GPU Battle: Overall cost and bang for buck!

[Corsica96]

Hello everyone. I'm trying to put together my ultimate gaming rig here:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/75xB

And I'm pretty set in my build. However...I've been debating if I should substitute the Gigabyte Radeon HD 6870 with this Radeon HD 7850 here:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121623&Tpk=asus%20radeon%20hd%207850

Is the price increase/performance worth it? And is it compatible with the build? It seems like it, but I'm just making sure here.

 

[amuffin]

7850 is a better card, but you better change that power supply! It is the low end ocz model, and has a possibility of damaging your system! Swap it out with a quality corsair, seasonic, xfx, or antec power supply!

 

[Corsica96]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/75NO

Is that better?

 

[digdog]

the OCZ psu is fine. my own ocz has been powering my rig for the last 4 years w/o complaints. no reason to spend the extra $80 when you could put that cash towards a better GPU.

however you're kind of silly buying a 2500k when the release date for Ivy bridge is .. monday. Can you wait four days ??

 

[Corsica96]

Pardon me for sounding ignorant...but what exactly is Ivy Bridge? The update to all major MOBO's? If so...how much more will I be paying for one?

 

[amuffin]

You would be paying the same, however it won't affect gaming performance at all. Just better integrated graphics, and maybe a 5% higher performance core per core.

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

however you're kind of silly buying a 2500k when the release date for Ivy bridge is .. monday. Can you wait four days ??

Silly is a strong word... My recommendation is either stay with the 2500K or wait and see how the first release Ivy's pan out. There have been some reports of heat issues with them, but we won't know for sure until the IB processors hit retail.

The only reasons for a gamer to go with IB are PCIe 3.0 and (possibly) Virtu MVP (on a Z77 mobo).