First full upgrade in 3 years, how does this look? Update:Finally bought my stuff.

[FluxCap]

From Monarchcomputers.com I can get the first system listed for about $1000. The second system will become my wife's PC. What do you guys think? I have no interest in SLI ever so I am looking for the most solid mobo with a few features but nothing big.

Case: PS 450W - Antec Sonata II Piano Black
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-K8N51GMF-9 nF4 Video/Audio/GB
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Dual-Core 512K Per
Memory: DDR (400) 3200 - 1 GB (2 pcs 512) Corsair
Hard Drive: SATA - Western Digital 160GB SATA 16MB cache
Video Card: BFG Geforce 7900 GT OC 256MB GDDR3/PCI-E/

Case: PS 420W ? Antec w/ generic case
Motherboard: Asus P4P800 Deluxe
Processor: P4 3.0C
Memory: DDR (400) 3200 - 1 GB (2 pcs 512) Corsair XMS
Hard Drive: Maxtor 80GB 8MB cache
Video Card: eVGA 6800GT

My main purpose for this new upgrade is to build a stronger gaming machine. Oblivion is kicking my PC's bottom so I wanted to increase that experience as well as other games such as HL2 and BF2. Please share any advice or tips because I have been out of the loop on systems since my last upgrade and I want to build the best possible for the $1k.

Update, bought my stuff yesterday:

Lian-Li PC-6070
OCZ PowerStream 520W PSU
DFI Lanparty UT NF4 SLI-DR
Athlon 64 X2 3800+
2 GB (2 pcs 1GB) OCZ Dual Channel Platinum
Western Digital 160GB SATA 16MB Cache
BFG GeForce 7900 GT PCI Express 256MB

Went over budget, oh well!

 

[CVSiN]

Originally posted by: FluxCap
From Monarchcomputers.com I can get the first system listed for about $1000. The second system will become my wife's PC. What do you guys think? I have no interest in SLI ever so I am looking for the most solid mobo with a few features but nothing big.

Case: PS 450W - Antec Sonata II Piano Black
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-K8N51GMF-9 nF4 Video/Audio/GB
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Dual-Core 512K Per
Memory: DDR (400) 3200 - 1 GB (2 pcs 512) Corsair
Hard Drive: SATA - Western Digital 160GB SATA 16MB cache
Video Card: BFG Geforce 7900 GT OC 256MB GDDR3/PCI-E/

Case: PS 420W ? Antec w/ generic case
Motherboard: Asus P4P800 Deluxe
Processor: P4 3.0C
Memory: DDR (400) 3200 - 1 GB (2 pcs 512) Corsair XMS
Hard Drive: Maxtor 80GB 8MB cache
Video Card: eVGA 6800GT

My main purpose for this new upgrade is to build a stronger gaming machine. Oblivion is kicking my PC's bottom so I wanted to increase that experience as well as other games such as HL2 and BF2. Please share any advice or tips because I have been out of the loop on systems since my last upgrade and I want to build the best possible for the $1k.

why would you discount SLI if youre a gamer?
even if your not gonna use it now down the road you might be tempted..
i just did same thing you did..

went from an Aging 754 A64 3000 system to

A64 3700+
Asus A8N-SLI-Deluxe
Antec truepower 500
XFX 7900GT OC
2 gigs Corsair value

spent WAY under 1k bought everything from here in FS/FT
3700 was 180 bucks
board was 115
PS was 75
7900 was 300
ram I had from my 754
my point is dont discount our FS/FT section some freaking fantastic deals and good traders around. you can get really good stuff still with warranties from here.

BTW dont skimp on only 1 gig of ram for a game machine.. 2 is now the bare minimum I would ever recommend..

 

[FluxCap]

The reason I am not interested in SLI is because by the time it becomes an option for a good price, a single card comes along (7900GT) that can match the performance for 2 7800GT's for cheaper. Also, it saves me another $70 or more by not getting a mobo that has that feature. So, I don't think I will ever be tempted.

Thanks for the advice on the FS/FT forums. Did you get all new parts?

IMO, 1 gig is enough. Hardly any game really benefits from 2 gigs that I play. 2 gigs might make BF2 load 8 seconds faster, not a big deal to me. Oblivion does not show any benefits from more than 1 gig of ram as tests are showing as well.

 

[iamchriscampbell]

As far as the ram goes, Ive played quake 4 with everything as high as it will go, and it used half of my 4gb of ram...
I think he is right about the SLI though, i would pay the extra 50-80 bucks to get a board that has it. You never know whats gonna come out 6 months down the road. Better to have more than you think you will need than not have enough.
My question is: Do we really think a single 7900gt can match the performance of 2 7800gt's?

