# New Gaming PC for xmas but note sure which route to take



## tollickd (Dec 6, 2009)

I am looking for a good gaming pc.

I have 2 setups in mind.

1/

THERMALTAKE VB5000SNA TAI-CHI
INTEL CORE I5-750 2.66 GHZ LGA1156
ARCTIC COOLING FREEZER XTREME REV.2
KINGSTON KHX2000C9D3T1K2/4GX DDR3 4GB (2X2GB) PC16000 2000MHZ CL9 HYPERX DUAL CHANNEL KIT
GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD3R
MSI 4890 CYCLONE 1GB PCI-E RETAIL two for crossfire
MSI 4890 CYCLONE 1GB PCI-E RETAIL
SEAGATE BARRACUDA 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB SATA2
SAMSUNG SYNCMASTER P2350 23'' TFT MONITOR
CORSAIR TX850W POWER SUPPLY

MICROSOFT WINDOWS 7 ULTIMATE 64-BIT

Or 

THERMALTAKE VB5000SNA TAI-CHI
INTEL CORE I7-860 2.80 GHZ LGA1156 
ARCTIC COOLING FREEZER XTREME REV.2
KINGSTON KHX2000C9D3T1K2/4GX DDR3 4GB (2X2GB) PC16000 2000MHZ CL9 HYPERX DUAL CHANNEL KIT
GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD3R
MSI 4890 CYCLONE 1GB PCI-E RETAIL
WESTERN DIGITAL WD5001AALS 500GB CAVIAR BLACK SATA2
WESTERN DIGITAL WD5001AALS 500GB CAVIAR BLACK SATA2
SAMSUNG SYNCMASTER P2350 23'' TFT MONITOR
CORSAIR TX850W POWER SUPPLY

MICROSOFT WINDOWS 7 ULTIMATE 64-BIT

If I get this one I would have to wait till March to buy a second 4890


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## Fourstaff (Dec 6, 2009)

I find the lack of 5850 distubing. The bottom one sounds good, but I would switch the HDD with the one above.


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## kurosagi01 (Dec 6, 2009)

i'd say just swap the 4890 with a 5850, both rig are good but i would pick rig 2 but with 5850.


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## MRCL (Dec 6, 2009)

kurosagi01 said:


> i'd say just swap the 4890 with a 5850, both rig are good but i would pick rig 2 but with 5850.



Seconded. And, unless you need all those functions on the 7 ultimate edition, save some money and get yourself the Pro or Home Premium edition.


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## tollickd (Dec 6, 2009)

I would love to get a 5850 or 5950 but can't afford one at this time! I will be getting better next year some time!! till then I think i will get one 4890.

What is the 5750 like?

Which HDD would be better? 

SEAGATE BARRACUDA 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB SATA2

or

2 x WESTERN DIGITAL WD5001AALS 500GB CAVIAR BLACK SATA2


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## Lionheart (Dec 6, 2009)

There both good but the Seagate would have more cache memory so go with that, plus get a HD5850, you must get one if you can, not saying that the HD4890 iz crap, i think its still a great card but come one, mmmmm HD5850 can you smell the victory lol, maybe get a RC copy of Windows 7 (I should not say that here lol) it will save you money or at least or get a cheaper copy of windows 7.


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## Fishymachine (Dec 6, 2009)

If you can afford cross 4890,I say buy a single 5850 now,save some money on power bill,maybe even flash and OC,and if necessary buy a second 5850 next year when prices will drop due to Fermi.5750 is basically @ 4850 level,5770 should have 4890 performance,at least with VRAM @ 1500

And another thing those hyperx seem a bit wasteful especially since games prefer lower freq but tighter latencies (1600 CAS7 should be better).And I think that a 750 PSU should do it(you're not welding mate)


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## tollickd (Dec 6, 2009)

I would only been able to afford a cross of the 4890 if i went for a i5 but if i am going for a i7 i will get a 4890 to see me until the 5850 or 5950 comes back in


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## kurosagi01 (Dec 6, 2009)

what i would do is change the corsair 850W psu to the corsair 650W and see if you get enough cash to purchase 5850,if that don't work then i would go with 1st rig and get a 5850.


