Video Cards

[TylerDurden]

I want a 512 mb video card. Someone told me that you don't see a difference past 265 MB. Anyone agree with this statement ?

pretty much, i want a video card that will do me good ! i want the best, my money can buy. is $100.00 enough ?

i want to be able to play any valve game, at full detail.

Right now my system specs are:

Intel, Celeron CPU, 2.53 GHz.

1.00 GB ram.

128 mb nvidia card.


How we lookin` ?

I want a 512 mb video card. Someone told me that you don't see a difference past 265 MB. Anyone agree with this statement ?

pretty much, i want a video card that will do me good ! i want the best, my money can buy. is $100.00 enough ?

i want to be able to play any valve game, at full detail.

Right now my system specs are:

Intel, Celeron CPU, 2.53 GHz.

1.00 GB ram.

128 mb nvidia card.


How we lookin` ?


Yes some games do benefit from 512mb and others clearly need it too like Gt Legends for example.And the person who told you otherwise is talkin aload of old fuckin bollocks.

[Cheeto]

256 is about the minimum for real gaming, 512 will help for larger monitors, larger textures, and most especially anti-aliasing and anistropic filtering. However judging by your system specs you're not going to see much benefit. You honestly are in a position you need to save your money up and build a new machine. If you absolutely can't do that, aim for about 150-200 dollars for your card.

[TylerDurden]

512 it is !

so whats the best 512 mb card i can get ? Or does that matter ? Im thinking i wanna buy it cheap as i can, off the internet of course :\

512 it is !

so whats the best 512 mb card i can get ? Or does that matter ? Im thinking i wanna buy it cheap as i can, off the internet of course :\

Bfg do good deals if your willing to pay a litte more and thier overclocked,warrantied for life.

[PrivateParts]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... name=512MB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=40000048+1068310557&Description=8800gt&name=512MB)

evga also has a life time warranty. And a step up program.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=40000048+1068310557&Description=8800gt&name=512MB

evga also has a life time warranty. And a step up program.

Or he could build very respetable quad core whole system for just under $1000

[Verhaden]

Your current system probably doesn't have a PCI express slot, and if it did, you'd be very bottlenecked with your current CPU.

Your best bet if you're sticking with your current system would be the ATI Radeon 1950 Pro w/ 256MB of RAM AGP or maybe an Nvidia GeForce 7800 AGP.

Though I would seriously suggest an entire system upgrade, as the $$$ you'd spend on obtaining either of those cards would be better spent on a GeForce 9600 and 2GB of DDR2 RAM.

And, on the whole, there are a million things to a GPU other than RAM--something my roommate is unable to comprehend. His Mobility Radeon 7500 isn't the same as my Radeon 9800 Pro.

[TylerDurden]

someday i'd like to build the best system i can, as for right now i have pci, and agp slots :\

so im thinking if i can get a pretty good card, it will last me for a bit until i can upgrade.

i burned my mouth eating chicken nuggets.

[TylerDurden]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814131076 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131076)


what about this card ? Why is it so cheap ?


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130099 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130099)

or this one ?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130100 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130100)

this one ?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131076


what about this card ? Why is it so cheap ?


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130099 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130099)

or this one ?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130100 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130100)

this one ?

Yeah shure thier ok if you ony want short term :shifty: micky mouse performance

[TylerDurden]

well for under $100 i cant go wrong. ill be able to play dod source, and half life 2 yes ? this .. is all that matters.

"I DON'T HAVE TIME .... FOR THIS MICKY MOUSE BULL SHIT."

can anyone name the movie that this quote is from ?



which one did you think was the "best" ?

