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5870 - overkill on my system? bottlenecked?

Galea

Galea

Galea

Associate
Joined
8 Nov 2007
Posts
235
Location
Malta, EU.
I got some funds set apart for spending on my rig.
Budget's not a problem - there's sufficient for a whole new system but I wouldn't want to waste everything just to boast an i7 DDR3 rig if what I have is sufficient for today's needs.

My specs are:
E8400 oc'd @ 4.0Ghz
6GB RAM 5-5-5-15 800Mhz
Asus P5B (one pci-e slot x16 1.0)
X-Fi Xtreme Music
BFG OC2 8800GT 512MB (purchased November 2007!!!)

I'm thinking of either getting the 5870 from OcUK next month (apparently I always buy gpu's in November...) or wait a couple of months for the 59xx
Either choices necessitate a PSU change as well.

What I'd like advice on is this:

- Given my current processor & the rest of my pc... I wouldn't want to buy a 5870 if I'd be getting the same performance with a 5850 due to bottlenecking -

What'd be your kind advice?
Cheers!
 
You system is fine, the only "bottlenecking" you may find is on games that support 4 cores, which isn't many! Other than that, the 5870 will fly on you system :)
 
No bottle-necking for sure @4Ghz, but you don't say what resolution your'e running, not 800x600 i wouldn't assume:). When going to CPU review sites, and they test game performances at 1024x768 res etc, what REALLY is the point ?, since hardly anyone using a modern GFX card will run at these low resolutions, yes sure, an i7 will trounch an E8400... but sinc most people do 1680x1050/1920x1200 then it won't matter anyway, as GFX card takes control then!.
 
chaparral said:
What PSU have you got ???

As a 5870 don't need much power..;)
Click to expand...

Hmmm,

it's an LC ATX PSU model no LC6550 Max output 550W with two +12V rails @ 16A and 18A respectively...

I wish I could go without buying a new PSU, but the 5870 surely needs more than 40A on the +12V rail, doesn't it... :(
 
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Oh wow... where'd you get that quote from?

So it's confirmed I need a new PSU.

Anyone knows what are the exact +12V requirements for the 5870 please? So I play safe (pun not intended!)?
 
chaparral said:
link added ;)
Click to expand...

Ugh, I hadn't imagined it was that ugly.
Just imagine its efficiency now after two and a half years of gaming! :eek:
lol

I had been thinking of purchasing this PSU.
I'm pretty sure it's more than enough for a 5870. Wise choice in your opinion?

You see my plans were (since I've been using the same pc components for 2+ years) to get a good psu and a high end graphics card for now. I don't exclude waiting a couple of months for the 59xx series or nvidia fermi...

That should last me for at least a year.

Then I hope to keep the same psu and gfx, purchase cpu and ram... and a crossfire or sli mobo. Keeping open the possibility of making a further upgrade by getting another 5870/59xx/300gtx depending on what I get now...
 
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Based on what I said in the post before this... now I'm hesitating whether I should wait for the 59xx series for better future-proofing...:confused:
 
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