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## Wile E (Dec 6, 2009)

tollickd said:


> I would only been able to afford a cross of the 4890 if i went for a i5 but if i am going for a i7 i will get a 4890 to see me until the 5850 or 5950 comes back in



If your primary concern is gaming, grab the i5 750 and a 5850. GPU is more important than cpu in gaming. If gaming is only a secondary concern, but the 860 and a 5770.


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## Fishymachine (Dec 7, 2009)

kurosagi01 said:


> what i would do is change the corsair 850W psu to the corsair 650W and see if you get enough cash to purchase 5850,if that don't work then i would go with 1st rig and get a 5850.



and cheaper ram


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## douglatins (Dec 7, 2009)

OMG dont buy the Cyclone, reviewers say the card has not properly installed heatsinks, so it makes cores go to 110C plus! Look for a 5770 it will be better than 4890
Also that heatink no no


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## tollickd (Dec 7, 2009)

douglatins said:


> OMG dont buy the Cyclone, reviewers say the card has not properly installed heatsinks, so it makes cores go to 110C plus! Look for a 5770 it will be better than 4890
> Also that heatink no no



Is this true?

What about these cards 

SAPPHIRE RADEON HD4890 1GB GDDR5 HDMI PCI-E RETAIL
ASUS EAH4890/HTDI/1GD5 1GB PCI-E RETAIL


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## Bjorn_Of_Iceland (Dec 7, 2009)

5850. 

Go Windows7 Home. There is no performance difference vs Ultimate. You wont be using those extra features for gaming anyway.

then go 2nd 5850 later on.


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## tollickd (Dec 7, 2009)

I need Ultimate for my work


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## tollickd (Dec 7, 2009)

I need Ultimate for my work!!


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## Fishymachine (Dec 7, 2009)

ok keep the expensive Ultimate but buy a i5 (or go for a PII 965 +790FX) and ditch the 850W PSU a 750 or even a good 650 will suffice.The graphics card...buy ONE HD5850,the cheapest(in Ro it's MSI followed by Gigabyte) it should be close 4890 cross in highly optimized games and superior in another and then buy a second one when they get cheaper


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## DirectorC (Dec 7, 2009)

Which ever set up you go with I highly recommend RAID0.  Games and apps will install much faster and game maps will load much faster.


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## TheMailMan78 (Dec 7, 2009)

Stay away from Asus GPUs.


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## JrRacinFan (Dec 7, 2009)

Might I mention, go with a Phenom II 720BE, switch your 3rd party cooler, and use the cash you saved towards a 5870. Keep everything else the same in the 1st build.


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## Fourstaff (Dec 7, 2009)

TheMailMan78 said:


> Stay away from Asus GPUs.



Why? I thought they make reasonably quality products.


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## TheMailMan78 (Dec 7, 2009)

JrRacinFan said:


> Might I mention, go with a Phenom II 720BE and use the cash you saved towards a 5870. Keep everything else the same in the 1st build.



Thats not a bad idea at all. Maybe even a 955 if you can find a good deal.



Fourstaff said:


> Why? I thought they make reasonably quality products.



After the 5th RMA they are great. Asus makes great mobos. Their GPUs suck donkey nuts.


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## tollickd (Dec 8, 2009)

I can't find a 5850 but i have found 2 cheap GIGABYTE RADEON HD5770 would doing this in crossfire be good?


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## Fourstaff (Dec 8, 2009)

5850 is guaranteed to be good, but some games dont utilise Xfire,  so sometimes you will only be able to "use" a 5770. Its comparable in power though.


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## tollickd (Dec 8, 2009)

So would 2 5770's be better than me getting a 4890 as i am unable to get a 5850 here at this time.


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## heky (Dec 8, 2009)

Yep, it is much better to get 2 5770 than a 4890. The 2 5770 will outperform the 4890 in almost all games(the ones that support crossfire) and consume less power. I say go for the 2 5770. Not to mention they are DX11 capable, the 4890 is not.


