Good deal? I am trying to maximize value and performance. As I stated previous I am not really capped in terms of price but I don't want to waste money just because something will go omgftwbbq fast.
EVGA nForce 780i SLI Motherboard CPU Bundle - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 Processor 2.66GHz OEM
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3714946&CatId=2430

8/8/2008 7:10:37 AM

Why not just buy the motherboard and a Q6600 at newegg for $415 shipped no rebate?

The difference in the Q6600 & Q6700 is very very little.

8/8/2008 1:34:39 PM

I'd wait until the Core i7 launch.

8/8/2008 9:54:32 PM

Which will be when? And would they be very stable being brand new? I would like to start ordering new parts next week.

8/8/2008 10:12:26 PM

sometime Q4 this year, If you're antsy about it, go ahead and order, but you're upgrading at a pretty shitty time considering Nehalem is right around the corner.

8/8/2008 10:41:07 PM

I am a bit confused. I am now seeing a combo with the same exact processor but the 680i MoBo and it is only $349. What gives? Are the 680i and the 780i really that different?

8/9/2008 6:03:08 AM

the 780i supports tri-sli without a modded bios, 45nm processors duals and quads (680i can run duals such as e8400 with a bios upgrade), and pci-e 2.0. Everything else is almost exactly the same on the boards (I believe 780i can hit slightly higher FSB's). To me it's not worth that extra premium compared to an intel chipset board, I have a 680i and am comfortable with it and don't plan on upgrading for a while.

[Edited on August 9, 2008 at 10:54 AM. Reason : .]

8/9/2008 10:53:04 AM

So since I would like to get something in the very near future I should go with the 680i combo thus saving $100? And then down the road when the 7i gets going I can upgrade without feeling screwed.

8/9/2008 12:01:45 PM

yes I would do that, i7 won't be mainstream until well next year anyway, so that will be more than enough to hold you over.

edit: coupled with the fact that it runs triple channel DDR3 along with x58 boards which will both be very expensive for some time to come, so I'd just get that 680i with the Q6700, and maybe a good 2gig or 4gig kit of DDR2 800 or 1066.

[Edited on August 9, 2008 at 12:51 PM. Reason : .]

8/9/2008 12:49:44 PM

i'm starting here - http://arstechnica.com/guides/buyer/guide-200807.ars/3

but the system is kind of overkill for my needs and my budget so i'm trying to work with it and this one: http://arstechnica.com/guides/buyer/guide-200805.ars/3

so for starters, i'm trying to decide on a video solution so that I can figure out what kind of motherboard to get. $600 for video cards seems too much to me - i play call of duty mainly and work in photoshop, so all this is overkill. my 7600gt handles this much just fine right now - should i upgrade?

i'm really looking to decide on a motherboard, proc, vid card, power supply (if needed to support new hw), and memory (4gb worth of something fast).

i want to look for an hd cable tuner if it will let me hook up directly to the wall without an hd cable box.

8/17/2008 11:45:51 AM

If you want to upgrade to play any newer games, a 4850HD would do just fine for you and they're only about 180-200 bucks, depending on brand and rebate options.

8/17/2008 12:22:52 PM

I finally have the cash to build a new system the way I would like, but I can bring myself to do it with Core i7 right around the corner

8/17/2008 5:28:18 PM

i think you should buy my antec solo case

8/17/2008 8:59:37 PM

so I take it that the Core i7 is pretty baller?

8/19/2008 8:53:58 PM

if it'll push prices down for all the other procs, i'll wait - i'm not going to buy it when it comes out though

8/20/2008 8:06:38 AM

yea no way in hell I'm buying that shit new, but yea, true native quadcore with hyperthreading on each core and a bunch of other shit. I don't have the time to post it all now, but just wiki Nehalem.

8/20/2008 10:33:27 AM

^ link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nehalem_(microarchitecture)

[Edited on August 20, 2008 at 11:50 AM. Reason : .]

8/20/2008 11:49:46 AM

Quote :

"so I take it that the Core i7 is pretty baller?"

Benchmarks on Nehalem are looking to be 40-60% better (clock to clock) than the 45nm Core 2s.

8/20/2008 6:29:37 PM

uh no...

20-30% more like it.
Source: http://anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/intel/showdoc.aspx?i=3326&p=9

23-31% again...
Source: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/intel-nehalem-core,news-28701.html

[Edited on August 20, 2008 at 7:23 PM. Reason : .]

