1st reply post-set-up/install...definitely pleased.

I'll get NWN/NWN2 up in a couple of days...

I gotta admit, 1 hr for vista install + drivers for MB is WAY faster than for the last machine.

THANKS for all the great advice.

11/30/2007 3:15:26 AM

^An hour for vista? That's insane. Took me less than 25 minutes. Might be due to the raptor.

^^Prospero check out the resolutions those benches are being tested at. They run the games at 1024 by 768. The quad core doesn't seem to push ahead of the 6750 until higher resolutions. No one plays games at 1024 by 768 anymore.

11/30/2007 4:11:43 PM

thank you for this thread. reading through this has given me a good perspective of the newest pc hardware. thanks to all who have participated.

notable facts:

I am looking for a motherboard with SLI capabilities simply b/c in about a year or 2 I want to just add another 8800gt instead of replacing the old gfx card

my choice of motherboard was also selected based on my choice of processor and gfx card, and I got the cheapest one that could that could handle those 2 things

this is going to be a gaming machine more than anything else


(i am VERY open to opinions and criticism as to switching of parts)
here it is:

video card --- GeForce 8800GT Superclocked 512MB
processor ---- Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0GHz
motherboard --JetWay 775GT1-LOGE LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
case --------- COOLER MASTER Centurion 532 RC-532-SKN1 Black Aluminum bezel, SECC chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
ram ---------- I already have what I want
hard drive --- Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM ATA150 Hard Drive



links to parts and price:

video card: $289.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130303
processor: $279.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115028
motherboard: $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813153056
case: $49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119094
ram: $0.00
I already has it
hard drive: $169.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136012

12/4/2007 10:49:46 AM

everything looks good except your choice of motherboard.

old chipset, no 1333mhz bus (which the E6850 has) and no PCI express 2.0 (which the 8800GT has), and the memory standard is only 667mhz, meaning you'll most likely have issues with timings and speed of any memory higher than that, and if you aren't at least running ddr2-800 dual channel you'll be missing out on a lot of performance your other parts have to offer.

i wouldn't worry about pci express 2.0 as the motherboards are expensive right now to get it, but at least pick an SLI motherboard with a 1333mhz bus... and a more reputable brand

[Edited on December 4, 2007 at 12:09 PM. Reason : .]

12/4/2007 12:08:00 PM

^ok thanks a lot

Update:

I'm going to switch the motherboard to: ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131142


and i'm going to keep everything the same.

also worth noting prospero...
i will be using DDR2 800 memory. i have 2 sticks of 1gb kingston

12/4/2007 1:48:46 PM

^Isn't the 680i chipset better for sli than the 650i? I remember something about the 650 not being able to do 2 full lanes of pci-e 16. I could be wrong though.

12/4/2007 3:41:39 PM

^ The 680i is a superior chipset. However, you have to ask yourself if you have the hardware to take advantage of that fact.

12/4/2007 4:04:30 PM

^do i have the hardware to take advantage of that fact? i'm guessing it might

12/4/2007 4:05:39 PM

with an 8800gtx, it didn't show much performance gain by going to 680i
http://www.techspot.com/review/45-nvidia-nforce-650i-sli-vs-680i-sli/page4.html

[Edited on December 4, 2007 at 5:13 PM. Reason : .]

12/4/2007 5:13:42 PM

oh, last question. what about power supply? should i be able to use any run-of-the-mill power supply such as one from my old computer?

12/4/2007 5:36:00 PM

completely depends on power rating, wattage, efficiency, connections, standard, etc.

if i were you since your old PSU already has years on it's components (i'm assuming) i wouldn't chance it failing. i'd get a new one, especially if you are going to run SLI, you'll need a minimum power of 500W (assuming it's activePFC, .99 PF, and 80%+ efficient)

if you want a budget one go with Antec Earthwatts 500W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371007

or if you want one that's high-end go with an Enermax Liberty:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194003

[Edited on December 4, 2007 at 6:06 PM. Reason : .]

12/4/2007 6:04:53 PM

thanks a lot for your input everybody. i've learned a lot. time to go buy.

alright, let's just hope i don't put to much glue on the heat sink when installing the cpu and screw everything up...

