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Need a few 2nd opinions if you don't mind.

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I am about to upgrade some of my system. Well, basically rebuilding it. Any opinions on which way to go would be appreciated.

This is the 1st option I have been mulling over

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131232 MB - Asus P5N-D 750i
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122 4gb g.skill ddr2 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148262 Seagate Hard drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500006 Zotac 8800 GT PCIe 2.0

Have a decent processor and PSU. It's a Core 2 duo e6300, not great but more up to date than some of the stuff this will be replacing.

And here is option 2:

Same GPU and Hard drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188026&Tpk=EVGA%2b123 EVGA 750i FTW
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231144 2gb gskill ddr2 1066


Not TOO much difference in MB's since they are both 750i chipset. But i heard if you tweaked the p5n-d it could take stock 1066 even though it is marked as taking 800. Any truth to that?

I will be using it for lighter gaming like TF2,CoD4, etc... playing and burning DVD's and that's pretty much it.


Any insight on helping me decide is appreciated!

And sorry about the messy post, not good with forum URL's and stuff

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Are you going to run SLI? If not, I would get a P35/P45 with DDR2 800. That will get you an OC of 2.8 @1600 FSB, unless you want more. The Nvidia chipsets can be a little flaky as of late, and 1066 can cause some problems as well.
Homebuilt system Expert

Take a look at the ATi 4850 and 4870 for video and see what you think and how it fits your budget

Also as zorg said, P35/45 based and from Gigabyte or ASUS is better aslong as your only running a single nvidia card etc

PSU - make sure its not a generic/ el-cheapo rubbish no name brand etc.
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My bad, it's a xcilio. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817189005


I eventually intend to run SLI. Although if you know of another setup using crossfire then by all means throw it at me. I just chose these boards because from what I read they run 16/16 while in SLI, and all the xfire boards i could find ran 8/8 while in crossfire. Although i'm unsure about how that really affects performance.

My budget is about 450 for right now.

Thanks for the responses, and more insight is welcome.

You will need to get another PSU. The 4850, which is the one to have right now IMO, requires 9A at full load by itself. I would lower my expectations, or get a bigger wallet, if I was you.

GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L $89.99
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W89.99
HIS Hightech H485F512P Radeon HD 4850 512MB$169.99
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB)$54.99

Total $404.99 plus shipping + $60 that you will get back in rebates, eventually.

OC the e6300 to 2.8G.

Later pick up 1G of the same RAM and run it in flexmode or 2G if you have Vista 64. and get a better processor.

It's a little over budget, but that's what I would buy, I'm sure others have different choices. The 4850 should come down in price pending the Nvidia ATI price war, but the PSU will certainly go up in price.
Homebuilt system Expert

dirtymick said:
What do you guys know about the 2 mobos in my previous response? And what about the Asus p5q pro? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299

Sorry for all the questions, I've been reading the reviews on newegg and such but I'm a little leary about the quality of the review. not to say there is no good insight, but I just don't know how credible some of them are.


aarrrrrggggg NEVER NEVER NEVER skimp on the motherboard and PSU NEVER

Zorg's on the money

Crossfire and SLI aint worth it - 2xCards dont equal 2xPerformance, its only ~30% average at best, not worth it, especially when the CPU will underpower it all (at stock anyhow)

Who's skimping on the motherboard? the one there is a Asus p5q p45 from what I understood, it's a pretty good mobo. And the xcilio PSU is something I already have had for about 2 years. I know it's the last thing you want to skimp on.

I might be able to scrounge up an extra 100 for a better PSU, but the one i have has 2 12v @17 amps I believe, so I thought it would be sufficient. But yeah I have decided I probably won't go crossfire for a while since I don't even play games that often and my wife and i just had a baby so the less money I'm spending, the better it probably is. :) 
Homebuilt system Expert

Zorg said:
You will need to get another PSU. The 4850, which is the one to have right now IMO, requires 9A at full load by itself. I would lower my expectations, or get a bigger wallet, if I was you.

GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L $89.99
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W89.99
HIS Hightech H485F512P Radeon HD 4850 512MB$169.99
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB)$54.99

Total $404.99 plus shipping + $60 that you will get back in rebates, eventually.

OC the e6300 to 2.8G.

Later pick up 1G of the same RAM and run it in flexmode or 2G if you have Vista 64. and get a better processor.

It's a little over budget, but that's what I would buy, I'm sure others have different choices. The 4850 should come down in price pending the Nvidia ATI price war, but the PSU will certainly go up in price.

+1.
Homebuilt system Expert

dirtymick said:
Who's skimping on the motherboard? the one there is a Asus p5q p45 from what I understood, it's a pretty good mobo. And the xcilio PSU is something I already have had for about 2 years. I know it's the last thing you want to skimp on.

I might be able to scrounge up an extra 100 for a better PSU, but the one i have has 2 12v @17 amps I believe, so I thought it would be sufficient. But yeah I have decided I probably won't go crossfire for a while since I don't even play games that often and my wife and i just had a baby so the less money I'm spending, the better it probably is. :) 

The motherboard's fine, but the PSU isn't. It's not the best of quality so putting a high-end card really pushes the PSU.

Anyone have any insight towards my last comment? how well a 2.0 would perform in a 1.0 motherboard? Basically I'm just unsure of whether i should go P35 or p45 and have 2nd gen PCIe and xfire that operates at 8/8 2.0 rather than 16/4 or 8/8 1.0.


Thanks

From what I understand the bandwidth of PCIe 1.1 is not even saturated yet, except possibly at very high resolutions. Of course they are certainly going in that direction. If you have more cash then, by all means, get a P45, I was trying to stay under budget. This mobo isn't too much more and is a better mobo IMO.

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3L $107.99

Don't sacrifice the new PSU though.

So I bumped up my budget a little more and this is what I decided this far.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073 WD 500GB HD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256045 Silverstone 700 watt PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146118 Mushkin DDR2 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299 Asus P5Q Pro p45 MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121253 Asus HD4850


How's it look?



Edit: oops

Damnit I need to stop looking....gonna keep changing my mind.

What looks better the items in my post right before this or...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371009 Antec 850 Quatro
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104008 Kingston Hyperx 1066 RAM

It's another combo I found on newegg today and if I got it instead I could get 1066 ram and a 850watt PSU for not much more at all. The silverstone has 3 12v rails at 18A each and the Antec has 4 rails at 18A. But it would only cost about 3 dollars more in total cost than the previously posted items. And jonnyguru gave the Antec quatro and 9.5.

I'm leaning towards the 1066 with Antec PSU.
What do you think?

Edit: Actually it is almost 2 dollars cheaper with the antec and kingston. I think I'm sold.
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