deciding btwn 3 version of 8800(series)

[beany323]

hello all again!
the last time i was here, fx-55 (i think) were king of the hill. Well along time has passed and decided to use some of my bonus money and grab a better system.

Going with a 680I series board (eVGA NForce 680i SLI Chipset ), a Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E6600 (2x 2.4GHz/4MB L2 Cache/1066FSB) proc and a NZXT 850W Power Supply.
going to get 1 gig of ddr2-800 memory and a raptor hd.

the only thing i really am on the fence about, and i know you guys know these things, which vc? (hence the message title)

going sli, so do i need:

2 x 320mb (8800gts)vc, or a 640 (8800gts)(i think for this i may as well get the 2x320's or spend a little more and get a768 (8800gtx) card?

so it boils down to, 2-320's or 1- 768 (and upgrade later?)

from what i have read, do i really need a 768 card? probably not. would i like one, yes. shoot, i'd like to get 2 out the gate.

any thoughts?

(and i dont plan on a DIY project atm. )..

thank you in advance for your wisdom!

/bow

(opps i have a dell 24" monitor that i am using atm, and a 20" that i'd like to use, (if i can drag it away from the kids)..

 

[krotchy]

Get the 8800GTX, the 768MB will help alot, especially at 1920x1200. Also SLI is a pain in the butt.

 

[eggrolls]

Originally posted by: beany323
going to get 1 gig of ddr2-800 memory

pairing 1gb of ram with all the other parts doesn't really make sense. go for 2 or more.

 

[krotchy]

Originally posted by: eggrolls

Originally posted by: beany323
going to get 1 gig of ddr2-800 memory

pairing 1gb of ram with all the other parts doesn't really make sense. go for 2 or more.

Wow I didnt read that part.


My vote = Definitely 1 8800GTX or 8800GTS 640MB, 2 320's in SLI with a 1920x1200 screen is death.

Ram: Get 2 Gigs for XP, 4 Gigs for Vista.

 

[Cabages]

Right now, the GTX. The NDA on AMD's R600 is being lifted near the end of the month, though, and I would personally wait for benches and reviews.

Do you really need 4 Gb's for vista?

 

[secretanchitman]

2x1GB of DDR2-800 and the 8800GTX. you might want to wait because R600 (ati's new generation of video cards) is coming out soon, so prices might drop on the 8800. in any case, at least get a 8800GTS 640MB because i think you'll need it since you prolly are gaming at 1920x1200, but i would still suggest an 8800GTX.

4GB is alright if you plan to use vista, but i dont think you would want to.

 

[fletch420]

i am running 2G in vista and no issues.




asus P5BE-c2d6700-evga8800gts540-2gcorsair xms2 dc kit- audigy-zalman9500

 

[Synomenon]

Do NVIDIA's drivers work well yet with Vista? If I were to upgrade to Vista, I'd definitely get at least 3GB of RAM.

 

[beany323]

wow, great info..

(i love you guys.. )(in a manly way mind you)!

My present comp has some ddr2-600 (cant recall) memory. 2-1gb sticks, if i stick those with the ones that come with the comp, will that be a issue?

(i know that if i have 1 stick of ddr2-800 and one stick of ddr2-600, that it will only go as fast as the 600). (does this type of system, demand/require 800+ memory?)

ya.. i was going to get windows xp as the OS, but in reading more and more vista is what i am gonna need.

And i am so thankful for the inputs, i am waiting for the price drop in intel chips, (heck i have waited this long)(but not much longer) and will look for the ati VC's to come out..

thanks again guys..

/bow

 

[beany323]

oh quick question in rereading my newfound typing skills, Do i want vista as the OP system? I hate being a beta tester for these things..

 

[Boyo]

Most importantly is getting 2GB of RAM. THen go for the 8800GTS 640MB. Don't get involved with SLI.

 

[beany323]

does the 800mhz matter? (i have easily 3gb of ddr2 mem on my present comp, its just a lower speed..(mhz)>? sli was for the future.. (and you have to admit, having 2 vc's that are good looking and preform well, is impressive!) thanks

 

[beany323]

hmmm. things move pretty fast here.

i was doing more reading this weekend, and came across a article comparing various components and one of them was 8800 gtx vs 2 gtx's, it stated something about using the core extreme. (cant recall number, 6800?)anyways, i dont think the prices will fall that much, what do you guys think, will 6600 2.4 chip do ok? (i suppose if i were to go with 2 gtx's have a faster proc would help..

hmm, and vista.. i am still deciding on that.. hehe..

thanks again guys.

 

[PClark99]

I have the 8800gtx with the dell 2407.

Winning combination there.

Heck my other machine with a 640MB 8800GTS runs all games fine at 1920x1200 also.

Can't lose either way I say.

 

[HardWarrior]

Originally posted by: krotchy
Get the 8800GTX, the 768MB will help alot, especially at 1920x1200. Also SLI is a pain in the butt.

Agreed. The GTX is a screamer. I'd have to agree with SLI being the suck too. I won't even consider again until SLI 2.0.

 

[Oyeve]

Originally posted by: Boyo
Most importantly is getting 2GB of RAM. THen go for the 8800GTS 640MB. Don't get involved with SLI.

I agree. I had 2 7800 GT cards in SLI and it was a PITA! Granted my mobo has a ULI chipset so that limited me in forceware versions, but I just got rid of the 2 cards and got a fat ATI X1950XTX. Works much better than my old SLI set up and one card. I am waiting for more DX10 cmpetition before upgrading anything.

 

[beany323]

ahh.. thanks for the advice.

I am still taking a wait and see approach to the proc. the duel core extreme is kinda placing that out of my budget, but on the other hand where to down grade only to upgrade later comes into play.

btw, to use dx10 i will need vista correct?

I got the part for having 2gbs - 4gb of mem. I was just looking at the initial cost (buying a min. of 1gb)vs. explaining to the little lady a month down the road, buying better memory(more memory, (like at least 2 sticks of 1gb x 2) and later (2 more sticks of qgb mem), (which a nice meal and a movie should allow me some extra leeway in buying better memory)(one would hope!)

I wish i had the confidence of DYI project, but even she said, just buy it made so i am searching around at the various places, looking at cost vs. reliablity.

And i got the SLI, i was thinking if i needed to down the road.. (like dx11) needing to 2 vc's ..

/bow

 

[theYipster]

If you get 4 gigs of RAM, be prepared to run XP or Vista 64-Bit in order to use it all. Otherwise, you'll only be able to use 3.2 Gigs at most (due to how Windows XP and Vista 32-bit manage memory.)

SLI will definitely help with a 2407, but still it's an extreme setup, and one GTX card would be more than enough. Also, don't expect that any graphics card you can purchase today, or for the next year or so, will be able to run DX-11, SLI setup or not. A new version of DX invariably means massive architecture changes, and as a new generation of cards was released for DX-9 (geForce FX/ATI 9700s) and DX-10 (geForce 8800s/ATI HD2900s,) a new generation will be released for DX-11.

Good luck with the build,

Mark.