12/4/2007 10:11:42 PM

hope you dont actually put any glue on your heatsink or processor

12/4/2007 10:46:39 PM

Quote :

"glue on the heat sink"

12/5/2007 9:26:48 AM

+
+
+
=


[Edited on December 5, 2007 at 9:49 AM. Reason : .]

12/5/2007 9:49:08 AM

anyone know if the current nvidia chipsets will support the new 45nm intel cpu's? I'm looking to build a new gaming rig now, but want support for the new cpu's. I have a e6600 machine now and was hoping to get an SLI rig. I'm planning on turning the current system into a data server since it runs raid 5 natively with the three 500GB drives I just got.

All I find on their site is this:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/nforce4_intel_cpu_support.html


[Edited on December 5, 2007 at 11:20 AM. Reason : ]

12/5/2007 11:16:30 AM

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/11/23/nvidia-680i-chipset-fails

Quote :

"Nvidia 680i chipset fails future-proof test Four-core Yorkfield is a no-go"

November 23, 2007

apparantely the 45nm Wolfsdale will/may work, just no Yorkfield
http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.asp?m=167016&mpage=1&key=%EF%BF%BD%EF%BF%BD

[Edited on December 5, 2007 at 11:41 AM. Reason : .]

12/5/2007 11:34:05 AM

<3 my MSI 8800GT OC for $220 at Dell... should ship next week

putting my 8800gts 320mb in my new HTPC to play games on my 42" 1080p. Mainly used for 1080p x264 movies and what not.

12/5/2007 3:52:37 PM

Thanks prospero. I might get an evga sli mobo if it works with Wolfsdale, but I'll probably call their customer line to make sure later. Don't think I'll spend money for a quad core yet anyhow.

12/5/2007 4:31:37 PM

^^ hope it ships next week though. i've heard of cases where it won't ship for a while.

12/5/2007 6:45:14 PM

if you can wait for the nforce 7 series i would, but yeah, i'd call and make sure... seems the quad core is causing the issue, the BIOS update should be able to run eVGA boards for the dual core wolfsdale

[Edited on December 5, 2007 at 7:10 PM. Reason : .]

12/5/2007 7:09:38 PM

^ how long should one wait?

till a major price drop? i'm considering it

12/6/2007 1:10:25 PM

when are the 7 series board expected to ship. I really don't want to use my main gaming rig as my data server at the same time. I already have most of the parts, just need a mobo, cpu and psu. I'll probably throw a 64bit OS on the server to take advantage of the 4GB of ram I have for it.

Is Vista finally worth the effort to get it for a gaming rig now that dx10 game(s) are out? I have a spare XP pro and XP MCE licenses i just bought recently, but wondered if I should get a vista premium as well.

12/6/2007 1:45:57 PM

Q1 of 2008 will bring the nforce 7 boards, the new wolfsdale 45nm dual core / yorkfield 45nm quad core, along with Vista SP1 & XP SP3, so... what you do now is a good question. I'm not sure what the exact dates are for any of these, but they have all been promised in the next month or two.

if it helps any i just picked up a Gigabyte P35 based board that should work fine for wolfsdale & yorkfield, but obviously it's not nforce

[Edited on December 6, 2007 at 1:52 PM. Reason : .]

12/6/2007 1:47:45 PM

damn, might just have to get another intel board and get a cheap/crappy cpu as a filler for a month. I guess I can hopefully find a disposable Pentium D or something for the server box. The likely hoods of me ever actually using SLI is slim to none, but just having that option open is better than not having that option.

Anyone recommend a good intel chipset mobo for around 100-150ish? What's the differences between all of the new intel chipsets? There's like 9 new ones with different features. Would like to get raid 5 support on the new mobo too and probably dual gigabit Ethernet.

Also, what kind of raid cards are out there that supports raid 6 and price range for them?

