New build

[Thor_23]

Hi All,

I am having a slight upgrade.
I have already decided as to what hardware to take but would like your opinions:

1. AMD socket AM3 Hexacore CPU 1055T
2. Corsair XMS 3 gaming ram 2X2gig kit DDR3-1600
3. Asus Crosshair 4 (iV) Formula mb
4. Sapphire HD5870 Game edition
5. Coolermaster HAF932 Amd edition

thanks

[Skouperd]

One day I will understand the mindset of somebody that is prepare to spend as much on a case as they are prepare to spend on a CPU. But that day ain't today. For the rest, seem reasonable, personally, I would drop the fancy case and rather get a better CPU (and or cpu + motherboard).

[J_Th4ng]

Hey Ion,

Mostly, I like what you have. The only thing I'd change personally is to get a 6870 rather than a 5870. Sure the 5870 is faster, but it'll cost you quite a bit more than the 6870. It's also not as efficient a card, so some of the horsepower advatage it has will go to waste.

The big advantage of the 6870 though is in XFire scaling. It scales exceptinally well, making it a great choice of card if you wanted to add another one later (and given that you're getting a RoG board, I assume that you'll want to?)

Check out http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6850-6870-crossfirex-review/7 for a comparison of card performance in BC2. As you can see, the 6870 in XFire is faster than the 5870 in XFire. Although I currently have 2x5870's, I'd rather have 2x6780's in my PC...

Anyway, just my 2c, and it's certainly related to an upgrade to XFire in the future. If you're going to stick with one card though, then the 5870 is good.

[Megageth]

I like the looks of that.

Jarrod beat me to it but my 2c :

Only thing I would look at are the costs of the 5870 vs the 6870. The 6870 is very cheap and about the same performance as the 5870. Check with your supplier and compare the 2.

[Megageth]

PS Skoups, I bought a steel Antec server case about 8 years ago. Its still 100%, gives good airflow and will be with me for a while still.
I agree, its not as crucial as cpu/mobo but in this case (haha) I think Ion has a decent gaming rig so might as well get a nice hut to put it in. My case cost ~R800 which was a lot back then but a lekka doos will go the extra mile.

[J_Th4ng]

I tend to agree. Like a PSU and (to a lesser extent) a monitor, the chassis should be with you for a long time. It's a good idea to buy something that will handle future upgrades well.

[Thor_23]

Thanks for the replies.

I had thought of rather using the 6870 but due to online reviews I chose to stick with the 5870.
As for crossfire.... At this stage it is unlikely that I will get a second card, but its always nice to have the option

As for the case. its as Mega stated. I wanna get a decent case that has a lot of room for future expansion as I will be hanging on to this one for a while.

[Skouperd]

I tend to agree. Like a PSU and (to a lesser extent) a monitor, the chassis should be with you for a long time. It's a good idea to buy something that will handle future upgrades well.

So then you should rather be looking to something like this?

http://www.instructables.com/id/Home-Made-PC-Troubleshooting-Case./


Seriously, the problem with trying to buy a case that will cater for future upgrades is that you never know where they will be going. Will the EVGA SR2 become a new standard for motherboards, or will E-ATX be the future for serious gamers? The other route is Micro-ATX and ITX standards bringing out more and more gaming class boards. (Rampage Gene for instance). Either way, if you absolutely need to get a better case, then the 932 is not a bad buy.

With regard to going 6870, versus 5870, I honestly cannot believe that both Geth and Jarrod suggested it. I’ll give it to you guys that it definitely scales very well in Crossfire, but if you are not planning to run a dual GPU configuration in the near future, there is no reason why you should choose the 6870 over the 5870. With regard to the power consumption, Jarrod, you could run at least 3 or 4 of the 5870’s before your 1KW nuclear power station will start to break a sweat. Power consumption is only a concern if you have heat problems or if you are a tree hugger. I don’t believe there are many tree huggers in grrr, which leaves us with heat. Heat is only a concern in poorly ventilated cases (says the guy who lost a GPU due to overheating̷)

Bottom line, this is a good build, no matter how you look at it. Personally, I would have spent more money on the CPU and motherboard, and less on the case, but that is coming down to personal preferences really.

[Megageth]

With regard to going 6870, versus 5870, I honestly cannot believe that both Geth and Jarrod suggested it.

Skoups online e-tailers prices show the 6870 a lot cheaper than the 5870. What do your prices lists say?
If the 6870 is substantially cheaper then I personally would choose it over the 5870 with Crossfire an option 6-12 months down the line.


eg: MSI 5870 1GB R3760
http://www.prophecy.co.za/r5870-lightning-radeon-hd5870-gddr5-256bit-pcie-p-68480.html

vs MSI 6870 1GB R2752
http://www.prophecy.co.za/radeon-6870-ddr5-256bit-pcie-p-85883.html

[Skouperd]

Excluding VAT and profit margins, this is the cost at Frontosa as at last week:

(Ps, all NVidia cards is ASUS, all ATI cards are Saphire, ASUS tends to be more expensive than any other brand)

ATI 5770 = R1357
GTX460 = R1899
ATI 6850 = R1999
ATI 4850x2 = R2199
GTX465 = R2345
ATI 5850 = R2599
ATI 6870 = R2699
GTX470 = R2772
ATI 5870 = R3210
GTX480 = R4399
ATI 5970 = R5151

The 6870 is priced exactly where it should be, i.e. it has to be cheaper than the 5870 because it is a weaker card than the 5870. Also Mega, don't make your decision just on that single graph displayed no Jarrod's website. The very next page, reviewing COD, shows that 2x5850's perform the same as 2x6870's. The 5850's are cheaper than the 6870.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-6850-6870-crossfirex-review/8

If you do plan to go dual GPU, then based on the COD stats, I would go with the 470GTX now, cost you R100 more, but 2x470GTX performs 33% better (at R200 more) than the 6870.

Bottom line, do not make your decision based on any single chart, or based on any single game title. The 6870 is priced exactly where it should be, and that is all that it has going for it. It is not better than the 5870 and it is not better than 470GTX. (It may be better in one or two games, but not overall). ATI knows this, and that is exactly the reason why they are pricing it cheaper than the 5870.

By calling it a 6870, everybody is jumping up and down because this is a new "top of the range" card and it only cost R2500, it is not the top end card guys. Had ATI called it 6670 (what in my mind it should have been) or 6770 perhaps, then the people here would not have got so hyped up on it.