New comp need suggestions

[zeroskillz]

I'm building a new comp that has to be handle current and new titles until I deploy next year. My budget is 2000$, and 90% of what I do on my comp is game. I will run at 1680x1050 maxed gfx with maybe aa/anis(crysis is the exception I know). Here are the specs:

C2D E8400
EVGA 780i
EVGA 8800 GTSx2 @670/1940
Crucial Ballistix PC2 6400 2x2GB
WD 640GB
PC Power and Cool 750wAcer 22" 5ms
Thermaltake Armor VA8003BWS
Zerotherm Nirvana 120 HSF
Samsung DVD Burner x2

This comes out to ~1800 shipped. I do overclock as well. Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[DSF]

Personally I don't think you're getting very good value for your money SLIing 2 GTSs just to push 1680x1050 for a year. One GTS should handle that fine on its own. With an 8800GT I can run Crysis smoothly at 1024x768 with everything on high and 2xAA. I could probably push that even a little bit more especially if I wanted to max out my overclock. Other than that looks good, although there are probably quieter power supplies you could pick if that matters to you at all.

Oh, and if you intend to OC your E8400 past about 3.6GHz you might want to look into RAM that's rated higher than DDR2-800.

When you say redeploy in a year, are you going to replace select parts, or completely upgrade to a Nehalem-based system?

 

[imported_wired247]

I think with a $2k budget, getting 2 GTS's is a good idea. That setup will fall nicely into that price range.

I personally like your build very much, I would not have any qualms about ordering what you proposed there.

Although, I am not a big fan of Acer monitors (actually not a big fan of any Acer products from personal experience), but that's just a personal preference.

Where are you ordering from? Newegg has terrible return policy on monitors. I would recommend buying at costco / sam's club if possible because of their better return policy.





DSF makes a valid point about the overclocking. Depending on how high you want to go, DDR2-800 might not be fast enough since you'll have to OC the ram past 3.6GHz. That is possible but it complicates the OCing process.

 

[zeroskillz]

well def what is your suggestion on the video card? Just get one? I don't know that's why I got 2, I want to be able to run all my games for the rest of his year. Yes I will probably go to nehalem when I get back.

Yes I plan to hit around 4ghz. That seems like the sweet spot, what ram then? If I go win a single card should I get like a 9800gtx?

 

[imported_wired247]

4Ghz on e8400 can be hit by good DDR2-800 (highly recommended to use 2 sticks only when overclocking), but I haven't tried overclocking any ram recently so I couldn't help with that.

The advantage of single card is you can go with a tried and true (and cheap) chipset like the P35. you could definitely go for a 9800gtx, but you'll have to wait a bit.

 

[zeroskillz]

So I have no point to sli? If not what motherboard?

 

[imported_wired247]

There is definitely a point to SLI. It's called, it fits in your budget and you want to spend more on graphics performance. You should decide for yourself whether or not you want to do it. I definitely don't think it's pointless. Each route has its advantages, and the single card route is just more popular (because it's better bang for your buck).

 

[zeroskillz]

the biggest thing to me is I don't want to get a game this year or early next that I can't run good

 

[zeroskillz]

also would it be better to get a non sli motherboard (cheaper) and get a gx2?

 

[imported_wired247]

Here's my suggestion for you, if that is your concern:

Get a single video card motherboard with a P35 chipset.

Buy an eVGA 8800GTS 512mb card. It should be a great card and you might just be satisfied with it.

If you find it to be insufficient performance, then use the eVGA step up program to get a 9800 GX2 or 9800GTX.


This way you can build your system for much cheaper, test drive it, have some money to upgrade in a few months.

Just make sure your PSU can support at least a 9800GX2 and you'll be good to go.

 

[zeroskillz]

what mobo would u suggest?

 

[LOUISSSSS]

Originally posted by: zeroskillz
what mobo would u suggest?

the new X38/x48 motherboards look real good and have been tested to run very stable and OC VERY WELL. i know my p35 does!

 

[magreen]

LOL at deploy/redeploy. He said deploy, as in, to be deployed, i.e. sent out in the army for active duty.

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: magreen
LOL at deploy/redeploy. He said deploy, as in, to be deployed, i.e. sent out in the army for active duty.

It's a buzzword nowadays in the business community for putting equipment/resources into action. Same thing it means in the army, really.

At any rate, at 1680x1050 you should find that a single 8800GTS will run any game just fine for at least a year. Look over some benchmarks of the 512MB version of the 8800GTS. Its performance is very near that of an 8800GTX, with lower power consumption. My advice is that you get a P35 motherboard and a single graphics card. If you're going to be replacing this platform when Nehalem hits, there's no reason to overspend on a motherboard now.

As far as RAM, you're looking at DDR2-1000 if you want to get up to 4.0GHz, and DDR2-1066 if you want to go past that.

If you're just gaming you're not likely to see much benefit from the extreme speeds anyway.

 

[Roguestar]

Crucial RAM is good quality and their customer service is good, but there are cheaper brands of a similar quality out there. They are a bit pricey for what you're getting.