Need recomendations on PC parts

[Fakum]

Well!!! this really SUCKS!!! I have all the PC parts I need, I just havnt purchased the HD 7870 yet (holding out for a little better price). I put the rig together today,,, I CAN NOT install the radeon HD 5850 in the bottom PCI-e slot, it simply blocks all the plug in header ports and Id have to pull all the front panel wiring out, it blockes every feature at the botom of the MOBO. (I have photos if I need to post)

 

So I understand correctly, if I put the new HD7870 in the top slot, and put the older HD 5850 in the middle slot, I diminish the performance of the HD 7870 correct?

 

So I might actually be better off running both monitors off the HD 7870 then putting the 5850 in the middle?

 

I dont have the funding to X-fire 2 cards.

 

Another thing, if I am going to have to use 1 card only, am I better off going with AMD instead? (I dont recall if AMD supports 2 monitors?)

 

Any suggestions would be appreciated, thanks

[EtherealN]

AMD does generally have better multimonitor support. nVidia does show signs of intending to try to catch up, but so far this is only on the 680, and it's not quite where AMD is in this respect yet. (Much as it pains me to admit :P ).

 

On the question of whether positioning will hurt the performance of the 7870, this depends a lot. Few things really need all 16 lanes of 2.1 PCIe - 8 lanes is still 4GB/second throughput. I haven't specifically checked this out for graphics cards though - my only such check has been when considering PCIe-interfaced solid-state drives. But I would note that a lot of SLI/CF solutions end up being 8/8.

[Fakum]

o shoo! I was alreday going with AMD, I meant to inquire about going with NVIDIA instead,,

 

Anyway, my configuration has to accomodate running DCS Warthog on the 30" monitor @ 2560x1600 using the HD 7870, and the 5850 for the 24" touchscreen for flight controls etc.

 

I have to come up with an alternatve configuration it seems

[hitman]

Not sure if you are willing to check this out, but I got my 2600k intel from microcenter for only 200 dollars brand new...their 2700k were on sale as well at 280 bucks at the moment. My ram was only 50 dollars per 4gigs. You shop at microcenter, ask for a price comparison from any online vendor like amazon. My computer would have cost me almost 2600 bucks had it not been for microcenter...hell, I even got my TM Warthog for 350 bones, and new rudder pedals for 90! I wound up only spending 1900 bucks for this computer, and it is NICE! That included the 27' LED monitor, the corsair case, 750w psu, 100w speaker system, and everything else you see in my sig.

Edited April 24, 2012 by hitman

[airdog]

Not sure if you are willing to check this out, but I got my 2600k intel from microcenter for only 200 dollars brand new...their 2700k were on sale as well at 280 bucks at the moment. My ram was only 50 dollars per 4gigs. You shop at microcenter, ask for a price comparison from any online vendor like amazon. My computer would have cost me almost 2600 bucks had it not been for microcenter...hell, I even got my TM Warthog for 350 bones, and new rudder pedals for 90! I wound up only spending 1900 bucks for this computer, and it is NICE! That included the 27' LED monitor, the corsair case, 750w psu, 100w speaker system, and everything else you see in my sig.

I just did the same thing.

I got an email from microcenter for a 2600k for $199 so I had to do it. Picked up a Asus P8Z77-V Pro motherboard which is compatible with the upcoming Ivy Bridge CPU. $50 for 8gb Patriot Vengenance ram....and another SSD for the hell of it.

I had a i7 920 and this was still a huge improvement.

[Fakum]

Thanks, but I have all the parts, Im just trying to figure out my best solution for resolving my GPU question.

[hitman]

Why not just use your current video card for the touch screen monitor and get the exact same thing for your upgraded monitor? Ill be honest with you about my video card, it plays my DCS sims silky smooth maxed out, and it didnt cost me an arm and a leg.

[Fakum]

Id prefer a better card with this new rig. It managed Warthog ok,, did fight alot with adj for micro stutters and such, wound up limiting the FPS to 30, and for the most part it was ok. Id just rather put some more horse power under the hood, plus I will be looking to take advantage of the PCI-e features once Ivy is released

[Pilotasso]

On another note, for those considering new CPU's IMHO the new intel 3xxx I5/7's series dont bring anything new to the table if your using a dedicated graphics card. Some Reports on the net are suggesting that the new breed does not overclock higher than the 2xxx with mainstream cooling solutions.

 

Morale of the story: simply choose the cheapest unlocked CPU and overclock it with a good cooling kit. As long as you keep within the range of these CPU's, the secret for best perfomance will lie elsewhere but the specific CPU itself (which is kinda paradoxal...)

 

My bonus has finally come through but I will send it straight for my savings. No GTX 680 nor 3770K for me. Perhaps when DCS: Falcon arrives... :D

Edited April 24, 2012 by Pilotasso

[HiJack]

No GTX 680 nor 3770K for me. Perhaps when DCS: Falcon arrives... :D

I will wait with the Ivy Bridge upgrade as well but I aim for a GTX 680 in May :D

[Pilotasso]

If you want a beast of a GFX wait for the 690. it will be single chip but will feature twice the cores. No SLI hassles!

[Fakum]

Getting back on track, is anyone using an HD 7970 or a 680 to run 2 monitors for a 30" main display at 2560 x 1600 and Helios on a 2nd touch screen by any chance? Did alot of reading,, conflicting responses, but it appears that the HD 7970 would be the better option for a single card at that resolution for the main and having a 2nd monitor.