8/20/2008 7:22:15 PM

^

haha, that's still pretty fucking awesome

8/20/2008 8:18:11 PM

I've also read a few places that these aren't gonna clock anywhere near as easily as C2's though :/ I really hope they're wrong, but we'll see.

edit: I read it in a few threads on XS

[Edited on August 20, 2008 at 8:42 PM. Reason : .]

8/20/2008 8:41:39 PM

8/21/2008 1:34:24 AM

Thinking about doing some upgrades, well, to most of my comp. Used mainly for gaming and some overclocking fun.

I'll be keeping:

CD/DvD drives
Case

Thinking of:

DFI LANPARTY DK P35-T2RS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136043

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115018

OCZ 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227248

EVGA 640-P2-N829-AR GeForce 8800GTS SSC 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130317

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148261

Antec BP550 Plus 550W ATX12V V2.2 Power Supply 100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016


Ive been told the GT is a little better than the GTS, is that something I should consider looking into?

Will the PSU be enough?

Also, I kinda put this together late last night browsing newegg, any glaring problems lemme know.

8/21/2008 6:59:56 PM

PSU is plenty, i don't see anything wrong with that setup

8/21/2008 7:30:45 PM

Quote :

"DFI LANPARTY DK P35-T2RS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136043 EVGA 640-P2-N829-AR GeForce 8800GTS SSC 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130317 Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148261"

That 8800GTS is old, really old in the GPU world. The new 9800GT/GTX is probably what you will be looking for in that price range. The 500GB hard drives are only $15 more for twice the space, and the best $/GB is the 640GB hard drives. Also, the P45 boards are out now and offer PCI-E 2.0 and some are slightly cheaper than the one you picked.

8/21/2008 8:11:58 PM

Quote :

"uh no... 20-30% more like it. Source: http://anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/intel/showdoc.aspx?i=3326&p=9 23-31% again... Source: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/intel-nehalem-core,news-28701.html [Edited on August 20, 2008 at 7:23 PM. Reason : .]"

Its not worth it when I can get my Q6600 to 3.6GHz. Thats a 35% boost in performance over 2.66GHz. If Nehalem can't overclock its not worth upgrading unless you just really want DDR3.

8/21/2008 8:16:32 PM

lol holy shit, they're still selling G80 GTS's? Yeah, don't buy that, especially for 160. It's a good card, but you can get a 4850 for about the same price AR which stomps it, so yea.

8/21/2008 8:16:45 PM

^^the i7's are going to be smaller, cooler, and FASTER by 20%-30% at 3.6Ghz (clock for clock) than your Q6600 will be

Quote :

"Our sources indicated that Intel will release Bloomfield, the first of the Nehalem family at 3.2GHz, 2.93GHz and 2.66GHz and on an LGA1366-pin platform. Foxconn X58 MoboX58-ChipOur test system used the 2.93GHz, but we can confirm that significantly higher clock frequencies are available."

smaller the die, typically the more potential for overclocking due to reduced heat. i don't think your Q6600 will stand up to it.

[Edited on August 21, 2008 at 9:14 PM. Reason : .]

8/21/2008 9:07:14 PM

Nehalem is quad core by default (for the initial rollout). The way it manages those cores and essentially overclocks used cores when others aren't in use are where you should see a speed boost. Correct me if I'm wrong...

I really hope it will alleviate the confusion between buying a faster clocked C2D or a slower clocked Quad.

8/21/2008 9:19:56 PM

So at first I was leaning toward 9800GTX+ SLI but after reading some reviews I am looking at the 4870 X2 2GB since I found out that I can have a Radeon card and an Intel processor. What say you t-dub techies?

Also, if I went with the 4870 X2 then which is a more reputable/better maker HIS or Sapphire?

8/22/2008 4:34:17 AM

IMO the SLI/Crossfire motherboards cost way too much. I think the dual GPU cards are the way to go.

8/22/2008 11:26:56 AM

Best bang for buck, get a dual-GPU 9800GX2 for $215
http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/13646

8/22/2008 11:29:57 AM

yea, I saw that on SD last night, that's so fucking insane.

8/22/2008 1:39:03 PM

I have a friend who has a 9800 GX2 and he was telling me just the other night that he was having frame rate issues with WoW of all things. Now I know that could be attributable to being too hot or not having enough RAM but none of the benchmarks that I have seen has it placing well against 9800GTX+ SLI or the 4870 X2 2GB.

