GPU/Motherboard Question

br00ksintexas · Jan 7, 2006, 08:21 PM

OK. I don't know if this is the right forum to post this question in, but I'll "assume" since you're all into overclocking your rigs, that someone in here HAS to know the answer to this question.

I'm putting together a gaming rig. It was going to be a Budget Gaming rig, but somewhere I got tired of the idea of vanilla video cards. (I was going to go with an ATI x800gto)
Well..here's the new layout, but I'm not positive about if it'll all fit together or not.
Motherboard-[color=#0000ff]DFI LP UT nF4 SLI-D Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail[/color]
GPU-[color=#800080]BFG Tech BFGR78512GTXOC Geforce 7800GTX 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail[/color]
Ram-[color=#0000ff]G.SKILL Extreme Series 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 500 (PC 4000) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model F1-4000USU2-2GBHZ - Retail[/color]
Processor-[color=#0000ff]AMD Athlon 64 3800+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3800BPBOX - Retail[/color]

I'm still undecided on the case and psu, but I'm thinking Thermaltake on both of these pieces.

Here's the questions.
1. Would anyone know if this setup on this particular board will be stable in STOCK settings. If not, where would I go to find out?
2. Will this GPU clear the cooling fan on the mobo. I've heard of issues with some GPU's hitting the cooling fans on the onboard chipsets, so I don't know. Especially since this is such a massive GPU. Also, would 2 in SLI mode clear the same fan, or even fit on the mobo in the pci-e slots?
Finally, 3. Should this particular ram be stable in this mobo. I've read, again, many places, where people seem to have problems with this mobo and dual sticks of ram. I'd really like to stick with it though (the mobo), if possible, because it seems to have the most overclocking potential in the future.

Thanks in advance for your consideration and answers ahead of time. I look forward to hearing all of your thoughts and comments.
Kev

Derag · Jan 28, 2006, 05:22 AM

Firstly, a couple of suggestions:
A 3800+ 64X2 is currently $313 on Newegg. Honestly, for $31 dollars more than the 3800+ 64, I think that is greatly worth it if you can spring it.

Check out the Thermaltake Circle case. Actually, it's "Thermalrock" but it's still Thermaltake...Newegg lists it under Thermaltake and Thermaltake has it on their website. It is about $140, with great airflow, has some slots for holding CDs on the front panel, and is absolutely massive. It is almost 11" wide, and is just under two feet long and two feet tall. Thermaltake's Tai-chi and Kandalf cases are only like 8.3" wide and not so long or tall, and much more expensive. Of course, if the biggest derned commercial case in the world is not to your taste, the Xaser V is a good pick (the aluminum one is best but there is a ceramic one for like $75...the plastic front panel is a little cheap though). The Xaser V is also very long. Length in a case facilitates airflow and ease of building more than the other two dimensions.

Thermaltake makes a good PSU, and they do have modular PSUs but they are expensive. Aspire makes a 500W psu with >70% sustained power, and dual 12V rail, with 16A on 12v1 and 18A on 12v2. The molex connectors are rather cheap, though. It costs 39.99 (I got a $10 rebate on it but that has expired now), and runs quite well.

I can't speak from personal experience with DFI. Naturally I have heard many good things about them, but I am a strong Asus/Abit fan for mobos. Alternatives to that DFI mobo:
Abit AT8 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813127230
Abit Fatal1ty AN8-SLI
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813127206
Asus A8R-MVP
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131584
(I dunno what the deal is with the reviews here. I own this board and have had no problems with the voltage going over 1.45, my raid0 array, or my dual X1800XTs).
Asus A8N32-SLI
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131568
Asus A8N-SLI Premium/Deluxe/Vanilla
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131540

Of course, these boards all have SLI support if you plan on going with SLI later.

But frankly, I would go with one of the boards with ATI Crossfire if you are going to buy a board with dual video card support. Why? Your 7800GTX costs $749. The ATI X1900XTX runs something more like $600, and the X1900XTX has been shown to run faster than DUAL 7800GTX 256MB cards (obviously running two of your BFG 7800GTX 512MBs is going to be closer because of the factory overclock and that you would have 1GB of video memory, but the fact that one X1900XTX is so up there in performance speaks volumes). I wish I had waited and not bought these dern X1800XT 512MBs...they're great, but I would not have minded spending $200 more for a dual X1900XTX system that would be even faster. I hadn't even caught wind of the X1900XTX when I purchased this rig...dern ATI!