[ReutherMonkey]

someday i'd like to build the best system i can, as for right now i have pci, and agp slots :\

so im thinking if i can get a pretty good card, it will last me for a bit until i can upgrade.

i burned my mouth eating chicken nuggets.
Of the links you posted, I'd definitely get the 7600GT. That's what I'm using now, and it's great. However, don't expect to play with 60FPS in any game. Your CPU (especially the fact that it's a Celeron) will destroy most of the benefits you'd get from a good graphics card. If anything, i'd look at getting a better CPU over getting a better graphics card. You'll likely see more of an improvement. In my personal experience, the CPU has *always* been the bottleneck in my gaming - rarely has the graphics card been the primary hardware holding me back.

[Cheeto]

This is like you're driving a Yugo and trying to decide if a new exhaust system will make it a sporty little car. It might help a little bit, but you're still driving a Yugo and you got a LOT of other parts to replace first.

[PrivateParts]

Read some benchmark reviews before you waste your money on a crappy card.

http://www.neoseeker.com

Sorry if i seem blunt but it's for your own good.The $100 you want to waste on a poor card is better saved with another $900.To get the results you want in soruce games you need to marry a combination of good componets together.Or shure you could throw good money afther bad on a old system.

[Verhaden]

What video card do you currently own, btw? More specific than 128MB Nvidia.

[AFG]

http://www.tomshardware.com/2008/02/04/ ... uary_2008/ (http://www.tomshardware.com/2008/02/04/best_cards_february_2008/)

Take a look at this.

[TylerDurden]

I have a sound blaster audigy SE, which is a "crisp, clear" 24-bit advanced HD audio Quaility, at 96KHz/100db SNR (?), EAX, and supports 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound..

I have no idea what any of this means. Is this a good sound card ? is 24-bit blah blah good ?

ive been thinking about what everyone has said. and for me to get one of those video cards, is not the best idea, however im gonna go for the 7600gt AGP card. I figure, if im gonna upgrade my cpu and mobo, ill do it all at once, with cash in hand. that way, i can get a video card that will go with, and so on.

Isn't agp old school now ? PCI express is the new deal right ?

[Ginger Lord]

PCI has been the "new deal" for the last 5 years or so.

Save up and buy a new PC.

[Cheeto]

Tyler, just FYI, PCI is NOT Pci-express. The two slots are physically similar (but then so is ISA...) but they are totally different. You cannot plug a PCI-Express card into a PCI slot, nor can you go the other way around. So yeah, PCI-Express is the new deal, but I doubt you have it, mate.

[TylerDurden]

Alright, I'm gonna build a good computer. This is where I'm at thus far.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... =SPC-YAHOO (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2945261&Sku=E145-2014&SRCCODE=YAHOODF&CMP=SPC-YAHOO)
EVGA nForce 680i SLI Motherboard - T1 Version, NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI, Socket 775, ATX, Audio, PCI Express, SLI, Dual Gigabit LAN, S/PDIF, USB 2.0 & Firewire, Serial ATA, RAID

For CPU i want Intel Core 2 quad socket 775. Im pretty sure this mobo and cpu will work. Where is a good place to buy the quad core ? Is this a good idea ? Whats the best cpu right now ?

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDe ... list=yahoo (http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10007373&prodlist=yahoo)
MSI NX8500GT-TD512E Geforce 8500 GT 512MB GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card

this is a good card ?


http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDe ... list=yahoo (http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=85279&prodlist=yahoo)
2GB Kit DDR2 PC2-8500 SLI™-Ready Edition Dual Channel Memory

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDe ... list=yahoo (http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10005493&prodlist=yahoo)
COOLER MASTER Real Power Pro 1000W RS-A00-EMBA Power Supply

The sound card ill be using is a 24-bit advanced hd. EAX. supports 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound. Sound blaster Audigy SE.

This leaves me with a case, cd/dvd rom, cpu fans, system fans, water cooling maybe ? and a hard drive.

WHat yall think ?

all this right here is under $900.00 !

[Mr. Burns]

That power supply is way, way overkill. You only need a PSU that huge if you're going to go with two big video cards in SLI. Go with something more like this one (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151028), and that's only if you really want to go with SLI in the future. Seasonic is a great company, and they don't overstate the power they can supply like other companies do. Some other PSU companies will say what their PSUs can output at the very peak, but Seasonics will output their max wattage constantly at 45 degrees C.

