Advice needed please!

pigdog · Dec 4, 2006, 07:30 AM

Hi guys

Well, due to a cash windfall, I'm about to embark on my next major upgrade.

I've decided to build my system around a spanking new 8800GTX

(which I am yet to purchase, so if you think I'm being rash please tell me), but would really appreciate any advice on what CPU and motherboard I should buy to get the best overall performance.

I'm aware of the CPU bottleneck issue, but after dong a fair amount of research, I'm no clearer on what I should get.

MB-wise, I'm a big fan of ASUS, but am open to all suggestions.
Particularly with regard to the SLI situation. Because if I win the lottery, I'll probably go out and but a second card

.

Thanks in advance
The Dog

~~hackerx~~ · Dec 4, 2006, 09:56 AM

Get a core 2 duo E6600 and get the ASUS stryker extreme nforce 680i motherboard.(since ur an ASUS fan)
And right now getting the 8800 gtx is good.Sure i would suggest for u to wait till the R600 from ATI comes out.But its better to get whats available now.Seriously one 8800 gtx is plenty for direct x 9 games.Two of those only make sense if u play at 1920x1200.

JohnDoe47 · Dec 4, 2006, 12:23 PM

Get the "ABIT AW9D-MAX Intel 975X" mobo, i've been using ABIT mobo's for ages and i've never had any problems with them. Its also duo core and quad core ready

and fully support Nvidia gpu's. Quite future proof for the moment mate.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=MB-108-AB

H3X4D3C1M4L · Dec 4, 2006, 08:23 PM

Definately go for the 8800GTX. Treat yourself. Its one HELL of a beastly card performance wise but isn't actually that bad on the power/heat side of things

pigdog · Dec 4, 2006, 11:10 PM

OK you've convinced me

. I'm going to get the 8800gtx, and also the conroe 6600.

I'm happy to go DDR2 and grab some new ram, but I'd like to hear some more advice regarding what mobo to look at.

Also, thanks heaps for the advice
The Dog

pigdog · Dec 4, 2006, 11:59 PM

[COLOR=yellow]First up: Thanks for the help! Please feel free to comment if you think I could've got a better combo.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#ffff00]And here's what I've just purchased:[/COLOR]

[COLOR=white]Gigabyte GA-965P-DS4 LGA775 P965 P4/C2D board, 1066FSB, DDR2, 2x PCI-x16, 3x PCI-x1, 2x PCI, 8x SATA-II, GigaLAN, Firewire, Audio[/COLOR]
[COLOR=white]MB-GA-965P-DS4[/COLOR] [COLOR=red]$346.50[/COLOR]

[COLOR=white]OCZ 2048Mb Platinum Enhanced Latency XTC PC-6400 R2, 2x 1024mb 240-pin DDR2 sticks, 4-4-4-15, not compatible with DDR boards[/COLOR]
[COLOR=white]AIT-MMOC2802048DPXR[/COLOR] [COLOR=red]$442.20[/COLOR]

[COLOR=white]Intel Core2 Duo E6600 2.40Ghz (Conroe) Processor, Dual core LGA775 4mb cache, w/Intel Cooler[/COLOR]
[COLOR=white]CP-BX80557E6600[/COLOR] [COLOR=red]$500.50[/COLOR]

[COLOR=white]Gainward nVidia 8800GTX 768mb PCI-E x16 video card, 2x DVI, video out[/COLOR]
[COLOR=white]AIT-VGGAPX88GTX[/COLOR] [COLOR=red]$999.90[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#ff0000]Total Cost in Australian Dollars: $2278.00[/COLOR][COLOR=lime] (Aus dollars are currently at $1aud = US78cents)[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#00ff00]PS; Time to change my sig

[/COLOR]

Lelisevis · Dec 5, 2006, 12:04 AM

If you send me your old stuff I'll have a word over here about letting Australia win the test

.

I must deserve it, hell the last thing you sent us was Rolf Harris

pigdog · Dec 5, 2006, 07:21 AM

Well I bought the goodies, but nothing ever goes to plan, does it!

I decided to grab a new case as the 8800gtx is the longest card I've ever seen. Anyway, I got a Silverstone TJ06, and it's a full tower job - plenty of room, good cooling and has this nifty wind-tunnel tube thingy for the cpu. All good so far.

But the PSU is a long way from the mobo, and wouldn't you know it, the cable for the Mboard power doesn't reach. By a whole 1cm!

Also, the 8800 takes two 6pin power connectors and my poor old 600w Enermax only has 1.

Another point of concern is that the case clearly wasn't designed with double width cards in mind. I'll have to do some filing to actually get the 8800 in. Oh well. It'll be worth it in the end.

The shops have now shut here, and I'm working all day tomorrow, so it'll be at least thursday before I can buy a new PSU and finish the build and start installing Xp etc.

pigdog · Dec 5, 2006, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lelisevis

If you send me your old stuff I'll have a word over here about letting Australia win the test

.

I must deserve it, hell the last thing you sent us was Rolf Harris

I actually thought about it for a nano-second; after all, sending you Rolf Harris was morally wrong. But then I realised that since we are going to humilliate you guys even further by whipping you in the cricket, maybe you should consider it character-building

.

And we have sort of made up for it by sending over Kylie Minogue's bum!

