New system... any last minute suggestions?

fobtastic

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Jun 26, 2004
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I'm about to place an order for a bunch of components for my new system.

Prices are in Canadian dollars

$137.00 1x Chenming 21In Black Aluminum Case
$178.98 1x MSI K8N Neo Platinum
$157.95 1x WD Caviar SE 200GB 7200RPM ATA100
$331.56 2x Corsair CMX512-3200C2 DDR 512MB PC3200 CAS2
$398.95 1x AMD Athlon 64 3200+ S754
$015.95 2x Vantec Stealth Case Fan 80mm 2050RPM
$111.55 1x LiteOn DVD+-RW Dual 8x4x/8x4x Black Internal OEM
$011.40 1x 1.44MB 3.5In Black Floppy Drive

This comes to a total of $1343.40 Canadian. The only thing I'm uncertain of is the video card. Right now the front-runner is the ATI Radeon 9800 Pro ($300), but with floodgates set to open on the X800s, I can't help but wonder if I should wait to see if the prices come down.

What do you guys think? Should I just grab the 9800 Pro now, order the stuff minus the video card, or hold off on the whole thing?

This system will be used primarily for graphic design. I will also be doing some light 3D rendering and video editing. Gaming is somewhat important. Thanks!
 

xeenrecoil

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heya fobtastic:

I will start by saying I have Two R9800 Pros', and i love them, its a nice card, however...

I dont know if you are aware of this, but Nvidia is releasing the 6800 Line with SLI, this will allow you to run dual PCIe graphics cards.

Your probably asking why the hell do i need dual graphics cards?
Well the answer is simple, you dont right now, but later when you want to upgrade to a faster card, you dont have to spend the obscene amount of $400-500 to get the fastest graphics card all over again, you can just add in a second OEM 6800 later and almost double your graphics power, 1.8 to be exact.
Good luck almost doubling your power just buying the latest and greatest when the time comes, so this is definately a more ellegant solution.
Also you have the option of adding the second 6800 for that extra insane boost of power just incase you get an uncontrollable itch for more power <Grunt Grunt>!!!

Anyway its something to think about and imo the best possible solution for you.

Your probably thinking...yeah but i will have to wait forever for PCIe to come out.

Well friend its your lucky day because Nvidia has already announced a new NForce chipset made for this very application, and its comming soon to a store near you.

Three cheers for Nvidia, its about damn time someone did this. Dual Graphics Cards <Drool> im stoked as hell!

In short Hold out for PCIe, and DDR2, you wont regret it, the future of Computers is Q3, and worth the wait.


<font color=blue> <Archer> Cant this thing go any faster, I thought this was a Warp 5 Engine?
<Trip> Yeah, on paper... </font color=blue>
 

Zeekfu

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yea, I remember that coming soon rumor about the first nvidia chipset, he he. :>)

<font color=black>yippie ki ya, m..........<font color=black>
 

xeenrecoil

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Uh, you mean besides the company that already did dual graphics card setups about 8 years ago?
heh yeah 3DFX did offer the worlds first SLI configuration, however Nvidia bought 3DFX out, so they now own them, you probably didnt know that, however since you brought it up, i didnt mean to imply that NVidia was first, and lets give credit where credit is due, 3DFX was the first, there is no question about that, however NVidia has made some improvements, first and foremost, you dont have to have a seperate 2D graphics card its all built in, also they have incorperated Load Ballancing so that both GPUs' are under the same amount of load durring operation.

Im not quite sure why you pointed this out, unless you thought I was ignorant to the fact that 3DFX did SLI first, well im not.

<font color=blue> <Archer> Cant this thing go any faster, I thought this was a Warp 5 Engine?
<Trip> Yeah, on paper... </font color=blue>
 

fobtastic

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Jun 26, 2004
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Thanks for the advice XeenRecoil. The reason I was thinking of getting the 9800 Pro was because this system was built to last for 1-1.5 years, at which point I would get a system with all kinds of new goodies.

However, I do see your point, and I have been debating this for a long time. My two concerns with PCIe are time and money. How soon will the new NForce boards be out? I really wanted to have a new computer during the summer so I could learn some 3D rendering programs before school starts up in September. I'm also scared that a system based around the new NForce chipset will be well out of my budget.

Do you have any links that point to a release date?

One last thing... will a non-native PCIe 6800 be a problem in an SLI setup?

Thanks for all the help!
 

mastasnypa

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Personally, I have a very similar setup and it is just fine. I was also waiting for the x800, but either every place online is sold out or has jacked up the price by 50 or more dollars (I don't count best buy or compusa cause they would charge me tax, around $40 extra!!!). It plays far cry just fine with all of the details on high and a decent resolution (I think I have it set at 1280 x 1024) with VERY little, if any framerate loss. Personally with today's processors, I think the whole SLI thing is a waste of money, not to mention the extra power requirements of a dual 6800 setup. Sure it is nice, real nice, but test after test proves that in most games the limiting factor has now become the processor, so even doubling your graphics card won't change that much. Add to that the cost of the very few (I think only one dual PCIe board according to the THG SLi article) dual PCIe boards makes it a solution I wasn't willing to wait or pay for. Just buy the system now and have fun.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by mastasnypa on 07/02/04 10:12 PM.</EM></FONT></P>
 

xeenrecoil

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heya Fobtastic:

Hmm since your in a hurry and have some learning to do just go ahead and get whats available now, i have some recommendations.

If it were me i would buy the Abit IS7-G, and p4c 3Ghz, with 1GB of Samsung PC3200, and a R9800 Pro, sure fire, solid, and well performing computer for CHEAP...what more is there to say. If you dont want an Intel, well hey thats your decision but for my money that rig is the best way to go.

<font color=blue> <Archer> Cant this thing go any faster, I thought this was a Warp 5 Engine?
<Trip> Yeah, on paper... </font color=blue>
 

etp777

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"Three cheers for Nvidia, its about damn time someone did this. "

THe lack of the word "again" at the end of that sentence portrays Nvidia as being the first company to do this, which is why I made that comment.

Yes, I knew that Nvidia bought out 3dfx, just like I know AMD bought out Nexgen(or the important technical rights anwyays), Seagate bought Conner, and so on.