^^DAMN, that looks like a helluva deal. I've just never went with ATI before.... Well a long time ago but,

Do they happen to have that deal with a Nvidia type card too?

Most likely not. ATI is part of AMD, and you know how fierce the competition is between them and Nvidia. The world will end when AMD decides to partner up with Nvidia, and make a combo deal with one of its CPU and one of Nvidia's GPU.

Besides, it wouldn't make sense getting a Nvidia card for that motherboard. It only supports Crossfire, not SLI.

^^DAMN, that looks like a helluva deal. I've just never went with ATI before.... Well a long time ago but,

Do they happen to have that deal with a Nvidia type card too?

Yeah most of the reviews or articles I read were kinda slammin the Phenom CPU, Saying that AMD's best Quadcore couldn't even hit the speeds of Intel's slowest quad core.. Now these were reviews from around AUG 08 so I dunno how much things have changed, (OR even if the reviewer was right lol) especially with the Phenom 2 out. Which I priced BTW and was thinking pretty hard about it, I just don't know how much that would jack the price up on everything else....

I was going into this thinking that with the most important componets like the CPU and GPU I would probably spend around $200 each to make sure I get decent gear that will last me a while. That just doesn't leave much room in my budget...

I found this, http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.160276 Buuuut, I think it's a lil outta my price range... Would the CPU's that you guys suggested be right under these as far as performance goes?

Ooh, just found this too. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.155230 That one is a lil more doable I think....

I may need to bump up my spending amount if this combo is worth it but I would HOPE to stay close to my original figures.

Wow, Holy crap guys thanks lol. I am going to look these setups over and compare to eachother and with similar hardware. But it gives me a great idea on what to be looking for now. I had NO idea RAM was that cheap now 4Gb for $50 that's what I'm talkin about. :D

Now with either of those systems posted, I would be able to maintain a steady framerate in most new games right? (I try to play almost every new good game that comes out) And what about upcoming DX10 games? Will these systems still be good at running those games in the future?

OH, and when did video card prices go down so much?? The last card I bought was a 6800 Gt 256mb and that damn thing cost $400! The only reason I have a 7800 now is because BFG traded up for me when I had to send in the 6800. (BTW, I friggin love that company, LIFETIME warranty on they're products. )

lol Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you can get good cards now for $200 or less, I was just REALLY suprised.

Price range... Srry about that. I haven't set an exact price yet but Iwas hoping to put together somethin half-way decent for no more than $700. I'm awaiting the laughter from some but with the way prices have dropped I was hoping it was doable. I do want something that I can play around with a bit O/C'ing That's why I was looking at the ASUS board, I have had mostly those in the past and they always allowed me to adjust the right settings. But anyways, That's the price range I'm hoping to stay under. And as far as ram goes I was going to get at least 3gigs. I honestly don't play too many games above 1024x768, (RTS's I'll turn up the resolution sometimes.) usually with just a lil AA like 2x and 4x AF 8 on some games. So no real high res goin on here.

I have always been partial to Nvidia though and would probably go with something they make. Is it still true though that intel pairs up better with ATI if I go that route? (At least in the past I thought it was that way.)

Oh and thanks for the help guys. =)

I had been trying to keep up with new hardware and stuff for a while after my last PC but I fell behind heh, WAY behind.... So... I'm not real sure what my best bets would be on config that can handle the most recent games. I do know that I would like a AMD dual or even quad core CPU with probably a ASUS or BFG mobo if I can find a good one. I have been thinking about SLI but as long as I can get one card (Nvidia) that can handle games like Crysis and the like for around $200 or under, I would be fine with that.

Like I said, it's been a while since I followed the most recent hardware out there so I had a few questions... Concerning SLI, Do both of the cards have to be the same version type? Like say a Dx10 card matched up with a DX9 card, would that work in combination? (I was just thinking maybe a cheaper DX10 card with my current card, unless there would be no benefit,or it wouldn't work.)

OR, Do the cards have to be the exact same type as far as an 8 series having to be paired up with another 8?

Right now though I'm more concerned with starting out with a good CPU/mobo, I found this online and wondered if this would be a good starting point or not.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.160471

Performance wise, How does this CPU hold up?

After watching the video review it almost seems like jeff was almost tauntingor opposing someone with that review. I almost wonder if he had been warned about posting a negative review before hand(those reviews surely get pre-screened by the higher up's right?) but decided to stick with what he believed to be true about the game. It almost seemed like it was a rushed video, like he was trying to hurry and get through it before someone came in the room or something. I know sounds like i'm analyzing it too much,but that is just the intitial feeling I got from watching it. He had to have know the money invested for the advertising was substantial.So giving a negetive review, none the less a fairly harsh one at that would make waves in the boardroom. I'm not saying at all that he should have been fired, I just wonder if it may not have been as unexpected as it seems.

If this senario were true , then I say good for Jeff for not giving in to the marketing BS.