Jan 7, 2006, 08:21 PM	#1
br00ksintexas DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: May 2005 Location: Watauga, Texas (Just N. of Ft. Worth and S. of Keller) Posts: 119 Rep Power: 0	GPU/Motherboard Question OK. I don't know if this is the right forum to post this question in, but I'll "assume" since you're all into overclocking your rigs, that someone in here HAS to know the answer to this question. I'm putting together a gaming rig. It was going to be a Budget Gaming rig, but somewhere I got tired of the idea of vanilla video cards. (I was going to go with an ATI x800gto) Well..here's the new layout, but I'm not positive about if it'll all fit together or not. Motherboard-[color=#0000ff]DFI LP UT nF4 SLI-D Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail[/color] GPU-[color=#800080]BFG Tech BFGR78512GTXOC Geforce 7800GTX 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail[/color] Ram-[color=#0000ff]G.SKILL Extreme Series 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 500 (PC 4000) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model F1-4000USU2-2GBHZ - Retail[/color] Processor-[color=#0000ff]AMD Athlon 64 3800+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3800BPBOX - Retail[/color] I'm still undecided on the case and psu, but I'm thinking Thermaltake on both of these pieces. Here's the questions. 1. Would anyone know if this setup on this particular board will be stable in STOCK settings. If not, where would I go to find out? 2. Will this GPU clear the cooling fan on the mobo. I've heard of issues with some GPU's hitting the cooling fans on the onboard chipsets, so I don't know. Especially since this is such a massive GPU. Also, would 2 in SLI mode clear the same fan, or even fit on the mobo in the pci-e slots? Finally, 3. Should this particular ram be stable in this mobo. I've read, again, many places, where people seem to have problems with this mobo and dual sticks of ram. I'd really like to stick with it though (the mobo), if possible, because it seems to have the most overclocking potential in the future. Thanks in advance for your consideration and answers ahead of time. I look forward to hearing all of your thoughts and comments. Kev

Jan 28, 2006, 05:22 AM	#2
Derag DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 25 Rep Power: 0	Firstly, a couple of suggestions: A 3800+ 64X2 is currently $313 on Newegg. Honestly, for $31 dollars more than the 3800+ 64, I think that is greatly worth it if you can spring it. Check out the Thermaltake Circle case. Actually, it's "Thermalrock" but it's still Thermaltake...Newegg lists it under Thermaltake and Thermaltake has it on their website. It is about $140, with great airflow, has some slots for holding CDs on the front panel, and is absolutely massive. It is almost 11" wide, and is just under two feet long and two feet tall. Thermaltake's Tai-chi and Kandalf cases are only like 8.3" wide and not so long or tall, and much more expensive. Of course, if the biggest derned commercial case in the world is not to your taste, the Xaser V is a good pick (the aluminum one is best but there is a ceramic one for like $75...the plastic front panel is a little cheap though). The Xaser V is also very long. Length in a case facilitates airflow and ease of building more than the other two dimensions. Thermaltake makes a good PSU, and they do have modular PSUs but they are expensive. Aspire makes a 500W psu with >70% sustained power, and dual 12V rail, with 16A on 12v1 and 18A on 12v2. The molex connectors are rather cheap, though. It costs 39.99 (I got a $10 rebate on it but that has expired now), and runs quite well. I can't speak from personal experience with DFI. Naturally I have heard many good things about them, but I am a strong Asus/Abit fan for mobos. Alternatives to that DFI mobo: Abit AT8 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813127230 Abit Fatal1ty AN8-SLI http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813127206 Asus A8R-MVP http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131584 (I dunno what the deal is with the reviews here. I own this board and have had no problems with the voltage going over 1.45, my raid0 array, or my dual X1800XTs). Asus A8N32-SLI http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131568 Asus A8N-SLI Premium/Deluxe/Vanilla http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131540 Of course, these boards all have SLI support if you plan on going with SLI later. But frankly, I would go with one of the boards with ATI Crossfire if you are going to buy a board with dual video card support. Why? Your 7800GTX costs $749. The ATI X1900XTX runs something more like $600, and the X1900XTX has been shown to run faster than DUAL 7800GTX 256MB cards (obviously running two of your BFG 7800GTX 512MBs is going to be closer because of the factory overclock and that you would have 1GB of video memory, but the fact that one X1900XTX is so up there in performance speaks volumes). I wish I had waited and not bought these dern X1800XT 512MBs...they're great, but I would not have minded spending $200 more for a dual X1900XTX system that would be even faster. I hadn't even caught wind of the X1900XTX when I purchased this rig...dern ATI!