Some problems choosing components (fun higher end)

j4ykworks

Distinguished
Aug 10, 2008
3
0
18,510
so first off my current computer is just shy if what i want e6600@3ghz BFG 8800GTS640 4gigs of dominator asus p5w dh delux
and its a crossfire board so i cant SLI it up
so im going to just build another computer

my questions are is it ok to mix brands when going crossfire? im looking at 2 4850's i was thinking of going with a sappire and an MSI or if i should just stick with 2 of the same

and for a proc im going with Q9450 but im not shure wich board i shoudl go with ive read some muxed reviews on the asus boards wich is what i usally get and should i go ddr2 or ddr3 i do plan on a mild OC for 3ghz maybe like 3.3 if im doing alot in 3dsmax

and a nice little pointer to a good power supply would also be useful, i went with a pretty Spire, gave me no problems, butr i think the power demands might be higher with crossfire cards

any help would be apreciated
 
Any particular reason for mixing brands? If it's for rebates, just have a friend buy the second card. In theory, yeah, you can mix GPU brands, but I wouldn't do it anyway. If you have an issue, Sapphire support will send you to MSI support and viceversa.

Check out these parts.
(Mushkin 2x2GB DDR2-800, 750TX, GA-X48-DS4, RC-690, Xigmatek cooler, WD 640GB disk).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006&Tpk=750tx
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128336&Tpk=GA-X48-DS4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146731
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233019
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218&Tpk=WD6400AAKS
 


True that, HD 4870 + HD 4850 does work. Pretty well too, i.e. it is better than HD 4850+HD 4850, it doesn't just dumb down the HD 4870.

But you have to be careful with some combinations. HD 4870 + HD 3870 does not work.
HD 4870x2 + HD 4870 will work, AFAIK, but it might not work right away when HD 4870x2 is out, and it will require Vista because it involves 3 GPUs.