phill86 Posted November 21, 2006 Posted November 21, 2006 Hi, A friend has asked me to build him a stonker of a pc, so of course im suggesting to him DFI LANPARTY nF4 SLI-DR SKT939 http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/in...oduct_uid=86395 My main question is .... As it is NVIDIA based is it ok to use a ATI based PCI-e card or should I stick to Nvidia? http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/in...duct_uid=105749 Any suggestions on pci-e card would be great. I am all so suggesting an Athlon 64 X2 4400+skt939 2.2GHz 1mb This system will be running XP Pro. He will be using the pc for photoshop and graphic programmes so he wants to use all 4GB of ram. CRUCIAL 1GB DDR PC3200 400MHz 184-PIN UNBUFF 128MX64 Memory Modules X4 http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/in...oduct_uid=65719 I have looked at the OCZ ram but there are bad reviews about it not configuring properly so I've opted for the above, just for ease. However if you guys know different or can recommed that would be great. Whoops nearly forgot, the psu. What do you think of this baby? http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/in...duct_uid=116339 The hard drives will be 2x Maxtor 320GB in stripe raid Thank you very much for your help and guidance on this pc build. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tasr Posted November 21, 2006 Posted November 21, 2006 My main question is ....As it is NVIDIA based is it ok to use a ATI based PCI-e card or should I stick to Nvidia? Yes it is absolutely compatible. X1900 is a great video card. What PSU are you going to use? Get one from the recommended list. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
phill86 Posted November 21, 2006 Posted November 21, 2006 Thanks Tasr I have found the psu that I am planing on getting in your links. Hiper Type R 730W (Special Server Based Modular) Up to Max Combined +12V@56A Specs: http://www.hipergroup.com/English/pr...hpu-4s730.html From $ Froogle has no listings as of 10-18-06 Would I be better off getting 2x 2GB ram matched pairs or 4 x 1GB sticks.? Crucial 2GB kit (1GBx2) DDR PC3200 CL=3 UNBUFFERED NON-ECC DDR400 2.6V 128Meg x 64 http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/92005 or 4x CRUCIAL 1GB DDR PC3200 400MHz 184-PIN UNBUFF 128MX64 Memory Modules http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/in...oduct_uid=65719 Thanks again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamkoza Posted November 21, 2006 Posted November 21, 2006 Thanks TasrI have found the psu that I am planing on getting in your links. Hiper Type R 730W (Special Server Based Modular) Up to Max Combined +12V@56A Specs: http://www.hipergroup.com/English/pr...hpu-4s730.html From $ Froogle has no listings as of 10-18-06 Would I be better off getting 2x 2GB ram matched pairs or 4 x 1GB sticks.? Crucial 2GB kit (1GBx2) DDR PC3200 CL=3 UNBUFFERED NON-ECC DDR400 2.6V 128Meg x 64 http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/92005 or 4x CRUCIAL 1GB DDR PC3200 400MHz 184-PIN UNBUFF 128MX64 Memory Modules http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/in...oduct_uid=65719 Thanks again. if he wants to use all 4 GB of ram, perhaps you should install the 64bit version of windows xp. the 32bit version will only see 3.25 gb of ram... with ram being so expensive right now, why not just pick up a 2gb kit and see if that is good enough? It should be. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MACarter02 Posted November 21, 2006 Posted November 21, 2006 yea 2 GB is plenty until Vista. Perhaps then memory wont be so rediculously priced. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry_Games Posted November 21, 2006 Posted November 21, 2006 8800GTX = best video card in the world right now X1900XT = best bang for the buck right now for psu, I'd look into OCZ, Corsair, or Antec for the psu. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
phill86 Posted November 21, 2006 Posted November 21, 2006 Thanks for the advice . I will look at other psu's and recomemend they keep it to 2GB. Cheers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thraxz Posted November 21, 2006 Posted November 21, 2006 SO far, I don't even see a need for more than 2GB with Vista Ultimate. I only run about 20% ram usage while sitting in idle at the desktop and have only ever seen more than 45% ONCE when I was watching a video (off of a website) and scanning for viruses at the same time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
radodrill Posted November 21, 2006 Posted November 21, 2006 If you want to go dual GPU; stick with nVidia SLI (since this board doesn't support ATI crossfire) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
prosser13 Posted November 21, 2006 Posted November 21, 2006 Have you thought about getting the DFI RDX200 CF-DR, which can be picked up for £35 at Overclockers.co.uk, and pairing it with an ATi graphics card so that it can be upgraded to Crossfire? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
phill86 Posted November 22, 2006 Posted November 22, 2006 Hey the mo/bo looks good but the sata is only 150. I want to run Sata 2 300mb. What is the difference between SLI and crossfire? how does an ati card upgrade it to crossfire? Thats. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polizei Posted November 22, 2006 Posted November 22, 2006 Hey the mo/bo looks good but the sata is only 150. I want to run Sata 2 300mb. What is the difference between SLI and crossfire? how does an ati card upgrade it to crossfire? Thats. Crossfire is ATI's version of nVidia's SLI. Crossfire = 2 ATI videocards SLI = 2 nVidia cards A motherboard will either be SLI or Crossfire. Sometimes you can use hacked drivers and run SLI on a Crossfire, but assume you cant. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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