I7 gtx or phenom II 4890?

[baldinie]

hey everyone, i got a lot of support last time i came in here for advice. I know i've been quiet recently but been training for a new job as a weather forecaster at the met office (and no i'm not goin to be on the tele)

I've saved up some money and am ready to build a new gaming rig. my laptop can no longer cope so its time to build a behemoth.

I'm thinking along 2 lines (I like AMD but am not a fanboy)
Case is a coolermaster storm scout, 700W OCZ PSU, vista premium 64bit, and a 22-24" HD monitor.

either:
Option 1
ASUS M4A79T Delux
phenom 2 955
HD 4890 (dragon platform)
4gb ddr3 1333MHZ
1tb HDD

or option 2
i7 920
gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R
6gb tripple channel (1600MHZ)
GTX 275 (standard or OC)
1Tb HDD

The system will be primarily a gaming RIG, but i also do a lot of web browsing and photography (not photo shop but adjusting photos I take)
what i want to know is, which is better (preferably from peoples personal experience) and which is goin to be overclock and upgrade. (i'm a little worried that intel will do another petium 4 on us and the i7 LGA1336 will be dropped quickly and wont be upgradable)

any other input is more than welcome.

ALSO, can anyone clear up the intel mobo and SLI stuff. Can i put in a second GTX 275 at a later date on that mobo (gugabyte UD3R) on full 16x 16x SLI?

thanx

 

[ubernoobie]

which one costs more? if the i7 by about 100-200 dollars more than the phenom 2 then get that or if same get the i7 but if it's more than 200 dollars difference then get get phenom 2

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.gigabyte.us/Products/Motherboard/Products_Spec.aspx?ClassValue=Motherboard&ProductID=3104&ProductName=GA-EX58-UD3R

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/gigabyte-nvidia-sli-motherboard,7463.html <--- Gigabyte: Enable SLI On X58 Boards

 

[smithereen]

In my opinion, the i7 wins out in that price range, but you're overspending on it. You can trim cost by dropping to a Gigabyte 790X AM3 board, or by dropping to an AM2+ 790X or 790FX and a Ph2 940. You can cut about $100 off of the cost while loosing minimal to no performance, then the AMD wins out.

 

[Helloworld_98]

swap the GTX 275 for a 4890 in the i7 and you've just saved ~$50 with no performance loss. and go for the i7 build, it will last you longer overall, especially since 6 cores are coming to 1366 but not any of the other sockets out within the next 6 months.

 

[astrodudepsu]

Get the best of both worlds and go Intel/AMD! aka heed helloworld_98's advice

 

[baldinie]

groovy. the gtx 275 is only £10 more than the 4890 (i'm the UK btw).

i do like the intel's performance across the board not just in gaming. the intel system with tripple channel is about £55 more than the AMD set up (thats about $80 atm i think)

Also, is a OCZ stealth 700W PSU sufficient? never too sure bout these power requirements anymore. 3dguru.com say 650W minimum

And at "why_me" is the UD3 supporting full 16x16x SLI? (or anyone else who knows) just for upgrade potential.

Sorry for this, but had another thought..since AM3 is just out and intel are releasing another new socket..is there anything i should know bout future upgrade (ie will either AM3 or 1336 be obsolete any time soon?)
and does anyone think it would be worth waiting till windows 7 comes out?

cheers all

 

[baldinie]

one other question, if anyones still reading. I can get a HD4870 X2 for another £60 (the asus tripple fan one)...is that worth gettin or is there still lots of issues with duel gpu graphics and games?

 

[Why_Me]

groovy. the gtx 275 is only £10 more than the 4890 (i'm the UK btw).

i do like the intel's performance across the board not just in gaming. the intel system with tripple channel is about £55 more than the AMD set up (thats about $80 atm i think)

Also, is a OCZ stealth 700W PSU sufficient? never too sure bout these power requirements anymore. 3dguru.com say 650W minimum

And at "why_me" is the UD3 supporting full 16x16x SLI? (or anyone else who knows) just for upgrade potential.

Sorry for this, but had another thought..since AM3 is just out and intel are releasing another new socket..is there anything i should know bout future upgrade (ie will either AM3 or 1336 be obsolete any time soon?)
and does anyone think it would be worth waiting till windows 7 comes out?

cheers all

http://www.gigabyte.us/Products/Motherboard/Products_Spec.aspx?ClassValue=Motherboard&ProductID=3104&ProductName=GA-EX58-UD3R

2 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x16 x16
(The PCI Express slots conform to PCI Express 2.0 standard.)

 

[baldinie]

the fact the 2nd PCI slot is 16x doesn't mean that it is goin to opperate at 16x16x when in SLI! it just means that if u put a single card in it like an extra IO card it will operate at 16X PCIe

what i want to know is if anyone has got the SLI to opperate at full 16x16x on the gigabyte x58-UD3 (not the specifific UD3-SLI edition which is like £80 more)

 

[Helloworld_98]

@baldinie, where are you looking for the parts, at OCUK the 4890 is £140 vs the £180 of the 275.

on the X58 boards the 2nd slot will always work at x16 as it has 36 PCIe lanes that it can use.

also if you get a 4890 you won't have to enable SLI.

 

[baldinie]

i know but i'm considering the GTX for its folding capabilities, and the physics (i might have to do some model rendering at home).

and yes most of the parts are from OCUK, the OC'd 4890 is £140 +VAT and there's an XFX 275 which is £154 +VAT

and ok, so it doesn't matter if it supports SLI officially, a 2nd nvidia card will deffinitely work at 16x?
plus do people think 700W psu will be sufficient (even with a second card later on)?

and does anyone rate the 4870 X2 for another £60 more than the 4890?