SLI vs AGP

[Syphanx]

Hey guys,
To being with I was thinking of upgrading my cpu to a 64bit, therefore an Athlon 64 3000+. However along the line I realised that if I wanted to change the cpu, I'd have to change the motherboard and if I changed the motherboard, should I go with an SLI or just AGP and if I went with SLI I'd have to change the gfx card. So... I realised that I'd be spending alot more than I intended.

So, for a gaming comp, should I save up the extra money and get a sli motherboard with a pci-express Nvidia 6600GT? Or should I save a fair bit of money and stay with the AGP but go for a 6600 (in AGP)?

I intend to play games such as, Half-life, HL2, Halo, AOE 3, F.E.A.R, CS, BF 1942, BF 2... but mostly 1st person shooters.

Any input will be valued.
Thanks,

 

[Nubius]

You should go with a PCI-E board...and if you want to eventually utilize sli then I'd suggest you get a 6800GT PCI-E now and then sometime in the future when they are dirt cheap get another 6800GT PCI-E...getting two 6600GT's are pointless as they are barely better than a 6800Ultra...and the 6800GT's (especially if you get a good brand like evga or leadtek) can easily overclock to and beyond Ultra speed sproviding adequate cooling.

at the very least you need to just go PCI-E now, make the jump and get it over with...you'll be happy with that decision later

 

[Syphanx]

Yeah I need to save up heaps though now, cause now im in for a new cpu, new sli motherboard and new gfx card... too bad u cant run agp in the pci-e mbs lol.
Yeh I've had a look at the 6800GT's and they don't look too bad a price for where I get them from.
What I don't want to happen is that I make the jump to PCI-E now and then a year later or so, something new and better than PCI-E comes out (which is very likely) as the computer world is very dynamic.

Is gigabyte a reliable brand when it comes to gfx cards?

 

[Nubius]

ehh, I know some people like gigabyte but personally if I were to suggest 3 manufacturers to you I'd go in this order:

eVGA
Leadtek
BFG


that isn't to say gigabyte is bad, I just think theres better out there especially when it comes to OC'ing.

You could just get the nf4 Ultra-D board...it's not QUITE SLI, but it can utilize two video cards...it wouldn't be AS fast as SLI though but hell it'd still be powerful and save you money since it's not as expensive as a SLI board.

Theres also this:

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2322&p=2

that'll show you how to mod the chipset so that it WILL basically be a SLI board, however I remember reading at some point DFI was going to start making a new revision of that board to disallow you from doing such things....not sure if they actually did that or not so you'd have to read up on that.

What I don't want to happen is that I make the jump to PCI-E now and then a year later or so, something new and better than PCI-E comes out

Doubt it dude...look how long AGP has been around, PCI-E isn't even that old yet, nor have they come even close to utilizing the bandwidth it can endure...currently the cards in terms of bandwidth through the interface are no better than AGP 8x speeds, but they'll surely improve in the future.

Regardless to 6800GT's especially if OC'd to Ultra will last you 2-3 years easily unless games just make huge leaps

 

[Syphanx]

Yeah so far for my whole set-up I was looking at this:

1) Giga-byte GA-K8NXP-SLI motherboard - http://www.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/Products/Products_GA-K8NXP-SLI.htm

2) AMD ATHLON 64 SOCKET 939 3000+ PROCESSOR / BOX / VENICE CORE

3) LEADTEK PCI EXPRESS 6800GT 256MB VIDEO CARD

This system all up, from where I buy my parts from will cost me about $1050 AUSTRALIAN. If anyone can find me a better price please let me know. If you do find a company overseas make sure that they can ship to Australia (unfortuantely unlike newegg) and check the shipping costs cause sometimes they can be a killer.

Thanks.

 

[Nubius]

can you get DFI in your area? Because I'd honestly suggest them for a motherboad, especially since you're getting such a nice overclockable CPU (well the later weeks don't OC as well as the earlier ones did, but it should still OC decently enough)

unless theres a huge price difference then between them and gigabyte in your area

 

[Syphanx]

Umm not really, what's so good about the DFI anyway? And what model DFI would you suggest? I was looking at Gigabyte because I know they are reliable and they have many good features, especially in the GA-K8NXP-SLI.
What are the DFI's price in comparison to the Giga-byte ones?

 

[beedubaya]

Go with PCI-E. Its getting near impossible to find AGP cards, and AGP is being forced out fast by marketers wanting people to build new systems. PCI-E is actually more vital of a technology for the future than Shader Model 3. Don't even consider AGP, its obsolete.