Lost, indecision.... new system build like no other

[Fitseries3]

after 2 weeks of battling my Uber PITA 780i tri sli quest, i recently took a vacation from my nightmare. i took a break and tried to figure out which direction i wanted to go next.

i HAD thought to go with a good x38 board with 2 3870x2's but after thinking about it i am lost now. why am i lost? because A LOT of new things are comming out SOON!!!

please help me decide on what to get. i am starting out with a few reminents from my old machine...

q6600 G0
2x WD raptor 150gig HD's
1 WD 1tb HD
silverstone TJ07
enermax galaxy 1kw dxx PSU
30" dell W Lcd
samsung DL DVD-RW

everything else needs to be figured out soon.

i DO NOT want DDR3 at all, due to the HIGH prices. i also want 8gig's of ram so keep that in mind.

video cards need to be AWESOME, powerfull and plentiful. im using a 30'' dell lcd so i need A LOT of power.

price isn't a big deal but the idea is to get everything as cheap as possible.

my thanks will be given to everyone who helps.

 

[mrw1986]

Meh, my 8800GT's power everything on my 40" Sony XBR2 1080p lcd. Even Crysis.

 

[erocker]

I would go with a good x38 chipset like say a Asus Maximus. You can pick up 3870's for $229 at some places. So.... 2 3870's + x38 = FTW!

 

[Fitseries3]

Meh, my 8800GT's power everything on my 40" Sony XBR2 1080p lcd. Even Crysis.

yeah, but that's only 1920x1080 not the 2560x1920 that my 30" dell does. i've had 2 GT's and they were good, but not up to my liking for hi-res. (i know... im very picky) GTS would be good though... probably?

 

[Fitseries3]

I would go with a good x38 chipset like say a Asus Maximus. You can pick up 3870's for $229 at some places. So.... 2 3870's + x38 = FTW!

well i was gonna do 2x 3870x2's on a asus rampage formula(x48)

KEEP IN MIND ALL THE NEW STUFF THAT WILL BE OUT SOON.

 

[Fitseries3]

so any recommendations on ram or video... even motherboards... anyone?

 

[trog100]

u are as wise as we are dude.. take your pick from a bunch of p38 chipsets and the known grafix cards and ram.. or wait a few weeks..

trog

 

[PTECH]

yeah, but that's only 1920x1080 not the 2560x1920 that my 30" dell does. i've had 2 GT's and they were good, but not up to my liking for hi-res. (i know... im very picky) GTS would be good though... probably?

1920x1080 = 1080P Best HD picture available.
2560x1920 = Non video, Still pictures only.

I have the NX8800GTS and love it.

 

[Fitseries3]

u are as wise as we are dude.. take your pick from a bunch of p38 chipsets and the known grafix cards and ram..

trog

yeah, i know. it's nice to hear other peoples opinions on hardware though. i don't have the time to read through reviews on every product. and a lot of people may have experience on something that i haven't yet seen and maybe they could suggest it as something worth getting. thats the point of my thread. i would love to hear about people who have hd3870's and x38 boards and how well they like them or how much something sucks and why i shouldn't get it.

 

[Fitseries3]

1920x1080 = 1080P Best HD picture available.
2560x1920 = Non video, Still pictures only.

I have the NX8800GTS and love it.

lol.... sorry i meant 2560x1600. and yes....i do play games on it at that res.

 

[pepsi71ocean]

Go for a 8800 Ultra, and after prices drop get a second and run in SLI. An Ultra will do you a good for your tv screen.

 

[Fitseries3]

Go for a 8800 Ultra, and after prices drop get a second and run in SLI. An Ultra will do you a good for your tv screen.

been there, had them, sold them. not the greatest card. they run hot, take a ton of power and aren't that impressive compared to the newer cards. i know they are still the kings in all, but i card that costs half as much can do about the same.

 

[trog100]

been there, had them, sold them. not the greatest card. they run hot, take a ton of power and aren't that impressive compared to the newer cards. i know they are still the kings in all, but i card that costs half as much can do about the same.

and that is the problem in a nutshell.. bin there done that but still looking for something new to tweak the jaded appetite..

trog

 

[hat]

2 3870's (or 3870x2's if you got the money) would be uber pwn in crossfire on an x38. Stick any 45nm Intel processor in it, a good 2GB set of memory and start frying tire!

