First time builder and have a crap load of questions...

[Invisible]

Get a 520hx, identical to 620hx on the 12v rail but it's cheaper.

You shouldn't plan to not overclock when it's so easy and can significantly increase performance (for ex. an OC from 2.4 ghz to 3 ghz on a Q6600 is a 25% increase and can be done on stock volts)

Wouldn't recommend SLI, either go with X38 and HD3870s in crossfire or a single 8800 GTS (and, in that case, you could just get p35)

^^
i agree on all those

get this mobo/gpu combo
Newegg.com - ABIT IX38 Quad GT LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Newegg.com - VisionTek 900202 Radeon HD 3870 512MB 256-bit GDDR4 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
get 2 video cards if you really feel the need

 

[No Absolution]

^^
i agree on all those

get this mobo/gpu combo
Newegg.com - ABIT IX38 Quad GT LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Newegg.com - VisionTek 900202 Radeon HD 3870 512MB 256-bit GDDR4 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
get 2 video cards if you really feel the need

The ABIT seems like a sturdy motherboard, might look deeper into that.
Not a fan of ATI cards... I have one on my current system, very dissatisfied. My dad's GeForce 5500 FX can almost keep up with my ATI (Radeon x600) and they pretty far apart in age. Also ATI's drivers annoy me, when I boot up my pc I'll see 2 ATI icons in the taskbar and when I move my mouse over them they disappear, it's just weird... Probably wouldn't have the same issues with that card, I'm just gonna try new things...

So does anyone else suggest the ASUS Maximus Formula? It looks like a nice board, just a lot of negative reviews on NewEgg.

Thanks for all the advice!
-Garrett

 

[veg1992]

thats BS right there, a fx5500 doesn't even run with a Radeon 9250, that Radeon x600 should blow away the fx5500, same goes with Newegg reviewers, a lot of them are just n00bs to all this stuff, so when they see that they have Speedstep on, they'll complain and blame the board, or try to be idiots and overclock it to normal to fry it

but if you're completely Anti-AMD then get the 8800gts g92

 

[krazyq]

thats BS right there, a fx5500 doesn't even run with a Radeon 9250, that Radeon x600 should blow away the fx5500, same goes with Newegg reviewers, a lot of them are just n00bs to all this stuff, so when they see that they have Speedstep on, they'll complain and blame the board, or try to be idiots and overclock it to normal to fry it

but if you're completely Anti-AMD then get the 8800gts g92

well if he wants to trust amd again and has the budget he could get the 3870X2

or i guess just stick with the 8800gt or gts 512.

 

[veg1992]

actually IMO the hd3870 x2 is the best card currently out, I'd get that, its better than an Ultra in most games, except games that garbage in Dual-Card support (Like Crysis) so a 2 Core Card also does bad

 

[krazyq]

actually IMO the hd3870 x2 is the best card currently out, I'd get that, its better than an Ultra in most games, except games that garbage in Dual-Card support (Like Crysis) so a 2 Core Card also does bad

man, F*** crysis...i hate how we have to compare every card to it.
imo the 8800gt is good enough for every other game out there.
da** crysis, even though its a good game, the compatibility and issues just **** me off.

 

[veg1992]

I didn't try it, so I don't know, but I wanted to get it, but it sounds that it was overhyped

 

[krazyq]

I didn't try it, so I don't know, but I wanted to get it, but it sounds that it was overhyped

well once you get your rig you should play it no doubt...

its just that with my rig, im use to maxing out every game settings and max my resolution...but with crysis, i have to find this tweak, and that cfg file and blah blah..
btw, id ont wanna thread crap on this guys post.

lets just help him.

 

[iGarrett]

Alright, I guess I'm just a nVidia fanboy.
BUT my father's fx5500 does keep up with my x600 in CS:S.

I guess I'm just afraid to step out on a ledge and try something different like an ASUS mobo and another ATI gpu...

So is the Radeon HD 3870 X2 better than 2 8800GT SLI? Also does it have DX10.1 support like the GeForce9 series that's coming out soon? And will it play Crysis (no doubt that it will if it costs close to 500 bucks)? And if I get the Radeon HD 3870 X2, which brand would I get because I have no idea which one is good or bad because I've only had my eyes on nVidia cards...

Thanks for the help!

 

[Akubane]

i say gigabyte x38 ds4 and an 8800 gts 512, corsair 520hx, crucial ballistics, or if you really want 4gb of g.skill get the 2x2 4GB PK set. (but its more expensive) i finally just got it earlier this week. clocks just as high as i could get my crucial.