Questions I have for my new system

[imported_Krypto]

OK, I will be hopefully building a new gaming rig here soon, and I would like to know which way to go on acouple of things:

p4 + H/T or AMD 64
PCIe or stay with regular AGP
ATI or Nvidia
SATA or Raptor HD's
Raid??

Soo, my questions are somewhat like this: Is it worth it to go after the new PCIe SLI mobo and just stick with Nvidia's video cards, or just wait and get a regular AGP mobo with an ATI card. Who has the best video card out there today? I have heard different things about cpus, like p4 with HT is better at multi tasking (playing a game and doing something with dual LCD setup) but AMD 64bit is better just for one task like playing the game and that's it. I would prefer to have something that will allow me to multi task between gaming and surfing, chatting etc without having to ALT+TAB every min. I'm not sure which is faster SATA or the raptor hard drives, my friend suggested that I just get a 36gb raptor as my primary drive for windows to be installed on and have my other drives be SATA. AND LAST FOR NOW, is it worth it to setup a RAID system just for gaming and what not, I have never had a drive die on me and I don't feel like I need the extra security of it.

So, those are my questions as of now, after I decide based on your guy's feedback which way to go I'll need a lil help with the hardware picking part.

LET THE INPUT START FLOWING IN!

 

[TheGreenGoblin]

The AMD socket 939's are more future proof than any Intel offering. I'd go with an A64 and I think most ppl here would agree.

The best bang for your buck video card right now is the Nvidia 6600GT. Stick with this one or a 6800 unless your budget allows you to get something better.

I'd avoid SLI unless you're loaded and money is no object. There are tons of threads on the subject. Do a search.

If you have the $$ to get a Raptor and a second drive , go for it.

I'm going to sleep , so I'll let someone else answer the rest of your questions. Though pretty much every " Take a look at this system" thread will have all the info you need.

 

[flamingspinach]

SLI is IMHO a waste of money. nVidia does make AGP cards, you know. Right now the best bang for your buck would probably be the nVidia GeForce 6600GT. BTW, the faster the P4s get, the farther they lag behind the comparable Athlon64. HyperThreading isn't as great an idea as you'd think, and has nothing to do with multiple displays, but rather with running two (2) process threads simultaneously. This only works for multithreaded apps - most games aren't, nor are many programs. So I'd say go with the Athlon64.

RAID offers almost no benefit.

-fs

 

[imported_Krypto]

Well, the board i was thinking of getting was the 8AN-SLI made by asus. I guess the whole reason I want to get an SLI mobo is becuase I think they are faster? I see PCIe x16 and I think "ohhh sparkly" but I have read that there is really no difference between AGP 8x and PCIe 16x? I want this computer to be as up to date as it can so i don't have to worry about upgrading anything for a while. I also like the dual video card capability in the SLI mobo although I have no idea what I would use it for, but again, some time in the future who knows.

The budget I am looking at right now is 1400-1600. I have an LCD coming and a HUGE server case with hella space, hard drives aren't important right now as I can pick up a used one for cheap. I would just like to focus on the mobo, cpu, and video card right now. I don't want to spend 1600 on just those though. The cpu I was looking at was the 3500+ winchester, although the 3200+ would suit me just fine. I don't want to get into the FX's just yet, maybe later.

 

[flamingspinach]

There is a difference between PCI-E 16x and AGP 8x, but video cards today don't even live up to the full potential of AGP 8x, let alone PCI-E. Maybe in the future they will need that kind of speed but they don't right now. Also, IIRC, most SLI boards only have PCI-E slots and no normal PCI slots. I like my sound cards and TV tuner cards!

Now it depends on how you upgrade. Do you upgrade all at once? Go with AGP. Do you upgrade piece by piece, like one piece every couple months? Go with PCI-E, that way future parts you buy separately will be compatible with the motherboard you buy now. Most people don't do that though.

Dual video is pretty pointless. Unless you're buying two super-expensive cards. If you were planning to get the 6600GT to put in the SLI, two of those would be pricier than just getting one AGP card that performs as well. If you're thinking to use one now and then get a second one later, that would be pointless because you could just get a fully new video card, and eventually you'd have to replace both. Also SLI doesn't work very well, you need to have cards with identical firmware for it to work, and some programs don't support it (such as WoW).

The system in my signature is ~$1500, and is monitor-less, you might want to check that out if you like. The 3200+ is the best value of all the Athlon64s right now, AFAIK.

-fs

 

[ts3433]

SLI motherboards themselves aren't faster than others by any means. There's no difference between AGP and PCIe graphics cards at the moment, either, besides the connector and ATI's plans to release some of their new cards on PCIe only. If you're not going to upgrade anything for a while, you're fine with AGP, and a 6800GT would probably last you at least as long as the 9700 Pro has been a good-performing gaming card. SLI does give you an interesting option to purchase a second graphics card of the same type for a later upgrade, but it would probably be wiser to just get a next-generation card when necessary.

Try a 3000+ or 3200+ Winchester core. Those overclock very nicely, even on stock cooling, and even if you don't overclock, they're great performers. Get 2x512MB of Corsair/Crucial/Mushkin value RAM (PC3200) to go with this, even for overclocking (see Zebo's tests displayed in a sticky in the CPU/OC forum). Put this on a good AGP mobo like the Epox EP-9NDA3+, MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum, or Asus A8V Deluxe.

RAID 0 is not really going to be worth the trouble to set it up unless you do a lot of video editing or something else which requires a lot of fast HD access. Additionally, the 36GB Raptors really don't perform much better than 7200RPM drives, but the 74GB models have a more noticeable improvement. You can use one of those for your OS and programs, and a larger 7200RPM Seagate for data storage. It may also be worth it to see whether a Raptor will really be of meaningful benefit to you, considering the price, because they are expensive and the performance differences can be minimal depending on your applications (for instance, in games it will really only impact loading times, and I believe Anand's tests showed some small improvements, but nothing earth-shattering).