As for video cards, you should get a better one than the 8500 series. If you're going with a quad-core CPU you should get something that won't bottleneck you when playing games. The new 9600 series from nVidia look fantastic, and they'll run you just under $200, like one of the ones from this page (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048+106792522&Configurator=&Subcategory=48&description=&Ntk=&srchInDesc=). Those will be more what you'd need to actually make use of your new system.

For CPU's, the Q6600 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017) seems to be the best price/performance ratio right now in quad-cores.

[Faceman]

I would get a 8700 or 8800 card rather than a 8500.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... nDesc=8800 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048%20106791921&page=1&bop=And&Order=PRICE&SrchInDesc=8800)

[TylerDurden]

EVGA nForce 680i SLI Motherboard will run this q6600 yes ?

9600 series i believe i will get !

ok, now with this set up how do we look -



http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... =SPC-YAHOO (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2945261&Sku=E145-2014&SRCCODE=YAHOODF&CMP=SPC-YAHOO)
EVGA nForce 680i SLI Motherboard - T1 Version, NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI, Socket 775, ATX, Audio, PCI Express, SLI, Dual Gigabit LAN, S/PDIF, USB 2.0 & Firewire, Serial ATA, RAID

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115017 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017)
ntel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817151028 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151028)
SeaSonic S12 Energy Plus SS-650HT ATX12V / EPS12V 650W Power Supply 100

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814141073 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814141073)
BIOSTAR V9603GT52 GeForce 9600GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDe ... list=yahoo (http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=85279&prodlist=yahoo)
2GB Kit DDR2 PC2-8500 SLI™-Ready Edition Dual Channel Memory

what is the best cpu fan system for this kind of CPU ? Would water cooling be something to look into ? Should i get those case fans that are grouped together ?

[Mr. Burns]

If you get the retail version of a processor (as opposed to the OEM version) it will come with the stock cooling fan, which for Intels is pretty quiet and effective. You would only need a different cooling option if you're going to overclock it. Water-cooling is really never necessary (especially on the Intel chips - some people get a significant boost from overclocking on stock cooling), but more of a hassle from what I understand. It's one of those things that you really need to want to do since it takes much more prep work, a lot more time to setup, and way more maintenance than air-cooling. If you do decide you want a different CPU cooler, I hear great things about the Thermalright HR-Ultra (http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000PHEV6C?ie=UTF8&condition=new&tag=dealtime-ce-mpfeed-20&creative=380345&creativeASIN=B000PHEV6C&linkCode=asm).

[TylerDurden]

right now 2.5 Ghz is my CPU speed. This Quad cpu is only 2.4 Ghz ! Whats the difference ? are they about the same or what ? what am i missing ?!?!

I want the best, most CPU speed, which i thought was 3.0Ghz ?


ps.

Thank You all for your input !

[Mr. Burns]

CPU speed will make a difference, but new generations of processors get more done on each clock than older ones did. That means they can lower the speed a bit but still get a lot more work done. There was a time when a 3 GHz Pentium 4 would get outclassed by a 2.2 GHz Athlon 64 if I'm remembering my stuff correctly.

[TylerDurden]

so with this system i have in mind, how long will it last me ? Will i be able to upgrade little things for awhile ? If i get this CPU, will i be able to run any source game, plus any new games out right now ?

[Mr. Burns]

The one you have proposed would work very well for quite a while as far as I know. Nobody can perfectly predict what will happen in the future, but you'll have a quad-core processor which should be plenty for a while, a good video card, a decent amount of RAM, and a PSU that should let you upgrade a few more things as time goes by. You should be able to play every game that's out now pretty well. Except for Crysis, which nobody can run very well.

Have you considered which OS to run? Will you be buying new or reusing your current one?