12/6/2007 1:57:50 PM

the main two are the P35 and the X38, the X38 is just the newer model that supports PCI express 2.0 , SLI, Dual Gigabit, and geared for DDR3 option, nearly all boards with these chipsets will run 1066mhz memory, 1333mhz bus, gigabit lan and RAID 0/1/5/10 matrix
http://compare.intel.com/pcc/showchart.aspx?mmID=29003,29001&familyID=10&culture=en-US

RAID 6 controllers:
http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/01/02/safer_6_for_raid_controllers/

Adaptec 2820SA 8-Channel SATA II RAID Kit Controller PCIX 128MB w/ Cable
http://computers.pricegrabber.com/storage-device-controllers/m/13666826/

Promise Technology SuperTrak EX8350 8-Port SATA PCI-E RAID Controller
http://computers.pricegrabber.com/storage-device-controllers/m/11139109/

Areca PCI- EXPRESS TO SATA II RAID CONTROLLER, 8 PORTS
http://computers.pricegrabber.com/storage-device-controllers/m/16593070/


[Edited on December 6, 2007 at 2:25 PM. Reason : /]

12/6/2007 2:12:34 PM

motherboard: $114.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131142
power supply: $74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371007
video card: $289.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130303
processor: $279.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115028
case: $49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119094
ram: $0.00
I already has it
hard drive: $169.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136012

980.93 + tax + shipping

And this summer I could pop in another 8800gt for about 120$ after the next cards come out.... and then within a year swap processors or upgrade ram. should last a few years

[Edited on December 6, 2007 at 11:56 PM. Reason : .]

12/6/2007 11:55:32 PM

very nice rig... but i doubt the 8800gt will be $120 next summer, my guess is $180-$200, the 8800gts hasn't even come down yet.

12/7/2007 12:28:56 AM

Its nice to see that people are finally over AMD.

They have been engineering garbage since the year 2000.

12/7/2007 8:36:39 AM

Garbage that ran faster, cool, and more efficiently than Intel's shit for the better part of those years.

12/7/2007 8:50:24 AM

AMD had it from Sept '03 to June '06, that's about it.

12/7/2007 11:05:12 AM

amd































































lol

12/7/2007 11:05:45 AM

right now, yes, will probably swing back the other way in a year or so for a bit, back and forth back and forth

12/7/2007 1:55:23 PM

there's no back and forth about it... with barcelona's bug and phenom's flop, intel core 2 duo / xeon is still the best bet and has been since June 2006. and intel's next release in Jan. with wolfdale is only going to FURTHER the gap... AMD jumped to 45nm way too late and is currently 10mo. behind intel

[Edited on December 7, 2007 at 3:40 PM. Reason : .]

12/7/2007 3:40:00 PM

wasn't the same shit being said when intel was struggling to get out of the p4 era?

12/7/2007 4:01:57 PM

The p4, while a good cpu, was a bit limited. But Intel kept on up reving it to just stay one step behind AMD or on par. But again, both CPU's had their strength in one section, while the other one lacked in. P4 and PD's were wattage hogs, but they were still fast and comparable with AMD's similar chips.

Right now, Intel has a pretty rock solid roadmap for the next few years and they have shown in the past two years that they intend on keeping most time schedules while still advancing in new technologies. AMD has been skiddish since C2D came out. The Phenom's chips was 8-10 months behind schedule and suppose to compete with the current C2D quads that was out 8-10 months ago. AMD's financial situation is also in a bit of a bind lately, further reducing their credibility of them actually taking the lead back in the next year or so.

I'd say that AMD had a great era with their Athlon and X2 chips, but now they are a few steps behind Intel, well, more like one full generation behind. Remember, C2D jumped the performance gap between PD's by a well over 20-40% in most applications, while still producing cheap cpu's in cost effective ways. Most CPU generations do go above 10% from the previous ones so if you think about it, C2D is like jumping 2-4 generations (exaggeration, but you get the picture).

Hopefully AMD will rebound in the next few years and get back on the level playing field or even surpass Intel. Also to mention, AMD is still doing good on the Server side because of their aggressive pricing and low wattage consumption (although C2D is breaking back in). A good sign that AMD is loosing would be if Dell stopped shipping AMD products....


Btw, interesting read. AMD is now focusing on mass market CPU's
http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/12/07/subsidies_for_jobs/

[Edited on December 7, 2007 at 6:01 PM. Reason : ]

12/7/2007 5:50:10 PM

Quote :

"wasn't the same shit being said when intel was struggling to get out of the p4 era?"

yes, but intel has always had the upper hand in market share which can outlast bad times... AMD on the other hand has always been fighting for market share

12/7/2007 7:10:06 PM

They just replaced my old work computer, a P4 3.0 GHz, with an E6600.

