$560 to spend i need advice/help

C

Candymancan

Weaksauce
Joined
Feb 22, 2005
Messages
80
Ok here are my specs

E8400 CO @ 4.2ghz 1.296v, 1.10VFSB (can reach 4.3ghz max stable)
4GB DDR2-800 G.skill
ATI 4850 512MB
640GB WD640AAKS
Asus P5Q-PRO
Antec 650Trio TP (only has 2x6pin pci-e no 6+2pin)

My issues is the 4850 is ok but 512mb for the resolution i game at using the AA and AF i prefer gaming at has started to cause alot of issues. My fps is low in alot of games and its also causing stuttering now due to lack of vram. Fallout3 is one game, Silent Hunter 4 is another, Warhammer Online. I never even played crysis past the first level because of this my 8800GTS with more ram ran better. I game at 1680x1050 and i prefer staying above 2xAA 4xAF.

I can buy any video card out right now pretty much but i prefer not to spend $500 on those overpriced GTX295 cards. Another thing thats bothering me is my brothers computer is showing its age and cant even run WOW at any decent FPS with the graphics turned up and he only games at 1024x768.

His PC was old one i upgraded from 8 months ago.

Opteron 165 D/C @ 2.5ghz (i can oc it to 2.9ghz but the stock cooler sucks i had it on water)
DFI NF4-SLI-DR
8800GTS 640
36GB raptor 120gb caviar
2GB ram

As you can see its pretty old S939, the video card is ok for what he does but the cpu is way to slow.

So does anyone have any suggestions on what i should do ? I get paid next month another $200 and whatever i earn in between then "i just mow people's lawns for extra cash". Iv tried diff combinations like getting him a X3 ll Phenom with some cheap motherboard and 4GB ram, while i buy a 4890. The problem is that Phenom is almost as good or better then what i have if you account for the 3rd core and whatever it overclock's too. I could almost buy a X4 ll Phenom for myself and give him my e8400 but i would have to buy a cheasy $79 motherboard and even then i would be over my budget. Whatever i do i cant buy DDR3 memory and a DDR3 board so i was going to stick with the AM2+/AM3 boards, if i give him my computer i was going to keep my memory and buy another pair for him. Is DDR2-800 even enough for the phenom's or do i need 1066 or higher ?

I have also thought maybe i should buy a 4870x2 for $380 and just wait till next month to buy a X4 ll Phenom 945 but i still have to settle with DDR2 and a cheap $80 board.
 
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gtx295 is a waste of money compared to the 4870x2 unless you are a dedicated Dead Space player (framerates are super high on a 295) i would just get a 4870x2 for now.
 
These for your brother
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.200060
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166

And this for you.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150359

Total is $430 before rebates. Turn both of your systems into beasts, plus it gives you a little extra cash if you want to get a nice heatsink for the Kuma if you want to OC it for your bro.


Kudos on upgrading your bro's comp. Wish my brothers did that for me, even though I do it for them.
 
night .... ok... i said it was a waste of money. I never said i was getting the GTX925.

What about upgrading the computers ?


Edit: Mogor yea i had some people recomend that cpu to me before. Is it really faster then the S939 he has now ? Iv always been a little weary on the X2 names because of what happend during the S939-AM transition which didnt yeild any performance
 
This is what i was looking at.

Cpu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103648

board
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128387

Memory

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166


Video card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161276


This comes too $500 but the cpu is way better then that x2. The funny thing tho is it better then my E8400 ? I cant find reviews with the X3 and E8400. All they ever show is the X3 with the quad core's. The only thing is i have $60 left over if a X4 945 was just a few bucks cheaper i could buy that instead. So thats why i dunno should i wait till next month ? I dont mind spending all my money, id rather do that then getting really cheap parts. The 945 Phenom would add up to $600, next month i could buy that with the 4890 and that board and memory. Give him my whole e8400 system and go to the phenom myself
 
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In most games out, the OC'd dual-core will be faster than the tri or quad cores. That should change in the future though as more app's support multi-core systems.


And yes, that Kuma 7750 is faster than the opty. Even more so once OC'd. Although, if you have the funds to do it, a newer phenom 2 is a better buy due to the increased L3 cache.

-EDIT-

Perhaps this will work out for the best for both of you.

These for you:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.200065
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161276

Total is $555.