 

[Gagan]

The gigabyte mobo needs to go.
I just don't trust them anymore they used to be amazing with their titan boards about 4 years ago.

Get an A8n SLI Premium board, or A8n non sli. You should STILL get an SLI motherboard because the future IS SLI, and why not have that extra bandwidth when the time comes? it's only about 50 bucks more and the longevity is increased gaming-wise significantly.

A single 7900 GT will get beaten by 2 7800 gt's. The main draw that the 7900 GT has over a single 7800 GT is it has 24 pixel pipelines whereas the 7800 GT only has 4. THe 7900 GT is basically a 7800 GTX 256mb edition equivalent.

Getting 2 7800 GT's will get you higher performance in more intensive games but the 7900GT will win in situations where SLI isn't required, for example quake 3 or something that is older and basically becomes CPU limited.

I am strongly suggesting an ASUS sli board for a "just incase" scenario. I am also advocating you get 1 7900 GT and sit tight, when the time comes you can toss another 7900 GT and get much better performance than 2 7800 GT'S.

I also suggest you get an eVGA branded 7900 GT so you can apply for the "step up" program where you pay the original difference between the new and old card (WHAT You actually paid receipt-wise) and get the newer card for the price of the older card(You send it back) plus the extra cash + shipping

Anything else just ask.

 

[Gagan]

I also suggest you toss that 1gig get and upgrade to a 2 gig kit.
So get corsair valuram or whatever type of valuram as a 2 gig kit, 1gig is not good enough these days man, BF2 will show that to ya.

While your powersupply SHOULD be fine I suggest a 500W FOrtron or Seasonic(520 OCZ if you can bring it to yourself to buy it).

Why do I advocate OCZ's powersupplies? They have the best warranty in the market and if 3 years down the road(Out of the 5 year powerswap warranty) your PSU dies, they will send you the equivalent of what you paid for (So it could be a 7-800 watt then) and send it to you first and you ship the broken one back, Just the best warranty ever.

Why do I suggest you get a 500 watt or higher PSU? Because again man, I want you to have that longevity, if you put a little more in now it will go a long way when you want to upgrade for that SLI card or that better Dual core 939 proc or even a new system, Just get something 500watts or higher from fortron/seasonic/ocz.

About your Processor, if you want to learn how to overclock, I suggest you get the 3800+ equivalent which is the Opteron 165. There are stories of this Processor hitting about 2.4 ghz minimum per core giving you the performance of a 4800 + x2 athlon, Just trying to help you keep the price/performance ratio high.

 

[FluxCap]

I could up the mobo a bit more but that takes me over my budget I was shooting for. As for the ram, I can always add another gig...and I will, but not at this time because I don't need it.

My question is: Do we really think a single 7900gt can match the performance of 2 7800gt's?

Yeah, it can hold it's own: http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTAwMSwxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==

 

[FluxCap]

Good information Gagan, thanks.

I could up my budget a bit and get the better board, I don't see it being a problem really. And yes, I could SLI one day if I had the need.

I was worried about the PSU so thanks for that tip. I will have to up my budget again if I get a better PSU.

 

[Jules]

Scrap the asus and get a Dfi Lanparty Ultra-D.

 

[FluxCap]

The DFI is another I considered based on some reviews. I will go ahead and say I want to get the better mobo without going over budget too bad but I still want to wait on the ram...and I don't overclock.

Just so I can share better what I am thinking:

Get the above mentioned system (with the better mobo) and then 12 to 24 months from now start with another gig of ram, add another 7900GT in SLI, and then possibly a 10k rpm larger drive. I think this would allow me a nice upgrade now and give me the ability to make the system even better down the road for a minimal price. Good path you think?

 

[Gagan]

Both are good, and I agree with STupidMouth, if overclockign is in the forseeable future the ultra-d is better than the premium(BUt not better than the a8n32 deluxe, which is 20 more than the premium a8n sli)
My mistake on that

 

[Gagan]

Yes flux, very good.

But the power supply, 500watts man, Fortron/Seasonic/OCZ ONLY! They are proven performers for SLi.

That antec will not be asble to handle SLI when you decide to do it, so save yourself some buck now

 

[PingSpike]

Well I for one think thats an excellent build. I personally don't see much benefit in SLI, its more difficult to keep the overall case cool and uses a lot of juice. And if the past precedent is any indication, you may as well sell the old card and buy a new one for more performance later on rather then trying to hunt down another part. People disagree on this, but I tend to think that SLI is only worth it if you want performance that is otherwise unattainable RIGHT NOW.

