Soleron said:
Tentative yes, but it could be overkill for the applications you're using. What apps are you using, and what games do you intend to play (settings & resolution too). You may want to wait until mid-September where you'll be able to get the CPU and motherboard cheaper (as Lynnfield i5-750) and the new DirectX 11 graphics cards come out that will be a lot faster, and of course Windows 7. |
This is too important to overlook.
If he's planning on spending close to $1500 on his system, he should definitely wait until the pricing playing field is settled with the i5 and the intro of DX 11 VGA cards.
If he doesn't wait and jumps the gun now, he will probably end up paying more for it today in addition to having fewer options.
The 4890 is just a minor refresh of the 4870. Faster clocks and definitely a small improvement (10-15% average), but the proper update will be the R800 line of GPUs (for which you will be paying a premium for on release while the R700s drop in price).
The i5 is more suitable for most users at what should be significantly less than an i7 set up.
I would still keep the i7 in strong consideration considering the updated DO stepping (easier overclocking) as well as the price dropping of X58 motherboards. Decent boards can be bought for under $200 that will have all the features most users want and need.
Best advice is know exactly what's in the pipeline, don't buy more than what you need and definitely don't pay too much for what you don't.
