Ordering a rig - What video card would you buy?

[Endelm]

Hi,

I'm thinking of ordering the following rig.

I still haven't made up my mind on the following things:
- Video card for games
- Power supply
- Hard drive

What would you buy?

Thank you.

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GA-X38-DQ6 motherboard - $260
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...=Gigabyte%2bGA-X38-DQ6

4gig G.SKILL RAM DDR2 1000 - 2x $140 = 280$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231145

CPU - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 - 280$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115017

ZALMAN 9700 - $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835118019

 

[John]

Have you thought about consolidating all of your recent threads into a single thread? It sounds like you had already made up your mind on an 8800GT.

 

[Endelm]

Hi,

Sorry about that. I really haven't made up my mind yet about 2x 3870s (SLI) VS 1x 8800gt.

I might also go with this ram:
4gig Crucial Ballistix 800 RAM - 2x 60$ = 120$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820146565

 

[Denithor]

For starters, the Radeon cards don't run in SLI--they use Crossfire for multi-card solution. The X38 board you're looking at offers this feature so you should be good to go.

The Crucial Ballistix is probably good enough for most overclocking you will want to do, only get the higher rated stuff if you are into extreme overclocking (and plan to use a very good aftermarket air cooler or a water cooling system).

Regarding power supply, the Antec Earthwatts 500W unit is good for most single card uses, if you decide to go XF/SLI you will want something with more power.

 

[bryanW1995]

buy a tuniq tower or thermalright 120 ultra extreme instead of the zalman. I have a tuniq and a zalman, there is no comparison in performance btwn the 2. I haven't tried either on a quad, but from what I hear from quad owners the tuniq still does pretty well and the zalman pretty much sucks.

If you really haven't made up your mind then you might consider 1 x 3870 for now and then the r680 high end card that is coming out in january for a 2nd card to use in crossfire.

If you prefer the 8800gt then wait a week and see what nvidia has in store for us. Rumor has it that 780i is releasing dec 3.

 

[CrystalBay]

This Ram good and solid zero compatibility problems

 

[Endelm]

bryanW1995:
"If you really haven't made up your mind then you might consider 1 x 3870 for now and then the r680 high end card that is coming out in january for a 2nd card to use in crossfire.

If you prefer the 8800gt then wait a week and see what nvidia has in store for us. Rumor has it that 780i is releasing dec 3. "

Thanks a lot!! I'll keep that in mind

 

[swtethan]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
buy a tuniq tower or thermalright 120 ultra extreme instead of the zalman. I have a tuniq and a zalman, there is no comparison in performance btwn the 2. I haven't tried either on a quad, but from what I hear from quad owners the tuniq still does pretty well and the zalman pretty much sucks.

If you really haven't made up your mind then you might consider 1 x 3870 for now and then the r680 high end card that is coming out in january for a 2nd card to use in crossfire.

If you prefer the 8800gt then wait a week and see what nvidia has in store for us. Rumor has it that 780i is releasing dec 3.

Maybe I should pick up a 780i board and SLI another 8800 =-O

 

[bryanW1995]

don't mess with your rig, swtethan. you are due for some bad luck, if you take that oc monster Q6600 or 8800gt out of the case then your panther might eat it

 

[BadRobot]

damn those tricksie panthers...

 

[tuteja1986]

2x 3850 $179x2 = $358 {which will preform like a single 8800GTX }
Q6600 $265
2x Crucial Ballistix 2GB PC8500 $115x2 = $220 {this ram uses 2nd highest quality Micron DDR2 ram}
500GB WD HDD $104.99
CORSAIR 620W PSU $170

 

[bryanW1995]

tuteja has the right idea, but try this ram instead
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820146565
it's the same ram, they just throw an oc on the 1066 units and charge more $$ for them.

 

[Endelm]

Originally posted by: tuteja1986
2x 3850 $179x2 = $358 {which will preform like a single 8800GTX }
Q6600 $265
2x Crucial Ballistix 2GB PC8500 $115x2 = $220 {this ram uses 2nd highest quality Micron DDR2 ram}
500GB WD HDD $104.99
CORSAIR 620W PSU $170

I've read that 8800gt is a little picky when it comes to power consumption. Is this power supply enough for it?

 

[bryanW1995]

lol yes. that psu will run 2900xt's in crossfire, it will easily handle a single 8800gt.

 

[CrystalBay]

Get the 4GB of Ram it will will be better than 2gb of Ram. Trust me not some other Nobe here....Btw what OS are you running?

 

[bryanW1995]

crystalbay, the ram you recommended is 5-5-5-12 ddr2 800 and costs 100. the ram I recommended is 4-4-4-12 and costs $110. no offense but I'd rather spend the extra $10, even if it means getting 4x1 instead of 2x2. when/if you need more than 4gb of ram you'll need a completely new rig, anyway.

 

[Triton67]

3870@Crossfire beat 8800GT@SLI in many games, check out http://forums.vr-zone.com/showthread.php?t=207702 . The reason is Crossfire seems to *scale* better than SLI, wasn't a single 3870 little slower than single 8800GT ? However, you get proper cooler(s) with AMD/ATI, and ofcourse they clock well....now you only need to oc that CPU above 3,6GHz to feed the cards !