GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

Alex Harris32 said:It's a decent enough processor, I guess, but honestly? It’s outdated as hell and way too pricey for what you actually get out of it.

Why even bother overcomplicating things?

The builds they're throwing at you with that AMD gear—the motherboard and the 2GB of RAM—cost just as much as this CPU alone. It's a joke.

Just one more thing: Don't ever buy anything from Ve-Mil... seriously, never.

So, will that rig actually handle Black Ops on MEDIUM settings?

urbanmoose10 said:Alright, so will this setup actually handle Black Opsa on MEDIUM settings?

Anyone hanging out in the tech subforums who spends their time suggesting builds generally knows their stuff.
What I am trying to get at is that nobody here is looking to pull a fast one on you or peddle some overpriced junk.
If these guys have laid out a specific configuration for you, it means it’s solid, and in 99% of cases, you won't find a better value for that price point anywhere else.

As for the build they suggested and its ability to run Black Opsa, it will certainly handle MEDIUM without breaking a sweat.

1.Intel Core 2 Quad, LGA 1366, BOX
2.Asrock motherboard, LGA 1366 - NVIDIA nForce 720D, ATX, Solid Capacitors
3.DDR3 2048MB ( 2GB ) Kingmax, 1333MHz, CL9, FLFE85F-B8EE9
4.HDD Samsung 500GB 7200rpm 16MB cache Serial ATA II-300,F3,HD502HJ

Picked this up for $2,000 at Best Buy

Eventually I’m gonna upgrade the whole thing, but I'll grab a better GPU once I actually save enough cash. For now, I'm stuck with this EVGA GeForce GT 220

THANKS GUYS!!

urbanmoose10 said:1. Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550, LGA 1366, BOX
2 Asrock M3N78D, s.LGA 1366 - NVIDIA nForce 720D, ATX, Solid Capacitor
3.DDR3 2048MB ( 2GB ) Kingmax, 1333MHz, CL9, FLFE85F-B8EE9
4.HDD Seagate 500GB 7200rpm 16MB cache Serial ATA II-300,F3,WD Blue 2TB

$2,000 at Best Buy

Eventually, I’ll be upgrading this entire setup, though I plan to hold off on the GPU until I’ve managed to scrape together enough cash for something decent; for now, I’m stuck with an EVGA GeForce 9600 GT

Why aren't you looking at the Phenom II 955 BE instead?
http://www.bestbuy.com/product_info.php?c...oducts_id=7084

It is true that it costs $30 a bit more, but having an unlocked multiplier makes overclocking significantly less of a headache.
Furthermore, the clock speeds are superior right out of the box.

What prompted the motherboard swap?
Is there something lacking in the one previously suggested?

Alex Harris32 said:Why wouldn't you just grab the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550?
http://www.ibm.com/product_info.php?c...oducts_id=7084

Yeah, sure, it’s $30 pricier, but having an unlocked multiplier makes overclocking a total breeze.
Plus, it's just faster out of the box.

What was the point of swapping the motherboard anyway?
Is there actually anything wrong with the one we suggested?

alright fine, I'll go with this one plus that CPU. The thing is, I really want a better processor so I can actually run newer games, and once I scrape enough cash together (hopefully soon), I'm gonna ditch the EVGA GeForce 9600 GT and swap in something way more powerful.

Regarding the graphics card... you might want to hold out for the NVIDIA GeForce 8000 series. It offers a much better performance jump—plus, I’m personally hoping we see some price drops on the HD5xxx cards soon 😉
In about a month or so, we should have a much clearer picture of how things shake out 😉

urbanmoose10 said:Fine, I suppose I'll go with this one, along with that processor. My main priority is securing a better CPU that can actually handle modern titles; once I manage to scrape enough money together—which should be sometime soon—I plan to ditch the EVGA GeForce 9600 GT and upgrade to something significantly more capable.

Well, I did suggest an option that was considerably superior to your original idea. 😉
Especially regarding overclocking potential, since that chip will easily hit 4.0GHz, and likely even higher if you invest in decent cooling.

* Are you looking for an AGP or a PCI-E card?
* What does your current—or planned—setup look like, and what kind of power supply are we talking about?
* What resolution are you playing at?
* What’s your budget looking like?
* Which retailers are you considering?
* If you have any other specific requirements, lay them out here.

1. PCI-E
2. In the boxes: an Intel Core i5-760 running at 2.8GHz, an EVGA 750W PSU, and 4GB of 1333MHz RAM
3. 1920x1020
4. Roughly $1.25 to $1.25
5. Best Buy or IBM
6. I'm wondering if that IBM setup is just an online shop or if they actually have a physical storefront in New York City... which way is more cost-effective? Is it better to go with two HD5870s or just one single HD5970? Should I just hold out until Christmas when the prices might drop? Honestly, what should I even be doing here?

If you can hold off, I wouldn't wait until Christmas; instead, just hang tight for the ATI HD5xxx series coming out this month. If you grab a 6850 or 6870 once they drop in November, you'll be in great shape.
Yeah, IBM is a standard retailer. Their website lists their locations.