[TylerDurden]

i want to buy windows xp. eh ?

im looking at spending about $850.00-$900.00 on this system, minus the case, cooling fans, and cd/dvd rom.

if i save $200.00 out of my paycheck every week, in 5 weeks i should have enough money to start ze project !


hey, so would i get an ATX case for this set up, or is that AMD ? i cant remember.

Thanks Burns !

[Mr. Burns]

ATX is a motherboard form factor - it just specifies the size and location of the screw-holes. Make sure that the case you buy and the motherboard you use are compatible.

Windows XP is fine for the foreseeable future, unless you're looking for DirectX 10. Vista can be bought pretty inexpensively now too (Office Max is selling the Home Premium Upgrade for $99 this week, which can be installed on a fresh system anyway - just search google for that). Price drops are coming for Vista overall this month.

And don't worry about the help - I love this stuff and that's what community is for :thumbsup:.

[TylerDurden]

ps. !

This sounds stupid im sure but i must ask !

FIRST of all, im out of the loop ! Last time i built my computer, and was into computers hardscores, the xp1900+ just came out, and i got that shite, and i was lek "oh yeah"

well now PCI express is out, and took over AGP right ? Well, i just want to make sure, that a normal PCI sound card WILL plug into the mobo i want right ? Pretty much, any new mobos. PCI is still around right ? right ?

VISTA IT IS !

do you have vista ? If so, how do you like it so ?

[Mr. Burns]

PCI is still around - check the specs on the motherboard to see how many PCI slots it has. There are also some PCI-Express x1 sound cards I think, but those aren't as common. The specs should say how many PCI-E x1 slots it has too.

I don't have Vista yet, but I'm buying it tomorrow. I've been waiting until it was reasonably priced, and now that the service pack is out it should be more stable and feature-rich than it was before.

[TylerDurden]

Specifications
Form Factor: ATX

Processor Interface: Socket 775

Processors Supported: Intel Pentium 4 Extreme Edition
Intel Pentium 4 LGA775
Intel Core 2 Duo, Intel Core 2 Extreme, Intel Core 2 Quad

Additional Technologies: 64-bit
HyperThreading Technology

Front Side Bus: 1333MHz

Northbridge: NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI MCP

Number of Slots: 4

Number of Pins: 240-Pin

Maximum Memory Supported: 4GB - 32bit
8GB - 64bit

Memory Supported: 533MHz DDR2
Dual Channel Supported
667MHz DDR2
800MHz DDR2
1200MHz DDR2 (SLI-Ready)

Channels: 8 Channels

Audio Chipset: AC '97 CODEC

Supported Devices: 2

Hard Drive Types: ATA/100
ATA/133
ATA/66



So from what i gather, it has 2 pci slots, and 2 pci-e sluts ?

http://images.tigerdirect.com/itemDetai ... ut2-hl.jpg (http://images.tigerdirect.com/itemDetails/E145-2008/E145-2008-out2-hl.jpg)


EDIT*

udio
The nForce 680i SLI comes with an AC'97 audio codec which supports high quality 8-channel audio.*

Does this mean its better then the sound card i have for it already ? The sound blaster 24-bit one ... EAX, 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound support, etc.

[Mr. Burns]

It has 2 PCI slots, 2 PCI-E 1x slots, and three PCI-E 16x slots. The 16x are the ones used for graphics cards, and the 1x slots are the ones that can be used for things like sound cards and other peripherals.

As for the sound, on-board sound has come a long way. I would try out the on-board sound first to see if you like it and then if you don't then pop in the sound card to see how it performs.

[TylerDurden]

It has 2 PCI slots, 2 PCI-E 1x slots, and three PCI-E 16x slots. The 16x are the ones used for graphics cards, and the 1x slots are the ones that can be used for things like sound cards and other peripherals.


well alright, then this Mother Board is good !

and socket 755, i kinda remember what thats about now. The quad chip is 755 socket too right ?

Question:

When it says 2 quad core, does that have anything to do with the size or shape of the CPU ? Does it look like any other old CPU chip ? Are there 2, or 4 things in there or something ? lol.

