Project EERIN

[bharatwaja]

I am planning a new build for next month... Need help on some issues...
My planned config. is...

Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650
Asus P5E3 - Deluxe / GigaByte GA-X38T-DQ6
2GB DDR3-1066 Corsair (2*1GB)
Seagate 500GB 7200.11 Sata 3GB/s
HD3870 512MB PCIE2.0 / XFX8800GT 512MB
Lite-on DVD-RW Sata with Light scribe
Logitech G5 Laser Mouse + G11 Gaming Keyboard
Altec Lansing VS2421
ANTEC PSU??!!

My doubts/questions/queries/confusions/whatever

1. 8800GT or HD3870?
The board (X38) doesn't have SLI support. Hence I was thinking of buying one HD3870 (gigabye or ASUS, which do u recommend?) and then later on when the HD3870X2 (HD3890 or whatever they decide to name it) releases, pop one of them in this and do a Tri-Fire set up... Does it sound good? I mean, would it be possible to do such a tri-fire setup with one HD3870 and one HD3870X2 (technically its crossfire coz only 2 cards on the whole, but since 3 GPUs are there, I think its a logical Tri-Fire set up)
Would this be supported/possible? Any news so far?

2. ASUS P5E3 Deluxe or GA-X38T-DQ6? This explains it all i guess

3. Right now, i am not in a position to afford high speed DDR3-1600 Mhz RAM (OCZ seems good) so I am going for DDR3-1066 for now, strictly as a temprory stop gap measure for about a couple of months (till apr/may)... Does DDR3-1066 has good performance (better than DDR2-800 atleast)?

4. Power supply... Got i am seriously confused on wat wattage i would require... For this config... what wattage would be necessary? but $150-175 is max for PSU... Need suggestions... especially on the wattage...


I know the last 2 questions dont go in this place, but didnt wanna break up all the questions... My main concern is the 1st question....

Thanks guys...

 

[Cookie Monster]

DDR3 isnt worth the price premium, and the performance isn't really earth shattering or justifiable to even get DDR3-1066. DDR2 is dirt cheap right now, and why not spend less bucks on something that performs relatively the same so that the extra cash could be used on other parts.

The X38 doesnt support SLi, and i have no idea if there is such thing as a Tri Crossfire. Its so far a nVIDIA tech while i think ATi/AMD is going with Quad-fire and so forth. The 8800GT is clearly faster than the HD3870 so its up to you, but basically getting one card now and then another later isn't worth it because simply put, there will be faster single cards out by then that will beat the dual GPU setup.

I think a Corsair HX620W would do great.

 

[bharatwaja]

I know DDR2 is dirt cheap now, everyone keeps telling me to stay on DDR2, what i insist is, even if DDR3 is pricey now, in one year, things will change and DDR3 will be dirt cheap as DDR2 is now... Hence i can get good high speed low latency DDR3 for good prices... I am future proofing... And i am sure things would only play out this way unless nehalem chips bring with them the DDR4 era... however the chances of DDR4 becoming mainstream even before DDR3 seems quite remote to none at best....

 

[bharatwaja]

I know X38 doesnt support SLI... what i wanted to know was the crossfire capability of HD3870 with a HD3870X2

 

[nismotigerwvu]

Even if it doesn't support x-fire between those 2, you can always buy it now and then flip the 3870 on the fs/ft forum and get 3/4ths of what you paid for it back.....its like having your cake and eating it too

 

[Extelleron]

Several things I would say:

*Don't spend the money on the QX9650, it's simply way too much money. Buy a Q6600 or wait for the Q9450, which will be priced at $316. Even if you DON'T overclock the Q9450, it's clocked at 2.66GHz vs 3.00GHz for the QX9650, no way is it worth the price premium. If you do overclock, the Q9450 will reach well beyond 3GHz without issue, you'll probably be limited by the FSB speed before you reach the limits of the chip.

*Don't waste money on DDR3 right now. It's not faster than DDR2-800 and price-performance is simply horrible for now.

*Spend more on a video card if you're going to be gaming. I can't tell you what the HD 3870 X2 will be like, but the 8800GTS 512MB is the best option right now. Buy the eVGA card; if you buy it next month, you'll have until April to step-up to a new card if one comes out.

*Don't go crazy on the PSU but get something sufficient. Corsair power supplies are great, something like the HX620 would likely be fine for you.

 

[nullpointerus]

Originally posted by: Extelleron
Several things I would say:

*Don't spend the money on the QX9650, it's simply way too much money. Buy a Q6600 or wait for the Q9450, which will be priced at $316. Even if you DON'T overclock the Q9450, it's clocked at 2.66GHz vs 3.00GHz for the QX9650, no way is it worth the price premium. If you do overclock, the Q9450 will reach well beyond 3GHz without issue, you'll probably be limited by the FSB speed before you reach the limits of the chip.

*Don't waste money on DDR3 right now. It's not faster than DDR2-800 and price-performance is simply horrible for now.

*Spend more on a video card if you're going to be gaming. I can't tell you what the HD 3870 X2 will be like, but the 8800GTS 512MB is the best option right now. Buy the eVGA card; if you buy it next month, you'll have until April to step-up to a new card if one comes out.

*Don't go crazy on the PSU but get something sufficient. Corsair power supplies are great, something like the HX620 would likely be fine for you.

:thumbsup:

 

[Syntax Error]

Originally posted by: bharatwaja
I know DDR2 is dirt cheap now, everyone keeps telling me to stay on DDR2, what i insist is, even if DDR3 is pricey now, in one year, things will change and DDR3 will be dirt cheap as DDR2 is now... Hence i can get good high speed low latency DDR3 for good prices... I am future proofing... And i am sure things would only play out this way unless nehalem chips bring with them the DDR4 era... however the chances of DDR4 becoming mainstream even before DDR3 seems quite remote to none at best....

I hate when people use that idea. :thumbsdown:

Problem with this concept is that you pay so much for it now when you can simply get it later for cheaper with not too discernible performance difference from DDR2 -> DDR3, IF it even gets cheaper. Who can predict what the market will be like a couple years from now?

My vote? I say you get DDR2 and be happy with that, even PC2-8500 would do you nicely.

Also, ditch the Extreme processor and just overclock the standard G0 Q6600.

Seems like you're strapped for cash, but that doesn't mean you should get ripped off hard because you can afford to.

 

[maevinj]

Originally posted by: Extelleron
Several things I would say:

*Don't spend the money on the QX9650, it's simply way too much money. Buy a Q6600 or wait for the Q9450, which will be priced at $316. Even if you DON'T overclock the Q9450, it's clocked at 2.66GHz vs 3.00GHz for the QX9650, no way is it worth the price premium. If you do overclock, the Q9450 will reach well beyond 3GHz without issue, you'll probably be limited by the FSB speed before you reach the limits of the chip.

*Don't waste money on DDR3 right now. It's not faster than DDR2-800 and price-performance is simply horrible for now.

*Spend more on a video card if you're going to be gaming. I can't tell you what the HD 3870 X2 will be like, but the 8800GTS 512MB is the best option right now. Buy the eVGA card; if you buy it next month, you'll have until April to step-up to a new card if one comes out.

*Don't go crazy on the PSU but get something sufficient. Corsair power supplies are great, something like the HX620 would likely be fine for you.

+1

 

[themisfit610]

Seriously. No reason to get any more expensive than a q6600. Easy 3 GHz, at or close to stock voltages with a decent air cooler no problemo. Every day.

~MiSfit