2 Geforce 6600 GTs vs. 1 Geforce 6800 GT?

[ONid3mOnXLR]

A couple of questions about my new rig

Hi guys. Im ONi. Im new to the forum and this is my first post, so ill tell you some stuff about myself.

I have been into computer gaming and hardware for about a year, subscribe to PC gamer and CGW, and have a pretty basic knowledge of graphics card and computers.
My current rig is a P4 2.0ghz, a radeon 9800 pro and 512 RAM.
I kow those specs are probably laughable here, sooo...
yeah,
I decided to buy a new rig about a year ago and after hardwork and careful spending/saving, ive managed to accumulate 1500 dollars to buy a new rig. My rig that i was looking at buying is this-

http://www.cyberpowersystem.com/highendsystem/ultraslie.asp?v=d

Know, to my questoins:

First: Would 2 Geforce 128mb 6600 GTs be better, the same, or worse than 1 256 mb Geforce 6800 GT

Second: This case

NZXT Nemesis Elite Aluminium Mid-Tower Case 420W W/Window, Temp.Display & Fan Control(BLACK COLOR)[+0]More Color...

This case

CoolerMaster TAC-T01 Wave Master Aluminum 420W Case(BLACK COLOR)[+0]More Color...

or this case

Hot New! X-Cruiser Mid-Tower 420W Case W/ WINDOW, MultiMeter Display & Control(Black Color)[+0]More Color...

Sorry about the no pictures, but im on 56k, soon to be broadband, connection, so they are a pain to copy paste.

Thanks for your help, and if you can suggest anything else that wouldnt exceed $1475 dollars ($100 shipping ) that would make my rig greater, id appreciate it

ONi

 

[Trifid]

I and we here as well, strongly advise to build your own pc's as you save loads, and get alot of experience out of it.

but for your question, out of them GPU's, I would chose the single 6800gt, due to dual 6600gt's are not as good as having a single card, due to how SLI works. Even though the 6600gt's will get more fps, if say there was water on the bottom half of the screen, the frame rate would drop loads, where as a 6800gt would not be as badly affected. (SLI works by splitting the screen in half, one GPU does the bottom, the other does the top.)

The PSU in the Coolermaster would be alot better than the others, so I would go with that case.

 

[onyo]

id go nemisis cuz good stock cooling i hear

also get the 6800GT cuz if u get the 2 6600's it will cost a litle cheaper, but when u need an upgrade u will spend about 600 dollars on dual 6800GT where as u would only have to spend ~300 if u got 1 now

i also hear gigabyte motherboards are better than ASUS so try and get that (its a 0 dollar upgrade)

also another huge thing on cyberpower is if u build the exact same system on the Gamer 6000, it costs the same and has free shipping =)

 

[ShoobieRat]

Dual GPU's have come into the public market with the advances in SLi, but the craving for dual GPU's is more a fad than a practical need. If you're just gaming, you don't need two GPU's. One will do just fine, especially considering that the GPU load from gaming is different from the GPU load of modeling/drafting/etc. If you're planning on doing some high-powered 3DSM work, or some large-scale high-detail CAD peices, the dual GPU's can be benificial. Otherwise, yer just throwing yer money at a fad.

 

[003]

Get one 6800GT.

 

[ONid3mOnXLR]

Thanks for all of the helpful replies! Im getting a 6800 GT then!

Onyo, if this site had a reputation system youd get a +1. That free shipping tip really helped. Thanks soooo much! you rock!

 

[ONid3mOnXLR]

One more question. I am getting the AMD Cool n' Quiet cooling system. I can get 3 extra case fans installed and make it ice cold, but will this make my system a nosiy beast. I was thinking Magic Wool the hard drive and nosiy opticals, but.... ive never done that before Yikes! get the 3 extra fans or not?

 

[ONid3mOnXLR]

Sorry for the double post guys. but, will i be able to dremel a window into the coolermaster case so i can see my internals. Not nescessary, but maybe a project when i get some more cash.

 

[Trifid]

If you add more fans the decibel's don't go up by loads, as long as they are all the same. The sound becomes deeper though. As long as the fans are good ones (they don't say) they will be quiet. You could upgrade them your self very easily if they aer load, but they won't likley be powerful ones, that are deafening.

There will be no problem cutting a hole in that case, if you are not a expert at cutting (I'm terrible) than you could check to see if the other side comes off and fits. Get a cold cathode in there if you do, so you can see into the case easily. It will be a great little mod.

 

[DJ-CHRIS]

If you add more fans the decibel's don't go up by loads, as long as they are all the same. The sound becomes deeper though. As long as the fans are good ones (they don't say) they will be quiet. You could upgrade them your self very easily if they aer load, but they won't likley be powerful ones, that are deafening.

There will be no problem cutting a hole in that case, if you are not a expert at cutting (I'm terrible) than you could check to see if the other side comes off and fits. Get a cold cathode in there if you do, so you can see into the case easily. It will be a great little mod.

For every doubble in the decibels (EX you have a 30 decibel fan, and you add add another 30 decibel fan and you get 33) you add +3 which is a doubble in loudness pysically.

However for a human to hear doubble, you need to +10 decibels, so if you were to add 3 more 30 decibel fans you would doubble your loudness according to your ears