Need Advice On New Parts

Jericho_abx · 07-09-2008, 01:32 PM

I am getting an Asus Rampage Formula motherboard and am trying to decide whether to pair it with the new Intel 9450 Quad processor or a Radeon 4870. Can you guys give me some opinions on which to choose or better suggestions? I can't get all three right now so those are my current choices. Current pc specs are in sig.

Thanks for any replies.

sammy2066 · 07-09-2008, 10:30 PM

Depends on how much you're willing to put down on this rig. Looking at your current system, I think you can easily wait another few months and build a Nehalem system.

Jericho_abx · 07-10-2008, 08:02 AM

That's not a bad idea, I would like to upgrade to Nehalem in a few months with an X58 board. I really don't want to spend more than about $600 right now. Do you think the 4870 would run good on my system even though my board is not PCI-E 2.0? It is just regular PCI-E x16.

sammy2066 · 07-10-2008, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jericho_abx

That's not a bad idea, I would like to upgrade to Nehalem in a few months with an X58 board. I really don't want to spend more than about $600 right now. Do you think the 4870 would run good on my system even though my board is not PCI-E 2.0? It is just regular PCI-E x16.

My guess is PCI-E 16x vs PCI-E 2.0 is like AGP 8x vs 4x. No real differences in performance.

And yes, a 4870 would be absolutely fine in your current system. You could get a 4870 and maybe a new quad core to last you till Nehalem launches.

fvbounty · 07-10-2008, 08:26 AM

Have you looked at Corsair PS? I've been really happy with mine, and I know lots of people here are running them and haven't had any problems at all, and plus they are really quiet! Thats going to be a very nice rig!!!!!

Jericho_abx · 07-10-2008, 08:56 AM

Yeah, the Corsair 1000HX modular was the next psu on my list. They make great PSUs. I get my parts gradually instead of all at once.

CK8-04 · 07-10-2008, 09:15 AM

If you had only one choice, I'd say get the Radeon HD 4870. It draws significantly less power than the 2900XT and offers a huge performance boost. I still have the E6700 in my system with an 8800GT and I can play all my games except Crysis at 1600x1200 with max settings. Going from a dual core to a quad core doesn't provide any benefit if the games you play aren't multithreaded and most aren't. If you need better performance in games, moving to a higher clock speed would be the way to go.

For the PSU, if you were to ask for a recommendation at SPCR, they'd recommend the HX520. Replace the 2900XT with the 4870, and the recommendation would be the VX450. Your system draws nowhere near 500 watts under maximum load, let alone 1 kW. Additionally, Corsair PSUs are rated for continuous load whereas cheap no-name brand PSUs are rated for max load. The Corsairs have a lot of headroom for future upgrades.

ATINUT · 07-10-2008, 09:15 AM

The 4870 will work just fine in the system you have now. I upgraded to 8GB's of ram last month, and decided to hold off on doing a major upgrade to my system for at least another couple of years.

I'm running the 3870X2 in my system right now.