While I do think the need for 2GB is kind of overblown...I actually think oblivion will probably benefit from it, and that it will become more useful soon, along with dual cores. Furthermore, it might be a good idea to buy it sooner rather then later. No one can say for sure what will happen to DDR1 prices when AM2 comes out, but they'll probably go up as production tapers off.

 

[Jules]

Originally posted by: Gagan
Both are good, and I agree with STupidMouth, if overclockign is in the forseeable future the ultra-d is better than the premium(BUt not better than the a8n32 deluxe, which is 20 more than the premium a8n sli)
My mistake on that

I Agree to Disagree Id rather just get a Higher end DFI lanparty for that

 

[Gagan]

I'd trade my expert(best dfi board) for an a8n32, which I have but can't use due to case restrictions *Tear*

 

[Gerbil333]

IMO, 1 gig is enough. Hardly any game really benefits from 2 gigs that I play. 2 gigs might make BF2 load 8 seconds faster, not a big deal to me. Oblivion does not show any benefits from more than 1 gig of ram as tests are showing as well.

No, 2GBs makes a difference, and if you're going to have this computer for another 3 years, you'll really want more than 1GB.

 

[CVSiN]

Originally posted by: Gerbil333

IMO, 1 gig is enough. Hardly any game really benefits from 2 gigs that I play. 2 gigs might make BF2 load 8 seconds faster, not a big deal to me. Oblivion does not show any benefits from more than 1 gig of ram as tests are showing as well.

No, 2GBs makes a difference, and if you're going to have this computer for another 3 years, you'll really want more than 1GB.

BIG TIME in fact HUGE!

while getting my new system stable I was forced to troubleshoot with some different ram.. a 1GB stick i knew ran well with ASUS..
well the difference between 1 GB and 2 is VERY noticable.. even in windows apps..
and in games its night and day..

 

[Sniper82]

If you don't think you will ever use SLI don't bother. You might be throwing $70 out the window. I for one passed on it when the nForce 4 boards came out a year ago because of the price difference and I figured I would never want or need to use SLI and don't see it happening in the future. I would have lost $70 a year ago had I upped for SLI. If you don't think you will used it, put that $70 toward more memory. I def recommend 2gb if you don't upgrade often.

 

[greenmaji]

with the VGA you chose, you would be able to flex the textures mucles in games enough to need 2GB of ram. BF2 and FEAR are already pushing the limits if not exceding the limits of 1GB.

I agree with you on SLI, the next vid. cards are going to woop up on the current ones and DX10 compatabitly will be needed next year in an upgrade, not more of the same.. Im going to go single card when I build my rig. as well.

 

[greenmaji]

oh.. and SATA 7,200RPM drives.. 250Gb is more MB for your $ the hatichi deskstar is a tad faster as well

 

[FluxCap]

Hmm, now I am in flip-flop mode on the SLI. BUT, I was not thinking about DX10 cards for games like Crysis. So, I am leaning back to a mobo without SLI and look for a single card solution later.

 

[CVSiN]

Originally posted by: greenmaji
with the VGA you chose, you would be able to flex the textures mucles in games enough to need 2GB of ram. BF2 and FEAR are already pushing the limits if not exceding the limits of 1GB.

I agree with you on SLI, the next vid. cards are going to woop up on the current ones and DX10 compatabitly will be needed next year in an upgrade, not more of the same.. Im going to go single card when I build my rig. as well.

but those cards that are coming out are also going to be PCIE x16 which is supported now.. and I guarantee they will be SLI Capable as well.. the tech isnt going away and after a point a second card of your gen would be a cheaper fix than whatever is latest and greatest usually..

 

[greenmaji]

two older generation cards are more expensive then one newer generation card.... period.. and you dont need the latest and greatest VGA to run ANY game.. period.. so all of this is moot. unless your a WR bencher

 

[greenmaji]

and your point of a new of your current is cheaper.. not if you sell your current

 

[Sniper82]

For the money he would spend on a second 7900GT in 6-8 months or whenever he could sell his current 7900GT and add those funds and probably break even on a new single card with similar performance as 2 SLI'ed 7900's. If you got the money to spare go SLI but if you got a budget you would hate to go over I wouldn't bother. Since you ain't sure you will ever use it.

Heck a 7900GT should run anything coming out in the next 2 years depending on what he runs his games at.