Motherboard question

[imported_Krypto]

Ok, I am thinking about getting a gaming computer and need a little advice. I will most likely go dual core because I like to multi-task between surfing,movie, and gaming. I will be getting either a 4400 or a 4800, if that doesn't work out I'll be getting a high end FX. So my questions are:

I have used MSI everytime since my first computer, no problems at all, but now everyone is talking about Epox. Is this just a user preference or is there some gain? I will be doing no over-clocking now until the hardware becomes obselete, it's a gaming rig and I plan on getting the 7800 GC.

Is it really worth it to go SLI or is this just a preference, it would be nice to have to video cards, right now I don't see how I would use them, if I got X2 I'd just run dual lcds, but is there some gain going SLI?

That about sums it up for now, I'll have further questions later on probably in which I will just update this thread. Thanks people!

 

[TankGuys]

1.) Go with the 3800/4400... Don't do a 4800. It's just not worth the huge price premium.
2.) MSI is fine. If you don't plan to OC, you don't really *need* an Epox/DFI board. MSI will suit you fine; if you liked them in the past, stick with them.
3.) Don't bother with SLI (my opinion). Again, the benefit is there, but I just don't see it as a good value. SLI will certainly speed up your gaming, but can you justify spending $500+ more on video cards?

There, one post and I save you ~$1000

 

[ShadowBlade]

Originally posted by: TankGuys
1.) Go with the 3800/4400... Don't do a 4800. It's just not worth the huge price premium.
2.) MSI is fine. If you don't plan to OC, you don't really *need* an Epox/DFI board. MSI will suit you fine; if you liked them in the past, stick with them.
3.) Don't bother with SLI (my opinion). Again, the benefit is there, but I just don't see it as a good value. SLI will certainly speed up your gaming, but can you justify spending $500+ more on video cards?

There, one post and I save you ~$1000

QFT
Definitely go with the 4400+ though.

 

[TankGuys]

Originally posted by: ShadowBlade

QFT
Definitely go with the 4400+ though.

You like the 4400 over the 3800? I'm a bit on the fence. Clearly the 4400 is a better "Stock" performer, but the 3800 has been ocing really well (though the OP isn't planning to OC) and it's ~$200 cheaper... so it's almost a 50% price premium to go the 4400 route, and I'm not convinced it's worth it.

 

[imported_Krypto]

Thank you so far!

As far as over-clocking-I have always seen that to be a risk factor in which the hardware could just one day die on you, I haven't really understood it that much, I was wondering about the Epox because maybe sometime in the future I could play around with over-clocking a little, if the 3800 will go to 4400 speeds on air and run without problems or risks I would consider that, but then don't you have to OC the fsb, ram, etc along with it?

I'm a noob when it comes to OC, but if it will save me $200 bucks for about the same performance tell me more.

 

[TankGuys]

Actually, some people have clocked the 3800's even HIGHER than the 4400 speeds. But, even if you don't OC at all, it's still an interesting debate; as I mentioned, at stock speeds, there is only a 200 Mhz speed difference between them. So is a 10% clock increase worth a 55% price increase?

Anyway, you wouldn't have to OC the RAM either, you can just run a divider. If you do decide to make a foray into the OC world, then I'd consider an Epox or DFI board, they both OC well. I've had more experience with DFI boards so I lean that way, but others really like Epox.

I guess I look at it like this: Is there a better way to spend your $200? More memory? Bigger hard-drive? Save it for something else? Hm...

 

[yourdeardaniel]

4400 is nice. 1 mb cache

 

[TankGuys]

Originally posted by: yourdeardaniel
4400 is nice. 1 mb cache

That's true too, I forgot to mention that.

Again though, the performance gain from that (2-8% or so depending) still brings the price premium into question.

 

[imported_Krypto]

Well, to me seeing as the cache is doubled, and I will be mulit-tasking most of the time isn't that a better choice? The more cache the better I've been told.

EDIT: Also, do cores matter? When I bought my winnie I was told that was a good core to buy, is there a difference between the manchester core on the 3800 and the toledo core on the 4400?

EDIT x2: Just visited your site Tank, anyway you can give me a discount for multiple items order?

EDIT x3: Is it still worth it to stay with AGP for now or switch to PCIE? Do they make a 7800 in AGP? Which version should I get of the 7800?

 

[TankGuys]

1.) Cores matter a bit, but both are good in this case. The difference is the Cache, and that's about it.

2.) Depending on what you buy then yes, I might be able to work something out for you. I like to try and take care of my anandtech folks

3.) Go PCIE. They don't even make the 7800 in AGP, so your hands are kind of tied!

 

[imported_Krypto]

Ok, I think I have the processor all settled out, I just need to decide which mobo now, so it's pretty much a flip of the coin between Epox and DFI except for pricewise. I'm leaning more towards Epox because I have heard that DFI is very picky about hardware.

