDR2 and a 3870, upgrade to a C2D when you can. Much cheaper and you will get performance thats pretty good still.

Why would he buy fast ddr2?? Thats kind of a waste when he has perfectly fine ram as it is. If anything he should just buy more. Same with the 3870, whaatttt

 

[hat]

He already has 800, and just about all 800 memory can get to 1000 easy. Mine does it at 5-5-5-15 no problem. It might do it at 4-4-4-12 but I'm afraid of the voltage.

 

[Ketxxx]

PC8000 speeds is not that fast, and when you consider you can pick up 4GB PC8500 and clock it to around PC9200 speeds with little fuss for about $50-60, its kinda a no brainer.

 

[boomstik360]

PC8000 speeds is not that fast, and when you consider you can pick up 4GB PC8500 and clock it to around PC9200 speeds with little fuss for about $50-60, its kinda a no brainer.

Kinda not really. He would be better off putting that 50-60 bucks towards a better CPU and see a much better performance gain than a few hundred mhz faster ram...

 

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

im back, and im back from a small job i did .. so things are looking better ..

im gonna do the math before i make any moves.

 

[Cold Storm]

That's a good move bro! Very good move. I hope the best!

 

[hat]

PC8000 speeds is not that fast, and when you consider you can pick up 4GB PC8500 and clock it to around PC9200 speeds with little fuss for about $50-60, its kinda a no brainer.

Memory speed should, in no way, be a grand deciding factor in building a pc. It doesn't make sense, in my own mind, to buy another 4GB kit of faster ram when my existing 4GB kit does 1000MHz OCCT Linpack stable. Spending $60 for an extra 150MHz in memory speed doesn't make any amount of sense to me at all. On the freeway with a speed limit of 70 my car (memory) does 90, I don't need another car (faster memory) that does 95.

I find it somewhat disturbing that everyone is jumping on the i7 because it was given as a choice. I think my idea where he buys a E5200 and OCs it to at least 3.5 (which it will do without a problem) and grabs a pair of 4770s is just as effective.

 

[farlex85]

I find it somewhat disturbing that everyone is jumping on the i7 because it was given as a choice. I think my idea where he buys a E5200 and OCs it to at least 3.5 (which it will do without a problem) and grabs a pair of 4770s is just as effective.

Depends on what he's doing as to whether that will be just as effective. He cited video encoding and occasional benching as uses, both of which an e5200 would not even remotely touch the i7 in effectiveness. Gaming in general use sure, but he's going to have to prioritize that.

 

[hat]

Video encoding sure, but I would just let that run overnight if I was doing that. Either way it will get done when he wakes up. As for benchmarking, woo hoo he would get a bigger number.

 

[daehxxiD]

Video encoding sure, but I would just let that run overnight if I was doing that. Either way it will get done when he wakes up. As for benchmarking, woo hoo he would get a bigger number.

Going by that logic he could aswell stick with his current rig and just go for a new GPU. He asked what was the best solution for HIM. Every second you loose off a video-encode is precious for someone who does videoediting. The i7 might shave off around 5 to 6 minutes off a 20 min. encode. Sum this up to 10 encodes a day and you save 1 hour a day with the Core i7; well worth the money + you can overclock that monster aswell, totally obliterating the E5200.

For gaming a CPU might be not as important, but at least for now, if you want to do some serious Multi-media work with your PC you can't have a fast enough CPU, especially the more threads you have, the better. (8 vs 2)

 

[oli_ramsay]

choice 1 becuase it's future proof

 

[lemonadesoda]

If you are asking questions, and worried about resale values of your old equipment, then you are managing the PERFORMANCE/PRICE RATIO rather than just PERFORMANCE.

Option 3 is the clear winner. i5 gives you 90-95% of what i7 will assuming you wont crossfire/SLI. And you wont. You will single card until next gen GPU in which case upgrading to next gen GPU will completely outperform crossfire/SLI old stuff. Esp. in the performance/watt stats.

I also think that i7 is at higher risk of obsolescence than i5 (current specs at least). If you look at the roadmap, then Westmere may well require a mainboard and chipset which is incompatible with X58. So what you spend on todays i7 platform might not take you through to the 6 core westmere.

 

[daehxxiD]

If you are asking questions, and worried about resale values of your old equipment, then you are managing the PERFORMANCE/PRICE RATIO rather than just PERFORMANCE.

Option 3 is the clear winner. i5 gives you 90-95% of what i7 will assuming you wont crossfire/SLI. And you wont. You will single card until next gen GPU in which case upgrading to next gen GPU will completely outperform crossfire/SLI old stuff. Esp. in the performance/watt stats.

I also think that i7 is at higher risk of obsolescence than i5 (current specs at least). If you look at the roadmap, then Westmere may well require a mainboard and chipset which is incompatible with X58. So what you spend on todays i7 platform might not take you through to the 6 core westmere.

Guys, please consider he would get the i7 for 150 bucks! There is no way a i5 can beat that performace/price ratio wise. And for the idea of "something going wrong with his CPU". For a CPU to get borked you seriously have to screw up... Actually, the only real way to fuck up a cpu nowadays is to damage it physically. It's been AGES since I last seen a broken CPU to either Manufacturing problems or overheating. Seriously, the CPU is the last thing to break in your system.

 

[human_error]

I'd say option 1 - plenty of power for now with loads of headroom to be able to handle almost anything released in the next few years, so it should last you a good while.

A 4850 should be fine (especially compared to your old card) but of course if you can afford it without skimping out on other parts then get a 4870.

**edit**

depending on the age of your psu you may consider getting a new one - the 550w would be fine for a i7/4850 combo but if it's getting a bit old it won't be putting out 550w (don't know how old your psu is).

 

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

If you are asking questions, and worried about resale values of your old equipment, then you are managing the PERFORMANCE/PRICE RATIO rather than just PERFORMANCE.

Option 3 is the clear winner. i5 gives you 90-95% of what i7 will assuming you wont crossfire/SLI. And you wont. You will single card until next gen GPU in which case upgrading to next gen GPU will completely outperform crossfire/SLI old stuff. Esp. in the performance/watt stats.

I also think that i7 is at higher risk of obsolescence than i5 (current specs at least). If you look at the roadmap, then Westmere may well require a mainboard and chipset which is incompatible with X58. So what you spend on todays i7 platform might not take you through to the 6 core westmere.

At 150 dollars ish .. i cant refuse the i7, cause it would work out cheaper than a new p55 and mobo, and im mostly a single card person the only consideration is will X58/i7 somehow leave me out in the open with no path logivally and financially

Going by that logic he could aswell stick with his current rig and just go for a new GPU. He asked what was the best solution for HIM. Every second you loose off a video-encode is precious for someone who does videoediting. The i7 might shave off around 5 to 6 minutes off a 20 min. encode. Sum this up to 10 encodes a day and you save 1 hour a day with the Core i7; well worth the money + you can overclock that monster aswell, totally obliterating the E5200.

For gaming a CPU might be not as important, but at least for now, if you want to do some serious Multi-media work with your PC you can't have a fast enough CPU, especially the more threads you have, the better. (8 vs 2)

pc is also used for also p/shops on my rig and mind a lil extra speed ... think ill have to go with a quad of some sort no matter the choice

 

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

also, how long are these cards?

my case just barely fits an atx mobo

 

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

Think imma cop a used 4870 1GB and then make up my mind in the interim.