first full build

[Dybowski]

new build
i have gathered the following

asus a8r-mvp crossfire motheboard

2x sapphire x1600xt

1gb cosair xms 2-2-2-5 400mhz memory

hiper type-R 580 watt Sli PSU

asus dvd-w

seagate 250 GB SATA150

Amd san diego 3700+

sound blaster audigy2 zs (from old comp)


upgrading from
2600+ sckt754 proc
integraded mx4
80 gb ata-100 drive
cd-rw
512 mb 266mhz ram


this is my first "full" build and i have a antec superlanboy that i recently purchased and i was thinking of adding 2 144cfm panaflo fans into it i am just wondering if all this stuff would fit.

feel free to suggest any cases or anything else
EXCEPT SLI i dont like it because i mainly play source engine based games and i am a ATI guy

 

[Jagger]

More importantly, why Crossfire instead of SLI? SLI has been around longer and has become the standard. Crossfire is still struggling to work out the bugs.

 

[Snale]

Yea, crossfire isnt ripe.
You could get a "normal" mobo (no corssfire) and a x1800XT and get better results. Anyway, 7800GT is a grat card for the price (not that its cheap) but oveclocked verisons are really good performers, and can cost 100$ less than x1800... Im getting mine tomorrow

Anyway: better 1x X1800XT than 2x X1600XT

 

[Jagger]

Agreed, as it stands now, one great card (7800 GTX) is better and cheaper than two good cards (7800 GT).

 

[linux_0]

Aye, I agree with the posters above.

Crossfire = not ready 4 prime time yet

I would recommend an nForce4 board with a single 7800GT or an nForce4 SLI with one or more 7800GTs.

Good luck!

 

[FlyGuy]

Also, you can't just get 2 x1600 cards, you need a master card and a regular card for crossfire. I don't believe the x1600 master cards are out yet???

And I agree with the others, 1 good performing card will be better and cheaper than two mediocre cards.

 

[AdamB5000]

I hate to jump on the wagon and all, but I agree. If you want a bangin' card, grab a 7800GT. If you want to save some bucks but still have bangin' performance, an X800XL (less than $200) or even a 6800GT will be great.

I'm not brand loyal. I try to get what's hot and what gets the most for my money. My first ever personal build was with a Geforce 3. My second personal build was an ATI 9500 Pro. My latest build (still waiting on the parts.. I'm excited!! ) will have a 7800GT.

I'm not trying to be a schmuck, and you may not want to hear this, but right now I personally feel that Nvidia is edging ATI with performance, even considering pricing. But I don't think you can go wrong with any of the cards I mentioned.

 

[Jagger]

Everybody pile on ATI!

Just kidding, I am in a similar situation to the previous poster. I went from an X800 Pro to the 7800 GT. Excluding the performance gains, which is going to happen every time you upgrade, I have been very happy with nVidia. There is less artifacting and the card does not overheat like the ATI (I had to install an aftermarket cooler because it would get too hot running most games and crash).

 

[Dybowski]

thanks huys i think im just gonna go with the x1800xt, and instead of a A64 im going to get a opteron 148. the prices havent fallen even though the x1900xtx was realesd but i might just save my money and get me one of those (its got 48 piplines WOWZORZ). but i would really like to see a x1700xt come out something with a 256bit-memory bandwidth.

im gonna wait another two weeks.
i really like the crossfire mobo because it has passive cooling.