[Mr. Burns]

Yeah, 775 is the Intel slot specification for all the current desktop chips. Core 2 is the name of the architecture - it came right after the "Core" architecture. So it's just the Core 2 architecture with 4 CPU cores on one chip.

[TylerDurden]

i understand now. Muahah

/me rubs hands together and thinks about new computer

why is this case so cheap ? its kinda weird :manji:

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid ... cpc=CASbsc (http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=939PL&cat=CAS&cpc=CASbsc)

edit*

i want this case !

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811103010 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811103010)

i like it because of the 2 fans :orly:
it has its own bay for the powersupply ! :orly:

[Mr. Burns]

That case is cheap because it's cheap I guess. One thing I've learned is that you get what you pay for in computer cases. I just built a computer for my uncle and get him a cheap case and cut my finger installing stuff in there. It was a little foreign to me since I usually buy more expensive cases, and they don't have sharp exposed edges like that case did. There's nothing really wrong with getting a cheap case, but the more expensive ones usually have better features (better fans, better cooling in general, silencing features, etc.).

[Cheeto]

My suggestions:

Graphics card should be 8800GT or 9600GT with at least 256mb of ram. CPU doesn't matter terribly much as long as it's Core 2 Quad or Core 2 Duo or socket AM2 Athlon X2, all will serve you well provided they have a decent clockspeed. That said I very much like the Core 2 Quad Q6600. It has a huge overclocking ceiling and great performance. 2GB of RAM is good, Kingston, OCZ, Mushkin, and Corsair are good brands. Avoid no-name brands. I freaking LOVE the Antec P182 and P180 cases. Quiet, sturdy, wonderful design choices, easy to work in. The last 3 machines I've built have used them. nForce motherboards are almost always good, nice pick. Newegg.com is a great place to shop and buy your parts, cheap and fast. I wouldn't bother with more than a 750watt PSU. A kilowatt PSU is more for top end, high powered CPU's, multiple graphics cards, and a shitload of hard drives spinning at once.

[TylerDurden]

I'm all about this case :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811133021 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133021)

I don't care for cool lights, or little windows to see my shite, so if i could find a case that has a top fan, side fan, back, front and whatever fans, i'd get it. I want to spray paint and design stuff on the case, so if it comes in black, that saves me the trouble of getting black paint. (no parts inside of course)

[Cheeto]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811129025 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129025)
This case is made of cold forged WIN.

[TylerDurden]

lmao

Chuck Norris in : Cold Forged Win.


whats a great company that makes flat monitors ?

i still use the monitors that are bigger then some desktops. I have no idea :\

and um, cd/dvd roms ? D:

[Mr. Burns]

Unless you really like the idea of having a side fan, I find them unnecessary. Like Cheeto said, if you're looking to spend that much I would look at the Antec P182 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129025). It has fantastic cooling, lots of silencing things (like silicone grommets for the hard drive screws which dampen the vibrations and a separate PSU chamber to keep your PSU and hard drives running cool), and is just top-notch as far as workmanship goes. The thing does look a bit like a fridge, but if you're going to spray paint it anyway then you'll be happy with it since it has big, flat, blank sides.

For monitors, just find one at a good price and search for reviews. They'll tell you whether or not it's worth your money.

For optical drives do the same - find one at a reasonable price that people like.

[Cheeto]

Dell widescreens are pretty damn good, actually. It's pretty hard to go wrong if you're aiming at a middle of the road screen. Same with a CD/DVD burner.