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## tollickd (Dec 8, 2009)

What games support xfire?


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## heky (Dec 8, 2009)

Almost every new game you can think of.


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## tollickd (Dec 8, 2009)

TO do this I need to get cheaper RAM now it is G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ 4GB (2X2GB) DDR3 PC3 12800 1600MHZ DUAL CHANNEL KIT

and down to Windows 7 Pro.

I get to keep my I7


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## Fishymachine (Dec 8, 2009)

yes,especially since they each theoretically the same power that a 4890 has (they might have some memory bottleneck but a good OC to 1400-1500 should do the trick coupled with better drivers)


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## tollickd (Dec 8, 2009)

Only prob now is that the mobo might not be up to it  second PCI 16 only runs at x4

Can't really afford to get a better Mobo


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## phanbuey (Dec 8, 2009)

tollickd said:


> Only prob now is that the mobo might not be up to it  second PCI 16 only runs at x4
> 
> Can't really afford to get a better Mobo



binge has a 5850 for sale... great seller - ive bought from him before. With OCing that will be faster than two 5770's and an X4 connection - plus no multi-bpu issues to worry about.


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## Stryder75 (Dec 8, 2009)

My suggestion is like most here, go for a 5850. You will see bigger gains in games here more so than the i7 860. Did you look at a i7 920 + x58 setup in price comparison to the i7 860 + p55? If you are set on the p55 setup, I would suggest looking at the ASRock p55 boards. They have a good lineup and have a good price on a 8x + 8x p55 board. -> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157172&cm_re=asrock-_-13-157-172-_-Product


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## phanbuey (Dec 8, 2009)

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=73052&page=21 << binge's 5850.


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## tollickd (Dec 8, 2009)

ASROCK P55 EXTREME is this a good mobo? x8 each


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## phanbuey (Dec 8, 2009)

tollickd said:


> ASROCK P55 EXTREME is this a good mobo? x8 each



its a great mobo.


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## tollickd (Dec 8, 2009)

Does it have a software overclock liek the GIGABYTE does?


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## phanbuey (Dec 8, 2009)

HE SAID THAT WHICH IS NOT TO BE SAID (software overclocking)... 

TO THE PIT WITH HIM!!!


no but seriously, software OC'ing tools are garbage and should not be used to make a mobo decision.  Google that mobo, ive seen many great reviews on it.

that being said, im pretty sure it does have a software OC tool, whether its a legit OC tool, or just a gesture is a different story.


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## TheMailMan78 (Dec 8, 2009)

tollickd said:


> Does it have a software overclock liek the GIGABYTE does?



You wanna OC via the bios my friend. We can help.


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## Stryder75 (Dec 8, 2009)

tollickd said:


> Does it have a software overclock liek the GIGABYTE does?



It does have a software overclocking tool, but it also has simple BIOS overclocking options as well. It is a great motherboard for the money and has been getting a lot of great reviews. Like phanbuey stated, the softwares for overclocking motherboards are not that great. And TheMailMan78 is correct in saying you want to overclock via the BIOS and that we can help.


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## MT Alex (Dec 8, 2009)

Once again:  http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=73052&page=21


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## TheMailMan78 (Dec 8, 2009)

MT Alex said:


> Once again:  http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=73052&page=21



Why dont you bump mine damn it!


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## Zubasa (Dec 8, 2009)

TheMailMan78 said:


> Why dont you bump mine damn it!


Because of this? 


TheMailMan78 said:


> After the 5th RMA they are great. Asus makes great mobos. Their GPUs suck donkey nuts.


Sometimes a little bit of business tactics won't harm dude. 

Bump the HD 4850s for ya.
http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=109732


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## TheMailMan78 (Dec 8, 2009)

Zubasa said:


> Because of this?
> 
> Sometimes a little bit of business tactics won't harm dude.
> 
> ...



The one I have are fresh from Asus. THEY WORK.


