sh0ck3r on 6/11/2008 at 22:35
Hi guys,
I'm shopping around for a new computer and was wondering if I could get your opinions on what system I should grab of the following two:
#1
$2000
Quad core (Q9550)
Asus P5Q3 Intel P45 Chipset
4 GB [2 GB X2] DDR3-1333
ATI Radeon 4870 X2
#2
$3000
Quad core Extreme (QX9650)
Asus Striker II Extreme nForce® 790i Ultra SLI Chipset
8 GB [2 GB X4] DDR3-1800
ATI Radeon 4870 X2 (or better)
I guess the question comes down to whether #2 justifies an extra thousand bucks. Would it be 10% better or so?
(Also, as a secondary question, what are the best graphics card right now? How does a GeForce GTX 280 stack up to the Radeon 4870 X2?)
KoHaN69 on 6/11/2008 at 23:22
#2 is a complete waste of money, especially if getting a 4870x2
nvidias chipsets are complete garbage - don't let anyone else tell you otherwise.
the only reason anyone ever gets them is for SLi
4870x2 is the crown, but three GTX 280s in tri-sli will beat it.
there's a bit cheaper solution coming soon: 4850x2
and 2 grand for #2 is still too expensive, its $1500 max at current USA prices.
4870x2 beats two GTX 280s in SLi
As a thief player I must warn you:
if playing thief1 using latest ddfix, there are performance issues in a few areas of the game, the game might drop to 15 fps.
I'm not sure It won't on the new geforce cards (260/280) but i know this does not occur on 8800/9800 series
sh0ck3r on 6/11/2008 at 23:53
Thanks a lot for the reply.
Quote Posted by KoHaN69
#2 is a complete waste of money, especially if getting a 4870x2
How so? $3000 is just too expensive for the system, even with the best card?
Quote Posted by KoHaN69
and 2 grand for #2 is still too expensive, its $1500 max at current USA prices.
I'm assuming you mean 2 grand for #1...?
Can you please tell me some places where I could get #1 for $1500?
EvaUnit02 on 7/11/2008 at 00:06
Agreed, PC #2 is a total waste of money. DDR3 is too immature to bother with and 8GB RAM in a games machine is a total waste, you don't need any more than 4GB.
That Asus Striker motherboard is also an expensive waste of money, unless you're planning on running Nvidia cards in SLI at full bandwidth; and even then the difference between full bandwidth SLI (2x 16xPCIe running at full speed) and half-bandwidth (2x 16xPCIe running at half speed) is so minor that it's not worth noting.
sh0ck3r on 7/11/2008 at 00:24
Quote Posted by EvaUnit02
DDR3 is too immature to bother with
Do you mean it's too new and problematic?
bikerdude on 7/11/2008 at 15:24
Quote Posted by sh0ck3r
Quad core (Q9550)
Asus P5Q3 Intel P45 Chipset
4 GB [2 GB X2] DDR3-1333
ATI Radeon 4870 X2
(Also, as a secondary question, what are the best graphics card right now? How does a GeForce GTX 280 stack up to the Radeon 4870 X2?)
I suggest the following instead.
Dual core E8400 (3.0ghz)
DFI Lan Party JR P45-T2RS
4 GB [2 GB X2] DDR2-1150
ATI Radeon 4870 X2
The 4870 series isnt 100% thief compatable, even with the latest driver its still not silky smooth. Where as the GTX280(which I have) is. The 4870X2 smashes the GTX in 95% of contemporary games, but it should as it costs upto £100/$100 more than the GTX280.
biker