HD4890 and related questions

[Murchadh]

Hey Everyone,

What I want to be able to do is have a decent gaming experience at 1900x1200 resolution. For this purpose I am going to pick up an HD4890 tomorrow and a 24" LCD.


Q1: I have spent hours traversing the net trying to find a definitive answer as to what kind of of PSU I need to RELIABLY power my system (total wattage and Amps on 12v). I am not planning on going Crossfire but I do plan on upgrading my CPU and Mboard in the very near future. (I am running 3 Hard Drives with no additional fans or anything bar a Creative Xfi with breakout box, if that helps).

Q2: Seeing as I am on a bit of a budget this month I am unable to go the whole shebang and upgrade my Mboard and CPU too (that'll have to wait till at least September or October). I currently have a rather old Athlon 64 X2 4200 which I am sure will not be any good, however will I be able to play at 1900x1200 AT ALL with any sort of decent framerates (does not have to be stellar by any means)?

Q3: As for a new processor, could anyone recommend something that would match well with the HD. I am not looking at i7 architecture (too expensive) nor at AMD (no availability where I live). I am loath to do overclocking of any kind so stock will be what I look at.

Thanks

 

[evongugg]

Q1: 500 Watt or greater power supply with two 75W 6-pin PCI Express® power connectors recommended (600 Watt and four 6-pin connectors for ATI CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode)
Certified power supplies are recommended. Refer to http://ati.amd.com/certifiedPSU for a list of Certified products

http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonhd4800/requirements-4890.html

Q2 and Q3: Please list your hardware specs.

 

[pratkal]

where u can find ati gpu u can also find amd cpu just look around a bit more still tell ur budget for cpu+mobo+ ram

 

[Murchadh]

Q1: 500 Watt or greater power supply with two 75W 6-pin PCI Express® power connectors recommended (600 Watt and four 6-pin connectors for ATI CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode)
Certified power supplies are recommended. Refer to http://ati.amd.com/certifiedPSU for a list of Certified products

http://ati.amd.com/products/radeonhd4800/requirements-4890.html

Q2 and Q3: Please list your hardware specs.

I currently have an Athlon X2 4200 CPU and an Asus M2N-Sli Deluxe Mboard with 2Gig Ram

 

[Murchadh]

Not Crysis....that's for sure

Let's see.... Mass Effect, Fallout 3, Oblivion (still), Bioshock ... that about does it for the last two years (I tend to spend a very, very long time playing a game)

I guess we are going to find out.... the 4890 is going in tonight.

 

[Murchadh]

Oh you will be able to handle those no problem, wouldn't image cpu or ram will get in the way of playability.

Thanks.

My new GPU arrived last night but lo and behold, it is defective and has to be returned. Replacement coming tomorrow.

 

[astrodudepsu]

Did you move? You can't get an AMD CPU, but you already have an AMD CPU.

Anyway if you can't go AMD, and won't go i7, then the only other option is C2D/C2Q in socket LGA775. Look for a nice P45 motherboard, and the best CPU you can afford.

Cheap: E5200
Mid: E8400
High: Q9550

 

[Murchadh]

No, I live in South Africa.

When I purchased my AMD last time around (2 years ago) there wasn't any problem but for some reason the CPUs are really scarce now (the majority of the models are unavailable). I CAN get if I really wanted to, BUT inexplicably the prices of AMD CPUs are by some distance more expensive than comparable Intel ones ... I know, it makes almost no sense. After all, I would really prefer to stick with AMD as I have done for the last ten years.

What's wrong with i7? I was looking at the Q9550 paired with an Asus P5Q actually.

The thing is. I want/ed to future proof myself a little so getting a Mboard that can take DDR3 and that has a CPU socket with an upgrade path seems to me the way to go....which is why I thought i7 *shrug*

I can afford an i7 920 at max at the mo.

EDIT: Oh, this makes sense now. AMD pulled out of SA a while back which explains everything, but as of the 22nd of July they are back...hmmm...maybe availability and prices will change....maybe I should wait a bit...

 

[astrodudepsu]

There is nothing wrong with i7, I'd recommend it actually, but in your original post you say you weren't looking at i7 so I ignored it.

If you can afford i7, then by all means do it.

 

[Murchadh]

There is nothing wrong with i7, I'd recommend it actually, but in your original post you say you weren't looking at i7 so I ignored it.

If you can afford i7, then by all means do it.

Oh right, sorry about that. Yes, i7s are expensive but yesterday I did some more checking and the i7 920 isn't all that bad price wise

Thanks