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## Zubasa (Dec 9, 2009)

TheMailMan78 said:


> The one I have are fresh from Asus. THEY WORK.


I know they work, and I trust you.
But it just make me LOL that you bash Asus while you are trying to sell a pair of cards from them


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## Nick89 (Dec 9, 2009)

heky said:


> Yep, it is much better to get 2 5770 than a 4890. The 2 5770 will outperform the 4890 in almost all games(the ones that support crossfire) and consume less power. I say go for the 2 5770. Not to mention they are DX11 capable, the 4890 is not.



Bad choice, VERY few games actually support crossfire well. Go with a single powerful card. Theres no reason to have 2 video cards if the only thing you're doing is gaming, A single more powerful card always wins. I know this from experience.


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## TheMailMan78 (Dec 9, 2009)

Nick89 said:


> Bad choice, VERY few games actually support crossfire well. Go with a single powerful card. Theres no reason to have 2 video cards if the only thing you're doing is gaming, A single more powerful card always wins. I know this from experience.



Not true. In all my benching so far my twin 48*50*s beat a single 5850. The only one so far the 5850 won in is the Heven bench.


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## tollickd (Dec 9, 2009)

The site I am looking at just updated and added POWERCOLOR RADEON HD5770 over next few days they might add a 5850 they did at one point a few days ago have a 5870 for my price range so i will have to see when i get my xmas bonus (this week i hope)


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## Lionheart (Dec 9, 2009)

2 HD4850's in crossfire beat a HD5850, thats hard 2 believe! I thought they were around the HD4890 performance.


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## Fishymachine (Dec 9, 2009)

on a games with 90+% scale they are just under a 5850 which pretty much was by suggestion from the  beginning,especially on on x4 lane


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## TheMailMan78 (Dec 9, 2009)

CHAOS_KILLA said:


> 2 HD4850's in crossfire beat a HD5850, thats hard 2 believe! I thought they were around the HD4890 performance.



Two 4850s will destroy a 4890 my friend.


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## Fishymachine (Dec 9, 2009)

a 4890 should beat at be with 60% quicker a single 4850,and a 5850 has every single spec of the 5750, which beats the 4850,doubled  so yes due to immature drivers 4850 cross might beat a 5850,but in this case ,tollickd's new build,it's the best option
-DirectX11
-Open Compute 5
-18W idle vs 60(2*4850)/120(2*4890)
-no crossfire issues
-150W load vs 220/380
-very good OC :1000 core @1.2v,950@ 1.15-1.18


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## MilkyWay (Dec 9, 2009)

The 4890 is only slightly more powerful than a 4870 and i needs a ton of power to get there.

IF a 5870 can mouse a 4870x2 then i thought a 5850 would be better than a 4850x2 which i thought was the same as 2x for crossfire?

The 5770 is like in between a 4870 and 4890 if can clock it then it should reach 4890 or just below that.


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## ToTTenTranz (Dec 9, 2009)

Hey, those graphics cards are so 6 months ago!

2* HD5770 or a single HD5850, with headroom for a second one when they get cheap.


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## Fishymachine (Dec 9, 2009)

he can't afford a mobo with dual 16 lanes so the 5850 is the only way to go...or since he wanted to spend 400$ on dual 4890 he might afford a 5870 Vapor-X(reference isn't worth it since the premium is so small)


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## ToTTenTranz (Dec 9, 2009)

TheMailMan78 said:


> Two 4850s will destroy a 4890 my friend.



No, they won't. It's about the same performance.

And you should know this already:

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showpost.php?p=1661023&postcount=44


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## MKmods (Dec 9, 2009)

why are you still talking about 48XX anythings? I think its pretty obvious that the 57/58 series is the only way to go.
I run a pair of 5770s and love them but If you can find a 5850 like everyone else says get it.


