$500 budget upgrade - i5 750, i7 860, or Phenom II x4

[stonedzen]

First of all, here are my current specs:

Pentium D 930 Presler 3.0ghz LGA775
Abit AW8 Atx Motherboard
G.Skill 2x1gb DDR2-800 RAM
HIS Radeon 3870x2 1gb DDR3
CoolerMaster RS-500 PSU


So my system is obviously very dated, at least the mobo, ram and cpu are. I've had all this hardware (except the video card) for over 4 years. I want an upgrade that will last me at least two to three years, but I cant spend much more than $500. Here is the upgrade I am considering:

Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8ghz Quad LGA1156
ASRock H55M Pro Micro Atx
G.Skill 2x2gb Ripjaws DDR3-1333 RAM

What I am wondering is if it would be worth it to get an i5-750 instead of the i7 and buy a second Radeon 3870 with the extra money (making 3x3870 gpu crossfire, shows up to 20% increase over 3870x2 alone in benchmarks). Also, I dont really know much about AMD. How would $500 stand up in a similar upgrade with AMD...a Phenom II x4 955 BE for example?

I almost exclusively use my computer for gaming and internet use. I play Modern Warfare 2 and Napoleon Total War mostly right now. Thanks in advance for the advice!

 

[antisyzygy]

Buy you are talking about a totally unnecessary $160 right now for a 5770 when his 3870x2 is already as fast as a 5750. Its not worth $160 right now.

Buying a more expensive motherboard and PSU now and upgrading to twin 5770s later would make sense if the performance difference between a 5850 and twin 5770s is worth it. Thats a judgement call I cant make for him.

For budget gaming performance and a single graphics card:
GA-770TA-UD3 motherboard with USB3 and SATA3 ($95)
Athlon II x3 ($67-75)
hyper 212 ($30)
4GB RAM. ($110)
Seagate 7200.12 or Samsung F3 500 GB HDD ($55).
The antec 300 illusion and a good antec PSU are often available for ~$125 as a combo.

I assumed he is reusing his PSU, case, OS and hard drives. He may in fact be better off waiting to afford a 5850 but a 5770 is adequate now. It depends on if he wants to wait or not. If he doesnt want to wait, at least he can crossfire 5770's as an upgrade. I did it from the get go because at the time the 5870 was too expensive, and two 5770's perform close to the same at a price reduction. Generally I dont recommend crossfiring at all unless you do it within 6 months of your original build (even 5 months is pushing it depending on if new graphics cards are coming out), otherwise you may as well just upgrade to a new single video card.

 

[143miah]

What resolution does the OP even play at? For all you guys know, he could be playing at 800x600 and everyones trying to put together a 5770 or 5850 build, lol.

 

[dndhatcher]

What resolution does the OP even play at? For all you guys know, he could be playing at 800x600 and everyones trying to put together a 5770 or 5850 build, lol.

He is upgrading. His next monitor will be 1680x1050 or more likely 1920x1080. But thats why I think he should stick with the 3870x2 for now. I dont think there is enough benefit to a new 5000 series card less than a 5850 if that is your starting point.

 

[143miah]

He is upgrading. His next monitor will be 1680x1050 or more likely 1920x1080. But thats why I think he should stick with the 3870x2 for now. I dont think there is enough benefit to a new 5000 series card less than a 5850 if that is your starting point.

Lol, I'm just saying, everyone's recommending the OP different cards not even knowing what resolution he's playing at.

 

[stonedzen]

I'm running at 1680x1050 on a 22" widescreen with a 2nd monitor at 1056x768. As I said I am mostly playing COD:MW2 and Napoleon Total War. I can currently run these games at near max settings with my 3870x2, but frame rates are 30-40fps with COD and 25-35fps on Napoleon. I am not interested in a graphics upgrade just yet, as I am only upgrading because my mobo is dying. Took a while to talk my wife into this upgrade with a $500 budget, but as I said it needs to last me at least two years. I can work on overclocking the 3870x2 to boost graphics performance but a new card is out of the question right now. This is strictly a mobo, cpu and memory upgrade. I threw on the cpu cooler for the purpose of overclocking the i5. Anyway, hope this info helps guide this discussion. Thanks so much for all the input so far, any more ideas people have are very welcome!

 

[xurwin]

here. $500 mobo cpu ram upgrade

mobo:asus crosshair 4 formula(too much?)
ram:gskill ripjaws 4gb
cpu:amd deneb 955

380+230=$410 )) good

 

[someguynamedmatt]

I hate to say it, but there's no need whatsoever for that Crosshair IV. If I were you, I'd go with an MSI 790FX-GD70 board. Exact same crossfire, 8 SATA ports, out-of-the-box support for every processor I've put in it. I've been running mine with a PII 965 at 3.8ghz for 4 months now and it hasn't had a single crash or hiccup. The Formula just isn't worth the extra money. Heck, my GD70 even POSTed on the first startup, installed Windows, and was up in running without a single problem. It even had all my settings set right for me.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130223&cm_re=790fx-gd70-_-13-130-223-_-Product

...and it's beautiful IMO. If you really want to spend $70 for a couple more FPS in a game and a red/black color theme, go right ahead. Not my money.