Then pass your current system down to your bro. That way your bro will have a stronger CPU to push that 8800gts better and you'll have a very nice Quad-core with a mobo that'll accept the newer AM3 Phenoms that are released in the future. This is the best thing I can think of to give both of you a nice perf boost.
 
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The reviews i saw tho the kuma isnt much faster then a 6000+, thats the issue i have with that cpu its pretty slow. Those review it got 50-60fps at 1024x768 resolutions. What happens at 1280x1024 or higher ? So i dunno it just seems to old/outdated to upgrade too.

The X3 just seems like a better option its $50 more and double the performance i have the money for that. I just dont want him to have a better computer then me. If i overclock that X3 could possibly be faster then my E8400 ?. So that leaves me to decide like hmmm should i just wait for next month and buy a X4 for myself. I could buy the 4890 that gigabyte board, the 1066 ram, and the X4 945 for $600, and give him my E8400 system.

Uhg decision's i hate upgrading sometimes there is so many options and its hard to chose.


Edit: I see your edit. Yea the problem with that board is its a 4 Phase board, with a 125W+ quad Cpu it could possibly pop. The Gigabyte is a 8+2 Phase board (4+4+2). I see why you picked that tho its within my budget i totally forgot about the 940 Thanks ! This makes my decision harder now haha.
 
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i7 920 combo

6gb kit DDRIII-1333

Total: $583.52 shipped for me. Removes the need to upgrade the core of your system for a couple more years :)

With 3-way sli or xFire you get more options as well on the GPU end.

After selling your cpu/mobo you should be able to move onto an HD 4890 without issues then add a 2nd one and like a 9800GT for PhysX and you're golden.
 
Yea you know its tempting to get a i7 but im not selling my e8400 system i was going to give it to my brother if i ever upgraded mine.

Thats why i was asking for combo's that included a video card. Thanks tho for helping i do like that ram you posted which gives me an idea.


I think what im going to do is buy my 4890 right now, and save the cash i have left which would be $339, then next month when i get more money $200 use that combined $539 towards upgrading the rest. I was thinking of a Phenom ll 955BE with one of the $180 board, and that memory you linked it would add to $515. Then just give my brother my E8400

So essentially my computer would be

X4 Phenom ll 955BE
6GB DDR3 1333
GIGABYTE GA-MA790FXT
Ati 4890

My brother would be

E8400
4gb DRR2-800
Asus P5Q-PRO
Ati 4850

Im going to use the S939 system to get my mom off her 512mb 1.2gig athlon lol.

What do you guys think about this ?
 
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and with the P5Q-Pro, he could have X-fired 4850's for not much more, assuming his PSU can handle it. Oh, and you sound like me, I never can sell off my old equipment. My old parts become my wifes upgrades and her old's turn into my kids upgrades...
 
Candymancan said:
Yea you know its tempting to get a i7 but im not selling my e8400 system i was going to give it to my brother if i ever upgraded mine.

Thats why i was asking for combo's that included a video card. Thanks tho for helping i do like that ram you posted which gives me an idea.


I think what im going to do is buy my 4890 right now, and save the cash i have left which would be $339, then next month when i get more money $200 use that combined $539 towards upgrading the rest. I was thinking of a Phenom ll 955BE with one of the $180 board, and that memory you linked it would add to $515. Then just give my brother my E8400

So essentially my computer would be

X4 Phenom ll 955BE
6GB DDR3 1333
GIGABYTE GA-MA790FXT
Ati 4890

My brother would be

E8400
4gb DRR2-800
Asus P5Q-PRO
Ati 4850

Im going to use the S939 system to get my mom off her 512mb 1.2gig athlon lol.

What do you guys think about this ?
Click to expand...

That seems to be the best and smartest move to make.
 
I would say instead of buying that 4890, hold out for the next generation DX11 cards that are coming out in a few months. They are a much bigger performance increase than the past few generation have been.
 
I agree, hold off if you can, and get a next gen card. See if you can lower the settings to make things a bit more playable for you in the mean time.
 
Any idea what the price range will be tho? Because if its $300+ i dunno if i would want to buy that. Think i should still hold off even if i could get a 4890 OC @ 1Ghz for $200 ?
 
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I wouldnt imagine the cards are going to be out until into Q3, so I Would probably buy what you can afford now rather than waiting. Plus, the high end parts get released first, so its probably out of budget anyway
 
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