07-09-2008, 01:32 PM	#1
Jericho_abx Unplugged Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Vatican City Posts: 550	Need Advice On New Parts I am getting an Asus Rampage Formula motherboard and am trying to decide whether to pair it with the new Intel 9450 Quad processor or a Radeon 4870. Can you guys give me some opinions on which to choose or better suggestions? I can't get all three right now so those are my current choices. Current pc specs are in sig. Thanks for any replies. __________________ Asus P5W DH Deluxe Core 2 Extreme x6800 8 Gb. Corsair XMS2 DHX DDR2 800 4-4-4-12 2x 150gb WD RaptorX SATA RAID 0 1gb. Sapphire Radeon 2900XT Creative Audigy 2 Sony DRU-820A DVD-RW OCZ GameXStream 700w psu Directron black aluminum 3 window case Dell 3007WFP 30in. LCD XPS M170 PM 2.0ghz 2gb. DDR2 100gb. 7200rpm HDD Geforce 7800 GTX Go 17in. LG WUXGA DL DVDRW +/- Wireless 2915 a/b/g + Bluetooth
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07-09-2008, 10:30 PM	#2
sammy2066 ABX Public Relations Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: ABXZone.com Posts: 8,530	Re: Need Advice On New Parts Depends on how much you're willing to put down on this rig. Looking at your current system, I think you can easily wait another few months and build a Nehalem system. __________________ That's what she said ....
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07-10-2008, 08:02 AM	#3
Jericho_abx Unplugged Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Vatican City Posts: 550	Re: Need Advice On New Parts That's not a bad idea, I would like to upgrade to Nehalem in a few months with an X58 board. I really don't want to spend more than about $600 right now. Do you think the 4870 would run good on my system even though my board is not PCI-E 2.0? It is just regular PCI-E x16. __________________ Asus P5W DH Deluxe Core 2 Extreme x6800 8 Gb. Corsair XMS2 DHX DDR2 800 4-4-4-12 2x 150gb WD RaptorX SATA RAID 0 1gb. Sapphire Radeon 2900XT Creative Audigy 2 Sony DRU-820A DVD-RW OCZ GameXStream 700w psu Directron black aluminum 3 window case Dell 3007WFP 30in. LCD XPS M170 PM 2.0ghz 2gb. DDR2 100gb. 7200rpm HDD Geforce 7800 GTX Go 17in. LG WUXGA DL DVDRW +/- Wireless 2915 a/b/g + Bluetooth
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07-10-2008, 08:26 AM	#5
fvbounty Eat Wild Pacific Salmon Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Alameda Ca Posts: 5,132	Re: Need Advice On New Parts Have you looked at Corsair PS? I've been really happy with mine, and I know lots of people here are running them and haven't had any problems at all, and plus they are really quiet! Thats going to be a very nice rig!!!!! __________________ New Gaming rig - Asus P5E3 Deluxe Wi-Fi - Intel QX9650 - CORSAIR TWIN3X2048-1600C7DHXIN 2GB PC3-12800 - 150 gig Raptor - 320 gig WD 3200YS - Corsair HX 620 watt PS - EVGA 512-P3-N841-A3 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB - AMD FX 55 - XP-90C & SilentCat 9 - Asus A8N-SLI with Swiftech MCX159 - 2X1024 Corsair 3500LLPro 2-3-2-6 1T - 2X BFG 6800GT OC Zalman VF700-CU - 1 WD 74 Gig Raptor boot - 1 Seagate 7200 sata data - Nec 3500A - Plextor 716AL Slot Loader - Enermax EG 701 AX 600 watt PS - Silverstone Temjin TJ03B case with side window - G7 lazer mouse - Cannon Pixma I8500 printer - Windows XP Pro SP2 Slipstreamed - Dell 2405FPW lcd
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07-10-2008, 08:56 AM	#6
Jericho_abx Unplugged Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Vatican City Posts: 550	Re: Need Advice On New Parts Yeah, the Corsair 1000HX modular was the next psu on my list. They make great PSUs. I get my parts gradually instead of all at once. __________________ Asus P5W DH Deluxe Core 2 Extreme x6800 8 Gb. Corsair XMS2 DHX DDR2 800 4-4-4-12 2x 150gb WD RaptorX SATA RAID 0 1gb. Sapphire Radeon 2900XT Creative Audigy 2 Sony DRU-820A DVD-RW OCZ GameXStream 700w psu Directron black aluminum 3 window case Dell 3007WFP 30in. LCD XPS M170 PM 2.0ghz 2gb. DDR2 100gb. 7200rpm HDD Geforce 7800 GTX Go 17in. LG WUXGA DL DVDRW +/- Wireless 2915 a/b/g + Bluetooth
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07-10-2008, 09:15 AM	#7
CK8-04 nVidia nForce 4 Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Malden, MA Posts: 951	Re: Need Advice On New Parts If you had only one choice, I'd say get the Radeon HD 4870. It draws significantly less power than the 2900XT and offers a huge performance boost. I still have the E6700 in my system with an 8800GT and I can play all my games except Crysis at 1600x1200 with max settings. Going from a dual core to a quad core doesn't provide any benefit if the games you play aren't multithreaded and most aren't. If you need better performance in games, moving to a higher clock speed would be the way to go. For the PSU, if you were to ask for a recommendation at SPCR, they'd recommend the HX520. Replace the 2900XT with the 4870, and the recommendation would be the VX450. Your system draws nowhere near 500 watts under maximum load, let alone 1 kW. Additionally, Corsair PSUs are rated for continuous load whereas cheap no-name brand PSUs are rated for max load. The Corsairs have a lot of headroom for future upgrades. __________________ "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift" - Steve Prefontaine Antec Solo Corsair 520HX Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 w/ TR SI-128 SE Intel D975XBX2 2GB Mushkin XP2 DDR2-800 eVGA e-Geforce 8800GT w/ TR T-Rad2 WD Raptor 74GB 16MB NEC Multisync LCD2090UXi Logitech Z-5300 MS Comfort Curve KB 2000 Logitech G3
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07-10-2008, 09:15 AM	#8
ATINUT Just Plain Crazy! Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 3,255	Re: Need Advice On New Parts The 4870 will work just fine in the system you have now. I upgraded to 8GB's of ram last month, and decided to hold off on doing a major upgrade to my system for at least another couple of years. I'm running the 3870X2 in my system right now. __________________ Intel D975XBX2 Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 8GB's of Mushkin HP2 6400 memory(DDR2 800) Visiontek Radeon 3870X2 videocard HT Omega Claro(Cmedia 8788HD chip) 120GB&200GB&320GB Western Digital harddrives LG DVDROM & LG DVDBURNER HP Deskjet 920C Logitech X-540 speakers Viewsonic VG2030wm 20inch Widescreen LCD Windows XP Pro 32bit Who'se the fool that approved the design for this place. - The Dwarf, Sacred Underworld.
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