The best graphics card for my system

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syrendyr

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here is my system:
Motherboard---Asus M2N-SLI Motherboard - NVIDIA nForce 560 SLI, Socket AM2/AM2 , ATX, Audio, PCI Express, Gigabit LAN, S/PDIF, USB 2.0, Firewire, Serial ATA, RAID
Ram---Corsair Dual Channel 2X TWINX 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (4 x 2048MB) 8GB total
CPU---AMD Phenom 9500 Processor HD9500WCGDBOX - 2.20GHz, 4 x 512KB Cache, 1800MHz (3600 MT/s) FSB, Agena, Quad-Core, Retail, Socket AM2
Power supply---Ultra LSP550 550-Watt Power Supply - ATX, SATA-Ready, SLI-Ready, 135mm Fan, Lifetime Warranty
I also have 2 500GB SATA hard drives(if that matters)

I wanted to go with the ATI Radeon 5850 (XFX), but waiting over a month and now longer is annoying. should i even go with ATI, or should i focus on NVIDIA in an SLI configuration. i need real advice as to what Video card(s) would best suit my system. i am committed to actually haveing a kick-ass gaming experience, so i want to have beast-like performance. advice?
 
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megamanx00

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If you want beast like performance you will need a new system :D. Anyway, 5850s are currently in stock at newegg, just not ones from XFX. Just so you know though, your old Phenom 9500 is certainly going to limit performance. Also, if you were considering going with a 5870, or even a 5970 as wa1 suggests, I recommend you get a better PSU.
 
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syrendyr

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i was playing around the 1200x1000 range (exact numbers aren't popping in my head right now). dropping my res helps for sure, but is not really what i want. i built the pc from parts that i ordered from Tigerdirect.....of course they're parts that were supposed to be geared toward gaming....surprise, surprise. i might have to build a new one to suit my needs, but i would like to recycle some of the parts....like maybe the 8 gigs of ram. any recommendations on a mobo/cpu combo?
 
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syrendyr

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I'm cool with rebuilding, but i honestly don't know where to start. thinking about spending a grand before the vid card. any suggestions? i know how to put everything together (assembly wise), but not which components work best with each other
 
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syrendyr

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i have new 2 new 500GB sata HDs and 2 new sata dvd burners. also a well ventilated case and 550 watt power supply. i would like to use these again. the RAM would be nice as well.....8GB isn't slouchy and i want to recycle them if possible. i was thinking maybe between $500-$600 on a Motherboard and CPU....of course cheaper would be better, but I want a beast
 
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obsidian86

obsidian86

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syrendyr

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well, i have a 21" and a 22" wide screen double stacked that are fairly new (guess i should have mentioned that earlier), i just have to dummy down the in-game res when i play certain games atm.
i like this rig because it has the 5850 that i wanted in the first place. my question now: with the drive included being SATA-II, will it have issues with my SATA drive?
also can't see how many total SATA drives are available
 
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jyjjy

jyjjy

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Feb 27, 2006
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You hard drive should be fine. They don't say what motherboard is in that thing so the # of total SATA ports can't be known.
It is a decent deal but if you are comfortable with putting together a computer then I would recommend building your own. That processor is $290 and an HD5850 is $310 so that's $600. A good LGA1156 motherboard is about $150ish and 4 gigs of DDR3 ram is about $100. A nice case and PSU should be $150 and a 1tb HD is $100. Altogether that's $1100.
So it would be cheaper and then you can be certain you are only using high quality components that are exactly what you want. Like you may want 1600mhz ram instead of the 1333mhz stuff they are using, the quality of the motherboard and PSU in that system are an unknown, the case is a bit gaudy for my tastes but that could just be me, ect.
It's a judgment call though. I'd rather put in the time to build it in order to save money and get exactly what I want myself but it's a decent deal and probably a fine system if you'd rather avoid the hassle of putting it together.
 
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syrendyr

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And i want to build my own......

knowing which components to get are the issue.

let's start with a motherboard and PSU...

suggestions? where to start? what would you get if you were building a gaming rig??
 
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jyjjy

jyjjy

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Well the first thing you need to do is decide what processor you want before you can think about a motherboard. There are 3 options on the high end basically. A Phenom II x4, an i5 or an i7. There are two different kinds of i7s, LGA 1156 and LGA 1366. Personally I would pick the i5 and save close to $100 over the i7s especially if the most intensive thing you do is gaming. You may want to read something like this;
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core-i7-870.html
and decide for yourself.
All of the options use DDR3 ram preferably 1600mhz. LGA 1366 i7s can use triple channel ram so you'll want 6 gigs. The others are dual channel so 4 or 8 gigs.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231259
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231247
For a PSU Corsair is a very good brand. If you'd like to be able to crossfire the HD5850 some day something like this would be more than enough;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006.
 
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syrendyr

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here's what i'm considering:

Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186176&Tpk=13-186-176

RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231280

CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215

PSU and Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.302555

Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148412

Vid Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131184&cm_re=5850-_-14-131-184-_-Product


Considering it will be primarily for gaming, i think the configuration will be tight. Again, I'm going for speed/balls........
opinions?
 
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jyjjy

jyjjy

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I would go for a motherboard from a more trusted manufacturer, Gigabyte, EVGA and ASUS tend to be good. If you want 3 pcie x16 slots like that other board this ASUS looks good and is slightly cheaper;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131405
Rosewill isn't known for great PSUs so I would avoid them. I'd stick to the one I linked last time. PSU is the most important component as far as quality.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006
The case in that combo would likely be fine though. Case is mostly about aesthetics so go for something that looks good to you, as long as it's a full ATX case. Antec makes nice cases though and this one is nice, pretty cheap and has free shipping(shipping for cases tends to be $20)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042
It's kind of considered a standard as you can see from the number of reviews it has.
That hard drive would be fine for a storage drive but I would probably avoid it for a system drive for OS/apps. This drive is one of the fastest you can buy that isn't solid state and would be good for a main drive;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319
I would get that and then another larger drive as a secondary for storage of music/movies/ect.
Don't forget a DVD burner and a wifi card if you need them.
 
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