Cost Effective Route for me? Please give opinions!

[PhilosophyPower]

My current specs:
Corsair 650w TX
ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO
Diamond Radeon 5850 HD1gig
AMD Phenom II x4 965 Black Edition 3.4ghz
G.Skill DDR3@1600 - 8gigs
WesternDigital 300gb @ 7200rpm (outdated)
LG Flatron W2252TQ
---------------

I desire to get my rig Crossfired(dual), and with the 5850 being discontinued, I'm in a dilemna in that regard. The issue becomes worst, with the motherboard being a Hybrid Crossfire Board. The secondary PCI-E slot doesn't run a Crossfired card in x16. I believe it only runs in x2. I'm also looking into a good 2ms 22'' HDMI (1080p) Monitor, brand is not important (but i do like LG). I'm also looking into a hard drive, and wondering if the 10k VelociRaptor would be a cost-effective choice. Lastly, will my power supply be capable of running Crossfire, it's a nice PSU even with the low wattage.

So. What cost effective routes do you suggest I take?

I'm mainly trying to prep this computer for the upcoming Battlefield 3 release. I'd prefer to just swap the motherboard, get a new HDD, and Monitor.

Any suggestions?

 

[buwish]

This topic has been moved from the section Opinions and Experiences to section Systems by Buwish

 

[AdrianPerry]

650w PSU would be enough for crossfire 6850's. So i recommend either grabbing 1 or 2 of those depending on budget and such. This would enable you to keep your current PSU.

Your motherboard has "2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (blue @ x16 mode,gray @ x4 mode)" so I presume running 2 cards would give you x4/x4. Ideally a motherboard with x2 PCIe 2.0 x16 running at x8/x8 in SLI would be preferred, however not "necessary". Agin this depends on your budget and how much your wishing to spend on an upgrade.

An AM3+ motherboard might be a good upgrade choice, giving you the crossfire support you need, and allowing a future processor upgrade if required further down the line.

Veloci-raptor, in my opinion really isnt cost effective at all. Just grab yourself a 7200RPM WD Caviar Black, SeaGate Barracuda or Samsung SpinPoint F3.

----

In short:
Keep your current build
Buy a 6850
Buy a 7200rpm HDD
Consider buying an AM3+ Motherboard with x2 PCIe x16 slots running x8/x8 crossfire.

Total upgrade cost of about $350

 

[PhilosophyPower]

Is the 6850 in Crossfire really worth the investment? According to the average specs, they're only slightly better (in Crossfire Dual) than running the 5850 in Crossfire (Dual)

[1] ASUS Sabertooth 990FX AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
+
[2] SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100315VXL Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

 

[AdrianPerry]

I thought you said 5850 was discontinued, meaning you couldn't buy another one?

6870's crossfire is always an option but you would need a new PSU...same applies to any other higher end card in SLI/Crossfire.

 

[008Rohit]

The first thing you'd like to upgrade is the motherboard. Consider getting some AM3+ motherboard with SLI/Crossfire ability at x8/x8.

Then, get another HD 5850, its difference from 6850 is negligible.

Your processor is fine. The 5850 crossfire would be a powerful thing too... So you need to get a new hard disk. I recommend a Seagate or Samsung Spinpoint 1TB Drive.

Monitors fall into the category of personal needs and preferences, so I leave that upon you.

If you do what I've said, you're going to maxx out BF3 at 1680x1050 and maybe in 1080p, too.

 

[PhilosophyPower]

I thought you said 5850 was discontinued, meaning you couldn't buy another one?

6870's crossfire is always an option but you would need a new PSU...same applies to any other higher end card in SLI/Crossfire.

I know the 5850's are discontinued, and I can't find another one--but i'd prefer to just run x2 5850 in Crossfire, and make use of my current 5850. Rather than buying 2 new cards entirely. If you can point out a 5850 for sale (especially another one of mine), then I'd gladly just do the 5850 CF + New Mobo + New HD + New Monitor.

 

[PhilosophyPower]

The first thing you'd like to upgrade is the motherboard. Consider getting some AM3+ motherboard with SLI/Crossfire ability at x8/x8.

Then, get another HD 5850, its difference from 6850 is negligible.

Your processor is fine. The 5850 crossfire would be a powerful thing too... So you need to get a new hard disk. I recommend a Seagate or Samsung Spinpoint 1TB Drive.

Monitors fall into the category of personal needs and preferences, so I leave that upon you.

If you do what I've said, you're going to maxx out BF3 at 1680x1050 and maybe in 1080p, too.

Know of a place I can find a 5850 that's compatible with mine?

What's the benefit of those HDD's? I really don't need 1TB, i'd prefer to find a 300-500g with faster load times.

I'm trying to find a 22'' 1080p monitor for under $200, any recommendations?

 

[008Rohit]

Here you can get a 5850 : www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004W75ATI/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1316526799&sr=8-1

500GB Seagate Barracuda is recommended.

Acer S231HLbid Black 23" 5ms HDMI LED-Backlight LCD monitor Slim Design - $150

www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009255

 

[PhilosophyPower]

Here you can get a 5850 : www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004W75ATI/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1316526799&sr=8-1

500GB Seagate Barracuda is recommended.

Acer S231HLbid Black 23" 5ms HDMI LED-Backlight LCD monitor Slim Design - $150

www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009255

Hmmm. Used Graphics Card, skeptical. Only GPU you found? I've been looking for a while.

When it comes to HDD, is their a substantial increase in 6.0GBPS over 3.0? Also, should I try and find a 32mb cache HDD?

 

[008Rohit]

HDDs don't even use 3.0GB/s bandwidth totally. Its SSDs which benefit from SATA 6.0GB/s ports.
I personally use a 500GB Seagate SATA 6.0GB/s hard disk with 16MB Cache on a SATA 3.0GB/s port and its quite fast.

Also, if you can't find a new HD 5850, sell your current 5850 and get a single card thats more powerful than 5850. Something like, 6870 or GTX 560 Ti.