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## crazyeyesreaper (Dec 9, 2009)

dosent matter if his board is dual x16 lane or dual x8 5870 crossfire and below u wont notice any difference so 5750 5770 5850 and 5870 in crossfire will give equal performance on x8 x8 config the only card i see needing x16x16 is the 5970 in a quad gpu setup which the OP dosent need

grab a 5850 and be happy even if u have to wait a bit i still recommend the 5850 over anything else


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## TheMailMan78 (Dec 9, 2009)

ToTTenTranz said:


> No, they won't. It's about the same performance.
> 
> And you should know this already:
> 
> http://forums.techpowerup.com/showpost.php?p=1661023&postcount=44



Yeah that bench you posted was for Crysis. Crysis has crap support for xfire rigs. The rest of the benches the 4850s in xfire beats the 4890.

Also I just got a 5850 yesterday and its about the same if not less than two 4850s. So your going to tell me a 4890 is the same as a 5850 too?


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## tollickd (Dec 9, 2009)

Fishymachine said:


> he can't afford a mobo with dual 16 lanes so the 5850 is the only way to go...or since he wanted to spend 400$ on dual 4890 he might afford a 5870 Vapor-X(reference isn't worth it since the premium is so small)



I am looking at a I7 920 Bulild with the ASROCK X58 EXTREME  and it has dual 16 lanes


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## MilkyWay (Dec 9, 2009)

5850 is probly just around 2x 4850's which for a single card thats nice MailMan is totally right there

a 4870 is not 4-2fps more than 2x 4850's that is a lie

its acting like a gtx 260 = a 4850 which it cant because a 4850 is marginally better than a 8800gt


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## Fishymachine (Dec 9, 2009)

Than a 5770 now (try a Vapor-X,or PCS or Formula or some cheap non-reference)a another when they get cheaper.

I tried not be off-topic,but marginally better...so a GTS250 is also marginally better than the 8800/9800GT


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## ToTTenTranz (Dec 9, 2009)

TheMailMan78 said:


> Yeah that bench you posted was for Crysis. Crysis has crap support for xfire rigs. The rest of the benches the 4850s in xfire beats the 4890.
> 
> Also I just got a 5850 yesterday and its about the same if not less than two 4850s. So your going to tell me a 4890 is the same as a 5850 too?



LOL the review I posted from Xbit Labs has *15 games*, 13 of which show better or similar results with an overclocked HD4890 than a HD4850X2.



If your HD5850 has the same performance as a HD4850X2 then there's definitely something very wrong with your HD5850.


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## Stryder75 (Dec 9, 2009)

MKmods said:


> why are you still talking about 48XX anythings? I think its pretty obvious that the 57/58 series is the only way to go.
> I run a pair of 5770s and love them but If you can find a 5850 like everyone else says get it.


I second this statement. Go for the 5850 if you can find it. If not, a pair of 5770s will do you good.


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## tollickd (Dec 9, 2009)

Stryder75 said:


> I second this statement. Go for the 5850 if you can find it. If not, a pair of 5770s will do you good.



Well I will ask in the shop and if they have one I will get it other wise i will get 2 5770 until I can get a 5970


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## MKmods (Dec 9, 2009)

LOL, a pair of 5770s is pretty nice..The way you put it its like they are better than nothing

Im sure till you get a bigger LCD they will be fine. 

Its funny how the prices of the 57/58 series cards are so crazy now. When the 5770s first came out they were $159, than they dropped to $139 so I got my 2, Now they are $179
(its a bit too much IMO)
The 5850s were supposed to be $279 than they went to 309 than 339 and who knows now..

I had a pair of the 4870s and really didnt like them, they were power hogs and made a TON of heat in my case. The 57/58 series is much improved.


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## Exeodus (Dec 9, 2009)

I have had two 4850's in crossfire, 4870 512MB, 4890, and a 4870x2.

All were used with quad core setups, and it worked out like this.

two 4850 > 4870 512MB
4890 > two 4850
4870x2 > 4890

A 4890 is only a bit faster than a 4870 1GB, but it thrashes a 4870 512MB


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## TheMailMan78 (Dec 9, 2009)

4850x2 =  315 to 155 fps.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Sapphire/HD_4850_X2/13.html

4890 = 286 to 133 fps.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Sapphire/HD_4890/15.html

I can do other games but Prey or anything with the tech 4 engine tends to love ATI cards.

