Putting the pieces together like everyone else

[HuddaDudda]

Ribbon -

Man your making me crazy! lol I think I agree with you on the DFI boards. Get the SLI though not the Unltra-D - I agree toss in the OCZ Memory too - I think the VX would be good enough no need for the PC600 - I am thinking about waiting a few days or another week for the 3800+ Vience CPU core (possibly a 4000+ San Diego since it too is a 90n cpu and coming out soon too) - Looks like one guysat xtremesystems.org a 3800+ vience to 3360Ghz on ice - I am hoping 3G on air but way to go really. I am stuck still on the video card though. Should I get two of these sapphires? 299$??? That seems crazy low! Toss on a Zalamn and I am set. If I got SLI even with one card I can do sli right? I think I am getting a bit confused on that. SLI is PCIE right - please help set me straight on that. AM I MIXING THEM UP!? I dont have dual monitors now (maybe in the future) so not a big deal - would like the possiblity if I did want another one I could but no biggie there. I did get the LG 8ms monitor too I posted. Its nice. Let me know!

 

[HuddaDudda]

bump

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

That Sapphire X800 Pro is not SLI-capable. At the moment, only nVidia cards are doing SLI.

 

[HuddaDudda]

So if I get a DFI SLI I would need to have two Nvidia cards SLI? I thought even if I wanted I could get the SLI Motherboard and just put a X800XT in the 16X PCIE Slot then down the road if I want 2 SLI nVidias I can have the option.

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

Yes, you can use one non-SLI-capable card in a mobo that is capable of handling 2 cards in SLI. Like me, for example, I'm running a nVidia 6600GT on an MSI K8N NeoPlatinum SLI-ready board. It has a little jumper on the motherboard that you invert when you install a 2nd SLI-ready card, and seperate bridge piece with which you cap them together. The 6600GT is SLI-capable, so for another $185 I can pick up another and run them in SLI. I may jump up to a better single card when ATI comes out with their SLI cards, and then wait for that card to come down in price before I buy a 2nd one.

 

[Tiorapatea]

Originally posted by: HuddaDudda I think I am getting a bit confused on that. SLI is PCIE right - please help set me straight on that. AM I MIXING THEM UP!? I dont have dual monitors now (maybe in the future) so not a big deal - would like the possiblity if I did want another one I could but no biggie there. I did get the LG 8ms monitor too I posted. Its nice. Let me know!

Just to be absolutely unambiguous:
PCIE (PCI Express) is a bus design, like PCI and AGP. It provides a new way to connect add-on boards such as graphics cards, network cards, hard disk controllers etc. to your motherboard.

SLi is chipset logic on a motherboard that allows the power of two graphics cards to be harnessed to perform certain kinds of processing more quickly than is possible with a single graphics card. It so happens that SLi has been developed in such a way that it works only with graphics cards connected to a PCI Express bus.

This means:
1. SLi is running two SLi-capable graphics cards (nvidia only) on a motherboard that is SLi-capable (nvidia only). It is said the two cards must be identical (same chipset, same manufacturer) but I am not sure if this is strictly true. Some motherboards have two PCI Express slots for graphics cards and yet are not SLi capable - this is basically because this allows nvidia to carve up the market and charge a premium for those who want the SLi feature.
2. If you have an SLi-capable motherboard, there is nothing stopping you from just running one graphics card. This will not operate in "SLi mode" - for that you need two graphics cards.
3. High-end systems such as the one you are proposing can run modern games at 1280x1024 with all the eye-candy turned on (anti-aliasing etc.) at good frame rates with only a single graphics card such as an nvidia 6800 Ultra.
4. A single modern graphics card is capable of running two separate monitors on its own. However, some cards have two DVI connectors, whereas some have one DVI connector and one HD15-pin connector. DVI connectors are preferable when using LCD monitors. With more cards, you can run more monitors although you can't just slap any old cards in and hope everything will work out - you need to make sure your configuration is supported. If running four monitors in an SLi system, you will have to disable SLi mode and just use them as independent cards.

OK, I'll shut up now, this is getting more complicated than I wanted it to be.

 

[HuddaDudda]

Tiorapatea - Thank you for the explaination. I thought I understood what was going on and was getting a bit confused. I now have a clearer understanding of SLI. I run most games at 1280x1024 and feel that maybe ribbon13 was right - just get the DFI ultra with one X850XT PCIE card. This will play the games fine at full settings right now. I was thinking SLI for future gaming but once I upgrade to full SLI I would probably be buying another new CPU therefore a new motherboard and possibly chipset will be out and I will want to upgrade again then. However the price diff between the SLI and Utlra DFI boards are $40 so who cares. I will need to do some research what specifically besides SLI these boards have. I do like "options" So if I run 1 video card would you suggest the Sapphire X850XT like ribbon?

 

[ribbon13]

The OCZ VX line uses the Winbond UTT chips, that TwinMOS i linked uses the same but is a bit cheaper. thread about it

The VX is warranted up to 3.6v though, so I'd go for it! :thumbsup: Good deal on it


Sapphire X850 XT w/1yr warranty

 

[Tiorapatea]

Originally posted by: HuddaDudda
So if I run 1 video card would you suggest the Sapphire X850XT like ribbon?

If ribbon13 says so, that is very likely a good recommendation. I am not completely up to date with high- end video cards but all I would say is that some people complain that ATI cards do not support the latest Shader API (3.0) with the result that certain "made-for-nvidia" games will not display every last detail on ATI. I doubt this is a serious issue but obsessive types might be upset by it.