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DominionSeraph

Diamond Member
Jul 22, 2009
8,386
32
91
So what build is better? MFENN's? Or your first or second build Dominion? would i be better in long run with a quad processor versus a tri processor?

It's really close. If I were you I'd go with mfenn's build, though; because the new generation of SSD's will be out in a couple of months and his motherboard has 6Gb/s SATA. It's also a Phenom which will be a little snappier. But it is over 20% more expensive.
(Well actually I'd go with a Phenom II X2 with 6GB/s and hope it unlocks to a X3 or X4 [there's a really good chance of getting at least one core], but I'm a penny pincher who likes to gamble, and I wouldn't have a problem if it didn't unlock as dual-cores are fine for what I do.)

There's a decent chance that the Athlon II X3 will unlock to an X4, too.

Both the Athlon and Phenom would be obsolete at pretty much the same time.
A 300MHz Celeron A or a 400MHz Pentium II for 3x the money? The extra money didn't buy the Pentium a day. (Of course it didn't hurt that the 300a overclocked to over 500MHz...)
 
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WoodButcher

Platinum Member
Mar 10, 2001
2,158
0
76
While I'm not a fan of AMD (just have no experience w/ AMD ) I will say all of these builds will last you as long as your previous PC or two. While PC components are improving daily I don't feel we're going to experience the yearly obsolesence that was so common a few years ago. I'm still using the same Q6600 that I pre-ordered back in '06? '07 maybe? I really believe this will be the first chip I have had die a natural death rather than retirement for speed or lack thereof.

Dominion and Fenn have pointed you in the right direction with excellent info. As said before a SSD would make for a snappy system if you have adequate storage on other drives. Do you need an operating system? what are you using?
 

DominionSeraph

Diamond Member
Jul 22, 2009
8,386
32
91
I'm just getting silly with pennies here.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152244
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161338
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371033
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.552638
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.570455
same promo codes.

Bundle Windows with mobo.
Downgrade to a 3.0GHz Phenom II X4 945 to get a combo with RAM.

Phenom II X4 945 + 5770, 4GB, Spinpoint F4, Earthwatts 380W

$523.59 with $45 MIR
 
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Davidh373

Platinum Member
Jun 20, 2009
2,428
0
71
I think i'm going to go with your build that costs $454.50 will these be good for a while? i dont want it to become obsolete

Honestly, the graphics card is going to be dated in about a year or so (5770 is about 2 years old) to get one that isn't you'd have to spend about $75 more. Not that it isn't a good choice (It's the best card that is reasonable for you budget) but that's likely the first part that should be replaced.
 

DominionSeraph

Diamond Member
Jul 22, 2009
8,386
32
91
Honestly, the graphics card is going to be dated in about a year or so (5770 is about 2 years old) to get one that isn't you'd have to spend about $75 more. Not that it isn't a good choice (It's the best card that is reasonable for you budget) but that's likely the first part that should be replaced.

A 6850 would be outdated, too. 75% more cash gets him ~40% more potential performance. Anything that bogs down a 5770 to unplayable ain't gonna look pretty on a 6850.
And I wouldn't trust a GTX 460 with a Phenom II X4 on a 380W PSU.

He's playing at 1024x768, anyway, which is why I said, "potential." He's gonna be CPU-bound in WoW. 5770 or GTX 580 won't make a difference.
 

Davidh373

Platinum Member
Jun 20, 2009
2,428
0
71
A 6850 would be outdated, too. 75% more cash gets him ~40% more potential performance. Anything that bogs down a 5770 to unplayable ain't gonna look pretty on a 6850.
And I wouldn't trust a GTX 460 with a Phenom II X4 on a 380W PSU.

He's playing at 1024x768, anyway, which is why I said, "potential." He's gonna be CPU-bound in WoW. 5770 or GTX 580 won't make a difference.

I still said it was a good choice. I am just being honest that it's an old card. I didn't say it wasn't a good card either. I'm simply preparing him for what could be a year or two lifecycle on his card. A lot of people expect a computer to last forever, nomatter how old it is, they are always thinking "This cost $1000, it should be worth $1000 in a year". The fact is, it won't be. Everything is likely to work in a year. In fact, hell, my Dad has a 12 year old dell that still works, but that doesn't mean it'll play Crysis 2.

The fact is that the graphics card is almost always the first thing to go old on ya in a gaming rig. The 5770 is the right choice for the OP, there is no doubt in my mind, but I'm not going to tell him it will last as long as the chipset, or the RAM. The OP asked if his build was going to get outdated (about a 2 posts ago) and he didn't seem to get his question answered. I just answered it. OP, the graphics card is old, but it will do the job you ask of it in WoW.

