Slow Night? Help me pick a system...

[ATIonion]

As some of you know i am building a new rig...and i need some help with the mobo cpu selection...

As of now i have $500-$600... i want to put it into the mobo and cpu...i could care less if its amd or intel..i just want to get the most out of my $$$, however i do want ddr2 and xfire ability (i hear some sli 2x16 boards can do xfire)...i have done a lot of research and still cant make up my mind, so i thought it was time for members of TPU to give me a hand..If you have some good knowledge, and hands on exp. you are who i need to hear from......

 

[DaMulta]

No N board can run Crossfire, what parts do you have already, and what are you needing?

 

[ATIonion]

thought i saw some articles about 2x16 pcix slots could run the donggless xfire...but havent found anyone who has actually done this...guess thats my answer on that...

i really need everything...ya see i'm getting about $3k for pretty much nothen...so i'm thinken about taken $1500 or so and dumping it into a new rig...this time i want to put more $$ in the cpu and mobo....i am a gamer....i cant really decide the other parts until i clear up what i am going to do with as far as CPU/MOBO...

 

[DaMulta]

Ok, so you wanna do some Crossfire, are you waiting for the R600?

 

[ATIonion]

that will depend on the price and release date of the R600...i dont usually buy the very first of anything...i was thinking of keeping my modded his x1800gto until dx10 shows itself a bit more...but im not against the R600 or the G80 line, just the prices...

 

[PuMA]

why not just buy crossfire mobo???

 

[DaMulta]

Well the R600 will be around 600 if I had my guess at release. I would go With AM2 on a 3200 chip set/ Reason being the chip will fit in AM2+ on the next years motherboards(If you decided to upgrade again) Most people would go with intel, BUT if I had my guess on that RD600 witch is coming very soon will be the last AMD/ATi chipset for an Intel motherboard.

 

[ATIonion]

why not just buy crossfire mobo???

i should say that i have a good amount of knowledge with PCs and what is available now....my problem is with all the reviews out there, sometimes hearing people own exp. helps more then reviews...im just looking for the best choice for cpu and mobo for around $500-$600...xfire is something i would like to do, but dont have to...i could just go sli...but i like ati's approach on physics....and i like ati's picture qualilty...



i was thinking about x2 4800am2, but the C2D e6600 sure seems fast....it looks like i have to decide between ati or nvidia first before i can decide on the cpu and mobo..my biggest concern is this...if i go sli or xfire (R600 or G80) i dont want my cpu and mobo to bottleneck the system.....

 

[ktr]

No N board can run Crossfire, what parts do you have already, and what are you needing?

the asus a8n can...

but its 939 and 8x when multigpu-ing...

 

[DaMulta]

Hmmmm one of the only ones then(I think), I wonder if it still will after a bios update.

 

[ATIonion]

the asus a8n can...

but its 939 and 8x when multigpu-ing...

thats right...i had forgotten that ......its not really 16x on both when you use just the pcix slots to transfer the information between the cards....

 

[ktr]

all i know is that it needs a uli south bridge, and according to rahul sood, it didnt work on the 32x of the a8n...

 

[ATIonion]

never the less....it seems i am still going to be loyal to amd and that solves the xfire too....the question now is, what cpu from amd wont bottleneck 2 high end cards (R600 G80)......i'd hate myself if i spent all this money and didnt get a big enough cpu.....x2 4800 maybe?

 

[ktr]

for that you got to wait what chipset amd/ati is going to release to support the new r600, and possibly the am3 will be out too.

 

[DaMulta]

I would go ahead and get the X2 5200 or the 5000 if you can afford it. My friend oced the crap out of his 5000 and his X1950XTX flies. As for the R600 nobody knows yet. Or of course the FX62(That's what I want, and am playing on buying after Xmas on Ebay)

 

[DaMulta]

for that you got to wait what chipset amd/ati is going to release to support the new r600, and possibly the am3 will be out too.

Its the 3200, no plans on changing it yet.

I've read that AMD is going to AM2+ which a AM2 chip will run in or a AM2+ will run in a AM2 board with loss of features/ AM2+ will play in a AM3 board, and the AM3 chip will run in the AM2+ board with loss of features.

 

[ATIonion]

I would go ahead and get the X2 5200 or the 5000 if you can afford it. My friend oced the crap out of his 5000 and his X1950XTX flies. As for the R600 nobody knows yet. Or of course the FX62(That's what I want, and am playing on buying after Xmas on Ebay)

the x2 5200 isnt much more really.($40). .i could go that route..team it with a dfi crossfire or asus crossfire board..leaving me at less then $600 for both (perfect)....i dont want to wait on new tech. (R600) so im not sure how this will end...i'll keep ya posted...thanks for your help so far tho...

 

[DaMulta]

When are you plaing on ordering it?