512mb GDDR5 vs 1GB GDDR3

[Griffolion]

The 4870 asks for a 500W PSU, they say this because they know that there will be a CPU, motherboard and at least 1 HDD plugged in. Basically, if you have at least a 500W PSU (that's decent quality), then you have met the basic power requirements for the 4870. If you're running multiple HDD's or are planning on heavily overclocking your CPU or anything else, you may want to go a little higher to accommodate this.

 

[jjb8675309]

I def agree with getting a different, quality 500W+ psu from a reliable manufacturer such as Antec, Corsair, or Seasonic like many have already said

 

[jyjjy]

The 4870 asks for a 500W PSU, they say this because they know that there will be a CPU, motherboard and at least 1 HDD plugged in. Basically, if you have at least a 500W PSU (that's decent quality), then you have met the basic power requirements for the 4870. If you're running multiple HDD's or are planning on heavily overclocking your CPU or anything else, you may want to go a little higher to accommodate this.

No, ATI/AMD in particular seem to assume a fully decked out system as well as a sketchy quality PSU when coming up with their recommendations.

 

[pkhamidar2com]

No, ATI/AMD in particular seem to assume a fully decked out system as well as a sketchy quality PSU when coming up with their recommendations.

what does that mean? Are amd/ati bad? I dont mind getting intel but amd is so cheap you know?

anyways i need to read up on what hyperthreading is cus thats what intel has.
also what l3 cache is etc... and how important it is.

 

[jyjjy]

No, I didn't say anything like that. I was just saying their recommended wattage to run their video cards is often very inflated. For example they recommend a 400w power supply to run the HD5570. That card actually uses about 35w under normal conditions and barely breaks 50w under stress testing.
That said they make fine video cards and good processors although if you can afford an i5 it is worth the extra money over a Phenom II.

 

[pkhamidar2com]

lol, il look afer all im not building it right this moment. Anyways i can always afford to look around. The l3 cache sounds attractive, as does the hyperthreading

 

[jyjjy]

Your choice should basically come down to what you want to spend. If you can handle $225 for a processor then the i5-2500k is the obvious choice. If that is too much a Phenom II x4 is good value for the money. Here is a comparison;
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/288?vs=88
As for the video card if you aren't building until the summer you really shouldn't be trying to pick out a card now. 4+ months is a long time in the video card industry so the cards you would go for right now may not make any sense when the time comes.

 

[pkhamidar2com]

but it says here that you dont need l3 cache

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/athlon-l3-cache,2416.html

:/

 

[jyjjy]

You can go with an Athlon if you want. L3 is nice but not a huge deal. If you are really looking for the best value for the money you can try unlocking a Phenom II x2 or Athlon II x3. Success rates are quite high(80%+.)

 

[pkhamidar2com]

What do you mean by unlocking?

Im gonna get an athlon ii x4 though. and what do you mean success rates are high? And do cpu's also have a 80%+ thing?

 

[jyjjy]

Both the Phenom II x2 and the Athlon II x3 processors are in fact quad core processors with one or two of the cores locked by AMD. Most motherboards however can attempt to unlock those cores making it a full Phenom/Athlon II x4. It doesn't always work but it does a large majority of the time, around 80%.
Sometimes the Athlons also have L3 cache that can be unlocked but I believe the success rate on that is a lot lower.