help! build SLI box <$1200: good upgrade path?

[neax]

I need some help building my new system! I don't have much cash to spend right now, so I want to build a cheap(er) SLI system that will have good performance now, be vista friendly (future proofed) and has a good upgrade path so I can upgrade later.
- I will prob not overclock system
- I will play games i.e. battlefield2, COD, NFS Underground etc
- I will do video editing, photo manipulation, lots of music and photos + Photoshop, some 3D modeling.
- I do a lot of multitasking (hence picked board that will support amd64 x2...for upgrade later)
- Future proofing important i.e. vista + upgradeable (hence socket 939 and amd64 x2 support)
From my research so far this is what I am considering:
(note: in US$, but I live in New Zealand, so these are the prices that I can get components for ...is a little more expensive)
(items in italics are other options that I have)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CASE: - [$95] Cooler Master (CAC-T05-UW) Centurion 5, Black color, No PSU

PSU: 500W+ SLI compatible
- [$105] Enermax 535W Whisper II, ATX 2.01, nVIDIA SLI Ready
- [$112] E-Power (EP-570MP) 570W Xscale, ATX 2.0 & EPS12V, Dual Xeon and Opteron, nVIDIA SLI Ready

Mobo: Needs to support: amd64 & amd64x2, socket939, SATA2, SLI
- [$198] ASUS A8N-SLI PREMIUM/ 939pin Socket AMD Athlon64FX NVIDIA CK804 ATX Dual Channel Dual LAN Dual PCI Express 16 1394 4*DDR400

CPU: - [$144] AMD Athlon64 3000+ Socket939 CPU Boxed

RAM: - [$96] 1gb: A-Data 2 x 512Mb DDR400 A-Data Dual Channel memory kit.
- [$102] 1gb: Corsair 2 x 512Mb (VS1GBKIT400) Value Select DDR, PC3200 2x64Mx64non-ECC 2x184 DIMM, Unbuffered, CL2.5, 32Mx8 DRAMs)
- [$196] 2gb: Corsair 2 x 1024Mb (VS2GBKIT400C3) Value Select DDR, PC3200 2x128Mx64non-ECC 2x184 DIMM, Unbuffered, CL3, 64Mx8 DRAMs)

Video: 6800Gs 256MB PCI-e SLI compatible (cannot really spend much more than $250)
one SLI board now, will buy the other in about 2-3years
- [$244] Leadtek Geforce6800GS 256MB 1xDVI PCI E VGA Card
- [$259] Sparkle (SP-PX42SDH) 6800GS-TD256 PCI-E GDDR3
- [$270] ALBATRON PC6800GS 256MB DDR TV OUT PCIE

HD: - [$132] Western Digital 250GB, 7200rpm, *16MB cache, SATA-300 (SATA-2)
- [$158] Western Digital 320GB, 7200rpm, *16MB cache, SATA-300 (SATA-2))

DVD: Help?! Dual layer...any brand suggestions? under $70?
- [$53] ASUS 1608P2S 16X DUAL DVD writer, 16XDVD-R,16XDVD+R,8XDVD-RW, 8XDVD+RW,8XDVD+RW(DL), 32XCD-R, 24XCD-RW,16XDVD-ROM, 40XCD-ROM, 5X DVD-RAM Write/Read

Wireless: - [$40] ASUS WL-138g PCI/802.11g / 802.11b for Desktop (Marvell)

Already have (from old system):
- Creative SoundBlaster with Live Drive....
- 160Gb Western Digital 8mb 7200 IDE Hard drive

(I am also going to buy an LCD 19" monitor later too....when I have some more money....any suggestions on what is good for under $400 and still be ok for games, video editing and photos)

 

[Heyyou27]

Don't buy a 95$ case if there isn't a PSU included, unless you REALLY want that case. If you also went with an ABIT motherboard or another brand, you could afford a 7900GT.

