Compare These Two Builds

[The Critter]

Hey guys,

New here, sorry if this question has been asked to death, but here goes. I am planning on upgrading my desktop in the near future. Wanted to see which of these two builds you would recommend. Feel free to let me know of any other components not mentioned that may be a better fit.

 

 

Intel Core i5 760 (Quad Core 2.8 GHz) -or- AMD Phenom II X4 955 or 965

4GB DDR3 Memory

ATI Radeon HD 6850 1GB

1 TB HD

Windows 7 64 bit

 

1) Would the Intel or AMD be a better fit for GTA IV?

 

2) Is the ATI 6850 a good card for GTA IV, or is there a better one in its price range?

 

3) How would I be able to tun GTA IV on either of these builds?

 

Thanks

~Chris

Edited November 1, 2010 by The Critter

[yoječ]

Go for i5-760 - it's faster than Phenom.

6850 is OK; you might also consider buying GTX460 1GB - it performs more or less the same, so buy whatever is cheaper.

 

You might want to say how much you want to spend on a PC, so that we might build a gaming rig for you

[The Critter]

Thanks for the quick reply!

 

Anywhere from about 800 to 900 USD. 1000 USD being the absolute top end limit.

 

Thanks

~Chris

[yoječ]

This is what I'd go for:

 

$229,99 Intel Xeon X3440 Lynnfield 2.53GHz 8MB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819117225

 

$309,99 GIGABYTE Super Overclock Series GV-N470SO-13I GeForce GTX 470

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814125338

 

$104,99 GIGABYTE GA-P55-USB3 LGA 1156

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813128425

 

$69,99 SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822152185

 

$79,99 Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 4GB (2 x 2GB)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820226134

 

$89,99 XFX P1-650X-CAH9 650W

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817207007

 

$19,99 LG GH22LS50

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827136168

 

$49,99 COOLER MASTER Elite 370

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811119226

 

= $954,92

 

Intel CPU w/Hyper Threading (which makes it a bit more futureproof), overclocked GPU with very good cooler, proper motherboard, fast HDD, very good memory, high quality PSU with modular cables, decent DVD burner and computer case with good airflow.

 

If you want to save a few bucks:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115067 (CPU w/o HT)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814125321 (GPU with stock cooling - it will be louder)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822152181 (500GB HDD)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817341017 (PSU with less power and slightly worse build quality)

But personally I'd stick to the build mentioned above.

[The Critter]

Thanks again, that seems like a very nice system! I am guessing GTA IV would run very well on it!

 

I hate to ask this, but is there anything in my mentioned price range that has Windows 7 64 bit factored into the price, or will performance drop too significantly?

 

Thanks for you time and anyone else's who may have any suggestions to add

Cheers!

 

~Chris

 

[Stinky12]

This is what I'd go for:

 

$229,99 Intel Xeon X3440 Lynnfield 2.53GHz 8MB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819117225

 

$309,99 GIGABYTE Super Overclock Series GV-N470SO-13I GeForce GTX 470

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814125338

 

$104,99 GIGABYTE GA-P55-USB3 LGA 1156

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813128425

 

$69,99 SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822152185

 

$79,99 Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 4GB (2 x 2GB)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820226134

 

$89,99 XFX P1-650X-CAH9 650W

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817207007

 

$19,99 LG GH22LS50

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827136168

 

$49,99 COOLER MASTER Elite 370

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811119226

 

= $954,92

 

Intel CPU w/Hyper Threading (which makes it a bit more futureproof), overclocked GPU with very good cooler, proper motherboard, fast HDD, very good memory, high quality PSU with modular cables, decent DVD burner and computer case with good airflow.

 

If you want to save a few bucks:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115067 (CPU w/o HT)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814125321 (GPU with stock cooling - it will be louder)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822152181 (500GB HDD)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817341017 (PSU with less power and slightly worse build quality)

But personally I'd stick to the build mentioned above.

Intel Xeons will require you get a board that properly supports it. Although Xeons and Core i5/i7 all uses socket LGA1156.

Popping in a Xeon to a incompatible board will result in a micro-code error.

 

Sometimes a bios update may fix this problem, but without any other info or whether others have done this successfully using the

exact same model, your basically heading into the unknown.

[The Critter]

 

Intel Xeons will require you get a board that properly supports it. Although Xeons and Core i5/i7 all uses socket LGA1156.

Popping in a Xeon to a incompatible board will result in a micro-code error.

 

Sometimes a bios update may fix this problem, but without any other info or whether others have done this successfully using the

exact same model, your basically heading into the unknown.

 

Thanks for the input. So would it be better just to stick with the i5 then?

 

~Chris

[viometrix]

stinky xeons use socket 1366, same as higher end i7's (well lower end xeons can use 1156, but its not worth the cost imho). otherwise you all seem to have this topic nicely covered. i myself would go with intel cpu, and an nvidia gfx card, the latest radeon cards dont seem to be all that great compared to existing offerings out there.

