Quadruple Quantum Qumputer

uhh....why get a xfire mobo if youre getting an 8800series card? just get a p35 chipset, preferably the gigabyte p35-ds3r http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

what is your budget? lets start there and work our way up

Thanks.

Good question and how I wish I had an answer that wouldn't reveal my noobishness

Budget I can answer though, am willing to spend up to US$ 1500 on this system (taking into consideration that bits and pieces are more expensive where I'm currently based and newegg doesn't ship to)

the x2900 xt is better than the 8800 gts and is better than the 8800 gtx in some games, so you should consider it, and yes get a p35 board liek the asus p5k or the gigabyte p35 ds3r

Thanks, been reading up a lot of reviews on both the 8800gts and the 2900xt and frankly cannot make up my mind, pricewise the 8800 seems a better bang for the buck.

I also have been reading that the 640 mb would be useful for high resolutions, which running at 1440x900 the 320 one would perhaps be a better choice?

And a P35 board, by popular vote, it'll be. Thanks.

i just happen to buy a q6600 .. paired it with an abit ip35 pro... 3.4ghz on stock cooler .. stable for 1 hour in dual orthos. 80+ C though =/ ill buy a new TR 120 ultra soon.

get 4 gb of average rams .. will be better imo .. if they run 444 @ 800 it will be fine.

also i do think 2900xt is better than 8800 gts.

gl

IMO nab yourself a EVGA 8800 card...When the g92 comes out in november you can step up to it...That's the good thing about getting a nvidia solutions...

BUT..atm nobody knows if the g92 in november will be mid ranger or high end...I personally think high end...but lots of people say mid range.

The 2900XT is also a great card...but draws more power...the choice is yours.

So this is gonna be a fun thread. I expect most of this to be "nvidia r0xx0rs" and "AMD/ATI r0xx0rs" comments going back and forth. I'm not gonna sit and try to say that AMD or Intel is a better product as they are better in different ways. But this comment does bother me....



Am I crazy or is that just a TERRIBLE idea? I NEVER base my purchase on what others say. I'll consider their comments, but unless they make a valid arguement I usually ignore them. The things they like about the product might have no value to me. Take a 1TB hard drive for instance. They are expensive as heck per GB, but if you want the biggest in the planet it's worth it. Joe Schmuck might rate the drive 0 and say "OMG it's too expensive per GB" while I might say "Damn this thing is SO big it's wonderful". Let's not mention the people that buy a CPU, then when they can't set an overclocking record they score it zero and say "Intel sux cause I could ONLY overclock it 25%!" What if I'm not going to overclock the CPU? Does his comment of zero really tell me anything about the product? Should I EXPECT a CPU to operate above the designed spec to begin with? I guess I should me mad that my Nissan Altima can't outrun a ferrari then huh?

Bottom line, research the products yourself and decide for YOURSELF what is the best product you want, not what others rank it as. There's smart people around but there's ALOT more dumb people.

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God must love dumb people... he made so many!

Thanks Cyberjock.

But, as a novice, who does do his research those comments are a pretty good standard to go by I imagine.

I mean if 'the masses' find product X to be great (or terrible) that certainly means something to me.

Bottom line, if you don't really know what you're doing, me in this case, those opinions are pretty much all you have. They form the basis of my research. With that I'll make up my mind. If by popular vote a P35 board is what I should go for than that is what I'll do. That is what I come here for. Any advice is usually just a disguised opinion anyway.

And ATI/Nvidea pissing contests I've read enough, that's a never ending story so I'll just stick with my 8800 gts, be it the 640 or 320.

I would go with the Gigabyte P35C DS3R as this model handles both DDR2 and DDR3 memory, as well as the newer 45nm Penryn technology. Better upgrade path in the long run.

Also, unless you are planning massive overclock or dual video cards down the line, the Corsair 450 is a more than adequate PSU. Will save you a few bucks as well.

Yup, thanks tlmck, thats the board I found also, its only moderately more expensive but the 'ddr3 ready' might come in handy in the future.
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2551

Would 450 be enough or would it be stretching it? Am ok to spend a bit more just to have some extra room. Been reading its good to have your power run at about 50% to 75% of capacity.

Here is a handy tool for figuring out PSU wattage.
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.js...

Based on my calculations, your system above comes in at 336 watts at 100% utilization, so the Corsair PSU would work. Of course if you plan to add more components, this could go up. Your original PSU choice was fine, it is just expensive and overkill for a stock system.

I noticed your link to the RAM above was incorrect. It took me to some PC3200 stuff. At any rate, I would go with CAS4 PC6400 1.8v ram from Corsair, OCZ, or even A-data. Some folks in various forums have reported problems with 2.2v ram from other makers(mainly Crucial Ballistix). Crucial says their ram is compatible, Gigabyte says no. I tend to side with Gigabyte. I use OCZ platinum, and Corsair in my two systems.