H3X4D3C1M4L · Dec 5, 2006, 05:39 PM

@PigDog for the PSU you might consider the OCZ power stream, they have really long power cables on them and they're all around good PSU's

Same with the Enermax Liberty's if you'd prefer to stay Enermax but I don't know if the Liberty's cables would reach

BTW lol @ your sig

Dec 4, 2006, 07:30 AM	#1
pigdog HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 471 Rep Power: 57 System Specs	Advice needed please! Hi guys Well, due to a cash windfall, I'm about to embark on my next major upgrade. I've decided to build my system around a spanking new 8800GTX (which I am yet to purchase, so if you think I'm being rash please tell me), but would really appreciate any advice on what CPU and motherboard I should buy to get the best overall performance. I'm aware of the CPU bottleneck issue, but after dong a fair amount of research, I'm no clearer on what I should get. MB-wise, I'm a big fan of ASUS, but am open to all suggestions. Particularly with regard to the SLI situation. Because if I win the lottery, I'll probably go out and but a second card . Thanks in advance The Dog __________________

Dec 4, 2006, 11:10 PM	Thread Starter #5
pigdog HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 471 Rep Power: 57 System Specs	So which MoBo! OK you've convinced me . I'm going to get the 8800gtx, and also the conroe 6600. I'm happy to go DDR2 and grab some new ram, but I'd like to hear some more advice regarding what mobo to look at. Also, thanks heaps for the advice The Dog __________________

Dec 4, 2006, 11:59 PM	Thread Starter #6
pigdog HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 471 Rep Power: 57 System Specs	My God! What have I done! [COLOR=yellow]First up: Thanks for the help! Please feel free to comment if you think I could've got a better combo.[/COLOR] [COLOR=#ffff00]And here's what I've just purchased:[/COLOR] [COLOR=white]Gigabyte GA-965P-DS4 LGA775 P965 P4/C2D board, 1066FSB, DDR2, 2x PCI-x16, 3x PCI-x1, 2x PCI, 8x SATA-II, GigaLAN, Firewire, Audio[/COLOR] [COLOR=white]MB-GA-965P-DS4[/COLOR] [COLOR=red]$346.50[/COLOR] [COLOR=white]OCZ 2048Mb Platinum Enhanced Latency XTC PC-6400 R2, 2x 1024mb 240-pin DDR2 sticks, 4-4-4-15, not compatible with DDR boards[/COLOR] [COLOR=white]AIT-MMOC2802048DPXR[/COLOR] [COLOR=red]$442.20[/COLOR] [COLOR=white]Intel Core2 Duo E6600 2.40Ghz (Conroe) Processor, Dual core LGA775 4mb cache, w/Intel Cooler[/COLOR] [COLOR=white]CP-BX80557E6600[/COLOR] [COLOR=red]$500.50[/COLOR] [COLOR=white]Gainward nVidia 8800GTX 768mb PCI-E x16 video card, 2x DVI, video out[/COLOR] [COLOR=white]AIT-VGGAPX88GTX[/COLOR] [COLOR=red]$999.90[/COLOR] [COLOR=#ff0000]Total Cost in Australian Dollars: $2278.00[/COLOR][COLOR=lime] (Aus dollars are currently at $1aud = US78cents)[/COLOR] [COLOR=#00ff00]PS; Time to change my sig [/COLOR] __________________

Dec 5, 2006, 12:04 AM	#7
Lelisevis Howlin at the moon Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,663 Rep Power: 0	If you send me your old stuff I'll have a word over here about letting Australia win the test. I must deserve it, hell the last thing you sent us was Rolf Harris

Dec 5, 2006, 07:21 AM	Thread Starter #8
pigdog HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 471 Rep Power: 57 System Specs	Well I bought the goodies, but nothing ever goes to plan, does it! I decided to grab a new case as the 8800gtx is the longest card I've ever seen. Anyway, I got a Silverstone TJ06, and it's a full tower job - plenty of room, good cooling and has this nifty wind-tunnel tube thingy for the cpu. All good so far. But the PSU is a long way from the mobo, and wouldn't you know it, the cable for the Mboard power doesn't reach. By a whole 1cm! Also, the 8800 takes two 6pin power connectors and my poor old 600w Enermax only has 1. Another point of concern is that the case clearly wasn't designed with double width cards in mind. I'll have to do some filing to actually get the 8800 in. Oh well. It'll be worth it in the end. The shops have now shut here, and I'm working all day tomorrow, so it'll be at least thursday before I can buy a new PSU and finish the build and start installing Xp etc. __________________

Dec 4, 2006, 09:56 AM	#2
~~hackerx~~ Banned Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 494 Rep Power: 0	Get a core 2 duo E6600 and get the ASUS stryker extreme nforce 680i motherboard.(since ur an ASUS fan) And right now getting the 8800 gtx is good.Sure i would suggest for u to wait till the R600 from ATI comes out.But its better to get whats available now.Seriously one 8800 gtx is plenty for direct x 9 games.Two of those only make sense if u play at 1920x1200.

Dec 4, 2006, 12:23 PM	#3
JohnDoe47 HardwareHeaven Addict Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 319 Rep Power: 0	Get the "ABIT AW9D-MAX Intel 975X" mobo, i've been using ABIT mobo's for ages and i've never had any problems with them. Its also duo core and quad core ready and fully support Nvidia gpu's. Quite future proof for the moment mate. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=MB-108-AB

Dec 4, 2006, 08:23 PM	#4
H3X4D3C1M4L DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 6,794 Rep Power: 0	Definately go for the 8800GTX. Treat yourself. Its one HELL of a beastly card performance wise but isn't actually that bad on the power/heat side of things

Dec 5, 2006, 05:39 PM	#10
H3X4D3C1M4L DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 6,794 Rep Power: 0	@PigDog for the PSU you might consider the OCZ power stream, they have really long power cables on them and they're all around good PSU's Same with the Enermax Liberty's if you'd prefer to stay Enermax but I don't know if the Liberty's cables would reach BTW lol @ your sig