need help building new system

[pcz]

I'm currently deciding on building a new computer and i have a few specs in mind:

AMD 3200+ chipset 939
MSI neo4 platinum sli (only paying 10 dollars more for an sli board rather than 1 pci slot)
2 MSI 6600gt 128mb (sli of course)
1 gig Dual Channel ddr3200
WD 36gb 10000rpm raptor/sata raid
Maxtor 120gb 7200 rpm ata 133

Few questions...
what powersupply is sufficient enough for most of this?
Is just 1 pci express card good enough for this board? maybe an x800XL?
and any recommendations on a different system?

I've read a lot about Sli, but the articles i've read cannot answer some of the questions that arise. My only solution is to turn to anandtech.com

thanks, very much appreciated for feedback

 

[toant103]

i would just buy one 6800gt for now and upgrade with another one later.

Get at least 500Watts PS from Antec or Enermax.



Text

 

[Silversierra]

Why the 6600gt sli? Wouldn't it be better to get one 6800gt for the same price as 2 6600gt's and then possibly get another 6800 gt later?

 

[Silversierra]

For the price this 480w tagan is good.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-101-509&depa=0

 

[pcz]

ahh thanks for replies, I was also looking into ATI's instead of GeForce cards...would ATI happen to make any cards compatable to SLIs?

also, if there is a board for MSI K8N NEO4 Platinum at 148 and a MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum SLI at 172..should i just grab the sli for an extra 24 dollars? it has a sound card built in on it also, compared to just the platinum....there's not much of a difference cept the xtra pcix16 slot and the sound card...

 

[Munky]

Right now, only Nvidia card can do SLI. Also, depending on how much money you have, you might want to get 1 6800gt instead of 2 6600gt, it will be faster. But don't just do it because somebody else tells you, if you're on a budget then stick with the 6600gt.

 

[leedog2007]

ATI is planning to release their own version of sli later this year.

 

[nick1985]

6600GT's in SLI is worthless. just buy a single 6800GT

 

[pcz]

haha, i get it by buying one card now, but should i get the sli mo board anyway?

 

[toant103]

Originally posted by: pcz
haha, i get it by buying one card now, but should i get the sli mo board anyway?

yes

 

[SrGuapo]

A few sugesstions:

Get a single 6800gt. It will be much faster at higher resolutions and with AA/AF.

Skip the Raptor. It is way overpriced and a waste of money for 36 GB. Any 7200 RPM drive will not be noticeably slower.

You may want to get a seagate drive. Some people have reported problems with Maxtor drives and the seagates are usually quieter. It is your choice mainly.

If you want to save a little money, you can get a 3000+. It will easily OC past the 3200+ (Some can even get them over 2.6 GHz, 2.4 is probably around average).

You didn't specify, bt make sure to get value RAM. 2 512MB sticks of quality value RAM (corsair, mushkin, kingston, etc.) will perform almost as well as the low timing or hoigh speed RAM. Running a divider will not hurt performance noticeably.

Good luck with the build. It should be a kick ass system.

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: nick1985
6600GT's in SLI is worthless. just buy a single 6800GT

Gee Nick, I have two 6600GTs running in SLI and the difference isn't that great between that and a 6800GT.

I wasn't aware that is "worthless" these days?

I guess the option to have VIVO, a fully functioning PVP, much less power consumption, and faster than GT 16X12 0X0X must be "worthless". Who knew?