[Burris]

Samsung widescreens +++++++

[AFG]

This bundle ends March 7

http://www.compusa.com/applications/sea ... E=COMEM016 (http://www.compusa.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=3557020&sku=MCM-680ILT-Q6600A&SRCCODE=COMEM016)

[TylerDurden]

Whats the difference between these boards ? Other then the price of course.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... =SPC-YAHOO (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2945261&Sku=E145-2014&SRCCODE=YAHOODF&CMP=SPC-YAHOO)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813188012 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188012)


http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=85279&prodlist=yahoo
2GB Kit DDR2 PC2-8500 SLI™-Ready Edition Dual Channel Memory

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... ron+Source (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817104015&ATT=17-104-015&CMP=OTC-yah00TT&nm_mc=OTC-yah00TT&cm_mmc=OTC-yah00TT-_-Power+Supplies-_-FSP+Group+(Fortron+Source)
FSP Group FX700-GLN ATX12V V2.2/EPS12V 700W Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811133021 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133021)
hermaltake Armor Series

As far as video card goes. Im kinda scared to jump into the new 9 series.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136012 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136012)
estern Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 1.5Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM


This stuff right here, i feel that i will buy FOR sure. As far as CPU, and video card. I really don't know. i almost feel like i want to buy that stuff last, just so i can see if prices go down, or something else comes out.

im buying the motherboard tomorrow, then each week after i will buy something else. Until. It is done. and done.

[SMELLY OLD MAN]

>:(

Hey! Where are you gone? You need to log onto skype.

[Ginger Lord]

Don't bother with a Raptor HDD, the noise they produce isnt worth the money, they die faster and the speed difference isn't noticable unless you are heavily using the PC for stuff like rendering/video editing.

[Mr. Burns]

Those are the same mobo, just from different places. I would get the cheaper one from newegg.

Don't be scared about the new 9600 cards - they're legit and are great cards. Low power and pretty high performance. Check out this review: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2008/0 ... nce_1q08/1 (http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2008/02/28/mainstream_graphics_performance_1q08/1)

CPU prices are usually really stable. If I were you and had the money to spend I would get the whole kit at once.

[Cheeto]

It's really a great time to buy a computer right now. Ooodles of power for little cash. I'm planning to build a quad core rig and install OSX86 onto it.

[TylerDurden]

yes, i agree.

Can i place TWO of these 9 series cards, on my motherboard ? may i ? PLEASE >:(

[Mr. Burns]

yes, i agree.

Can i place TWO of these 9 series cards, on my motherboard ? may i ? PLEASE >:(
If that motherboard does SLI (which I think it does) then absolutely if you can afford it :).

[TylerDurden]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835154001 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154001)

Is this a good price for such a thing ?

I was also thinking of getting a new sound system, so i went for this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6836116153 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836116153)

although i want something with no wires, this however is a very low price for such a thing.

Anyone know anything about these speakers ?

whats YOUR favorite 7.1 surround sound speaker system ?

[Mr. Burns]

The Tuniq tower is a well-respected CPU cooler. Make sure it comes with a fan - if it doesn't you'll need to buy your own.

As for speakers, I don't know which ones are good - my computer is not in a good place for a surround sound system. I would look for reviews - google computer speaker reviews and see what gets good reviews.

[TylerDurden]

Done and done. I just ordered the motherboard, should be here in 3 days or so.

I have 5 days to wait before i can order anything else. The next thing to order shall be my case :manji:

i pretty much want to order the CPU last, just in case it drops in price a little. Same with ram and videocard.

Is that $100.00 windows Vista on newegg.com a good buy ?

[Cheeto]

Which version of Vista?

[TylerDurden]

shit ! i have a major question !

The ram i want, does it go with my mobo ?

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDe ... list=yahoo (http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=85279&prodlist=yahoo)

i can't see anywhere the specs, saying if its 1200 sli, er what.

I want the BEST ram possible, but it HAS to be SLI ready.

my mobo supports DDR 533/667/800/1200(SLI-Ready) MHz Memory.

What the hell is this RAM ? Is good good ram for its price ? is 2GB enough ?

[TylerDurden]

Which version of Vista?


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6832116202 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116202)

should i get 64 bit ?

[Cheeto]

SLI ready system ram? WTF is that bullshit?

