Motherboard and Video Card selection

Vikingod · Apr 4, 2005, 03:58 PM

Hi guys,
Well, it looks like within the next couple months I am going to be building a nice new system to support the RAM I just won here (yeah me). Anyway, I need a few things clarified. My idea is to build a socket 939 system, with a 64bit processor (probably something like a 3200+), and hopefully an ATI card (PCI-E). The budget is around $900 (US). My question is regarding SLI. Is SLI a waste of money? Will nVidia SLI mobos support ATI SLI cards? Is there any problems with running ATI cards on nVidia nForce4 mobos? Thats about it. I was looking at a new Radeon x850 for now, but am open to suggestions. I like ATI, but am not a fanboy, so anything will work. Thaks for any help.

Vikingod · Apr 4, 2005, 05:37 PM

bump

Zelig · Apr 4, 2005, 08:00 PM

I ordered a DFI Lanparty UT NF4 ULTRA-D mobo and parts which should be here in a few days. It looks awesome from the reviews, and I don't expect to be disappointed. SLI isn't really worth the price for most people, I won't be bothering with it, however, I do plan on modding my new mobo to support SLI, just for the heck of it.

ATI cards will run fine on nForce4 boards, not sure about them supporting ATI SLI though, seeing as how there's no real info about it yet.

Vikingod · Apr 4, 2005, 08:10 PM

I was looking at that mobo too, let me know what you think of it. thanks for the input.

Zelig · Apr 4, 2005, 08:27 PM

I almost mentioned I'd let you know what I thought, but I might not have it running for a couple of weeks still, since I was stubborn and ordered an out of stock eVGA card instead of an MSI one, and have no other pci-express cards.

I suppose I could stick my ati rage card in if I really wanted to.

New versions of the board won't be moddable to SLI btw, though AFAIK all currently stocked versions still are. The usefullness is debatable though, since you still don't get an SLI bridge.

Vikingod · Apr 4, 2005, 08:38 PM

I see. The main reason I want to know about SLI is mainly the purchase of the video card. If it is going to be worth it, I'll get a 6800gt or something and upgrade to another one later. If its not going to be worth it, I'd probably go with the x850 or something and just ride that out for a couple of years. I've had some bad luck with system before, buying stuff without proper research and getting screwed.
Anyway, the reviews of the LANParty board looked pretty kickass, so I might look in that direction, be sure to post your experience with it, I won't be getting a system for a little while.

Apr 4, 2005, 03:58 PM	#1
Vikingod Int'l Fish Liaison Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: By the light of lamp I sit and type... Posts: 16,197 Rep Power: 112 System Specs	Motherboard and Video Card selection Hi guys, Well, it looks like within the next couple months I am going to be building a nice new system to support the RAM I just won here (yeah me). Anyway, I need a few things clarified. My idea is to build a socket 939 system, with a 64bit processor (probably something like a 3200+), and hopefully an ATI card (PCI-E). The budget is around $900 (US). My question is regarding SLI. Is SLI a waste of money? Will nVidia SLI mobos support ATI SLI cards? Is there any problems with running ATI cards on nVidia nForce4 mobos? Thats about it. I was looking at a new Radeon x850 for now, but am open to suggestions. I like ATI, but am not a fanboy, so anything will work. Thaks for any help.

Apr 4, 2005, 08:00 PM	#3
Zelig HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 3,187 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	I ordered a DFI Lanparty UT NF4 ULTRA-D mobo and parts which should be here in a few days. It looks awesome from the reviews, and I don't expect to be disappointed. SLI isn't really worth the price for most people, I won't be bothering with it, however, I do plan on modding my new mobo to support SLI, just for the heck of it. ATI cards will run fine on nForce4 boards, not sure about them supporting ATI SLI though, seeing as how there's no real info about it yet. __________________ --

Apr 4, 2005, 08:27 PM	#5
Zelig HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 3,187 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	I almost mentioned I'd let you know what I thought, but I might not have it running for a couple of weeks still, since I was stubborn and ordered an out of stock eVGA card instead of an MSI one, and have no other pci-express cards. I suppose I could stick my ati rage card in if I really wanted to. New versions of the board won't be moddable to SLI btw, though AFAIK all currently stocked versions still are. The usefullness is debatable though, since you still don't get an SLI bridge. __________________ --

Apr 4, 2005, 05:37 PM	Thread Starter #2
Vikingod Int'l Fish Liaison Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: By the light of lamp I sit and type... Posts: 16,197 Rep Power: 112 System Specs	bump

Apr 4, 2005, 08:10 PM	Thread Starter #4
Vikingod Int'l Fish Liaison Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: By the light of lamp I sit and type... Posts: 16,197 Rep Power: 112 System Specs	I was looking at that mobo too, let me know what you think of it. thanks for the input.

Apr 4, 2005, 08:38 PM	Thread Starter #6
Vikingod Int'l Fish Liaison Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: By the light of lamp I sit and type... Posts: 16,197 Rep Power: 112 System Specs	I see. The main reason I want to know about SLI is mainly the purchase of the video card. If it is going to be worth it, I'll get a 6800gt or something and upgrade to another one later. If its not going to be worth it, I'd probably go with the x850 or something and just ride that out for a couple of years. I've had some bad luck with system before, buying stuff without proper research and getting screwed. Anyway, the reviews of the LANParty board looked pretty kickass, so I might look in that direction, be sure to post your experience with it, I won't be getting a system for a little while.