 

[a1ien]

I need some help building my new system! I don't have much cash to spend right now, so I want to build a cheap(er) SLI system that will have good performance now, be vista friendly (future proofed) and has a good upgrade path so I can upgrade later.
- I will prob not overclock system
- I will play games i.e. battlefield2, COD, NFS Underground etc
- I will do video editing, photo manipulation, lots of music and photos + Photoshop, some 3D modeling.
- I do a lot of multitasking (hence picked board that will support amd64 x2...for upgrade later)
- Future proofing important i.e. vista + upgradeable (hence socket 939 and amd64 x2 support)
From my research so far this is what I am considering:
(note: in US$, but I live in New Zealand, so these are the prices that I can get components for ...is a little more expensive)
(items in italics are other options that I have)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CASE: - [$95] Cooler Master (CAC-T05-UW) Centurion 5, Black color, No PSU

PSU: 500W+ SLI compatible
- [$105] Enermax 535W Whisper II, ATX 2.01, nVIDIA SLI Ready
- [$112] E-Power (EP-570MP) 570W Xscale, ATX 2.0 & EPS12V, Dual Xeon and Opteron, nVIDIA SLI Ready

Mobo: Needs to support: amd64 & amd64x2, socket939, SATA2, SLI
- [$198] ASUS A8N-SLI PREMIUM/ 939pin Socket AMD Athlon64FX NVIDIA CK804 ATX Dual Channel Dual LAN Dual PCI Express 16 1394 4*DDR400

CPU: - [$144] AMD Athlon64 3000+ Socket939 CPU Boxed

RAM: - [$96] 1gb: A-Data 2 x 512Mb DDR400 A-Data Dual Channel memory kit.
- [$102] 1gb: Corsair 2 x 512Mb (VS1GBKIT400) Value Select DDR, PC3200 2x64Mx64non-ECC 2x184 DIMM, Unbuffered, CL2.5, 32Mx8 DRAMs)
- [$196] 2gb: Corsair 2 x 1024Mb (VS2GBKIT400C3) Value Select DDR, PC3200 2x128Mx64non-ECC 2x184 DIMM, Unbuffered, CL3, 64Mx8 DRAMs)

Video: 6800Gs 256MB PCI-e SLI compatible (cannot really spend much more than $250)
one SLI board now, will buy the other in about 2-3years
- [$244] Leadtek Geforce6800GS 256MB 1xDVI PCI E VGA Card
- [$259] Sparkle (SP-PX42SDH) 6800GS-TD256 PCI-E GDDR3
- [$270] ALBATRON PC6800GS 256MB DDR TV OUT PCIE

HD: - [$132] Western Digital 250GB, 7200rpm, *16MB cache, SATA-300 (SATA-2)
- [$158] Western Digital 320GB, 7200rpm, *16MB cache, SATA-300 (SATA-2))

DVD: Help?! Dual layer...any brand suggestions? under $70?
- [$53] ASUS 1608P2S 16X DUAL DVD writer, 16XDVD-R,16XDVD+R,8XDVD-RW, 8XDVD+RW,8XDVD+RW(DL), 32XCD-R, 24XCD-RW,16XDVD-ROM, 40XCD-ROM, 5X DVD-RAM Write/Read

Wireless: - [$40] ASUS WL-138g PCI/802.11g / 802.11b for Desktop (Marvell)

Already have (from old system):
- Creative SoundBlaster with Live Drive....
- 160Gb Western Digital 8mb 7200 IDE Hard drive

(I am also going to buy an LCD 19" monitor later too....when I have some more money....any suggestions on what is good for under $400 and still be ok for games, video editing and photos)

Also look at Antec power supplies, good stuff.

Definitely buy a cheaper motherboard. Go for the Asus SLI-Deluxe motherboard. I have also heard good things from Epox as well.

From the money you can save from the motherboard you can splurge and should get a 7900GT. No offense, but buying a 6800GS now in the hopes of SLI in 2 to the 3 years is not the best route to go. The 7900GT by itself is just as good and in many ways better than an SLI 6800GS. Also in 2 to the 3 years the 6800GS will be way outdated and there won't be any point in setting up an SLI system around it.
Look: http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2717

I would suggest 2GB (2x1024mb sticks) but you could possibly upgrade at a later point....

Why dual-layer DVDs?

You can get LCD 19" monitors for under 300 dollars now, just do a little research.

 

[neax]

Definitely buy a cheaper motherboard. Go for the Asus SLI-Deluxe motherboard. I have also heard good things from Epox as well.

this motherboard is much more expensive than the Asus SLI-Premium!

Is SLI a waste of time? it does give me the option to upgrade at any stage without having to throw out my existing memory card?

 

[neax]

any suggestions on what is a good case?
how big a power supply do i need for SLI?

 

[k2000k]

SLI=wasted money

 

[neax]

Agree! Single 7900GT will be better than dual 6800GS now and in a year and 2. I wouldn't recommend SLI if you're on a budget.

