Ordering New Mobo and Cards

[RalliArt882]

Hey I'm going to be ordering a new motherboard and GPUs in the next 24 hours. Is there anything wrong with running an Evga 780i with two Evga 9800GTs? I really want to go this route because this seems like a pretty cheap since two 9800GTs can be had for less than $250 now. I'm not looking for the best of the best. I don't care much about overclocking ability. Once I get a new CPU, I'm just going to leave it as it is. I just want an improvement over what I have now.

So unless there are real realiability issues with the 780i and 9800gt, I'm sure I'll order this tonight or tomorrow. Also, if I get a mobo, am I going to have to get a new OS copy? Right now I plan to just carry over everything including my HDD which has XP MCE 2005 on it.

 

[objecterror]

If your using the same processor from your old motherboard and upgrading your system, i'd recommend reinstalling the OS to avoid compatibility issues. It's the same thing with slapping a new hard drive into a computer, you can't use it out of the box and you have to format it.

About the 9800's and the 780i, I don't know. Isn't that a set up they put into alienware now?

 

[veg1992]

Reinstalling is the best idea..

But the HD 4830's beat the 9800GT's and are about as cheap, plus there are better boards available with Intel chipsets.. but to be honest I don't recommend going with SLI or Crossfire, as its not worth the hassle it comes with

 

[Puddle Jumper]

If you do want multiple cards I would get 2 HD 4830's in crossfire. like vernong suggested with a Biostar I45 motherboard.

 

[QuaziBee]

I am anti SLI and Xfire aswell. the performance gain from cost increase is laughable. just take the amount you would spend on two of whatevers and buy that price range card. 9/10 times you will get better performance and fewer problems.

 

[RalliArt882]

Ok I changed it up a little. I now have an Evga 9800GTX+ on the way. It was on sale for $175. It should be fine considering I'm only playing WoW right now. I will have this running a week from now.

I wont be able to install a new motherboard until the holidays because I need this rig until then because it's my primary computer at college. In order to run SLI, do you have to use an Nvidia board like the 780i? Or can boards like the I45 run SLI also? If there is a holiday special on the 9800GTX then I wouldn't hesitate to buy a 2nd one.

If I'm going to have to reformat and re-install my OS, then I might as well get a new HDD. Is this the best one to get?

Newegg.com - Seagate ST3640323AS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

Edit: I didn't even notice that Core I7 was out. Think I should save up for that?

 

[veg1992]

Newegg.com - ASUS EN9800GTX+ DK/HTDI/512M GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

That would have been better!

I'd recommend this drive:
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives