790i or 780i chipset delima

Foes

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I am building a new gaming system soon and can not seem to make up my mind if to use 790 or 780 chipset. Correct me if I am wrong, but the only main difference between the two is the 790 supports DDR3. Through much research I do not see the performance gains with DDR3 over DDR2 to justify the cost difference. Please enlighten me if my assumption is incorrect. My new build will consist of either a GTX 260 or 280, Quad CPU running Vista Ult.
 

WINTERLORD

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well intel is bout to set dd3 of , with there new processors so, it may be cheaper to wait for cheapper ddr3 memory. but in the grand skeem of things ddr2 is cheap, however newer processors will only be ddr3. so it depends on what rout you wanna go. if you plan on burning out the quad for a few years id say ddr2
 

Zorg

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Nvidia chipsets have been a little flaky lately, if you only want one card get the P45 with a GTX or HD card. If you want 2 cards I would recommend the X48 and the HD4870 CF or the HD4870 x2.

If you are hell bent on the GTX series in SLI, then you are stuck. If so, make sure you get RAM that runs on 1.8V

Let me add, no 790i and DDR3 in any case. DDR3 is too expensive right now.
 

huron

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I have never had an issue with my 780i. The big decision (even though I know that the 790i is on a new design) was DDR2 vs DDR3 - which I couldn't see myself spending that kind of cash for very little benefit.

I haven't had an issue with the 780i.

I agree with Zorg that I would go X48 now if I were making my decision now, but if you want SLI, then you have to have an nVidia board.
 

Ryun

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I definitely would not suggest the 790i because it's far too much for far too little gain, as people have pointed out. That said, I wouldn't get the 780i either as they're pretty expensive too and it doesn't sound like you're going to SLI those cards.

In all honesty if you think you might SLI in the future see if you can get your hands on a 750i with PCI-E lanes that run at x16 while in SLI such as this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131232.

I think that would be the better buy in your case as your not going to notice much difference between the 750i and the 780i.
 

Foes

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I concur on the 790i, to little gain to justify. I do not plan on Sli initially, but could be a factor in the future.
I have 3g to spend on new comp, no price isnt a big issue, just want to get the best bang for the buck. Maybe I should give some consideration to intel board and possibly a 4870 or 4870x2?
 
I would do the intel chipset with the 4870X2 video. I made the choice to go 780i for the same reasons youre not going 790i, DDR3. I built my system a year ago so the hardware choices were different and what I have now was the best choice at the time.

Things have changed and I would follow Zorgs lead if I was making a choice today like you...
 

Foes

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If you are on the fence, definitely get the P45 and HD4870 X2 or the X48 and HD4870 CF. I would probably go with the 4870 x2 if I had the cash.


I have yet to start my research on Intel chipsets, but why 4870X2 on P45 and 4870 on X48? Can I not go with 4870X2 on X48 chipset. Please forgive my ignorance on Intel and ATI, I have been a Nvidia supporter for many many years.
 

Zorg

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I inadvertently deleted my post trying to edit it. :pt1cable:

The P45 only has one PCIe x16 slot.

Although, if you were considering adding a second 4870 X2 when they get new drivers for enough performance to warrant it, then get the X48.
 

Foes

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I did some research and at my 1920x1200 resolution, there is a big gain with the 4870X2 over the GTX 280. Now I just have to justify if its worth the extra 100 bucks.
 

Foes

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What X48 board would you build off of, both DDR2 and DDR3.
I may do a little OC'ing, but nothing major to require liquid cooling.
 

Foes

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What would be your X48 DDR2 board of choice?
 

warezme

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Doesn't seem like a good time to upgrade or do any new builds. Intel is about to release its new Nehalem i core CPU's which use totally different socket and require DDR3. Whether you get an Nvidia 780 or 790 or Intel X48 they will all be obsolete for future upgrades very soon. If you can I would say wait.
 

roadrunner197069

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Well you said SLI isn't a factor, but might be in the future.

Well they way cards are rolling out these days, in the future there will be a better single card solution the SLI your current choice.
 

Zorg

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Either Asus or Gigabyte are the main mobo manufactuers, from what I have seen, everyone has their own favorite.

As warezme said, it may be worth the wait for Nehalem. It's not clear how much of a boost it's going to give on the desktop and the prices will be higher on introduction, only time will tell.
 

Foes

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Well, if a person is to wait till the next thing is released, then you will never have a complete computer because you will always be waiting for that next thing. Now that technoligy for computer hardware is moving at a much faster pace then lets say 10 years ago, modern equipment will always become outdated, and the equipment that outdates todays will also be outdated in the furture. My outlook is to start with a single card solution to play todays games and hopefully next year games and then jump to SLi to play games to be released two years out. I have been spending mad time on newegg and have come to the crossroad is it worth the $225 difference for the Intel chipset and 4850X2. On some games that I play the 4850X2 hands down beats the GTX 280, and on some there is not much of a difference. But then again, does it really matter if the 4870X2 is 15fps faster when the GTX 280 is playing the particular game @ 80fps. I have been a Nvidia person since the 5 series g-cards and I have never had a problem with the cards nor chipsets. So at this moment, I am considering pocketing the $225 and going with Nvidia. Zorg, I thank you for your in very usefull information and assistance on this topic.
 

garpizzle

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Don't go with 790i. They are much to expensive for very little benefit compared to the 780i boards. Also, 790i just doesn't make sense as they are still running a 775 socket but will have DDR3 ram (slower and more expensive than DDR2) and the nehalem CPU's are arriving soon that will utilize a totally different chipset.

Right now you will get the best bang for your buck either going with an Intel X board or an Nvidia 780i board. Personally I use an Nvidia board because I'm partial to SLI. I have had no problems with this board and have been able to OC with ease. I don't recommend asus boards...I have had many, and they all have been flakey (including their 780i boards).

XFX and EVGA on the other hand make excellent boards and I have had no issues with either brand.
 
I havent had many ASUS boards but I had one, the famous P4P800-E Deluxe with a P4 3.2Ghz prescott and I used it for 4.5 years. Thats longer than any pc I stuck with in my life. I paid 249.99 for the mobo and 159.99 for the cpu and 4.5 years later sold them both on Ebay for 200.00.

What Im trying to say is if you buy a highly desireable board and cpu combo, you will likely get your moneysworth in use and even a decent return on resell because there will be enthusiasts that still want it for one reason or another.

I jumped to an AMD 6000+ and a Gigabyte mobo and used it for almost a year and sold them for 1/2 of what I paid for them and went with the Q6600, EVGA 780i and got a second 8800GTX ANS3 and am still using it and will for a while.

I recommend going with the 780i if you are set on buying now and want to go with Nvidia chipset and SLI. Its a solid setup and you will be pleased with it for a while.

Once you get tired of it then you can do what I did and sell your stuff on ebay to people that have only been able to afford to read about your hardware.

That system will get you thru the next two generations of cpus and video cards easily...
 

Foes

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Im done going back and forth, below is my final:

EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 780i SLI
EVGA 01G-P3-1280-AR GeForce GTX 280
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield (Q6700 not in stock :( )
 
Good choices. Is there no other place for you to order the Q6600? If not, how long of a wait do you think before they are available.

If you cant tell then contact them by email and see what they tell you...
 

Foes

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I found a few places with the Q6700 in stock, but started thinking is it worth the extra $70 for a mere 200mhz jump when im sure I can OC the Q6600 stock 2.4 easily to 2.8
 
Both the 780i and 790i are solid chipsets, and OC reasonably well. I have the 790i, and can tell you there is really no point to getting DDR3. It does help a bit (i got an extra 3 fps on Crysis going from 800 -> 1333 RAM), but its minescule.

Keep in mind, Creative sound cards HATE these mobos, especially in Vista. Still, the onboard sound is excellent, so its not THAT big an issue...

Regardless, I strongly recommend XFX as the manufactuer. In my mind, the have surpassed EVGA as NVIDIAs most reliable brand.