Higher Profile Upgrade...Need Suggestions

[blaackoran]

Im looking to upgrade my system with a new SLI motherboard, another gpu to go along with it, and a new CPU for better gaming.

Currently i've got a Prescott (pentium 4 630) 3ghz, wondering if it is a good investment to move over to an AMD chip like the x2 3800+ or FX-53 (939) at the same time i switch over to a sli motherboard. Also, right now i have a 256mb nvidia 6800 (325mhz). Would it be a good idea to get a second one for SLI? or should i just get two new GPU's. Would two 6800's provide enough juice to run a game like Battlefield 2 at high res etc.?

Right now im looking at an Asus a8-n sli mobo, but would it be worth it to buy a motherboard with full 16x/16x instead of the split 8x/8x?

And lastly, will my ATX Case support a AMD compatible motherboard?

Any advice or other cpu's/gpu's/mobo reccomendations would help.

 

[slick_tech15]

I would either get an AMD 3800 x2 or an Opteron 165(if you will be OCing). AMD is way better for gaming, and their dual core cpus kill the intel dual core ones. i would recommend selling your 6800 and buying a powerful single gpu card, like the 7900 gt. it will perform a lot better. that could let you spend less money on the mobo and just get one with 1 pci e slot. - charlie

 

[blaackoran]

hmm so dual 6800's are weak in comparison? also dont really want to overclock...what about amd fx-53 chips?

 

[Nitestick]

a 7800gt/7800gtx will outperform 6800's in sli. it is not worth it. steer clear of asus s939 motherboards. pci-e cards normally don't even reach over 8x bandwidth. if you are not going to overclock then an FX series processor is a waste of money. basically in the nicest possible way i think your entire upgrade is moving in the wrong direction. if your main focus is gaming then that 3.0ghz prescott should be fairly decent anyway so i don't see the need for all this money to be spent at THIS point in time. the best thing you could probably do is sell your 6800 and buy a 7900

 

[blaackoran]

well the one question i have is does a 7900gt need to be hooked directly to the psu?

i dont know if my psu has pci-e hookups...

 

[blaackoran]

oh and the other thing is atm i only have 1 hard drive. Are those raptor
HD's beneficial to performance? like possibly using a 36.7gb along with my Seagate 150gb

 

[tommyboy123x]

the raptors deffinatelly boost performance, but to really get an appropriate answer to your question, you must have a budget set out in advanced. If you don't have one, it is a little more difficult to say what you should do.

steer clear of asus s939 motherboards

Talking with experience, i would beg to differ. I have had nothing but success with my board after the first few errors were worked out (it was my first build). Also, not all asus A8N boards are alike. I believe there are two or three still being produced (premium, deluxe, and something else... normal?). Personally i have had NO issues at all with my mobo.. its held out great (no jumpers, no problems).

the x16/x16 is a TOTAL waist of money. you may see a 50 point jump in 3dmark06 at most, but really you cannot tell a single difference between a normal board and that asus one.

my 6800gt (oc'ed however - see specs in sig) can play bf2 at full settings without a problem. I've even tried chocking up the cpu by doing a virus scan at the same time with no problem of playing bf2... part of this could be due to my RAM i guess, but i wouldn't think so.

all together though, i think keeping what you have would be the best option (in terms of priceerformance ratio). but again, you have to really have a budget.

 

[Nitestick]

the reason a virus scan wouldn't interfere is because you are running x2 :amazed:.

one board is not really enough to say "from experience". i have come across more bad s939 asus boards than good. also judging by the problems reported by DJ-CHRIS (i think) with the way the boards are manufactured and also by the fact he put an axe through his board he hated it so much i would say there is a significant problem with their s939 boards. the raptor will kill load times on games and software and if you configure it well it can give you a great overall performance boost

edit: if your psu doesn't have the 6 pin pci-e connector you can get an adapter

 

[aliasaid]

i agree with the consensus. keep your rig. get a 7900gt. and maybe get 2gb of ram (dual channel).

 

[blaackoran]

well i think im going to get a 7900gt for sure, and possibly a lower gb raptor. that should run up about $400. My origional budget was around 600-700...plus if I started selling parts, i could add another 200-300 or more to that. Anything i replace can be sold..and i want make sure my system will play for a long time with a path to upgrade even further (maybe add another 7900gt down the road).

Ive heard an AMD chip can cause a huge upgrade in performance in comparison and almost has as much effect as a new high profile gpu? Also apparently vista will have more support for 64bit chips...If i can sell the prescott and ram, would it be a big difference? Also based on the fact i can get a fx-53 for 300$ from a freind, would it be better then spending 300$ on a x2 3800+?

How much juice do you need to run two 7900gt's, and what cables do the pci-e adapters work on?

I know im asking alot of questions, but thanks for the help so far.