7900GT is about twice the price of 6800GS....way too much! Idea behind SLI was to buy one card now, and when I do want to upgrade later I only have to find another 6800GS.....which by then will be alot cheaper.....don't really care if it is outdated in 2year.....I won't have lots of money to spend on a new $500 graphics card then. I plan to keep this computer going for about 5 years, with a few upgrades along the way (out of neccessity not because I want to).

I am not buying SLI primarily for the graphics improvements NOW, but so that it is easier and cheaper to boost my system later....

 

[teh_squaterer]

Don't get SLI, it's only worth it if you have a huge wallet and are getting the best cards out at the moment. 2 6800 ultra's will perform worse than a 7800 GTX. In about half of the games out there, SLI will actually perform WORSE than with a single card.

 

[neax]

Don't get SLI, it's only worth it if you have a huge wallet and are getting the best cards out at the moment. 2 6800 ultra's will perform worse than a 7800 GTX. In about half of the games out there, SLI will actually perform WORSE than with a single card.

What about SLI from an upgrade perspective. I want to be able to upgrade my system in say 2 years in the cheapest possible way. I see SLI as a possible way to boost my graphics performance for say $120-150 to buy another 6800GS then? Rather than having to fork out $350 for a totally new card for similar or only slightly greater performance that I might get from the 2x6800GS????? :?

 

[neax]

It's not an upgrade path! Adding another 6800GS in 2 years will do nothing! You'll be much better off getting a non-SLI PC and get a top of the line card when you have the money.

So what would be a suggested motherboard to look at if i was not going for SLI....i liked the features of the Asus A8N-SLI PREMIUM/DELUXE boards (SLI aside)....what would you recommend that i look at?
- how big a power supply should i get....if I do not have SLI (and to also be future proofed?)
- and 1gb or 2gb of ram?

 

[neax]

I hear from all over the place that ASUS are the best mobos to go for....is that true....also considering I am not concerned about overclocking ...which i believe the Lanparty one is most liked for?

What do you consider to be the essential features to have on a mobo?

i thought:
socket939, amd64x2 compatible, SATA2, dual channel RAM, 1gb lan......what else is a must have?

 

[a1ien]

Definitely buy a cheaper motherboard. Go for the Asus SLI-Deluxe motherboard. I have also heard good things from Epox as well.

this motherboard is much more expensive than the Asus SLI-Premium!

Is SLI a waste of time? it does give me the option to upgrade at any stage without having to throw out my existing memory card?

Umm... no it's not, you're looking at the A8N32-SLI Deluxe....

The Asus A8N - SLI Deluxe is cheaper than the Premium.

 

[Stevemeister]

I'll offer my 2 cents worth and a lot agrees with what others here have said. If you are committed to an SLI then you can probably get something that will do the job for less than an SLI-Premium. Its a great board but you're paying for more than just its SLI capability and you can get SLI for less. Bear in mind that Socket 939 is just about at the end of its life so 2 years from now the latest and greatest graphics cards will be designed for future CPU platforms and hopefully AMD will develop CPU's that run with DDR2. The question to ask (and its what I asked myself) is do you really need to go SLI. Every few months a new video card is introduced that as a single entity exceeds the performance of the previous generation cards SLI capability. Bear in mind that 2 graphics cards in SLI don't give you a 100% increase in performance . . only about 25-50% on average. Unless you have both the cash and the desire to stay at the bleeding edge of technology you have to recognize that anything you get now has a useful life of 2-3 years at the most. For myself I figured I'd be too cheap to splash out $1000 or more for 2 ( or more) of the latest graphics cards so I went with a high end non-SLI board - MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum - put in an AMD64 4000+ which I figured gave about the best performance for the $, 2 GB OCZ EL Platinum PC3200 (or you can invest less in RAM and spend the money on a couple of WD Raptors in RAID 0) and an eVGA 7800GT as I figured that it gave the best performance for the buck (and pretty well matches stock 7900GTX's on 3DMark05 when overclocked. I built this system 3 months ago and already the 7900GT outperforms the 7800GTX for less money. I find that what I've built runs really well at 1280x1024 with quality settings maxed out. This includes FarCry, Halo and others. Chances are that within a couple of years a single card will outperform 2 of todays best. Already 2 x 6600GT will not match a single 7800GT. If you're looking for something that will be upgradeable for a good time to come then I'd suggest waiting until summer until we see what replaces Socket 939 and what kind of price it will be. Go for the best single graphics card you can afford and 2 GB of decent RAM. You should then be able to upgrade for at least 2-3 years and still have something that will work decently. Weight up whether SLI is worth it depending on how long you anticipate pgoing between single and dual cards.

