Need Opinions on Build

[1ceHacka]

Building a medium range gaming rig as a second rig. Yes i do want to keep the SLI option so when I get some extra cash I can buy another vid card.

MOBO:Link
CPU:Link
Vid Card:Link
RAM:Link
PSU: Need some advice on this...needs to support SLI??

Thanks in advance!!

 

[KoolDrew]

Forget about SLI, it is a waste of money. With the price of two 6800Gs's you can get a single 7900GT. Also, by the time you add another card you would be much better off selling what you currently have and buying a new single card. It would likely perform better and would definitely be cheaper in the end.

You don't want a Clawhammer CPU. I would suggest getting a 3000+ Venice. Just overclock it. That RAM is also a huge waste of money. Hell, you can get 2GB cheaper then that.

So...

A64 3000+ - $130
7900GT - $300
Corsair Value Select 2GB - $130
EPoX 9NPA+Ultra - $100
Fortron AX450-PN - $50

If you want to save some money buy the ASRock Dual SATA2 board. It is a great overclocker and is only $65. The only disadvantage is that the max vcore you can select without a vmod is 1.45v. With the very simple vmod (requires soldering) you can select up to 1.55v.

 

[1ceHacka]

If I can ask...what is wrong with the Clawhammer?

 

[m1ldslide1]

For another $20 or 30 you can get a 3700+ instead of that 3500+. The 3700+ has 1MB L2 Cache, which I've seen bechmarks suggesting that it's a significant gain from 512MB. At least more significant than 200Mhz...

Plus you can get 1MB L2 cache and get a 600Mhz OC out of the 3700+ and have yourself an FX chip.

 

[m1ldslide1]

And definately get different memory...You can get 2x1GB of OCZ Plat for $20 more than that (after rebate).

 

[KoolDrew]

Originally posted by: 1ceHacka
If I can ask...what is wrong with the Clawhammer?

Mainly the clawhammer is 130nm, venice is 90nm. There are other things too. There is really no reason to get a Clawhammer. Especially since Venices are basically the same price anyway.

 

[KoolDrew]

Originally posted by: m1ldslide1
And definately get different memory...You can get 2x1GB of OCZ Plat for $20 more than that (after rebate).

And you can get 2GB of Corsair Value Select for a couple bucks cheaper then the stuff he chose.

 

[imported_fx]

A64 3700+ San Diego-$212
7600GT-189
Corsair VS 2GB-$136
Enermax Liberty 500w PSU-$109
Gigabyte GA-K8N Pro-SLI-$99

Total- $746

 

[1ceHacka]

Kooldrew,

With that setup you suggested, I found a A64 3400+ Whinchester for $130...Good deal?

 

[KoolDrew]

No. The changes from the Winchester to the Venice are noted here.

• SSE3 multimedia instruction sets
• Additions and enhancements to the Integrated Memory controller
• Mismatched DIMM support (ability to configure and use different size DIMMs on the same channel)
• Improved memory mapping (more efficient use of memory space)
• Improved memory loading (fully populating the memory with double-bank DIMMs no longer requires the memory controller to run @ DDR333)

Also, the Venice is only $3 more expensive.
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDe...uctCode=80699-5&affiliate=pricegrabber

EDIT - NVM. You said 3400+. I didn't even know they made a 3400+. Do you have a link?

 

[1ceHacka]

Originally posted by: KoolDrew
No. The changes from the Winchester to the Venice are noted here.

• SSE3 multimedia instruction sets
• Additions and enhancements to the Integrated Memory controller
• Mismatched DIMM support (ability to configure and use different size DIMMs on the same channel)
• Improved memory mapping (more efficient use of memory space)
• Improved memory loading (fully populating the memory with double-bank DIMMs no longer requires the memory controller to run @ DDR333)

Also, the Venice is only $3 more expensive.
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDe...uctCode=80699-5&affiliate=pricegrabber

EDIT - NVM. You said 3400+. I didn't even know they made a 3400+. Do you have a link?

it is a private sale on here...
Link

 

[996GT2]

Don't get SLi...When you need to upgrade, if you get another 6800GS it will probably be outdated anyways, and you can't run SLi with 2 different cards. I suggest you get an EPoX 9NPA+ Ultra or a DFI Lanparty Ultra-D (you can mod the latter if you REALLY REALLY want SLi).

On the CPU side, skip the 3500+ and get an Opteron 144/146; price is similar and when paired with one of the above boards it OC's like crazy (FX55+ speeds not hard at all)

On the RAM size, just get some Corsair ValueRAM and save some $$. Not much performance difference, especially if you OC. Or if you get the DFI board, get RAM from another make such as Kingston or OCZ b/c DFI may have some compatibility issues with Corsair RAM.

Graphics card: Do yourself a favor and skip the 6800GS. Get a X850XT for less $$ (it's much faster and more OCable), or get a 7600GT if you want quietness and lower power consumption (it's about as fast as X850XT stock, which means it's faster than the 6800GT by a noticeable margin; 6800GT is a bit faster than GS, do the math)