OS Question

[Roguestar]

^ You can download SP1 for free... I imagine slipstreaming it is entirely possible.

I've been using Vista Ultimate on my desktop for over a year, Home Premium on the laptop and I've not had any problems in any games except Worms 2 (which presumably is because it's freakin' old).

For the record Worms Armageddon works, though, which is better .

 

[GullyFoyle]

Originally posted by: Chaoticpenguin666

Originally posted by: Urtho

Originally posted by: Chaoticpenguin666


eVGA GeForce 8800GT 512MB - $209

???

Save yourself $50. Or there's a better card in an ECS 8800GTS here for $10 more.

That isn't the card I had in mind from Newegg and I don't want a GTS since I am planning on going SLi in the future. I would much rather stick with dual GTs than dual GTSs since the GTS is fairly expensive.

You came here for the "collective wisdom". The collective wisdom states that SLI is almost never worth it. By the time you want to add the second card, a new card will be out that will rival the pair of cards you have, and it will have more features, require less power, and be less noisy. And won't require an expensive SLI MB (Which is not in your build, BTW. AFAIK, you need a NVidia chipset MB for that.). Also, either it won't work, or you are much more likely to encounter driver issues trying to get SLI to work with your games.

FWIW-This is info from the "collective wisdom" I got from browsing these forums for 7 years. I have never actually tried to run an SLI configuration myself.

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: Chaoticpenguin666
I don't want a GTS since I am planning on going SLi in the future.

Not with a P35 chipset you're not.

 

[Urtho]

Originally posted by: Chaoticpenguin666

That isn't the card I had in mind from Newegg and I don't want a GTS since I am planning on going SLi in the future. I would much rather stick with dual GTs than dual GTSs since the GTS is fairly expensive.

Um yeah, no idea WTF you're talking about here really. I pointed out that the EVGA 8800GT card on Newegg is $50 less than what you thought the price is and you say that it isn't the card you had in mind? Ok, whatever you say it's not $50 out of my pocket being wasted.

And $10 on top of that price for a much better overall card is not expensive it's a steal for most of us, but hey you've got it all figured out going SLI on that P35 chipset motherboard. :roll:

 

[Stg-Flame]

Hmm, I should have worded it better about SLi. I don't plan on going with SLi, I had just tried to work my build around the possibility of going with SLi later on. I will add liquid cooling before I add another GPU - and I refuse to go with liquid unless absolutely necessary.

Anyways, does anyone see any problem with my build so far? The prices are going to be left up to me to sort them out. If there is a better deal out there, I will probably find it.

Also, I have been hearing some bad reviews on G Skill and Crucial RAM. Something about OCZ, Mushkin (is that even a type), and one other being superior and just as cheap. I have not had the time to research anything at the moment as I have been fairly busy, but I will try to check in on that later.

Anymore insight is appreciated.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: Chaoticpenguin666
I will add liquid cooling before I add another GPU - and I refuse to go with liquid unless absolutely necessary.

Anymore insight is appreciated.

As long as you pick your parts wisely, water cooling is a waste of $$$.
If you plan well, you'll only need quality air cooling.

 

[Stg-Flame]

I am fairly sure my build only needs quality air cooling. Which is why I cannot tell if the Golden Orb Heatsink is sufficient for OCing. It is extremely cheap and comes with a good warranty on it, but I have never heard of it before.

 

[Blain]

I really like down-blowing HS/fan combos. They help cool MB components also.

 

[BlueAcolyte]

$40 is not a cheap heatsink, I would rather go with the Xigmatek SDT-1283 or whatever it is for that price. Or the Zerotherm Nirvana.

Also, don't bother with liquid cooling or another GPU. Get the 8800GTS; if it's cheaper, how is it more expensive?

 

[Stg-Flame]

Originally posted by: BlueAcolyte
$40 is not a cheap heatsink, I would rather go with the Xigmatek SDT-1283 or whatever it is for that price. Or the Zerotherm Nirvana.

Also, don't bother with liquid cooling or another GPU. Get the 8800GTS; if it's cheaper, how is it more expensive?

Last I checked on the GTS, it was around $250 after rebates whereas the GT is around $170 after rebates. The card I am planning on getting, I can overclock to run at the same speed as a GTS. Also, I am going for the cheapest build possible while still seeing a significant upgrade from my computer now. My funds are limited, so even an extra $30 for a slightly better card is out of the question... at the moment.

Originally posted by: Blain

I really like down-blowing HS/fan combos. They help cool MB components also.

The picture you posted looks exactly like the Golden Orb. Currently, I think I will go for the cheaper heatsink, but if I require a better one later, I can always replace it. I heard the Tuniq Tower was a very good heatsink, but it is double the price of the Golden Orb.