 

[neax]

Umm... no it's not, you're looking at the A8N32-SLI Deluxe....

The Asus A8N - SLI Deluxe is cheaper than the Premium.

Well, not here in NZ i guess....deluxe is about US$50 more than a premium here....it is a better board as well...???[/quote]

 

[neax]

The more I look into it....the more that I have to agree that SLI is maybe not the best way to go. It is attractive....but thats not enough....I think that i will look into more options with a non SLI system and perhaps a better graphics card.

What would you recommend I get for a graphics card? bearing in mind that I only want to spend $1000-1200 for the whole box, and I do not really want 1/2 of that to be just for the graphics card!

I want to buy the best motherboard that i can, that will also support dual core....any suggestions for a non SLI model that might suit?

 

[shadowduck]

The more I look into it....the more that I have to agree that SLI is maybe not the best way to go. It is attractive....but thats not enough....I think that i will look into more options with a non SLI system and perhaps a better graphics card.

What would you recommend I get for a graphics card? bearing in mind that I only want to spend $1000-1200 for the whole box, and I do not really want 1/2 of that to be just for the graphics card!

I want to buy the best motherboard that i can, that will also support dual core....any suggestions for a non SLI model that might suit?

Asus AN8-E is around $95 USD and supports dual core CPUs, there is a DFI board for around $80 USD that works too- the Asus just has the Ultra chipset and the DFI does not. As far as video card- the 6800XT is a nice card- I build a system (on your other post that is within range)
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/build-budget-high-spec-box-1000-ftopict179304.html

 

[neax]

yes...just read that....thanks shadowduck! very helpful!!

 

[angry_ducky]

yeah; just get a cooler master cavalier i'm so biased, but i LOVE my case (and my girlfriend)

 

[neax]

yeah; just get a cooler master cavalier i'm so biased, but i LOVE my case (and my girlfriend)

not really sure on the whole closed front thing....i like having easy access to DVD and headphone jack / USB etc....i also have a soundblaster live drive....so not sure it would work!

 

[binary2]

To NEAX:

This forum, as with many, has now made a right-turn and taken you completely out of the loop as regards your questions. Please let me return the loop to you.

I am only a half-step ahead of you in building my next machine, which is much like yours, so I'm pleased to share the experience. Here's my /c spec:
* Asus A8N-SLI Premium m/b, ;
* AMD Athlon 64X2 4200+ cpu Manchester E4-step 90nm;
* 2 x 1GB Kingston CAS3 memory (more info follows);
* MSI NX6600GT 128MB Graphics card.

All these components lie on my bench, awaiting assembly.

Let me first disqualify myself in some areas. As regards games and GPUs I have only knowledge sufficient to my needs. Listen to others, for they know more than I about video cards.

Your new computer has a heart, a life-pulse. It is the Power Supply. I don't want to be subtle about this so I'll just say "BUY THE VERY BEST YOU CAN." For me that's PCPower&Cooling. I just bought their 510W SLI and SATA compliant model (T51SLI) for $197. Saved US$25 over even the usually unbeatable NewEgg.com. If you wish, look them up on the web, and phone them directly. They really are nice people and, by God, they get the job done. Pronto.

Hereafter, all items I mention come to me from NewEgg.com. It's my 1st experience with them. I'm impressed.

Asus A8N-SLI Premium m/b: Enclosed manual implies, on pages 2-12 and 2-13 that the ONLY 4*1GB memory supported is the Kingston, s/n KVR400X64C3A/1G. I paid US$77 per 1GB for this memory, which is CAS333, exactly what the m/b requires. DON'T fork out more for CAS 2 or 2.5... Corsair or Crucial, in my estimation, does not buy you any more computing horsepower.

There's always questions about cpu cooling. I decided to go with the AMD in-box standard clip-on cooler, but DID BUY the US$5 silver paste that's squeezed between the cpu and cooler. It's said to cut cpu temps by 3 to 10 degrees C so, hey, I'll squeeze a bit for a fiver.

HDD: Live with what U got. Replace them when your inheritance comes in.

Why buy a new case now? Consider putting the money towards functioning components (those that do work for you). You can buy a new case anyytime. However, I have the same problem.. I REALLY want a new case, too.

