Getting a gaming rig. Buy or Build?

[Garcian Smith]

Squilliam said:

ATI Radeon HD 4890 Reference Design*

65 W

268 W

ATI Radeon HD 5850 Cypress Reference Design*

24 W

157 W

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=420&Itemid=72&limit=1&limitstart=14

Gives you the first good reason. 100W difference load, 40W difference under idle.

Another good reason:

http://gamegpu.ru/images/stories/Abzoru/action/BK_2_demo/Battlefield_Bad_Company_2_Beta_1920x1080.jpg

Note, the scaling on DX10 for the most modern of titles.

Another good reason: Anisotropic filtering

http://techreport.com/r.x/radeon-hd-5870/tunnel-cypress.png

As I don't know the modeling software I can't pull up any benchmarks on that. In any case the performance from the 5850 is proportional to price and that performance will get used. You're always advocating for the present, what about the future? Its a much better card all around, just becuase DX11 games haven't started to really take advantage of the technology now doesn't mean that in 6 months time there won't be numerous examples of a distinction between the two cards. At this point the HD 4890 is at its peak and time will not be as friendly to it as a card which carries the latest technology and which still has room to grow.

 

 

Power consumption shouldn't be an issue unless you're sticking the card into a previously built box with an underpowered PSU. And no doubt the 5850 is a more powerful card than the 4890, but unless you're running at 1920x1200 or higher with high AA you probably don't need the former.

And "future-proofing" your PC - by that I mean, spending a ton of money on hardware that you don't need now so that it can be obsoleted in two years' time by a basic mid-range build - is stupid. Buying the price:performance "sweet spot" now and upgrading only when you need to will save you a ton of money in the long run with little performance loss. This is a trend that's held true since the early-mid '90s and the advent of the "graphics card race," and it won't be ending in the foreseeable future.