So, check this computer I am about to build

[Simplicity]

Lian Li Black Mid-Tower Case, Model "PC-61"

Fortron Blue Storm 500W ATX12V V2.0 Power Supply with 120mm Fan

AMD Socket 939 Athlon 64 3500+, 90nm, 2.2 GHz, 512KB L2 Cache

Thermalright Heatsink Model "XP-90"

Vantec "Stealth" 92mm Smart Case fan

EPoX "EP-9NDA3+" NVIDIA nForce3 ULTRA Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU

Patriot Dual Channel Kit 184-Pin 1GB(512MB x 2) DDR PC-3200 w/ XBL Technology

EVGA nVIDIA GeForce 6800GT Video Card, 256MB GDDR3, 256-Bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP

Seagate 160GB Barracuda 7200.7 7200RPM SATA

NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive, Black

--Extras--

Sennheiser PC150 Headset

Logitech Internet Pro Keyboard BLACK

Logitech RED Performance Optical Mouse "MX510"

RatPadz Model GS Mousing Surface

Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! 7.1 24-bit PCI Sound Card


---------------
Updated Often

 

[Edward Lee]

2 6600 GT SLI? You'll be better off buying 1 6800 GT it'll be faster than 2 6600 GT unless you plan to hook up
4 monitors. In that case get the 6600 GTs.

Also, can anyone explain to me the performance advantage of Dual Channel RAM?

 

[Simplicity]

Originally posted by: Edward Lee
2 6600 GT SLI? You'll be better off buying 1 6800 GT it'll be faster than 2 6600 GT unless you plan to hook up
4 monitors. In that case get the 6600 GTs.

Problem is, I CAN'T find a 6800gt anywhere (respectable).


Besides, according to the tests here on this site, the two 6600gt's outperform any one 6800gt, even if it is Oc'd.

 

[Peter D]

Only things I'd change are personal preferences of mine.

I'd get an Enermax PSU. Looking around they have strong rails and are very quiet. The Noisetaker 470W is a few bucks cheaper and I would think that it would be enough for an SLI setup. OCZ and Antec are very good too.

I'd rather have a Thermalright XP-90 and a Panaflo fan instead of the TT. I don't know whether it's my luck (or lack of) or it's TT itself, but all of the products of theirs that I've bought have been louder than the advertised. The TR is more expensive, but IMO, worth it.

My only other gripe would be the Plextor drive. Nowadays, in the words of an unknown AT'er, "they used to rule all the optical drives, now they just rule prices." Really, you're paying almost twice the price for a cardboard box for it, some software, and a smaller interface cable. I would get a NEC 3520 burner.

That's just my opinion, though.

 

[Simplicity]

Everyone I ask tells me to get a XP-90/120 instead.... I heard the 120 is a monster though, and since my board will be SLI, it might be too big? So you think I should just get the 90 and be safe? I guess it cools a lot better?


About the Burner, I thought SATA would increase speed a lot, anyways, I will check out the stuff.

As for the PSU, it has sleeved wires, so that is a plus. I will check out the enermax though.

 

[Edward Lee]

http://graphics.tomshardware.c...1/gigabyte_3d1-09.html

Here's the benches on 1 6800GT vs 2 6600 GT SLI

 

[Simplicity]

Originally posted by: Edward Lee
http://graphics.tomshardware.c...1/gigabyte_3d1-09.html

Here's the benches on 1 6800GT vs 2 6600 GT SLI

According to what I see, it kills it in every game except Unreal?

 

[Simplicity]

And yes, "kills it" includes 1-2 fps in some cases.

 

[ayman]

"Even when switching to higher resolutions with FSAA and AF turned on the GeForce 6600 GT SLI setup fails to show much of an advantage. A single GeForce 6800 GT is usually faster."

"In this scenario, the 3D1 can often outpace a GeForce 6800 GT even with AF and FSAA enabled - unless you're planning on playing at 1600x1200. Here the 6600 GT's limited framebuffer size of 128MB becomes a bottleneck, slowing these cards down. Another problem with SLI is that it doesn't work with every game. In the worst case scenario, this can result in an SLI setup offering lower frame rates than a single-card system."

-taken from the review

 

[Simplicity]

That still doesnt solve my problem of not bieng able to find a 6800gt.

I'd say 2 6600gt at 350 is better than one 6800gt at 550

 

[Edward Lee]

Once Anti Aliasing is turned on the 6800's advantage over the 6600 GT really shows. I'm sorry I couldn't find a better article just don't have time to search right now.

Originally posted by: Simplicity
That still doesnt solve my problem of not bieng able to find a 6800gt.

I'd say 2 6600gt at 350 is better than one 6800gt at 550

Last I checked 1 6800 GT was around $390.00 and you don't need to get the PCI-e version and you can save about $100.00 by getting a non SLI motherboard.