But after laying out US$1200 for go-fast internal goodies, I can't afford it.

So I'll wait till tomorrow.

Regards,
Binary2

 

[Stevemeister]

In my previous post I meant to say that an overclocked 7800GT can match a 7800GTX (not a 7900 GTX as I typed which is a much better card & much more moolah).

SLI Deluxes here are $30 or so less than SLI Premium's. If I had not bought my MSI board the ASUS SLI-Deluxe was my next choice (although as noted before I had no real intention of ever going SLI).

In terms of making recommendations I found the Tigerdirect.ca website a good source of reviews on individual products. I also read reviews on THG and my decision to go with the MSI K8N Neo4 Plat was based on reviews in THG and Tiger as was my decision to go with the eVGA 7800GT graphics card. I don't regret any of the decisions I made - the system I built runs great and way better than my previous system. the OS is XP64 and it runs FarCry and Halo smoothly when cranked to the max and hits just over 8000 on 3DMark05. I found NFS Hot Pursuit 2 a lot less graphics intensive than either Halo or FarCry and runs okay with the FX5200 I have in my 3.5 year old P4 S478 Northwood based system.

Futureproofing: Whatever you get it will get out of date. Technology is moving fast so its like buying a digital camera. I spend $1000 a few years ago on 5 MP and today you can get 7 MP for $600. But what I found is 5 MP is more than good enough for what I need.

When building my new computer system I resigned myself to the fact that whatever I would buy has "high end" technological life of probably 2 years and a total useful life for gaming of around 3 years if you're running the latest games. My previous computer is 3.5 years old and is outdated for gaming but still perfectly acceptable for running MS office and surfing the net.

To get the most for your $ you need to do a lot of on-line research.

NZ is a great place - have been there 4 times, Auckland, Tauranga, Rotarua, Dunedin and up north of Auckland (Northland?). Saw the America's cup yatch racing there in Dec 1999.

 

[steveosazninvazn]

You could save some money now and in the future by buying an Opteron and then OCing. (I know you said you PROBABLY might not OC) Using that saved money you could upgrade your video card. Maybe to a 7800GT or GTX. (Yeah I know there's a pretty big price difference) Also, to save some more money, I suggest getting a cheaper case. I don't quite know if your really into looks, but for me, as I'm not into all that, I spent $25 instead of $100 on my case. I saved $75, and got me a better video card. (Even though it still sucks)

 

[neax]

Thanks. Good advice. Do you plan to buy another card for your SLI now?

as for the case well...perhaps this will enlighten you...

Current System (piece of $hite):
---------------------------------------------
case: cream...going brown...no fans to speak of except my jet engine power supply fan.
Celeron 600 OC to 675
448mb SDRAM
RIVA-TNT32 graphics
17" CRT that is as big as a house
CD writer max 6x wooohoooo!
160gb WD harddrive
Sound Blaster Platinum w. live drive

I DESPERATLEY need a new system

 

[binary2]

Q: Thanks. Good advice. Do you plan to buy another card for your SLI now?

A: In answer, NO. Here's the logic behind the NO. Today, my new but smelly 6600GT card will get the job done and, 6 months from now I'll raise my head from the spreadsheet, realize there's a new $200 card out there that also mows my lawn and trims my nasal hair, and I will probably buy it.

Until then, I won't

I readily accept your statement about your computer's case. There are some things that deserve to be in the hereafter. But, as others are telling you, please do not spend too much on a replacement. If your case holds your HDs, your CD burners, keeps your CPU and memory cool, then that's all it was hired to do. You don't have to make it fancy right now.

Your comments re hard work are terribly accurate.

In reply "Eternal nothingness is OK if you're dressed for it."

 

[neax]

You could save some money now and in the future by buying an Opteron and then OCing. (I know you said you PROBABLY might not OC) Using that saved money you could upgrade your video card. Maybe to a 7800GT or GTX. (Yeah I know there's a pretty big price difference) Also, to save some more money, I suggest getting a cheaper case. I don't quite know if your really into looks, but for me, as I'm not into all that, I spent $25 instead of $100 on my case. I saved $75, and got me a better video card. (Even though it still sucks)

Could you explain the advantage of boing for an Opteron and overclocking? What advantage do i have going for opteron over amd64/amd64x2 compaitble system?

re: case, what are the 'must have' features to go for? i have heard the 120mm fans are better than 80mm....one at front one at back....anything else that is important to look for?