What would be the better build?

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What do you think would be the better setup for gaming, browsing and a bit of encoding here and there.

i7build.png


or

i5build.png
 
Associate
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Imo, take the 1st rig, and drop the 5870 down to a 5850...

Overclock your 5850 if needs be up to the 5870 speeds, and get an SSD boot drive.

Also, the PSU is possibly slightly overkill, and i think this would more than suffice...

If you really want SATA3, then you could drop to say this MB, and with an SSD boot drive, you wouldnt need to spend the extra to get a SATA3 storage drive, so you could add another 1TB to your system?

Thats just my thoughts anyhow.
 
Soldato
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Also, the PSU is possibly slightly overkill, and i think this would more than suffice...

Maybe, but I believe OP is considering crossfire as a potential option in the future and extra power will help with that.

a bit of encoding here and there.

On this part there is a real benefit in going for an i7, since the majority of current encoders take advantage of hyper-threading on these CPUs.

This may also be an option for quiet cooling:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-002-CS&groupid=962&catid=1532&subcat=

If you take a peak into the i7 OC thread in the CPU forum, you can see that people are getting decent mileage out of this unit.
 
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OP
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Imo, take the 1st rig, and drop the 5870 down to a 5850...

Overclock your 5850 if needs be up to the 5870 speeds, and get an SSD boot drive.

Also, the PSU is possibly slightly overkill, and i think this would more than suffice...

If you really want SATA3, then you could drop to say this MB, and with an SSD boot drive, you wouldnt need to spend the extra to get a SATA3 storage drive, so you could add another 1TB to your system?

Thats just my thoughts anyhow.

I am not sure if I want to go with that mobo because it doesnt have the best OC abilities.

I personally think SSD's are over priced atm.

I was thinking of getting 2 5850's but I think I dont need that now and in the near future I could add another 5870 or 5970 to do crossfire.
 
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OP
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Malvern, England
Actually I might reconsider the mobo as long as it can OC the i7 930 to 4.00-4.20 GHz I will be happy.

Is Sata 3 worth it for just a normal HDD or would it be better to be future proof.
 
Associate
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I would go for the first defo!
The CPU is much more powerful and allows for future expansion.
Plus a 5970 is simple an overkill for 99.962% of users. Even the 5870 should be more than enough!
I'm using an old 4870 with a i7 920 and haven't met anything I can't run a either 'V.High' or 'Max' settings at 1680x1050.
 
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