cozumel

I wouldn';t be doing this straight away. Just wondering for future upgrade path which would be better for performance and value for money. For mostly gaming and some video stuff.
Something like

Gigabyte X48 DS4 and 2x4870 crossfire

or

Keep my current Gigabyte P35 DS4 and upgrade to a single 4870 or 280

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caqde

A single 4870 should suffice most peoples needs, but it really depends on what you are using for a monitor. If you have a 24"+ monitor then the 4870x2 would definitely help out alot. Otherwise there really isn't a point in getting such a powerful card (or pair of) as you aren't likely to need that extra horsepower to drive your graphics.

Not to mention you could likely save that extra money up for a later upgrades(HD5870/6870, ??? GTX380/480? from Nvidia) or more games.

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AMD Phenom II X4 925 AM3/ Giga-byte MA790XT-UD4P
XFX HD5770 1GB / 2x8GB of Geil DDR3 12800 10-10-10-28
Samsung SH-S182D DVD-RW drive / Sony Optiarc BD-5300S BD-RW drive
Western Digital WD1501FASS(Primary)/Western Digital 15EADS(Secondary)/Western Digital 7500AACS(Secondary)/Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320gb(Secondary)
Antec TP-550 / CoolerMaster CMStacker
Sound Blaster X-FI Titanium Fatal1ty Professional / Creative Inspire 6600 6.1 speakers
Samsugn T200HD 20" LCD Monitor / Logitech Internet 350 Black Keyboard
Logitech MX510 Mouse

cozumel

I forgot about the monitor. It is 24" but it is not a good one (Samsung 245b). The Samsung is good value monitor but it can't keep up with quick movement. So really I should upgrade the monitor first.

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Judas

the 245b is a damn nice monitor.

but i think i'd recommend that one that zardon swears by for a 24" benq G2400 widescreen 1920x1200 ..... i've been using it for a considerable number of weeks and amount of time.... it's damn good..

but i long for the dell 30"

If your looking to upgrade, i'd actually recommend just sitting tight considering what you've got atm.

i mean a q6600 and a relatively new gigabyte p35 board and not to mention a geforce 8800

Actually if i were to recommend anything..

it'd be to see if you can sell off those 4x1gb sticks of ram and buy yourself either a 2x2gb kit or a 2x4gb kit (i think some of the P35 boards have been able to recognize 4gb sticks)

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cozumel

yup, the 2x2GB upgrade I'm already doing (DDR2 is so damned cheap I think of it more as freebie upgrade lol ). I'm pissed that I got the ballistix actually. I should have listened to Panging when he told me.

Edit: I wish for the Dell but is well out of my price range. And don't get me wrong about the Samsung. It is a great monitor for the price - well built & solid performer. It's just too darned slow on occasion. Although as I am used to slowness I don't really notice it any more.

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Judas

then check out the benq...

it's lightning fast in responce time and the color reproduction is actually better then the samsung you have.... (IMO)

not to mention HDMI input as well as a quicker input selector.

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PangingJr

i think here's a damn good DDR2 4GB kit at this time around, the G.Skill F2-9600CL5D-4GBPI, it's just not available everywhere as far as i know.

- G.SKILL F2-9600CL5D-4GBPI Sample testing - XtremeSystems Forums

the other G.Skill kit, F2-8800... is only good for low volts use, but some of the kit may not be overclocked above the factory rated spec,
my friend use one and he's going for the newer kit, which is the F2-9600CL5D-4GBPI at any day now after it's available to buy from a store.

cozumel

Yeah I've been looking at the PI stuff. I do really like GSkill (always have) and should have got a 2x2 kit first time round. Only good thing is that they now do faster kits than when I originally so it is not all bad...

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PangingJr

here's the G.Skill 4GBPI RAM kit running at DDR2-1200 with only 1.7V,
it's just not every boards, nor every RAM kits are able to do this.
but at least the RAM kit itself comes with a specification to run as PC2-9600 DDR2-1200 with a low supply volt.

- save power!G.SKILL 4GBPI 1.7V@DDR2 1200?! - OCXtreme.org Forums

PangingJr

another interesting 4GB DDR2 RAM kit.



this one has a specification for DDR2-1066 speeds and at 2.3V.
and it may not be an expensive RAM kit at all.

here's a test runs on Gigabyte X48 based board, with 2 set of the RAM kits, total 8GB DDR2, and at speed of DDR2-1200 with only 2.0V.

- 8GB Patriot DDR2-1200 C5 - OCXtreme.org Forums

cozumel

Thanks Panging. Looks a good combo and stable at real low voltage.

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PangingJr

You're welcome cozumel.