James Morris4 said:If you can hold out, don't even bother waiting for Christmas—wait for the HD6xxx series from Atilla, which drops this month. Grab a 6850 or a 6870 when they hit the shelves in November and you'll be sitting pretty.
Yeah, ADM is just standard retail practice. They list their locations right there on their website.

Maple 7? Honestly, I can wait through Christmas without any issues... my main priority is just making sure I get the best bang for my buck when I finally pull the trigger.
I’d really appreciate it if you could actually answer my question regarding which option offers better value...

Considering how long you'd have to wait, neither of those options really makes sense. (Generally speaking, the more expensive a component is, the less value you get, mostly because the next generation usually crushes all the previous high-end gear.)

Two 5870s will run you about $800. A single 5970 is roughly $650. That's about a $333 difference. The pricier option does offer better performance, but I doubt you'll notice much of a difference regardless of which one you pick, so I'd probably just go with the cheaper route myself.
If raw performance is your main priority, just keep in mind that the 6xxx series is going to blow everything else out of the water.

James Morris4 said:Considering how long you might be stuck waiting, neither of those options is really worth your time. (And honestly—the more expensive a component gets, the less value you actually get out of it, simply because the next generation will inevitably crush everything from the previous high-end tier)

Two 5870s would run you about $950. A single 5970 sits around $780. That’s a $333 difference right there. The pricier option obviously offers better performance, but frankly, I doubt you'll notice a massive gap regardless of which way you lean—so if I were in your shoes, I’d just go with the cheaper route.
If raw performance is your absolute priority, just keep in mind that the 6xxx series is going to absolutely demolish anything else on the market.

My real concern is the motherboard... that's where I'm hitting a wall...
I've got this H55M UD2H sitting here. From what I can tell, it's an LGA 1156 socket, and my Intel Core i5 760 is also LGA 1156... so, does that processor actually fit this board? I also tracked down an H55M S2H for $167, which is also LGA 1156, but the thing is—I'm not a fan of it because it only has two RAM slots, meaning I'd be capped at 8GB max. 🤷

Why would you pair a mid-range or even a low-end motherboard with a high-end build like that?

Sure, that processor will fit on that board, but I'd suggest picking up a P55 motherboard instead of an H55 if I were you.

Samuel Martinez said:The motherboard is what's tripping me up... that's my main issue...
I've got this H55M UD2H. I see it's an LGA 1156 socket, and the Intel Core i5 760 I have is also LGA 1156... so does that processor actually fit on this board? I found an H55M S2H for $167, which is also LGA 1156, but I'm not crazy about it since it only has two RAM slots, meaning I'd be capped at 8GB max. 🤷

http://www.adm.com/product_info.php?c...oducts_id=8241

👍

James Morris4 said:Why on earth would you pair such a high-end build with a mid-range or even a low-end motherboard?

Look, sure—technically that processor will fit into that board—but if you want to do this right, grab a P55 chipset instead of that H55 nonsense. It’s common sense, really.

Thanks, I think I'll go with the one crimsonstag84 recommended.

So, here is how the updated parts list is looking now:

Gigabyte P55 USB3 (still need to pick this up)
Intel Core i5 760 (already in the box)
Corsair 750W (already in the box)
And I'm planning to grab an HD 6870 for a Christmas gift to myself.

I'll probably add a decent 120GB solid state drive sometime next year.
Thanks for all the help, everyone... you guys are awesome.

Samuel Martinez said:Thanks, I think I'll grab the one crimsonstag84 suggested.

So, here is how the build is shaping up right now—this is the current roadmap:

Gigabyte P55 USB3 (still need to pick this up)
Intel Core i5 760 (already have it in the box)
Corsair 750W (also sitting in a box ready to go)
And for Christmas, I’m planning to snag an HD 6870 graphics card.

I'll probably add a solid state drive later on—maybe a 120GB one sometime next year.
Thanks for all the help, everyone... you guys are legends.

Now, there's another issue poking at me... I'm currently running an unactivated version of Windows 7—yeah, the pirated kind. I really want to get my hands on a legitimate copy of Windows 7 x64, but I just don't have a reliable source to buy from right now. Is it actually true that games perform better on the x64 bit version compared to the x32 version?

Even if they perform better, we're talking about a 1% difference at most. It’s negligible, really. I'd suggest going with x64 if you have 8GB of RAM, which you'll definitely need 😁
By the way, 32-bit Windows = x86.

James Morris4 said:Even if they perform better, we're talking about a measly 1% improvement—nothing substantial at all. Honestly, just stick to x64 if you actually have 8 gigs of RAM, which is pretty much the bare minimum you need these days. 😁
By the way, 32-bit Winsi is basically just x86.

So, what is the actual, fundamental difference between x64 and x86 then? 😕

Samuel Martinez said:So what's the actual difference between x64 and x86? 😕

http://www.w7forums.com/windows-7-64...-bit-t484.html