Help me choose a motherboard

[sullione]

Hello all, I'm new here and need a little advice on which motherboard to choose for my next build. The choices are the Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe and the Abit AN8 32X. I've been watching these forums for a few days and I know how most people feel about SLi but I want this option for the future. I plan on having this comp. for a few years...if not longer. I won't overclock right off the bat but again, I want the ability to do so. I will pair the board up with an Opteron 165. Thanks in advance.

 

[vulefu]

Take the SLI and dual core processor.
That should do for few years.

4GB of RAM if possible.

 

[sullione]

Why 4GB of RAM? Will it actually get used? Also, I believe both of these boards have very similar features so is it strictly a choice of preference or does one stand apart from the other? I don't really know all the technical stuff so that's why I'm asking here.

 

[vulefu]

You will ned 4gb when you one day put windows vista.

The games will be very r.a.m. demanding, and the vista herself.

The boards are both good.(You choose)

 

[sullione]

Thanks vulefu. I think I will go with the Asus since I've used one before.

 

[Rugger]

2GB is more than enough RAM for any modern rig that is used primarily for gaming. More than a 2x1GB and you will take a performance hit in RAM timings and Command Rate. IF you install Vista and see a significant performance hit, then you might think about upgrading RAM.

SLi. Waste of money and a bad upgrade path. You will spend less money and see a larger performance increase by getting a single, new generation card than getting a second card to go SLi - unless you game at very high resolutions and must have all of the eye candy enabled. Do some research on that topic. Go ask anyone who got a 6800GT IOT do SLi as an upgrade. That was trumped by the performance and low cost of the 7900GT...[/i]

 

[sullione]

Rugger,

I appreciate your post. I only considered SLi as a future upgrade in the hopes that they would somehow "perfect" it (driver optimazations maybe???) if that's at all possible. As it stands right now, I will get a single 7900GT.

 

[Rugger]

By the time that they perfect SLi, you may want a completely new rig or a single vid card may still perform outperform 2 from the previous generation. That being said if you want it as an option, then you're going the right direction with 2 full x16 paths and it is your money - you can spend it however you want.

 

[sullione]

That is true and I never thought about it that way. I still have some time to decide. Thanks for the input though. Any opinions on memory? I was thinking about 2 gigs of xms stuff but I'm open to suggestions.

 

[Rugger]

I really tend not to go overboard on RAM. I buy good quality, but I don't spend a lot extra for low latencies or high overclockability. If I want to OC over my RAM's capability, then i'll run the RAM async. You'll lose a little performance potential, but it is not tat significant. The XMS 2x1GB is a good deal right nofter MIR - just make sur eyou take advantage of the rebate. If you're not buying for a while, then you might be able to take advantage of price drops when the new AM2 platforms hit the street....