Also, looking again at monitors I remember back 5+ years ago when I had a View Sonic that they were awesome but in all of the monitor reviews that I have read none of them mention that brand. Is there something better out there that I should be looking for? I am looking at the 22"-24" range.

8/22/2008 7:19:03 PM

AFAIK (2) 9800GTX+ will set you back $380-$400
AFAIK (1) 4870 X2 2GB will set you back $500+
AFAIK (1) 9800GX2 will set you back $250

so um, unless you want to compare the 4870X2 to a 9800GX2 in SLI, then i'd say it's not a fair comparison b/c they are about the same in cost.

[Edited on August 22, 2008 at 7:34 PM. Reason : ,]

8/22/2008 7:34:02 PM

Cost isn't "too" much of a concern. I am mostly looking for performance without getting into too many diminishing returns (like trying to Xfire 4870 X2 ).

8/22/2008 9:55:11 PM

^

I read the Radeon 4870 is the "sweet spot" right now for price/performance.

8/22/2008 10:01:08 PM

i just got a 4870 in the rig i built yesterday.

i was trying to get a decently powerful system for about 1k
antec 900 case
amd x2 64 5400 black edition
xigmatek hdt-rs1283 hsf
biostar tforce with amd chipset
ocz reaper 4gb (2 x 2) ddr2 800
750gb samsung f1 hdd
ati 4870
corsair 1000w psu (plan to add another 4870 at some point)

i'm in the process of installing software.

8/22/2008 10:18:44 PM

I contemplated putting this questions in the "Tales of the technically inept" thread but here goes. After trying to wrap my mind around the latest GPUs I am a bit lost when it comes to a definition between single and multi-GPU setups. Am I correct in assuming that when an article mentions single GPU they mean something like a 9800GTX+ even if it is SLI (meaning there would be two of them) and multi-GPU is a single card with two processors like the 4870 X2? Flame away.

8/22/2008 10:32:58 PM

^correct. the only recent-ish multi-gpu video cards that nvidia has done recently is the 9800 gx2. the dual gpu ati boards have x2 at the end.

so you sometimes see reviews/comparisons between:
4870 x2
x2 4870
the first being the dual gpu card, and the 2nd being 2 4870s in crossfirex

8/23/2008 1:49:15 AM

I can't seem to find a performance comparison between 9800 GTX+ SLI and a 4870 X2 2GB. This makes me a sad panda because I want to spend some $Texas next week.

8/23/2008 1:41:14 PM

the R700 is better, no contest.

8/23/2008 2:23:12 PM

get the 4870X2

http://www.hothardware.com/Articles/ATI-Radeon-HD-4870-X2--AMD-Back-On-Top/?page=5

[Edited on August 23, 2008 at 5:05 PM. Reason : .]

8/23/2008 5:02:43 PM

^i want one. Although i'm sure when Nvidia comes out with a multi GPU card it'll smash the 4870x2. In terms of single-gpu performance the 280GTX is still on top.

8/23/2008 6:35:32 PM

^nVidia has had a multi-GPU card out for a while. Already been posted a few posts up. 9800 GX2

8/23/2008 9:59:43 PM

obligatory no shit

8/23/2008 10:00:44 PM

^^i'm aware of the 9800gx2. That is the older series dual gpu card. I'm talking about a 280gtx newer series dual gpu card that will compete with amd's 4870x2. In terms of raw GPU power the GT200 nvidia series is still on top.

8/24/2008 2:30:11 AM

i can't bring myself to buy a $300 vid card and $225 motherboard

i don't want to run the 4870 x2 in crossfire or sli - i should be OK with just one vid card, so can you recommend another P45 motherboard? right now the ars guide suggested the GIGABYTE GA-X48-DS4 LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128336 )

so then is the 4870 x2 still necessary? all i play is cod4 from time to time and mostly do photoshop work.

8/26/2008 9:37:26 AM

8800GT will destroy CoD4, and it's not really a waste of money either.

cheapest and free shipping, 3 year warranty
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133232

or lifetime warranty
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130318

and I'd go with this if you want P45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131297

8/26/2008 9:45:50 AM

eVGA 8800GS 384MB PCI-Express Video Card $62 After $30MIR
http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/13688

8/26/2008 2:20:09 PM