Oh and FYI there is nothing wrong with my 5850.


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## tollickd (Dec 10, 2009)

http://techgage.com/article/ati_radeon_hd_5770_crossfirex_performance/1 

Now I know what to get for xmas


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## Stryder75 (Dec 10, 2009)

Go for them. I would suggest seeing if you can find the sapphire Vapor-x model or at least a non-reference cooler 5770. Better temps and it won't sound like a leaf blower.


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## Fishymachine (Dec 10, 2009)

and with memory OC of 1400+ only drivers might stop you from having 4980x2 performance for 300$


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## Lionheart (Dec 10, 2009)

2 HD5770's in Xfire or an HD5850, if you can get em!


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## Wile E (Dec 11, 2009)

ToTTenTranz said:


> No, they won't. It's about the same performance.
> 
> And you should know this already:
> 
> http://forums.techpowerup.com/showpost.php?p=1661023&postcount=44



They didn't OC the 4850's either. A pair of OCed 4850 will beat a 1GHz OCed 4890.

At any rate, it doesn't matter, he shouldn't be looking at HD4000 series cards at this point in the game.


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## tollickd (Dec 11, 2009)

The shop just got XFX RADEON HD5850 1GB HD-585A-ZNB PCI-E RETAIL  in for less than the two 5770's


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## MKmods (Dec 11, 2009)

sounds like a plan hurry before its gone...


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## Stryder75 (Dec 11, 2009)

MKmods said:


> sounds like a plan hurry before its gone...



Make a mad dash for the store!


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## tollickd (Dec 11, 2009)

I am still waiting for my xmas bonus also it looks like i might be able to get a better mobo + 2 5850's does anyone know how well 2 would preform?


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## TheMailMan78 (Dec 11, 2009)

tollickd said:


> I am still waiting for my xmas bonus also it looks like i might be able to get a better mobo + 2 5850's does anyone know how well 2 would preform?



Erocker is the only person I know that has two in xfire.


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## Lionheart (Dec 11, 2009)

it should perform close to a HD5970, but thats just coming from benchmark reviews and videos!


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## InTeL-iNsIdE (Dec 11, 2009)

TheMailMan78 said:


> Stay away from Asus GPUs.



Why ?


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## Stryder75 (Dec 11, 2009)

CHAOS_KILLA said:


> it should perform close to a HD5970, but thats just coming from benchmark reviews and videos!



Chaos is pretty dead on. It should be around the performance of the 5970. What motherboard are you looking to switch to?


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## MKmods (Dec 11, 2009)

tollickd said:


> I am still waiting for my xmas bonus also it looks like i might be able to get a better mobo + 2 5850's does anyone know how well 2 would preform?



LOL, better get a 30" LCD too...


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## tollickd (Dec 12, 2009)

Stryder75 said:


> Chaos is pretty dead on. It should be around the performance of the 5970. What motherboard are you looking to switch to?



GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD5 (12gb RAM) or ASUS RAMPAGE 2 EXTREME with only 6gb RAM


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## Wile E (Dec 12, 2009)

I'd get the Gigabyte. They've been kicking ass on X58. I probably wouldn't get 12GB of ram tho. I'd probably get 6GB, and throw the money I saved onto a better psu, or more storage.


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## tollickd (Dec 12, 2009)

A better PSU 

http://www.eshopcy.com.cy/PER_psu.phtml

Please advise on better alternatives


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## Wile E (Dec 12, 2009)

tollickd said:


> A better PSU
> 
> http://www.eshopcy.com.cy/PER_psu.phtml
> 
> Please advise on better alternatives



EH, nevermind. Unless you can afford to jump to the HX1000, the 850 is fine. Grab more storage then. Maybe an SSD for the OS, and a 1TB for storage.


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## tollickd (Dec 12, 2009)

Hmm i could put the money towards a second screen two of these SAMSUNG SYNCMASTER 2343BW BLACK  (23'', 2048 X 1152)


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