 

[Fitseries3]

and that is the problem in a nutshell.. bin there done that but still looking for something new to tweak the jaded appetite..

trog

really... honestly... im just looking for something that WORKS. the nvidia stuff has been a total PITA lately and im really wanting to try something new. i know an intel chipset is ideal along with an ATI card or two or three, or four... but considering what will be coming out soon, it's a though choice right now. i'd like to hear what other people are thinking about this years offerings from ATI and Intel. i have a bonetrail board but the damn ddr3 is way too much for me to use it.

 

[pepsi71ocean]

I chose a 8800 GT over a GTX, GTS, Ultra because the performance gain was minimal, and i found out that when over clocked to where my is now it can almost outperform a ultra.

 

[Fitseries3]

I chose a 8800 GT over a GTX, GTS, Ultra because the performance gain was minimal, and i found out that when over clocked to where my is now it can almost outperform a ultra.

yeah... i've had every single 8 series card in sli and single card setups. they all are about the same on smaller monitors. but on biger monitors they tend to show their true power. the gtx/ultra do the best and the GTS G92 isn't far behind. the GT is a damn good card but still needs a bit more power to run on a 30" LCD.

im considering the new stuff that will be out this year. like the r700 ATI cards and the g100 Nvidia cards. i will not be getting a 9800gx2 though.

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

I highly recommend the DFI lanparty LT x38. Its a DDR2 motherboard and its an overclockers wet dream. So many options. Just update the BIOS to 1/11/08 as that is the bios that supports 45nm and it fixes some issues from the previous version.

 

[Fitseries3]

I highly recommend the DFI lanparty LT x38. Its a DDR2 motherboard and its an overclockers wet dream. So many options. Just update the BIOS to 1/11/08 as that is the bios that supports 45nm and it fixes some issues from the previous version.

tell me more.... i read the review on Xtremesystems and it looks pretty good. is the 3rd 16x pci-e slot 16x, 8x, 4x, or just a 1x?

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

tell me more.... i read the review on Xtremesystems and it looks pretty good. is the 3rd 16x pci-e slot 16x, 8x, 4x, or just a 1x?

The first two are 16x and the third is 4x for physics.

Heres a thing of 8GB RAM.

 

[Fitseries3]

The first two are 16x and the third is 4x for physics.

Heres a thing of 8GB RAM.

cool thanks. i don't mind buying 2 4gig sets if i can get better ram.

how well does the stock NB/SB/VRM cooler do? is there any option for waterblocks?

is that the board that comes with the crazy NB cooler?

 

[gOJDO]

If you can wait a mont or two, wait for 9800GX2, nVidia mainboard with decent chipset and cheaper Yorkfield CPUs(read Q9450).

 

[Fitseries3]

If you can wait a mont or two, wait for 9800GX2, nVidia mainboard with decent chipset and cheaper Yorkfield CPUs(read Q9450).

no gx2 for me. that card is gonna be short lived and runs hot as hell. there is no option for better cooling either. i have thought about the 790i board but i don't want ddr3 at all due to the high cost. the 45nm quad is a go! just waiting on intel. i think i'll opt for the q9650 though. my wallet can handle it.

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

cool thanks. i don't mind buying 2 4gig sets if i can get better ram.

how well does the stock NB/SB/VRM cooler do? is there any option for waterblocks?

is that the board that comes with the crazy NB cooler?

The stock NB/SB/VRM cooler seems to do quite well. I dont even have a fan on the NB just the included HSF and my temps under ITE SmartGuardian for the NB are 39C idle. About 44 in GoW. Thats with IC7 Diamond paste.

As for water blocks, im not sure as I dont water cool. Ill check petra's. Im sure someone has to have this thing on water.

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

no gx2 for me. that card is gonna be short lived and runs hot as hell. there is no option for better cooling either. i have thought about the 790i board but i don't want ddr3 at all due to the high cost. the 45nm quad is a go! just waiting on intel. i think i'll opt for the q9650 though. my wallet can handle it.

Wish mine could. Wanna spit some money my way?