Need Help Deciding on Upgrades

[biff420]

I am going to for sure now be upgrading to an SLI system very shortly hear. I have done some further research and have some questions that require some opinions/comments.

One of my wishlists at Newegg has the following in it:

Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-SLI Motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (90 nm)
2 x Gigabyte GeForce 6800 Ultra
Gigabyte 3D Rocket Cooler-Pro
Aspire 520W Power Supply

TOTAL = $1,621 (+shipping)
(Price replacing 6800U with 6800GT = $1,327)

I recently made a new wishlist that contained the following:

Gigabyte GV-3D1 (Dual 6600GT GPU + GA-K8NXP-SLI MB)
AMD Athlon 64 FX-55
Gigabyte 3D Rocket Cooler-Pro
Aspire 520W Power Supply

TOTAL = $1,430 (+shipping)

I am really considering the GV-3D1 option. It comes with the board that I want anyways as well as a cheaper solution for GPU's for the time being (room to upgrade with 1 or 2 cards in the future by replacing the dual card). I think that this setup performs well according to benchmarks that I have seen. It would be basically sacrificing video performace for a top of the line processor (which IMHO is more expensive to upgrade to later).

Let me know if I'm crazy, stupid.......genius.

 

[biff420]

bumpity

 

[imported_llama]

the fx-55 is a bit overkill, but if you must have it...
i wouldnt get a 6800Ultra, i would get GT's, also what ram are they going to pair with?

 

[biff420]

Already have Corsair XMS Low Latency 512x2 PC3200

 

[shoRunner]

may want to think about that powersupply. i've never heard anything good about aspire.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Replace that powersupply. Expect to pay $100 or more on a powersupply for an SLI setup.

Option #1 will outperform optoin #2 by leaps and bounds.

I agree with bumping down to 6800gts rather than ultras.

With the money saved, you can get a very nice powersupply (Seasonic 600watt)

 

[Wizard12]

I'd say get 2 gt's instead of ultra.
replace that psu with a better known company and the rest of the money spend on a better cpu if you like.

 

[biff420]

Thanks guys...I have no idea when it comes to power supplies. Thought that aspire would be good since it can carry 37A on the 12V rail.

I would have to agree with the Utra to GT change....seems like a GT can become an ultra real easy and the added initial speed of the ultra is just not worth the extra money.

 

[biff420]

It it necessary to get a 600W? I really like that Seasonic that you listed but its $160 at Newegg.

 

[Wizard12]

I think that for a setup of 2Xgts + fx/ath64 a ~500 watt psu should be suffice...

Antec, Enermax and Ocz all have psus at newegg with a 500-550W in the 100$ area...

either save the extra $$ or get a stronger cpu

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: biff420
It it necessary to get a 600W? I really like that Seasonic that you listed but its $160 at Newegg.

What's wrong with ordering from eWiz?

 

[biff420]

Everything else is comming from Newegg so its the convenience factor.

 

[Woofmeister]

Originally posted by: biff420
Everything else is comming from Newegg so its the convenience factor.

Ordered my Seasonic S12-600W from eWiz yesterday. Got an e-mail from eWiz today that it has already shipped. $127.27 and fast service, so very .

Your interest in the Seasonic S12 suggests that you have some interest in running the quietest possible SLI rig. With that in mind, you may wish to consider the GIGABYTE GA-K8N Ultra-SLI which is the only SLI motherboard with passive cooling on the NForce-4 chip. I don't know if you are aware of this, but normal SLI motherboards are really loud. See my thread.

 

[biff420]

Noise is not really an issue but if I decide that the motherboard is too loud then I can just pop off those active fans and stick on some good passive heatsinks. Don't think I need to worry about it though.

 

[wisdomtooth]

The NForce 4 SLI boards do pose a bit of a problem when it comes to replacing the NB fans though...

The thing is, every SLI board has the NB fansink directly under the vid card locations, which means a tall passive NB heatsink will foul the cards.

Right now, my Asus A8N-SLI motherboard's NB fan is being slowed down by a Zalman Fanmate, but that's a stopgap solution... I'm still looking for a better NB HSF that will fit under my 6800GT card. :frown:

 

[Woofmeister]

Originally posted by: wisdomtooth
The NForce 4 SLI boards do pose a bit of a problem when it comes to replacing the NB fans though...

The thing is, every SLI board has the NB fansink directly under the vid card locations, which means a tall passive NB heatsink will foul the cards.

So true.

That's why the noise issue with SLI motherboard is not amenable to an aftermarket solution--an aftermarket passive heat sink will block the video card. So if you are concerned about noise, you can either go with the motherboard with the quietest stock fan--DFI Lanparty nF4 SLI (which is still kind of loud) or one board with a stock passive cooling solution--GIGABYTE GA-K8N Ultra-SLI