Holy shit.

[Edited on December 7, 2007 at 7:57 PM. Reason : .]

12/7/2007 7:57:17 PM

at my work, a p4 3.0ghz would be the fastest thing in the office...

12/7/2007 9:00:45 PM

while amd = at the moment...

i am glad for their existence. it has been a nice rivalry to keep these chips prices low and gaining huge speed increases. i'm not sure if it had much to do with the development of dual/quad cores either, but i'm glad for that

either way a rivalry is always good.

12/8/2007 10:33:59 AM

i think i want to go with pci express 2.0

any decent ones on newegg at a good price at the moment?

12/13/2007 12:21:21 AM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130296

12/13/2007 1:44:24 AM

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp;jsessionid=4WVBC1ZEKZJR3KC4D3NFAFI?skuId=8594381&type=product&id=1190678470708

12/13/2007 12:25:26 PM

Why can't the older 8800 GTS 640 cards go to the $200 price point. I want to buy a 2nd one for SLI right now, but I'd rather get the 8800GT.

12/14/2007 4:45:44 AM

Building a gaming comp for someone. Critique it.

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811129021
Model #: Nine Hundred
Item #: N82E16811129021

Mail-in Rebate
$139.99 -$20.00 Instant $119.99

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS4 Rev. 2.0 LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813128064
Model #: GA-P35-DS4 Rev. 2.0
Item #: N82E16813128064

$179.99 $179.99

XFX PVT88PYDQ4 GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814150259
Model #: PVT88PYDQ4
Item #: N82E16814150259

$269.99 $269.99

OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817341002
Model #: OCZ700GXSSLI
Item #: N82E16817341002

Mail-in Rebate
$149.99 -$15.00 Instant $134.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E6750 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115029
Model #: BX80557E6750
Item #: N82E16819115029

In Stock
$189.99 $189.99

Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT12864AA804 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820146565
Model #: BL2KIT12864AA804
Item #: N82E16820146565

Mail-in Rebate
$99.99 -$25.00 Instant $149.98

Update
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822148288
Model #: ST3500320AS
Item #: N82E16822148288

$124.99 $124.99
Subtotal: $1,169.92

12/14/2007 4:56:45 PM

I think the Antec 900 case is completely worthless. Unless it was made with all aluminum, which it isn't, I think it's quite ugly and not worth the price IMHO. I just got the Coolermaster case and it's pretty nice. Unfortunately, you just missed the sale for it which was $20 AR, but it's still a much better case than the antec 900. Also to note, Antec 900's often go on sale between $10-30 AR.
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10006342

Any particular reason to go with that gigabyte motherboard? If you don't plan on added raid and/or run two x16 cards (x16 + x4 electrical - can't SLI on Intel chipsets), you should look at these cheaper mobos, but they are not PCI-E 2.0:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128050

Here's a similar board that you picked out, but its the model below it for $20 cheaper. Only feature I find that's different is that it has one less firewire port and has PCI-E 2.0.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128067

Video card is good and so is the PSU. You also just missed out on the Coolermaster 750 PSU sale for $50 AR. Decent PSU for the price, but now its back up to normal price. Still a good buy for $70AR, but I'd stick with OCZ brand.
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10006237

CPU is good, but you do know the new chips are coming out next month? When they come out, the original C2D's will be price slashed to hell. It's a good price and if your friend can't wait and still performs like a champ. Memory is a good choice, but it's $50 AR.

[Edited on December 14, 2007 at 6:50 PM. Reason : ]

12/14/2007 6:47:40 PM

wooohooo:

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/nvidia_3-way_sli_performance/

After looking at the benches it's amazing how well the games scale with triple sli being this new.

Although this is kinda funny. You still can't run crysis maxed out at 1920 by 1200, even with 3 8800 ultras:



[Edited on December 14, 2007 at 6:58 PM. Reason : .]

12/14/2007 6:55:58 PM

8800 G92 GX2's in Tri-SLI mode? lol

12/14/2007 7:01:41 PM

i guess if you've got 600$ a great motherboard and a 1900x1200 capable monitor.....

be my guest

12/15/2007 11:43:06 AM

^You mean 1800$ for three of them?

12/15/2007 12:57:40 PM