I'll pick up the 7800 to, if I can find out which version is best, I have used the 6800u and poeple say the 7800 blows it out of the water so I can't wait for that.

Ram I am just going to get a stick of 1 gig of either corsair or crucial. Probably just pc3200 for now, I might get 2x512mb to take advantage of the dual channel though.

Then I just need to pick out a case, and I'll be set, that and a psu and some misc stuff and my 2405FPW from dell

Tank, thanks for the help and when this order goes down I will let you know what I need and what you can give it to me for!

 

[TankGuys]

Originally posted by: Krypto
Ok, I think I have the processor all settled out, I just need to decide which mobo now, so it's pretty much a flip of the coin between Epox and DFI except for pricewise. I'm leaning more towards Epox because I have heard that DFI is very picky about hardware.

I'll pick up the 7800 to, if I can find out which version is best, I have used the 6800u and poeple say the 7800 blows it out of the water so I can't wait for that.

Ram I am just going to get a stick of 1 gig of either corsair or crucial. Probably just pc3200 for now, I might get 2x512mb to take advantage of the dual channel though.

Then I just need to pick out a case, and I'll be set, that and a psu and some misc stuff and my 2405FPW from dell

Tank, thanks for the help and when this order goes down I will let you know what I need and what you can give it to me for!

Well, as far as a case goes, I'll be the first to tell you we *may* not be a good place to buy from. If you're looking for a P180, we do have a nice price on that. However, otherwise our case prices are fairly run-of-the-mill, and since we charge actual shipping costs, they can run anywhere from $18-$45 depending on weight and distance.

Just let me know what you want though, I'll see what I can do for you. DFI boards can be picky; if you go DFI, you'd want to look at OCZ memory most likely, though I've heard a lot of Mushkin seems to do alright. Corsair is almost a total no-no for DFI boards.

 

[imported_Krypto]

Ok, did some thinking. I'm going to get the 7800 (can someone tell me which is the best to buy?) a mobo (can someone tell me which mobo is the best for these brands MSI, DFI, and EPOX? Not which is better out of the brands, but which is the best board for each brand).

And, I'm probably going to buy a 3200 for now, and go dual core a little later in the year to see if prices drop just a little.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

MSI - The Neo4/SLI and Neo4 Platinum SLI both have onboard Soundblaster Live, which is a plus. However, the Neo4 Platinum (non-SLI) has RAID 5 support, which I really like. Just compare the features on all 3, and see which one you like better.

EPoX - Okay, I really can't remember the name of the EPoX nForce4 Ultra board. It's like 9nPA+ Ultra or something I think. It's a really nice board that overclocks very well.

DFI - Lanparty Ultra-D hands down. It can be modded to SLI, and I think it can be modded to support SATA2 also. Best overclocker.

 

[zmaster]

DFI or my two cents get an abit AN8. Its a killer overclocker in the range of the DFI boards. Still your choice in the end, im just giving you an advice.

 

[imported_Krypto]

Ok, well I'm not really looking into overclocking right now, more just a stable mobo that has the capability of overclocking in the future incase I want to enter that world. I appreciate your advice though.

What is the difference between the GT and GTX 7800? Do any of them come with a liftetime warrenty like the 6800U?

 

[merc14]

1. Just a heads up that if you are planning on using dual monitors then forget about SLI. It does not support dual monitors.
2. Get 2 GB's of good RAM in 1Gb sticks. (2 x 1024MB DIMMs). You'll be glad you did regardless of the heat you take.
3. Please don't forget about a very high quality PSU to run all this expensive gear. Plan on at least $100 for the PSU. I can recommmend the Fortron Blue Storm at 500watts and 30amps on dual 12v rails with all the latest connectors. $91 at Newegg. That should be minimum. More would be better.

 

[imported_Krypto]

Thanks for the heads up merc14.

Now, what cards use pci-e 1x? And what would be the point of having 2 slots of pci-e 16x?

EDIT: Since the DFI and MSI have dual LAN ports, is it possible to be used as a switch or what is the purpose of this? Are they connected at the same time to prevent "drops" when gaming?

EDIT X2: Ok, DFI is what I am looking at right now, it's between the Epox and MSI, it has more features it seems to me, but can someone answer my above questions? But I am cautious because of the pickiness of this board...I don't want to do a lot of trial and error picking out hardware.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Pretty much no cards use PCI-e 1x now. In the future, there will probably like PCI-e 1x sound cards, tv tuners, etc. PCI-e is supposed to be the succesor of the PCI bus.

The DFI and MSI dual LAN ports can both be plugged into a hub/switch. So like, if you plug both into a switch, you'll get a maximum theoredical transfer rate of 2 gbps I believe (if your hub/switch supports gigabit LAN).

The DFI board is kinda picky about RAM. Just don't get Corsair, and you SHOULD be fine. OCZ would be the best for it.

 

[imported_Krypto]

Is XFX worth looking into since it is cheaper and it has the clocks of the regular EVGA or is it a lesser quality card?