My soon to be gaming rig, all suggestions are appreciated!

I

itzhobbes

Weaksauce
Joined
Dec 14, 2006
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Hello everyone! This forum is a great place to learn about computers and get advice on parts for building a computer. I’m looking to build a gaming rig with future possibilities of upgrades. This is my current build and would appreciate any comments, suggestions or advice. All prices are from Newegg.Com, thank you in advance.

Mobo: EVGA 122-CD-NF68-A1 Nvidia nforce 680i SLI - $209.99
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66 - $234.99
Vcard: EVGA 640-P2-N821-AR Geforce 8800GTS 640MB - $379.99
RAM: Patriot eXtreme Performance 4GB(2x2GB) - $234.99
PSU: Corsair CMP50-620HX - $169.99
Case: Antec 900 Black Steel ATX Mid - $139.99
HD: Western Digital Cavier SE16 WD2500KSRTL 250GB 7200RPM - $89.99
DVD: Lite-On Black 20x DVD+R 8x DVD+RW 2MB Cache SATA - $34.99
Total Price: $1,494.92

Please Note:

1. I’m gonna eventually going to go down the route of SLI. I’m getting 1x8800GTS card for now and hope that when the 9000 series of Nvidia cards come out that the prices will drop some more on these cards and then try out SLI.
2. Somewhere in the distant future I’ll make the switch to Quad Core but I thought for now Core 2 Duo was good enough.
3. PSU question - will I need something with 700+(watts?) to run 2x8800GTS cards? I only ask because if that is the case, I’d rather just buy a more powerful PSU right off the bat
4. I’ve heard that you need to run a 64bit OS to fully utilize 4GB’s of RAM. My question is whether 32bit applications can run on a 64bit OS. Is is backwards compatible or will I need to start only using 64bit software?

Once again, thanks for all your comments, suggestions and help!
 
1) A single GTX is nearly the same as 2 GTS cards in SLI. Keep in mind, even with two GTS cards, you'll still only have 640MB of video ram.

SLI is only needed for high resolution 3D rendering. So, if you plan on getting a 1920x1080 LCD or higher, and want to game on it, then keep SLI as an option. Otherwise, theres no need for it. A single GTX is still fine for a 1920x1080 (or 1920x1200) LCD screen, and more cost effective than an 8800GTS SLI setup. SLI as an upgrade path isn't worth it unless, again, a large LCD is in the future plans. There should always be a better single card solution, and you could sell your old card to help offset the cost.

2) I agree. That board is actually compatible with Yorkfield CPUs, which are due out by Q1'08. The other good news is, they're supposedly going to be very cheap at launch, to help the push to multi-core. Check mwave or microcenter for the CPU... should be under $200.

3) No, 620W is fine for 2 GTS in SLI. However, as I stated earlier, 2 GTS cards in SLI isn't worth it.

4) yes, they will run. the more pressing issue would be drivers.

more...

The 620W is cheaper from zzf and buy.com, so check them out.

What size monitor do you have?

Switch the WD2500KS drive out for either a Seagate 7200.10 Barracuda 320GB or 250GB. The KS drives are slow. Trust me, I have 3 of them, along with 5 'cuda.10's. The cudas are much faster.
 
looks like a good build.

i'm looking into the 620W unit myself after recently aquiring a 640 GTS.

you guys think 1 GTS is sufficient for 1680x1050 gaming?
 
64-bit Windows will have absolutely no trouble running 32-bit apps. The only thing to be aware of is that a few renegade 32-bit apps ship with installation programs that contain 16-bit code. While a 32-bit version of Windows can run 16-bit code, 64-bit Windows can not. In these cases, while you're 32-bit app will run, it can't be installed. If you run into a program with this issue, check with the developer for a patch or workaround.

Also, I agree with everything Enginurd has said about SLI. GTS SLI is a waste of money, and SLI as an upgrade path is usually a bad idea. SLI is only worth it if you want a graphics solution more powerful than the currently fastest single card can provide today--this means dropping a grand on two GTX or Ultra cards. Furthermore, GTX SLI is only worth it if you're gaming at a resolution of 1920x1200, although the resolution cap may drop with the first batch of DX-10 games.

The Corsair 620 watt unit is a very efficient unit which won't have trouble running two cards in SLI.

Good luck on the build,

Mark.
 
Thanks for the quick reply. I currently have a Samsung 204bw. I'm content with it for now but maybe bump up to like a 27in or higher LCD. So from what I gather should i splurge and get a 8800GTX and forget SLI? If thats the case, I'm assuming I don't need a SLI motherboard? Thanks for the help.
 
I would splurge and not go for SLI. In fact, you can offset some of the added GTX cost by dropping down to a midrange P35-based Gigabyte DS3R, which is, btw, one of the most recommended boards in these forums. It should serve all your needs well, and should be a good $50-$70 cheaper than the A1.

Mark.
 
So I were to forget an SLI setup, can anyone recommend a premium non-SLI board? Thanks!;)
 
itzhobbes said:
So I were to forget an SLI setup, can anyone recommend a premium non-SLI board? Thanks!;)
Click to expand...
Markyip1 said:
I would splurge and not go for SLI. In fact, you can offset some of the added GTX cost by dropping down to a midrange P35-based Gigabyte DS3R, which is, btw, one of the most recommended boards in these forums. It should serve all your needs well, and should be a good $50-$70 cheaper than the A1.

Mark.
Click to expand...

:) .
 
The Abit IP35 Pro is another great alternative. I've had mine for a few days now and it's awesome.
 
I second the Abit IP35 Pro, or there is a less expensive non 'Pro' version of the board if you want to save some $$.

If you decide you want to splurge on the vid card, I'm gonna suggest an Ultra. Stock EVGA 8800Ultra is right at $550 at www.ncixus.com . That's less than most of the highly overclocked GTX's and is faster as is but can also be OC'd to much higher levels than a GTX could dream of.
 
if you dont go SLI then yeah a p35 chipset is a good investment. The IP35 and P5k are the 2 that I have enjoyed playing with. Also get some cheaper ram and get 4gb of it and the 64bit version of vista.
 
Maybe this is noob of me but I'm not really that familiar with overclocking. I guess with the current stuff I'm getting maybe I'd try it but what I'm really after is a system that run smoothly and is fast after I put it together. I'm under the assumption that the RAM I'm getting isn't probably "overclocking" material. I do have plans to get a LCD that is probably 27in or 30in depending on when I get it and where the prices are at. I'm considering sticking with the SLI board but so far from the suggestions you guys have given me, the IP35 doesn't sound like a bad idea. The reason I'm considering the SLI board is for when I eventually get a 27/30in monitor, I wanna play everything at Max resolution with full eye candy on.
 
You will need SLI GTX for running a 30" Monitor at it's native res with full eye candy.

Have you considered buying a cheap card to hold you over until NVIDIA's G92 series which will be released in a few months?
 
Last I checked, every monitor between 24" and 27" were all 1920x1200. When you jump to the 30", thats 2550x1600... double the number of pixels to push. The more pixels to push, the more GPU power you'll need.

How soon do you plan on getting that larger monitor? If its within a year or so, I'd stick with the eVGA 680i SLI A1 board. Otherwise, I'd go for the GA-P35-DS3R from Gigabyte. I like the fact that it has 8 SATA ports. If you need firewire and don't mind having only 6 SATA ports, the IP35 from Gigabyte is a good choice.
 
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