[TylerDurden]

SLI ready system ram? WTF is that bullshit?


i have NO idea, but i set out to make a Nvidia SLI computer. Im sure its a bunch of stuff. Although i find myself buying this stuff.. Ahem.

[Mr. Burns]

SLI on the RAM is just marketing. You'll be fine with that RAM, but you don't need RAM that is SLI-certified. I don't even think that makes sense.

[Cheeto]

The RAM subsystem is totally separate from the video subsystem for all practical purposes. Sure your video card has the ability to use the system ram if the OS lets it, but with twin 512mb video cards, you'll have a full gig of video ram, so it won't really need to go anywhere else.

[TylerDurden]

SLI-certified RAM comes with an extended EPP (Extended/Enhanced Performance Profile), meaning that there's an embedded data table with timingsets already worked out for various operating speeds. Timingsets deigned by the manufacturer as the "optimum" settings for that speed, but in reality you can still get netter performance hand-tweaking.

SLI-certified/EPP-capable is not a necessity, but it is a definite nicety - sets solid ball-park figures from which you can follow up.

[TylerDurden]

Ok, i think im gonna go with this :

Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 80GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

EVGA T1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor

Thermalright Ultra-120 CPU Cooling Heatsink - Retail
SILVERSTONE FM121 120mm Case Fan to go in Thermalright ultra.

EVGA GeForce 9600GT 512MB 256-bit PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad (Crossfire Edition) 750W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CE, CB, RoHS - Retail

Thermaltake Armor Series Black Full Tower Case w/ 25CM Fan - Retail
The only thing i can't figure out is what ram to get ! should i get 2 gigs, 4 gigs ? Is some ram better then others ? blah blah. I wanna get SLI ram, just because.

Also, i want to OC, and i want to get another video card to go in there as well. I think i want to OC to 3.0. Not that much.


as for the video card, thats THE most expensive 9600GT ($215.00)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130330 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814130330)

because it has Core clock of 740MHz its more money ?

[Shade-of-Grey]

umm, how big is your monitor...i used to play all source games at full detail at 1280x1024 with a 9800pro 256mb card

i dont think right now is a good time to build a new computer unless you want to play the newest games (crysis, assassin's creed, etc)

[TylerDurden]

well if i ever want to play anything besides dod 1.3, then i have to update my computer. I can't even run HL2. Crysis can suck me anytime it pleases.

with prices on the q6600 CPU, RAM, and video cards, i think right now is the best time.

by the time i need to choose a video card, the new nvidia gx3 (or whatever its called) will have came out. i'm gonna over clock my system, i also decided to do water cooling, so i'll be able to more then likely actually play crysis. Although it can still suck me off.

My system will be SLI ready, and have two video cards, 4 gigs or ram, and hopefully somewhere around 4.0MHz. All for around $1000. I make over 1000 a month anyhoo, so i don't mind spending the money. I haven't build a system since the XP1900+ was brand new. That was 2001 or something. I'm about due.

[TylerDurden]

I got my mother board today ! (680i SLI)

my case and CPU should be coming in a few more days.

All i need now is a power supply, 4 gigs o RAM, a couple of video cards, Windows Vista, DVD/CD ROM, and some sort of cooling method, either fans, or water cooled. I'm thinking of doing the water cooled system, because i wanna over clock my CPU, and fans get dusty :manji:

I'm very very happy i didn't go out and buy a new video card for my crappy computer, and instead you guys showed me the light and now i have a system that can play something other then DoD 1.3 !!! omgomgogmogogomogmogmomogmogmoogmogmgomogmogm

[deceiver]

You went with the Bill me later option finally?

[TylerDurden]

nope ! every week i can spend around $400.00. I wanted my system NOW ( a few days ago )

i'm glad i didn't do bill me later, because if i got my system all at once, i wouldn't have been happy. I wouldn't have picked the right RAM, PSU, or Video Cards.

i figure in about two weeks i should be all set up, minus a new flat screen 22" monitor, and 7.1 surround system.