Edited November 2, 2010 by viometrix

[The Critter]

 

stinky xeons use socket 1366, same as higher end i7's (well lower end xeons can use 1156, but its not worth the cost imho). otherwise you all seem to have this topic nicely covered. i myself would go with intel cpu, and an nvidia gfx card, the latest radeon cards dont seem to be all that great compared to existing offerings out there.

 

Thanks for the input.

So would a Nvidia equivlant to the ATI 6850 do well with GTA IV, or will I have to go with a higher end model, supposing I go with the i5 cpu. Sorry for all the questions, it's been about a year and a half since i've shopped for graphics cards, and so much has changed

[Stinky12]

 

stinky xeons use socket 1366, same as higher end i7's (well lower end xeons can use 1156, but its not worth the cost imho). otherwise you all seem to have this topic nicely covered. i myself would go with intel cpu, and an nvidia gfx card, the latest radeon cards dont seem to be all that great compared to existing offerings out there.

When a single wafer is constructed, it consist of hundreds of cores and not all of them will operate at the same frequency thus Xeons are the highest of the bunch as they're place through

a stricter test. Cores which don't pass that test are binned as Core i7/i5/i3 depending on the criteria they've meet.

 

Xeons also support ECC and has the ability to run in 2 way and 4 way configurations, this is something a desktop CPU can never achieve.

 

LGA 1366 Core i7 are only for 1 way configuration due to the fact it's only got a single QPI link.

LGA 1366 Xeons* are for 2 way configuration as they've to a dual QPI link.

The number or QPI links determines the number of processors it supports on a motherboard.

 

Such as the board you got in your sig. EVGA Classified SR-2 which has dual LGA 1366 sockets.

Because of that, you can't pop in a pair of Core i7 980x as it will not work due the lack of 2nd QPI link, thus the reason why

you will need a pair of Xeons.

 

*Certain Xeons will only have a single QPI link, these are used for single socket motherboards

Other Xeons can can be used with a motherboard that consists of 4 sockets.

They use socket 1567 and has 8 cores, suports HT and can have up to 16 threads.

Get 4 of them and you get 64 threads in total.

 

YouTube clip

 

[The Critter]

Ok, so for yojo, stinky, viometrix and anyone else who wants to jump in, how would this PC perform with GTA IV.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16883229199

 

 

 

Thanks again for the input.

 

~Chris

Edited November 2, 2010 by The Critter

[mkey82]

It should do nicely, although you are probably better of picking your own parts.

[_corTEC]

Your last question is fast becoming irrelevant.

Please imagine yourself, how many games do you own? How do they perform on your present system?

 

You can times that performance level by around 2 or 3 depending on your actual skill in building and setting up the PC. For GTA IV expect around 1.5 to 3 times performance increase.

 

I scan benchmark results 'all-the-time' and never see an i5 anywhere near my Q9550 @ 3.83GHz, or even near an i7. It seems to me that 'i5' are like the old 'core2duo' and 'i7' are the blazing quads. (I obviously know that the cores present smash this theory into the ground. But performance wise I think I'm right. Core i3 is relative to a fast Pentium 4.)

 

Hey, if that's your budget, that's cool. two words to never forget - INTEL & nVIDIA. You will never go wrong as long as you live!

 

BTW GTX460 is cheaper.

 

(I thank stinky12 and viometrix for their knowledgeable insights into Xeon and the like. Dual-QPI? - I really need to catch up on some tech. I thought the new 980X Gulftown's would wipe the floor with the newest server based Xeons, but what do I know?)

[yoječ]

 

Intel Xeons will require you get a board that properly supports it. Although Xeons and Core i5/i7 all uses socket LGA1156.

Popping in a Xeon to a incompatible board will result in a micro-code error.

I can assure you Xeon works flawlessly with this motherboard, as well as many others (Asus P7P55D-E or DFI Lanparty just to name a few).

 

Xeon X3440 is just i7-860 with lowered multipler and it's very good value for money.

[mkey82]

two words to never forget - INTEL & nVIDIA. You will never go wrong as long as you live!

Such statements make the rest of what you have to say look silly and childish.

[IronHide-AW]

Ok, so for yojo, stinky, viometrix and anyone else who wants to jump in, how would this PC perform with GTA IV.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16883229199

 

 

 

Thanks again for the input.

 

~Chris

Unless I mis-read the Details tab on that build, you won't be able to go SLI at full speed. And throwing in another GTX460 would help it a lot, but isn't possible unless I did mis-read it.

 

Also I think going with the lower end i# series instead of i7 or Xeons you'll probably regret later (and not that much later, either).

 

But budgets are budgets! Good luck with yours let us know how it turns out.

[Stinky12]

 

Intel Xeons will require you get a board that properly supports it. Although Xeons and Core i5/i7 all uses socket LGA1156.

Popping in a Xeon to a incompatible board will result in a micro-code error.

I can assure you Xeon works flawlessly with this motherboard, as well as many others (Asus P7P55D-E or DFI Lanparty just to name a few).

