Re-tooling my Desktop - is my proposed upgrade a smart one?

**Quarterquack** · 01-29-2012, 04:11 AM

Originally Posted by 1000possibleclaws

...

Ehhh never mind, I had a brain fart sorry.

It's the 6950 that can be unlocked. The 6850 was only advertised as having a higher pixel shader processes on unreleased manufacturer BIOS*. There was talk of rips/release but they never materialized. God these stories really do a number to memory when you start memorizing each of them. Sorry, again.

Go with the 6950 not the 6850. Now that the 7970 is out, and soon the 7950, the 6950 price should go down. Go for that. As for "easy to tell" a lot has to do with the singular fan, 2GB RAM, and an AMD logo being present on near the connector of the card. Otherwise there's no other ways to tell. You can e-mail the reseller for confirmation.

As for how much effort it takes, judge for yourself, but I'd say it's pretty easy since it's simply software based.

* - You can flash the 6850, but you don't really get the 6870 in the process, just the upped clock speeds, and for reference the 6870 behaves a lot like the 6950 in XFire, since you seem to be interested in that.

**MikeB** · 01-29-2012, 06:01 AM

Originally Posted by mjmacky

You could buy Intel if you want to pay a lot more for getting slightly more. If you're set on AMD graphics than why not an AMD processor and AM3+ motherboard? I would actually make a recommendation, but no one takes my suggestions seriously. People really love to throw their money away.

amd/intel cpu/gpu combo makes no difference. Fact is AMD GPU used to be ATI only a couple years ago if that. So back then they were producing stuff independantly and AMD is still building stuff from ATI's base.

Originally Posted by 1000possibleclaws

4) PSU. I'm planning on getting a 620-750 watt modular PSU, whatever happens to have good reviews and is on sale during my order

Get any Antec/Corsair you can afford, don't skimp out, a good pus will last 5-10 years, and will protect your system and deliver enough power for the 2500k. A cheap PSU will risk blowing your CPU and mobo and be hoisy and shit.

Uf you're constrained by budget, get a non-modular corsair, over a cheapo modular.

A good roomy case with be3gind the backplate cable management can let you hide the cables pretty easily too.

Originally Posted by 1000possibleclaws

5) GPU: would be replacing my 8800GTS, probably with an AMD card because I think those give you more bang for your buck. I still haven't read into this yet, because I guess it's something I can always invest in at a future date, if I can't get together enough money right now. Also hoping for a price drop as a new series just came out (?)

AMD 6970 is the best bang for buck, can be soft modded to perform like the 6990 too (about $40 more expensive).

With that setup (and with you cpu/ram/mobo slection) you can play bf3 in flying speed no problem.

**1000possibleclaws** · 01-29-2012, 07:20 AM

Problem is the 6970 costs about $200 more than the 6850 and I am already really stretching my budget by buying a GPU. Don't think I can afford it even if it gets a hefty price drop!

I guess an option would be to hold onto my 8800 for the time being and see how far the 6970 drops, and do that upgrade another day. Would be hard to do because I think the GPU upgrade will have the biggest impact, but I guess I can always see how things are first and cross that bridge when I get there.

**mjmacky** · 01-31-2012, 05:53 AM

Originally Posted by MikeB

amd/intel cpu/gpu combo makes no difference. Fact is AMD GPU used to be ATI only a couple years ago if that. So back then they were producing stuff independantly and AMD is still building stuff from ATI's base.

As I clarified in post #5, it is not the rule of law. There are still some things to consider. Boards built for AMD processors tend to support Crossfire (ATI graphics linking) more often than SLI (nVidia graphics linking), and similarly with Intel supported boards and their leaning towards SLI over Crossfire. Basically, your board options become more limited when you mix them. If the board you've got your eye on supports the linking technology you want, then it's not really an issue. The other thing to consider is that you can use Catalyst to update your AMD based chipset drivers in addition to your graphics drivers.

**lovewalrus** · 02-03-2012, 02:01 PM

quite honestly the best upgrade i did to play battlefield was getting an SSD....

i am in the first 5 loading a map everytime now!!!

good times

p.s. it has not made me any better at the game though

**1000possibleclaws** · 02-03-2012, 08:36 PM

Originally Posted by mjmacky

Originally Posted by MikeB

amd/intel cpu/gpu combo makes no difference. Fact is AMD GPU used to be ATI only a couple years ago if that. So back then they were producing stuff independantly and AMD is still building stuff from ATI's base.

As I clarified in post #5, it is not the rule of law. There are still some things to consider. Boards built for AMD processors tend to support Crossfire (ATI graphics linking) more often than SLI (nVidia graphics linking), and similarly with Intel supported boards and their leaning towards SLI over Crossfire. Basically, your board options become more limited when you mix them. If the board you've got your eye on supports the linking technology you want, then it's not really an issue. The other thing to consider is that you can use Catalyst to update your AMD based chipset drivers in addition to your graphics drivers.

Yeah I'd definitely read the specs on the mobo before purchasing it to make sure it does Crossfire. BTW the 2500k is on sale for $210 today which looks tempting. My friend is telling me to wait for a bundle deal that packages a mobo with the CPU, but Idk if it's worth waiting I'll have to look into mobo sales this weekend.

**bijoy** · 02-04-2012, 07:23 AM

Originally Posted by mjmacky

Originally Posted by 1000possibleclaws

A 2500k is around $200, what's the AMD equivalent that I would be comparing benchmarks to?

AMD FX-8120 3.1 GHz 8 core http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103961

This is a badass processor. Avoid it. Waste of money.

Originally Posted by 1000possibleclaws

btw my goal is to use this mainly as a gaming PC. I am getting so frustrated that my Battlefield lags even on low settings, and I want to finally be able to play GTA4 at a normal resolution.

In which resolution you intend to play those games?