 

[xurwin]

^ i know. i cannot get to 500 dollar though thats why i choose it. and any 890FX board would be fine.

 

[stonedzen]

here. $500 mobo cpu ram upgrade

mobo:asus crosshair 4 formula(too much?)
ram:gskill ripjaws 4gb
cpu:amd deneb 955

380+230=$410 )) good

380+230 = $610, not $410.

This exceeds my budget a bit too much, but I've been looking at other, less expensive amd motherboards. So here are my 'almost' final two ideas, one amd, one intel. Please give as much feedback as possible on the pros/cons of each and keep in mind it is 99% for gaming.

Intel upgrade:

Intel i5-750 2.66ghz Quad LGA 1156
GIGABYTE GA-P55-USB3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 USB 3.0 ATX
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)

~VS~

AMD upgrade:

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 Quad
MSI 790FX-GD70 AM3 AMD 790FX ATX
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)


Also, any thoughts on the Corsair Hydro System H50 vs a CM Hyper 212 Plus with an additional 120mm fan for push/pull setup. They are about the same cost when two high quality 120s are added to the hyper setup. Hydro does slightly better in most of the benchmarks I've seen, but that is against a stock Hyper212, not one with upgraded fans for push/pull. Any thoughts here?

 

[xurwin]

ow. i hate math. i would go with the intel upgrade. but! i warn you. the LGA 1156 is a dead end socket. 6core intel are for LGA 1366. so. maybe am3 boards are futureprof. becuase of the hexacore. i dont know.

 

[coldsleep]

Similar conversations are going on in a number of threads on this forum right now, I'm sure you'll see a number of similar questions & answers.

Nothing is truly future-proof.

Right now, AMD has the most visible upgrade path, in that the roadmap has Bulldozer being released next year, and it's supported on AM3. They also have (recent) history of providing an upgade path from AM2 -> AM2+ -> AM3. That is, of course, no guarantee for the future, but at least it's something to consider.

If you think that you might suddenly need more than 4 cores next year, but will want a new processor, AMD is probably the way to go.

If you are more likely to just run this computer into the ground and then do a new build in 3-5 years, then it doesn't really matter.

On the Hyper 212+ vs. H50: While water cooling can be done well and can be safe, at best, it takes more maintenance than air cooling. Personally, I don't trust inexpensive water cooling solutions. I have not used the H50, so I cannot comment on the quality of the components, but the chance of something going catastrophically wrong with water cooling is higher than with air. For me, that would suggest that I'd want to spend more, not less, on a water cooling solution. YMMV.

 

[antisyzygy]

On the Hyper 212+ vs. H50: While water cooling can be done well and can be safe, at best, it takes more maintenance than air cooling. Personally, I don't trust inexpensive water cooling solutions. I have not used the H50, so I cannot comment on the quality of the components, but the chance of something going catastrophically wrong with water cooling is higher than with air. For me, that would suggest that I'd want to spend more, not less, on a water cooling solution. YMMV.

Ive heard of some people using oil (mineral oil?) instead of water to cool. Id imagine you need special gear for it. I wouldnt bother with liquid cooling unless you plan to overclock the hell out of something. Air cooling works fine the majority of the time even if you overclock.

 

[antisyzygy]

ow. i hate math. i would go with the intel upgrade. but! i warn you. the LGA 1156 is a dead end socket. 6core intel are for LGA 1366. so. maybe am3 boards are futureprof. becuase of the hexacore. i dont know.

Yes. Am3 is a better platform long term.

 

[dndhatcher]

Given what you are playing, I dont see the need to go for a quad even.

Athlon II x3 ($70-75)
Gigabyte MA770TA-UD3 Motherboard <usb3, sata3, single GPU> ($95)
4GB RAM ($110)
CPU cooler ($30-40)

Overclock CPU to 3.5GHz or so, possibly get very lucky and unlock 4th core. Someday in the future you could put in a single powerful graphics card and/or an AMD 6 core CPU if necessary.

 

[stonedzen]

Thanks for all the feedback, this is a great community. At this point I'm leaning towards the AMD rig. It allows me to purchase a better motherboard with more options for upgrading if I find a way to afford it the next three years. I've always gone intel before, so I'm honestly a little scared, but most people who arent diehard intel fans speak highly of AMD, especially for gaming. Thinking I'll go the AMD setup with the Hyper 212 plus and 2 high performance CM 120 fans to make push/pull on the hyper's coil. Please feel free to add any more input you have, as I will not be making the purchase for at least two more days. Thanks again!

 

[mosox]

Give your system specs and most of all how much do you think you will get for those 3870.

 

[stonedzen]

Give your system specs and most of all how much do you think you will get for those 3870.

Specs are listed on the OP. Not sure what you're asking here regarding the 3870. I'm not planning on selling my 3870x2 if thats waht you mean. Care to clarify mate?