Will it play Crysis well <- sure,

Will it play Battlefield 3 decent when it launches in a year? <- That one's a gamble.

I'm just being honest Dom, I don't feel like he needs a 580, or 6970. These cards are WAY out of budget and would be plain stupid, but when it comes down to it hardware gets old fast, and I don't want him thinking back here in a year when he is getting 5 fps in Battlefield 3, and remembering any of us as being wrong, or not properly answering his questions. The fact just is that graphics card in the long haul has unknown performance, so I'm not going to get him expecting anything.

The important thing with graphics cards OP is to know they are probably the most disposed of parts in a rig (unless parts fry or whatever). Just don't expect anything graphics related to last over 3 years in new games. It'll play games it does the day you get it just like it does the day you get it, but it won't play new games like it plays current games along with games coming out in the next year or so. As long as you aren't expecting more than that (and quite frankly, you shouldn't at your low budget) you're golden.
 
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DominionSeraph

Diamond Member
Jul 22, 2009
8,386
32
91
I still said it was a good choice. I am just being honest that it's an old card.

But age has nothing to do with anything. The GTS 450 is a lot newer -- does that mean it will last longer? No. The GTS 450 has absolutely no updated features and is SLOWER.
Are the 6900's that were just released PCIe 15.0 and DirectX 99 cards? No. They're the same old PCIe 2.0 and DirectX 11 standard that the 5770 is. They will not last a day longer in regards to standards requirements than the 5770.
The only thing different is performance. And nothing within $130 of the 5770 (that will run on the $25 380W PSU) is going to last substantially longer than it due to performance, because the difference isn't that great. (That card above +$130 being the 5870, which is even OLDER than the 5770.)
 

Davidh373

Platinum Member
Jun 20, 2009
2,428
0
71
The only thing different is performance. And nothing within $130 of the 5770 (that will run on the $25 380W PSU) is going to last substantially longer than it due to performance, because the difference isn't that great. (That card above +$130 being the 5870, which is even OLDER than the 5770.)

You're plain misunderstanding me, which is exactly why I wrote a very long explanation which you obviously didn't read... we are both recommending the 5770... but I'm making sure the OP isn't hoping to play new games 2 years from now on max settings. That is just not gonna happen. Argument over.
 

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
I think i'm going to go with your build that costs $454.50 will these be good for a while? i dont want it to become obsolete

Anything that you buy is going to be obsolete in 6 months. David's right, you have to have realistic expectations when you're spending less than $500 on a computer. It will play WoW just fine though.

Anyway, pretty much any build in this thread is good. My original build will be slightly faster and has a few more features than Dominion's latest. Whether or not it is worth $50 more is up to you though.
 

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
64,245
12,582
136
The system requirements for World of Warcraft Cataclysm don't look to be too tough...

Intel Processor - Pentium D 3.0GHz
AMD Processor - Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core TK-53
Nvidia Graphics Card - GeForce 8600 GT
ATI Graphics Card - Radeon HD 2600 XT
RAM (Memory) - 2 GB
Hard Disk Space - 25 GB
 

mkmetz88

Member
Dec 27, 2010
25
0
0
well just talked with my father he has an extra copy of windows 7 he is going to send to me so that saves even more money
 

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
The system requirements for World of Warcraft Cataclysm don't look to be too tough...

Intel Processor - Pentium D 3.0GHz
AMD Processor - Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core TK-53
Nvidia Graphics Card - GeForce 8600 GT
ATI Graphics Card - Radeon HD 2600 XT
RAM (Memory) - 2 GB
Hard Disk Space - 25 GB

The published "requirements" for pretty much any game since the late 90's are a joke.
 

Davidh373

Platinum Member
Jun 20, 2009
2,428
0
71
The published "requirements" for pretty much any game since the late 90's are a joke.

exactly, I can't imagine how it runs with those specs... likely horrendous...

EDIT: BTW, looks like those requirements are old, last time I checked my WoW folder was 34.6GB... 10GB over "The Requirement"
 

mkmetz88

Member
Dec 27, 2010
25
0
0
actually going to wait until i get back from Cali and just pay cash for comp. maybe just few pieces at a time and make it better
 

mkmetz88

Member
Dec 27, 2010
25
0
0
Mfenns build looks good any combos with his setup? i click the links he has and they say not available
 

Davidh373

Platinum Member
Jun 20, 2009
2,428
0
71
actually going to wait until i get back from Cali and just pay cash for comp. maybe just few pieces at a time and make it better

Don't do that, save up the money all at once and buy it later. You'll get even better parts that way.
 

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
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