 

[ayman]

now that i think about it though, sounds like a good deal. even in the future if you would like to upgrade it'll be just as easy as having the single 6800gt.

btw dont know how much better it would compare to those charts but i have the BFG model and its overclocked to 370mhz core clock as opposed to the stock 350mhz. i wonder how much of a performance gain that adds

 

[ayman]

Originally posted by: Simplicity
That still doesnt solve my problem of not bieng able to find a 6800gt.

I'd say 2 6600gt at 350 is better than one 6800gt at 550

lol yeah i bought my BFG6800GT for 310$ .... not lying either. It was through my friend's mom because she got discounts on everything sold at bestbuy cuz she was an employee at Beaumont Hospital here in Michigan. brought the price down by a whopping 90$. Anyways retail price was 400$ not 550$ like your saying and it was one of the better brands

 

[Edward Lee]

For your consideration. If you ever decide to upgrade SLI you'll have to use SLI designed cards in order to do so. And those cards will only work on motherboards designed to support them. So if ATI comes out with their own verson of SLI it likely won't work on the current Nvidia designed SLI motherboards. On top of that there is no guaranty the next generation cards will or can support SLI technology. Manufactures might find it is not cost effective to support a technology that calls for a significant investment by consumers.

 

[ayman]

Originally posted by: Edward Lee
For your consideration. If you ever decide to upgrade SLI you'll have to use SLI designed cards in order to do so. And those cards will only work on motherboards designed to support them. So if ATI comes out with their own verson of SLI it likely won't work on the current Nvidia designed SLI motherboards. On top of that there is no guaranty the next generation cards will or can support SLI technology. Manufactures might find it is not cost effective to support a technology that calls for a significant investment by consumers.

good call Edward, I never thought about that

 

[Simplicity]

So are you guys saying that I should just get an AGP mobo?
Then I will miss out on NF4....

I wanted to get a regular NF4 mobo at first, but then the PCI-E 6800gt's were all over 500 in price.... this scares me.

This is a real puzzler.

 

[Simplicity]

Unless you guys know of another Video card I could get?

About this Gigabyte dual GPU card... which MOBO will it be packaged with, and when/where/how will it be available?

 

[Simplicity]

Oh, and I updated the fan+heatsink as suggested.

Is this the right combo?

Thermalright Heatsink Model "XP-90"
Panasonic Panaflo 80 x 25mm Cooling Fan

 

[natethegreat]

you can still get NF4 motherboards without SLI, they just have 1 pci-express x16 slot

Gigabyte NF4

MSI NF4

Chaintech NF4

Asus-Via K8T890
Edit the Asus is not Nf4 rather it is a Via chipset but it does support Pci express x16

I don't know a lot about them but I am in the market for a new system so have taken a glance at them

 

[Simplicity]

Originally posted by: natethegreat
you can still get NF4 motherboards without SLI, they just have 1 pci-express x16 slot

I don't know a lot about them but I am in the market for a new system so have taken a glance at them

Ya, I know, but there is no video card good enough to be run in them around 400.... which the 6800gt should be.

 

[ts3433]

Originally posted by: Simplicity
Oh, and I updated the fan+heatsink as suggested.

Is this the right combo?

Thermalright Heatsink Model "XP-90"
Panasonic Panaflo 80 x 25mm Cooling Fan

You want a 90/92mm fan for an XP-90.

 

[ayman]

well if everyone is saying there is no performance gain of having the PCIe at this point over AGP and your not looking for SLI, then you could go ahead and buy an AGP 6800GT with a compatible motherboard and when your finally going to upgrade you would have enough money saved up for a new motherboard/VGA card. At the point of your next upgrade a new motherboard will be very well worth having along with your new gfx card. The way i look at it, if you do end up getting an AGP setup then another upgrade would be considered say 6-12 monthes from now which is good enough time to enjoy it and save up for a better upgrade later.

Thats what i'm doing I already purchased my 6800GT AGP and its beautiful

 

[Simplicity]

Originally posted by: ts3433

Originally posted by: Simplicity
Oh, and I updated the fan+heatsink as suggested.

Is this the right combo?

Thermalright Heatsink Model "XP-90"
Panasonic Panaflo 80 x 25mm Cooling Fan

You want a 90/92mm fan for an XP-90.

Got this one

Vantec "Stealth" 92mm Smart Case fan, Model

Comments?

 

[ts3433]

Yeah, I'd go AGP as well, for now. It's not like a 6800GT is going to become outdated very fast--it's probably going to last about as long as the 9700 Pro has. You'll save money going AGP, too (eVGA's AGP 6800GT is $388 on Newegg).

 

[natethegreat]

X800 Pro and GeForce 6800GT opinion

Here is a quote from the article:

At the $400 price point, the X800 Pro and the GeForce 6800GT are basically equal performers in all of the resolutions we tested (regardless of whether or not AA/aniso was enabled). So the recommendation here goes either way, look at the performance of the cards in some of the other games you play to determine which one is right for you.

Here is a Sapphire pci express X800 Pro for $410
Sapphire X800 Pro

sorry I can't help you more, just getting in to this myself