Graphics Card/Onboard Graphics for Media Centre PC

[Fumz]

The components I have spare from the other PC wont be sufficient for my gaming requirements will they? So do I wait now until more is heard about this new hardware coming out soon?

I want to play using highest settings.

Recommended system requirements:

• 2nd Generation Intel® Core™i5 processor (or greater), or AMD equivalent
• 2GB RAM (XP), 4GB RAM (Vista / Windows7)
• AMD Radeon HD 5000 and 6000 series graphics cards or equivalent DirectX 11 compatible graphics card

You already know what you need. If you want to start playing, then get a card. If you want to wait, that's fine, but the game's requirements aren't getting any more demanding... a 6870 or a 570 is going to play your game just as good today as it is in a month or 18.

 

[TheJay]

I have checked on Overclockers UK and managed to compile the following list:

What do you think of the following?

MSI ATI Radeon HD 6950 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £219.98
AMD AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition "125W Edition" 3.20GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail £89.99
Gigabyte GA-880GA-UD3H AMD 880G (Socket AM3) DDR3 Motherboard £88.99
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £39.98

(Overclockers UK)

I've checked and I am pretty sure the current PSU I have will be sufficient. I also think the GPU will support bitstreaming.

 

[Fumz]

I think you'd be well advised to stay as far from MSI as possible... just about every other vendor has superior support.

I haven't had an AMD since Conroe, I only know Intel has been kicking AMD's butt for quite a while now... hard. If the price difference between this AMD rig and the Intel rig you're about to go looking for is minimal, then get the Intel rig.

Yes, a 6950 will run your games nicely at 1920 and it will Bitstream. All you need to do now is make sure your receiver has hdmi 1.3 or above ports, and that you use hdmi 2.0 cables.

Recall that Bitstreaming is just passing all audio off to the receiver. You're only using the hdmi connection to the card as an audio conduit.

 

[TheJay]

What makes Intel stand out and beat AMD at the moment?

Apart from being sold as an MSI product, the card I have listed is good isn't it?

Luckily my AV features HDMI v1.3 connectivity supporting 'Deep Colour', 1080p resolutions, 24 frames per second 'native film' format and format upconversion from all inputs to HDMI with video scaling to full 1080p HD resolution, the DSPAX863SE has fantastic video performance. Component video, S-Video and composite video inputs and outputs also ensure compatibility with older equipment.

Everything else is connected to the TV via the AV (including Blu-Ray Player, PS2 and Wii).

 

[essenbe]

Sheepdisease, I can tell you what you need to meet your specfications for a gaming rig. However I can't help with the video center and bitstreaming. Listen to Fumz, he knows what he is talking about. Fumz is your guy.

 

[Fumz]

It's been longer than just a moment. Intel has been kicking AMD's keister since 2006 with the introduction of Conroe. Since then, no matter what AMD has tried, they just haven't been able to produce a processor that can keep up with Intel. Even the AMD 6 core cpu's get crushed by Intel quads.

I don't know what's happening over at AMD because it used to be the opposite. Intel were the big boys with the huge market share... and AMD was the little engine that could, continually producing one chip after another that was just faster than Intel.

Here's where the 955 stands, below the 1156 i5's. CPU Benchmark, Part 2: Mainstream Processors. Page 6 - X-bit labs. Here's how well the AMD 6 core cpu's stand up to last generation Intel cpus. CPU Benchmark, Part 3: High-End Processors. Page 6 - X-bit labs... and if that weren't bad enough, along comes Sandy Bridge. Core i7-990X Extreme Edition vs. Core i7-2600K. Page 4 - X-bit labs

Those Phenom's just look lost and alone hanging out waaaaay down there at the bottom of the list... kinda makes you sad.

 

[TheJay]

Right, well that is fair enough! I think I am beginning to understand.

Could you please provide me with an alternative list of hardware, which would come to around the same price and achieve the desired end result?

 

[Fumz]

Right, well that is fair enough! I think I am beginning to understand.

Could you please provide me with an alternative list of hardware, which would come to around the same price and achieve the desired end result?

No... that's your job. You have links to how the cpu's perform... now pick one and go find out how much it is?

I don't mind critiquing hardware, or nudging someone in a direction I feel is better performance/price wise once you've made your decision(s), but, I don't feel it's my place to choose your hardware for you. It's a karma thing...

 

[TheJay]

1.

Sapphire 21188-00-40R HD 6950 2GB GDDR5 Graphics Card Offered by boomdeal by SAPPHIRE £235.00


2.

Asus P8P67 New B3 Rev Motherboard (P67 chipset ATX, Intel?s 1155 Socket, USB 3.0/Sata 6Gb/s, Dual Lan, Bluetooth & Digi+VRM ) by Asus £134.00


3.

Corsair CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 8GB 1600MHz CL9 DDR3 Vengeance Memory Two Module Kit Offered by KOMPBAY by Corsair
£68.50


4.

Intel Core i7-2600 Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Offered by KOMPBAY by Intel
£219.89

Total: £657.39

This is what I am now considering. What are you thoughts?

 

[Fumz]

Well done.

... now go get yourself a quality power supply.

 

[TheJay]

So do you think this is a good choice of hardware?

What's wrong with my Corsair 620W HX Modular PSU?

 

[essenbe]

The only recommendation I would make is if you get the P67 board, might as well get the K version of the CPU.