 

Xeon X3440 is just i7-860 with lowered multipler and it's very good value for money.

The Xeon X3440 is not just a Core i7 860 as both of their operating frequency are different. Maybe you might me mentioning about the Core i7 860s?

 

Comparison between Xeon X3440 and Core i7 860/S

 

Xeon X3440: 2.53GHz Turbo up to 2.93GHz/ECC/DDDR3 800,1066,1333/32GB maximum memory support/Demand base switching/95W

Core i7 860: 2.8GHZ Turbo up to 3.46GHz/DDR3 1066,1333/16GB maximum memory support/95W

Core i7 860s 2.53GHz Turbo up to 3.46GHz/DDR3 1066,1333/16GB maximum memory support/82W

 

 

Another build to consider

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827135204

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811119233

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822136534

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814102909

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817139005

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820231190

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813131601

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115215

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16832116754

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835103065

 

 

 

 

Edited November 2, 2010 by Stinky12

[The Critter]

Hey Guys,

First I want to say thank you for all the help I have gotten, its a lot more than I can say for most forums I've asked questions on. You have been very patient with me.

I took the time to put together a build using a little bit of the two builds that were suggested to me, let me know how this looks:

 

18.99- DVD Burner

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827135204

 

39.99 - Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811119227

 

54.99 - 1TB HD

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822136534

 

179.99 - Radeon 6850 (It was cheaper than the GTX 460, but I am still undecided with the graphics card)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814102908

 

89.99 - 650W PSU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817139005

 

64.99 - 4GB Memory

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820231274

 

104.99 - Gigabyte Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813128425

 

99.99 - Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16832116754

 

229.99 - Intel Xeon X3440

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819117225

 

=$883.91

 

Let me know what you think of this build. Thanks again for all the help and suggestions!

 

(Edit: I am still not decided on whether I should stick with the 6850, or maybe upgrade a little bit, let me know what you think)

[Stinky12]

According to benchmarks, GTX 460 1GB performs about the same as a HD6850.

The HD6870 is faster than HD5850 even though it's not a successor.

 

Only the EVGA GTX460 FTW gets towards the range of a HD5850/HD6870, but that card cost around $240

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814130581

 

 

 

[The Critter]

 

According to benchmarks, GTX 460 1GB performs about the same as a HD6850.

The HD6870 is faster than HD5850 even though it's not a successor.

 

Only the EVGA GTX460 FTW gets towards the range of a HD5850/HD6870, but that card cost around $240

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814130581

 

So would this card be comparable to the 6850, or more in between the 6850 and 70.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814130568

[IronHide-AW]

The GTX460 is a very serious bang for the buck. It's probably the best performance/dollar seen in a long time, especially considering its market point. From my research a couple weeks ago the general take on them is damn near all of them have a huge amount of overclocking headroom, some into the 900-to-1K+ clock range stable and no artifacts (with proper cooling), but certainly the majority 800++ easily on air.

 

I had a couple in my latest rig testing them last week. 2xGTX460 at 833 ran Mafia-2 ultra settings @1920x1200 surprisingly nice. Wasn't absolutely 100% smooth no matter what at all times, but damn near it which is what surprised me the most. Anyway I am impressed with them for their price/performance ratio. Unfortunately they can't be tri/quad sli, only sli so if you plan to go tri/quad in future then heads up on that.

 

Edited:

 

Quick note forgot to mention. If you do go nVidia and not ATI, regardless if it's EVGA or not, I suggest using the EVGA Precision utility and not the nVidia control panel profiles for temp / fan curves. And might as well use it for the clocks too. The nVidia profiles for fan and temps seem buggy at-best to me. But the precision tool is not. It just works, and works well. You can make a nice very precise (pun applies) temp/fan curve down to single degree as many places as you want on the grid, and change between them easily if you need to make a more / less agressive curve based on particular games.

 

nVidia should invite the EVGA engineers over for a "how-to" on it and throw away that sh*t they have at the moment but that's IMO.

 

The GTX480's are nuclear-hot compared to the GTX460 (and probably just about anything else), so I imagine it'll be substantially easier to manage the heat/oc on a pair of those. It's goofy to see my single one run half the temps as the flags. But that's GF104.

Edited November 2, 2010 by IronHide-AW

[Stinky12]

According to benchmarks, GTX 460 1GB performs about the same as a HD6850.

The HD6870 is faster than HD5850 even though it's not a successor.

 

Only the EVGA GTX460 FTW gets towards the range of a HD5850/HD6870, but that card cost around $240

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814130581

 

So would this card be comparable to the 6850, or more in between the 6850 and 70.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814130568

That's comparable to the HD6850.

 

Just notice them FTW editons are "TR" so it's only got a 2 year limited warranty as oppose to their lifetime limited warranty.

 

[yoječ]

The Xeon X3440 is not just a Core i7 860 as both of their operating frequency are different. Maybe you might me mentioning about the Core i7 860s?

What I meant was that for typical user, the only visible change from i7-860 is lower multipler.