First Build

[Sean W.]

but, games are much much more graphics card oriented, so inless you are going to be running any heavy CPU applications, then amd and a 5970 is the way to go. i promise you will be glad that you went with a 5970.

 

[VishKapish]

This is just my two cents, but the 1055t isn't really the greatest processor for gaming. It really only ties the X4 965 on most games, sometimes performs better, and sometimes its actually worse. However, the 920 will always (and by quite a large margin) outperform the 1055t and 965. Also, a 5870 can max any game on the market. Since his board supports crossfire, he can always pick up another 5870 in a couple years. I say go with a 920/5870.

This review seems to show 2 5870s outperform 1 5970, though I think the eVGA x58 classified runs both cards at x16, and his motherboard will do x8:
Radeon HD 5970 Single card and Crossfire review

 

[Muffin Man]

yea at stock speeds, dual 5870's are usually better than a single 5970 because the cores on the 5970 needed to downclocked to keep heat and power consumption in check.

a 5970 has all the "nuts and bolts" of 2 5870's, just not the clock speeds.

 

[Sean W.]

yea at stock speeds, dual 5870's are usually better than a single 5970 because the cores on the 5970 needed to downclocked to keep heat and power consumption in check.

a 5970 has all the "nuts and bolts" of 2 5870's, just not the clock speeds.

but you can easily overclock the 5970 to match the performance of 2 5870's.

im just saying what i would do. if he doesnt want to go that route and wants a i7 and 5870, thats totally cool.

 

[KnauTz]

I think I'm going to go with the i7 and a 5870.