Upgrading my homebuilt....need opinions/suggestions

[SJM1960]

I am going to upgrade my homebuilt and am confused as there seem to be so many choices for parts, but I have compiled my shopping list and am curious if I am making
good choices or not. Any and all opinions/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

My upgrade list is as follows:

Motherboard: Asus M3N HT Deluxe HDMI

CPU: Phenom II X4 940

Ram: Corsair 2 x 2GB PC2 8500 (TWIN2X4096 - 8500C5)

HDD: WD Caviar Black WD1001FALS 32MB Cache 1TB


What I am keeping:

Video: 2 x BFG 8800 GT OC PCI-E Vid Cards
PSU: Antec True Power Trio 650W
Sound: Creative Audigy 2 ZS
Case: Thermaltake Tsunami Dream
HDD: WD 250GB Sata Drive

I have a budget of 1000.00 dollars and want to spend wisely, any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
Sean

 

[Proximon]

The wisest thing you can do is avoid nVidia chipsets, even if that means getting the much faster i7 920 and an X58 motherboard.

Asus P6T and 920 combo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.181245

G.skill DDR3 6GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231247

 

[xthekidx]

+1

 

[pat]

Nvidia on AMD are not that bad, but AMD chipset are better. But to have SLI, you have no choice.

 

[Proximon]

That's the point. You do have a choice now that Intel chipsets can SLI.

 

[ke7diz]

if you go amd
cpu: amd phenome II 955be
the main thing here is that this is a am3 socket insted of am2+
motherboard: a 790gx/x/fx am3 board

mem: ddr3

 

[xthekidx]

if you go amd
cpu: amd phenome II 955be
the main thing here is that this is a am3 socket insted of am2+
motherboard: a 790gx/x/fx am3 board

mem: ddr3

Really, you don't have much of a choice here. The only stable SLI chipset out on the market is from Intel, the X58 with an i7. If you want to be able to use those two Nvidia GPU's you already own, then you need to go i7. If you get an AMD build, you either have to risk using an unstable chipset that will most likely cause problems for you down the road, or you will have to replace your GPU's and go with an AMD chipset. If you can't afford an i7 right now, wait until you can.

 

[SJM1960]

Thanks all!! After a lot of reading I went with the ASUS P6T and the i7 920, and only went 30.00 dollars over budget! This is going to be a big jump up from my AMD 4200X2. I didn't even explore the intel route because I assumed they were way out there in price, for an extra 300 odd dollars I am definitely getting a better system.

One more question, how are my 8800Gt OC going to stand up?

Thanks again all for pointing me in the right direction.

Sean

 

[Proximon]

Two of those, as I recall, match a 4870 1GB or a GTX 260 core 216 in performance. With most modern games supporting dual cards these days, I would think your GPUs are still adequate.

 

[reconviperone1]

I thing the amd dragon platform is thre route to go, imho

 

[SJM1960]

Thanks again all! Great forum with lots of help.
Just ordered from newegg...I'll let you know how it all works out.

Sean

 

[sharken]

if you can afford i7 definately, dont be persuaded to buy Watered Down trailer park amd by anyone.... you want the best, buy the best....

 

[sassan]

Proximon is right +1