Considering a new rig. Opinions

[J9Darkwing]

Salute and howdy!
I currently have:
amd 4800 OC to 2.6ghz
Asus a8n32 sli deluxe mobo
2gig corsair 3500 XLPro ddr
2x BFG 7800GTX
Rosewill 550w PS
2x 74gig 10K rpm Raptors in stripe raid for OS

I'm considering buying:
Intel core duo e6850
Asus Striker Extreme mobo
4gig Crucial ddr2 pc2 6400, 800mhz
APEVIA ATX-IB680W-BL 680W ICEBERG Power supply
x2 BFG 8800GTX
Same HDs for the OS

I was an intel fan and switched to AMD about a year ago and found that the 2.4gig 4800+ put my old P4 3gig to shame but everything I've found on the net recently says the Intel core duos out perform the AMD equivalent plus if I buy the AMD 6400 I won't have much of an upgrade path when the new stuff comes out whereas I should be able to upgrade my cpu if I go Intel.
Thoughts?

 

[peterhuang913]

That build seems uneven, too much there, too little here.
Try:
Q6600 (core 2 QUAD)
Gigabyte p35 ds3l or ds3r
or
Abit ip35 or ip35-e
4GB Crucial DDR2-800.
BFG or EVGA 8800GTX or 8800GT (single is enough)
You need a 64-bit O/S.

 

[J9Darkwing]

I've had winXP 64 and now Vista 64 and have been disappointed by compatibility issues with both as far as the games I play, drivers, or the equipment I use. For example, I went through all the trouble to get vista 64 just to find out my track IR was incompatible with it and had to go back to 32bit to fly my IL2. (They may have resolved the issue but I prefer not to risk my current OS just to find out) That's just one example but trust me I've banged my head on my keyboard enough over the 64 bit issue already.

So I went through the trouble of getting an all 64 bit compatible system just to find my games, etc wouldn't work right and so it was a waste. It was for that reason that I've been hesitant about choosing a quad core processor. I read a post that stated most apps won't even be able to use the extra anyway. I did note that the Q6600 is roughly the same price as the e6800 so after I leave this post I'm going to start researching it further.

The mem and Vid you recommend are the same as that which I've listed and in truth I had intended to buy the first 8800 GTX and wait on getting the second.

I was under the impression that the Striker Extreme was the baddest MB on the market. Although I'll research the ones you've suggested I'm curious as to why you've recommended lesser MBs.

 

[Akubane]

yeah, the striker is too expensive to really bother with. its a great mobo but youre gonna get pretty much the same OC'ability on the ds3l or ds3r and spend half the amount of money. And still have plenty of slots and whatnot for whatever youre hooking up. Thats all as far as i know though. Some poeple love it and think its worth the money, others think its too expensive for what it offers when other boards can do nearly just as much for cheaper. all imo tho noone take offense or nothin XD if i was willign to shell out the money for it i probably woulda. i took the money from the strike and threw it into getting an 8800 ultra. but yeah the the ds3l or ds3r are great boards, wicked to OC. Q6600 is great price, OC's well and quad core. The corsair 520hx Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick - Retail is a great PSU. good price, modular cabling, good amperage. The one you picked looks cooler tho XD I didnt see the amps but has nothin but great ratings.

if you wre gonna spend cash on 2 8800 GTX's id just buy 1 xfx 8800 ultra. or evga (i think they both have the sick warrenty, i could be wrong about evga)

the 8800GT looks cool. if its cheap enough you could SLI that. The Only reason i've seen to even go SLI would be to play Crysis, lost planet or alan wake at huge resolutions over 19**x****(24" lcd) or 2600+ (30" lcd).

 

[J9Darkwing]

I'm really considering switching to the Q6600 now. I noticed it has a 1033 bus speed as opposed to the 1333 of the E6850 but the extra potential of the quad should really outweigh the diff. Still hanging on the striker MB though. The Abit one recommended looks good too though and is over 100 bucks cheaper.

 

[Akubane]

I ordered the q6600 myself. should be comin in next week. im buildin somethin that should run crysis @ 1900 easily. i just say that game cause it has huge requirments and (almost)everyone knows about it lol and im pretty pumped. the striker's a sick board, i don't know about any of the bios stability junk the newegg reviews are talkin about. but you know how reliable those are i suppose XD someone here has the striker and has had no problems i dont think. cant remember who.
another good one imo is the asus p5k deluxe Newegg.com - ASUS P5K DELUXE/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
apparently Great overclock abilities. the only bummer is its not SLI capable (which i didnt notice till after lmao) i just assume everythign is, which is my own dumb fault lol. im not worried cause i doubt ill need sli anyway. i hope, otherwise i wasted money on a big card for nothin lol.

 

[veg1992]

That build seems uneven, too much there, too little here.
Try:
Q6600 (core 2 QUAD)
Gigabyte p35 ds3l or ds3r
or
Abit ip35 or ip35-e
4GB Crucial DDR2-800.
BFG or EVGA 8800GTX or 8800GT (single is enough)
You need a 64-bit O/S.

great build man, looks like something i'd recommend

but add a Corsair 520hx in there...

 

[Vaanish]

Get a MSI P35 Platinum and 2900PRO or if you cant find that, wait for RV670.

 

[Invisible]

why would he get a 2900pro? when the 8800gt is better
if the benches are true....but theres so many i cant believe it wouldn't be

 

[J9Darkwing]

Yeah, I've read enough comparisons and reviews to be very set on getting the 8800 GTX over the 2900.
I was hoping to shave a few bucks off by going with something other than the Striker Extreme but I haven't found a truly competitive MB yet. If it doesn't have 2x sli X16 slots and nforce 680 I'm not really interested. I intend to keep this board for at least a couple of years and if I go with the striker I don't think I'll be disappointed when it comes time to upgrade my cpu or get a second vid card.
I have changed from the e6850 to the q6600 though and am also going to give vista 64 bit a shot again. Running it now on the AMD 4800 system and after it updated itself all seems to be going well. Haven't installed my track IR yet though. I'll try that tomorrow.
As for people who advise against getting two vid cards in sli. . .
I installed doom 3 (fully patched) and played on ultra quality (1280X1024) with x4 AA and got 12-20 fps on a single 7800 GTX (vsync on). Turn on the sli with the same settings and the dual card setup slams a solid 60 fps so it's going to be hard to convince me not to go sli with my new rig.
I'd appreciate a couple of suggestions on my next monitor. I want something that gives me higher than 1280X1024 for my games. Definitely leaning towards something widescreen.