 

[JasonandBecky]

Originally posted by: Chaoticpenguin666

Originally posted by: BlueAcolyte
$40 is not a cheap heatsink, I would rather go with the Xigmatek SDT-1283 or whatever it is for that price. Or the Zerotherm Nirvana.

Also, don't bother with liquid cooling or another GPU. Get the 8800GTS; if it's cheaper, how is it more expensive?

Last I checked on the GTS, it was around $250 after rebates whereas the GT is around $170 after rebates. The card I am planning on getting, I can overclock to run at the same speed as a GTS. Also, I am going for the cheapest build possible while still seeing a significant upgrade from my computer now. My funds are limited, so even an extra $30 for a slightly better card is out of the question... at the moment.

Originally posted by: Blain

I really like down-blowing HS/fan combos. They help cool MB components also.

The picture you posted looks exactly like the Golden Orb. Currently, I think I will go for the cheaper heatsink, but if I require a better one later, I can always replace it. I heard the Tuniq Tower was a very good heatsink, but it is double the price of the Golden Orb.

Did you even bother checking the link he gave you? I don't think you did considering the GTS he linked is $169 after rebate..............

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: Chaoticpenguin666

Originally posted by: BlueAcolyte
$40 is not a cheap heatsink, I would rather go with the Xigmatek SDT-1283 or whatever it is for that price. Or the Zerotherm Nirvana.

Also, don't bother with liquid cooling or another GPU. Get the 8800GTS; if it's cheaper, how is it more expensive?

Last I checked on the GTS, it was around $250 after rebates whereas the GT is around $170 after rebates. The card I am planning on getting, I can overclock to run at the same speed as a GTS. Also, I am going for the cheapest build possible while still seeing a significant upgrade from my computer now. My funds are limited, so even an extra $30 for a slightly better card is out of the question... at the moment.

Originally posted by: Blain

I really like down-blowing HS/fan combos. They help cool MB components also.

The picture you posted looks exactly like the Golden Orb. Currently, I think I will go for the cheaper heatsink, but if I require a better one later, I can always replace it. I heard the Tuniq Tower was a very good heatsink, but it is double the price of the Golden Orb.

The picture is of a Zalman HS. Personally, I'd spend a few more bucks and get a Zalman CNPS7700-ALcu.
They are fairly cheap, cool very well (even MB components) and are nice and quiet. :thumbsup::laugh:

 

[BlueAcolyte]

**********************! 8800GTS!
$170!
Comprehendez, senor?
Look at the damn link

 

[jae]

are you going to building this urself or or the "retail guy"? cant ya see u can get a cheaper and better system if u cut that middle man out. most computer parts come with a 3 year warranty.

 

[Stg-Flame]

Originally posted by: BlueAcolyte
**********************! 8800GTS!
$170!
Comprehendez, senor?
Look at the damn link

My apologies, I completely overlooked the link you supplied previously.

I have never dealt with ECS before and have never even heard of them. Since it looks like that this card can be overclocked well over 720 core makes this look much more worthy over the GT.

The few reviews that this card has are all fairly positive, but there are only six reviews at Newegg and I cannot find any sort of warranty information on their website. I know with eVGA, you get a lifetime warranty if you register the item when you install it.

In other words, this card looks fantastic at the moment, but if I find multiple reviews that this card (or other ECS products) tends to break after a few months and the manufacturer doesn't offer any sort of warranty, then I would much rather stick with something that is reliable.

Any information on this card/manufacturer will be appreciated. Past experiences, user reviews, etc. shall suffice.

EDIT: I just checked the $50 Mail-in-rebate link and it seems that this rebate is only good until the end of May. Not only that, but the card is out of stock with an ETA of 5/16/08. Depending on how many backorders it has, I might not even be able to get it before June.

Also, it baffles me as to why the clock speeds are not shown anywhere for this card. Not even the ECS website has the clock speeds. One of the user reviews says 650/1944/1625 and another says 648/1944 according to RivaTune.

 

[Stg-Flame]

Originally posted by: jae
are you going to building this urself or or the "retail guy"? cant ya see u can get a cheaper and better system if u cut that middle man out. most computer parts come with a 3 year warranty.

I will be ordering some of my parts through the local computer store and the rest from Newegg to cut down on cost and provide myself with a few good warranties. If I can get an item much cheaper with a decent warranty as opposed to a higher price with only a 30-day return policy, then I am more inclined to stick with the better deal.

Also, I am not letting anyone build this for me. I have built a few in my past and if I get stuck, I always have my PC for reference as well as the instructions that come with every product. There is no middle man, there is only shipping methods.