 

[Fumz]

So do you think this is a good choice of hardware?

What's wrong with my Corsair 620W HX Modular PSU?

Since it's not listed in your system specs, I had no idea it existed. It will work well.

The only recommendation I would make is if you get the P67 board, might as well get the K version of the CPU.

I thought about that.. but this is primarily a media room machine, so the likelihood of overclocking is slim to none. Besides, that opens up a whole new can of worms with respect to cooling.

 

[cmd187]

No point getting H67 or P67 anymore. Go for Z68. Benefits of both platforms.

 

[TheJay]

Ah, the choices!


Aria

Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £189.99

Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD4 Intel Z68 (REV B3) Socket 1155 DDR3 PCI-Express Motherboard £129.99

8GB Patriot G2 Division 2 Edition (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 'SandyBridge' 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit £58.99

MSI ATI Radeon HD 6950 OC Twin FrozR III Power Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card + FREE Stalker Call of Pripyat Game £177.38

Basket Total £556.35
Approx. Delivery £6.95
VAT £112.66
Total £675.96

Ebuyer

Asrock Z68 EXTREME4 Socket 1155 8 Channel HD Audio ATX Motherboard £140.26
Intel Core i7 2600k 3.4GHz Socket 1155 8MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor £235.01
HIS HD 6950 IceQ X Turbo 2GB GDDR5 Dual DVI HDMI Dual Mini DisplayPort PCI-E Graphics Card £214.98
Corsair 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600MHz XMS3 Memory Kit CL9 1.65V £75.20
Cart total inc vat: £665.45

Dabs

Asus P6Z68-V PRO LGA1155 Intel Z68 DDR3 ATX (USB 3.0) £149.98 (Get Medal Of Honor: Buy & Mail [email protected] Free)
Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz LGA1155 8MB £244.32
Sapphire Technology ATI Radeon HD 6950 800MHz 2GB PCI-Express DVI + 2 x mDP £215.98
Corsair Memory 8GB (2x4GB) Vengeance Performance DDR3 1600MHz CL9 DIMM £79.99

Delivery (3.590kg) Free!
Total (inc VAT) £690.21

Overclockers UK

Intel Core i7-2600K 3.40GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM £227.99

MSI ATI Radeon HD 6950 OC Twin FrozR III Power Edition 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE DIRT3 Game £199.99

Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9) £65.99

Asus P8Z68-V PRO Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £150.00

Sub Total: £536.64
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping: £9.50
VAT is being charged at 20.00%
VAT: £109.23
Total: £655.37

Amazon UK

Sapphire 21188-00-40R HD 6950 2GB GDDR5 Graphics Card Offered by boomdeal by SAPPHIRE £235.00

Asus P8Z68-V PRO Intel Z68 Motherboard Supports Socket for Intel 2nd Generation Core i7/ Core? i5/ Corei3 Processors ATX Featuring LucidLogix Virtu Technology by Asus £168.47

Corsair CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 8GB 1600MHz CL9 DDR3 Vengeance Memory Two Module Kit Offered by KOMPBAY by Corsair £68.50

Intel Core i7-2600 Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Offered by KOMPBAY by Intel £219.89

Total: £714.70 (including delivery)

 

[TheJay]

After looking through these options, I am considering the following:

HIS HD 6950 IceQ X Turbo 2GB GDDR5 Dual DVI HDMI Dual Mini DisplayPort PCI-E Graphics Card 264775 15 in stock £214.98 £214.98

Xenta Gold Plated V1.4 HDMI to HDMI Cable Black - 2 Metre 193821 15313 in stock £5.99 £5.99 CABLE TIE PK 100 2.5MM X 100MM 235786 21 in stock £2.23 £2.23

Cart total inc vat: £223.20

Intel Core i7 2600k 3.4GHz Socket 1155 8MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor £235.01 (Ebuyer)

Asus P6Z68-V PRO LGA1155 Intel Z68 DDR3 ATX (USB 3.0) £149.98 (Get Medal Of Honor: Buy & Mail [email protected] Free) (Dabs)

Corsair CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 8GB 1600MHz CL9 DDR3 Vengeance Memory Two Module Kit £68.50 (Amazon)

Total: £676.69

Can you please tell me what you think and whether this is a fair price?

 

[Fumz]

All are good choices. Nobody is going to come in here and say x or y part is bad. About the only thing you can get at this point is opinion... what matters most though is yours. You've done all the work, now it's time to build and enjoy.

About the only thing I could add at this point would be that you don't need to get fancy smancy hdmi cables. As long as they're hdmi 2.0, then they will work... leave the gold plated stuff for the schmucks at best buy..

HDMI Cable

 

[biggles1000]

yeah, good point about the cable quality. with analog cables (like s-video ones), you'll want them to be good quaity. however, with digital (eg HDMI), it's either 1 or 0. There can't be any quality degradation etc.

 

[cmd187]

I'd get a GTX 570 or 580 instead of that 6950, and an 8GB set of Kingston HyperX instead of that Corsair set.

 

[Fumz]

I'd get a GTX 570 or 580 instead of that 6950, and an 8GB set of Kingston HyperX instead of that Corsair set.

That would be bad advice. Except for model khx1600c9d3p1k2/8g, the Kingston kits use 1.65 volts... which is high for the Sandy Bridge memory controller. Aside from that, the Kingston doesn't run any faster or tighter.