Comments on up-grade

Hey all

its that time when I need to up-grade my PC (used for gaming only), but I'd like some feedback on what I'm looking at:

CPU: Intel Q9450 2.66Ghz

I intend to over clock this (on air) to around 3Ghz - 3.2GHz, or even more

MOBO:Evga nforce 780I or Asus P5E, X38 DDR2 or XFX MG-N780-ISH9

I'm having the biggest problem on deciding which mobo to go with. I want to run SLI sometime in the future (yes, I will play in 1920+ res), and I need a good mobo that can handle over-clocking well. Also, I cant decide between 800MHZ or 1066Mhz RAM (which is better?), I don't want to go down the track on DDR3 atm

GPU: Geforce 8800GTS 512MB (G92)

The brand on this card isn't too important to me, I'll properly go with XFX XXX version as I've use XFX cards in the past. I've also read that the over-clocked versions of this card make little different on performance, but who knows.

RAM: once I've sussed out which mobo I'm getting, then I'll worry about the RAM, but like I said, not interested in DDR3, why? too expensive and, from what I've read, not that much faster than DDR2..comments?

Anyway, comments, suggestions, ideas..all are wellcomed

thanks

Hey all

its that time when I need to up-grade my PC (used for gaming only), but I'd like some feedback on what I'm looking at:

CPU: Intel Q9450 2.66Ghz

I intend to over clock this (on air) to around 3Ghz - 3.2GHz, or even more

MOBO:Evga nforce 780I or Asus P5E, X38 DDR2 or XFX MG-N780-ISH9

I'm having the biggest problem on deciding which mobo to go with. I want to run SLI sometime in the future (yes, I will play in 1920+ res), and I need a good mobo that can handle over-clocking well. Also, I cant decide between 800MHZ or 1066Mhz RAM (which is better?), I don't want to go down the track on DDR3 atm

GPU: Geforce 8800GTS 512MB (G92)

The brand on this card isn't too important to me, I'll properly go with XFX XXX version as I've use XFX cards in the past. I've also read that the over-clocked versions of this card make little different on performance, but who knows.

RAM: once I've sussed out which mobo I'm getting, then I'll worry about the RAM, but like I said, not interested in DDR3, why? too expensive and, from what I've read, not that much faster than DDR2..comments?

Anyway, comments, suggestions, ideas..all are wellcomed

thanks

walshmaine

For RAM: You won't see much of a difference in performance over the 800 if you go with the 1066. If you can afford to get the highest supported RAM your MB uses, then just go with that. If your MB supports DDR2 1066, then get that if you can.

For GPU: if you don't mind holding out, wait until Nvidia dishes out their new line of card(s); sometime around March-April. If they release an 8800GTX crushing card, then you'll see the prices drop on the 8800 series. If you don't want to wait, then the 8800GTS (G92) would be a great card to get, especially if you want to run SLI down the road. I suggest picking up EVGA if you plan on upgrading your GPU. You get 90 days once purchase and register your product online with EVGA to use their Step-up program. So if you wanted, get a 8800GTS (G92) and once the new 9xxx series comes out and you want to upgrade (Step-up) your card before your 90 days, you can get something better. If the Step-up program isn't something you're interested in, then stick with whatever company you like.

As for the MB, try getting one that supports 2 PCI-E 16x slots. In all honesty, if you ran SLI on a board with one 16x and one 8x PCI-E slots, you really won't see much of an improvement if your MB supported dual 16X PCI-E board. But if you can afford it, then get one that supports 16x in both PCI-E slots for a slightly better gain in performance.

Just my two cents...

Well if you want to go with specifically SLI, you'll need to use either a 680i or a 780i (although with the CPU that you've said, you'll most likely need a 780i).

And in FPS terms (or in real gaming) there won't be much of a noticeable difference between 800mhz and 1066mhz ram, so I'd save your money and go for the 800mhz.

Thanks guys, great feedback. I was kinda thinking there wasn't much in it between 800 and 1600 and as for the GPu, I've been waiting since the 8800's came out for something new (same old story, wait wait...) but that up-grade option sounds very appealing.

once again, thx for the positive posts

From what I've read, the ASUS P5N-D supports full x16/x16 lane SLI, and only costs around $160. That's a hell of a price for an SLI board that should overclock fairly well and support the upcoming Yorkfield chips.

There are no high-end 9-series cards coming next month. The 9800GX2 is two 8800 cards sandwiched together, and the 9600GT is obviously a mid-range card. There's no sense in waiting however many more months it will take for the 9800GTX to arrive, we only have a vague date of "2H 08".

XFX is a good company, as are BFG and EVGA. You can't honestly go wrong with either of those three. DDR2 800 will be more than enough for right now, that will support up to a 400MHz bus speed, which will take the E8400 well past the 3GHz mark.