A decent AMD upgrade rig - for those interested in upgrading

CrazyFig said:
Ok, I gotta admit Im lost when it comes to GFX card specs. I have no idea what any of that stuff means. Has anyone got some links for a noob like me that explains stuff easily / how GFX cards actually work...and what each part means and what its for? I know I can search on Google, but really dunno even where to begin?? EG, bold parts below...basically a website that explains it all...so a noob can understand easily:

HD 5850 1GB - 256-bit, 725MHz Clock, 1024MB 128-bit GDDR5 Memory 4000MHz, 1440 Stream Processing Units, 400MHz RAMDAC, Dual DL-DVI, HDMI, Display Port 2 Year Warranty
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Dont bother trying to understand how it works. Rather look at benchmarks for your chosen resolution and decide based upon that. The inner workings are too complicated.
 
The 5850 has double thr rops of the 5830. The 5850 is much better.
 
Ja the 5830 is horrible, it's performance is closer to the 5770 than the 5850. The price makes no sense at all.
 
Thanks for the link, have not checked out their RAM yet ;)

After doing some reading, I see the Mobo I chose:

with 2 PCI-e 16x slots, too bad the black slot is limited at 4x when you crossfire.
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http://johndiew0107.wordpress.com/2010/02/12/asus-m4a77td-pro-motherboard/

So if I come across some wads of cash and want to try crossfire...I could run the risk of bottlenecking 1 GPU. So I think I need to spend a bit more on a mobo and get a better one. Any recommendations for about R1400? This is getting pricier than I anticipated...
 
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No, it does not operate like that, it was my previous motherboard. If you are using 2 cards both slots will be x8. Which is actually still fine, the only card that may be bottlenecked by 8 lanes is the 5970. Remember reading about this somewhere, will do some digging during the day.
 
CrossFire isn't worth it, even in the future, unless you play at 2560 x 1600. By the time your 5850 is too slow for games, you'll be better off buying a new card and replacing it than adding a 5850 in CrossFire. I have the motherboard you picked out first and a 5770, runs great.
 
Now you see what's gradually happening here crazyfig is that you're going from a bargain priced gaming system to a medium priced gaming system.... You're going to end up spending r12k+ on this, which is just fine if you don't mind that.
 
Ok, thanks for the info on the crossfire. I prob wont go that route...but thinking what if I decide to play at a later stage? Will see when I go and get the components. If the original mobo ASUS M4A77TD-PRO I had is fine as is (basically the same just 1 is 4xPCI-e), then maybe its just best to stick with the original and stay single GPU....and try not to get sucked in playing around. Im a sucker for that kinda thing...

@ cerebus: Yep...originally this system was not meant to break the bank....but now its really stretching those resources. :( Always happens!
 
Look - you're going to have to set a firm realistic budget on this thing. I went the tight budget route and ended up with a very cheap 965be/am2+/ddr2/1 pci-e setup which you know what - it's fine. I didn't have to buy any new ram, just sold my 775 board+cpu and I had myself a very powerful and cheap upgrade. Do I wish I had xfire/sli support and ddr3? Sure - and one of these days i'll make it a priority to get setup in that direction. Just figure out what you can spend and work tightly within the limits of your budget.
 
cerebus said:
Look - you're going to have to set a firm realistic budget on this thing. I went the tight budget route and ended up with a very cheap 965be/am2+/ddr2/1 pci-e setup which you know what - it's fine. I didn't have to buy any new ram, just sold my 775 board+cpu and I had myself a very powerful and cheap upgrade. Do I wish I had xfire/sli support and ddr3? Sure - and one of these days i'll make it a priority to get setup in that direction. Just figure out what you can spend and work tightly within the limits of your budget.
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Been looking at my setup since the last comment I made. Need to make sure its what I want, and looking forward if its fine. Thanks for the input. Will see what I have to spare going forward ;)
 
It also kind of depends how long you expect it to last. If you're not the upgrading regularly type (like me) then rather stretch as much as your budget will possibly allow.
 
Yeah, not the reg upgrading type....gonna have to see how much I can spare. My current P4 system has lasted close to 5 years....still handled Far Cry 2 & Bioshock 2 just fine. So ja...think I will try put as much as I can spare into this AMD rig....hopefully it lasts a few years. :p
 
Whoa you totally managed to bypass Core2Duo?? That's quite an achievement...
 
cerebus said:
Whoa you totally managed to bypass Core2Duo?? That's quite an achievement...
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Hahahaha! The funny thing is I was at the time going to upgrade to a E8400, but it just never happened due to life's lil ups and downs (it was the downs part :p ). So have been managing up until now...but I have had enough! :)
 
Your mobo is fine.

Because nVidia has just released the 400 series, ATi may drop the prices on their cards a bit, that's why I'm waiting. (See my sig)

The mobo you had initially is fine, I really doubt that I'll ever crossfire or SLi anything.
You can find Club3D 5850's for R2800 odd. (Rebeltech)
The rest of your rig is great, just consider the RAM change mentioned as well.
 
Frag said:
Your mobo is fine.

Because nVidia has just released the 400 series, ATi may drop the prices on their cards a bit, that's why I'm waiting. (See my sig)

The mobo you had initially is fine, I really doubt that I'll ever crossfire or SLi anything.
You can find Club3D 5850's for R2800 odd. (Rebeltech)
The rest of your rig is great, just consider the RAM change mentioned as well.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the info!!
 
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