Best Build for $1500

[Capo]

You might want to look at dual HD2900 Pro's, they'll come out soon (or are even out already?), and they'll cost as much as a GTX and kick the crap out of it!

 

Can anyone comment on how ATI cards are doing with their colors and color depth these days? I used to be an ATI guy wayyy back in the day, but have been using nvidia for several years due to the faded and washed out colors the old ATI boards would always seem to give. Have they resolved this in current models? How does it compare to nvidia?

[Waco]

Can anyone comment on how ATI cards are doing with their colors and color depth these days? I used to be an ATI guy wayyy back in the day, but have been using nvidia for several years due to the faded and washed out colors the old ATI boards would always seem to give. Have they resolved this in current models? How does it compare to nvidia?

I can't say I've ever heard this complaint before...

 

Maybe you were comparing the overblown colors because of the digital vibrance on the nVidia cards to the actual colors you should be seeing with an ATi card? I don't remember if digital vibrance is enabled by default or not on the nVidia drivers.

[Capo]

I can't say I've ever heard this complaint before...

 

Maybe you were comparing the overblown colors because of the digital vibrance on the nVidia cards to the actual colors you should be seeing with an ATi card? I don't remember if digital vibrance is enabled by default or not on the nVidia drivers.

 

/Shrug

 

I always noticed this and had some friends who thought the same... dunno though.

[robAP]

Hmm if I had $1500, I pick me up one of those Samsung DLP and 360 bundle at Best Buy rather than upgrading a PC. Don't get the 50" 1080p version thou, it has some major bowling issues.

 

same here. i need a 50" flat screen that can at least pick up a 7-10 split every once in a while or its off my team.

 

im in the process of finding the parts for a friend whose doing the same but in the $1100 department including monitor!.....so that gets a little tight. but getting something that can bowl too...now thats a challenge.

 

[Capo]

Intel Q6600 2.4Ghz ($277)

EVGA 122-CK-NF68-T1 680i SLI ($200 - $20 MIR)

eVGA 8800GTX PCIe ($530 - $20 MIR)

GeIL 2x1GB DDR2-800 Cas4 ($85 - $30 MIR)

2xHitachi 160GB 8MB Cache NCQ Sata3.0Gb/s (2x$54)

Samsung 400GB 16MB Cache Sata3.0Gb/s ($84)

OCZ GameXStream 700W PSU ($127 - $25 MIR)

Samsung 20x DVD Burner IDE ($30)

Thermaltake Armor ATX Case ($170 - $30 MIR)

 

Total: $1611 - $125 = $1486

 

One more thing, is there a reason you linked the Proc from zipzoomfly rather than newegg? They're basically the same price... is one a better core than the other or something like that?

[Verran]

One more thing, is there a reason you linked the Proc from zipzoomfly rather than newegg? They're basically the same price... is one a better core than the other or something like that?

It's $2 cheaper, and the PSU is from there anyways, so you're already ordering from them

 

But no, they're not any different.

[road-runner]

Well, an Intel CPU. C2Q or C2D. An EVGA 680i/DFI 680Lt mobo if you want sli. A P35 Mobo if you don't. For crossfire then I don't know. Ram at least 2GB, PC2-800 or higher.

For crossfire, you would want the new Intel X-38 board that has dual, true 16 X PCIE slots for crossfire.

[Capo]

You might want to look at dual HD2900 Pro's, they'll come out soon (or are even out already?), and they'll cost as much as a GTX and kick the crap out of it!

 

Does anyone know type of performance increase Ill see with two of these over 1 gtx?

 

Also, how do these compare to two GTXs in SLI?

Edited September 28, 2007 by Capo

[innocent42]

You might want to look at dual HD2900 Pro's, they'll come out soon (or are even out already?), and they'll cost as much as a GTX and kick the crap out of it!

 

I've generally found that a single card is going to be faster and a better deal. There's not much point in using a dual-GPU solution for high-midrange cards. It's only for those with tons of money and a lot to spend for a few more FPS. Thing is, a lot of games aren't optimized particularly well for SLI, so having two graphics cards is not going to double your FPS (the actual increase can be anywhere from 30-70%, depending on the game), but it will double your cost. The other thing is that one good strategy is to get an SLI/CF board and one GPU, then when there is a price drop just get another to increase your power in one easy upgrade.

 

Does anyone know type of performance increase Ill see with two of these over 1 gtx?

 

Also, how do these compare to two GTXs in SLI?

 

They would be slower than 2 GTXs, I know that for sure. The 2900 pro is a lower-end version of the 2900XT. It's like the 8800GTS is to the GTX, except less of a performance and price drop. I also suspect that two 2900 Pros would still be slower than 1 GTX. They might have an advantage in a few games, but generally SLI/CF will only give you an average 50% increase in framerate, and the single GTX will have a huge advantage over the single Pro.

 

As for $1500 builds, Firingsquad had a good one the other day, though I would replace the Q6600 with an E6850, and I might go for a 680i motherboard, since I don't know how good an overclocker that Asus board is. A nicer case would add no more than $50-$75, though I definitely wouldn't follow their advice about the 8800 Ultra. It's overpriced, and you can make a GTX almost as powerful just by overclocking a little.

[kingdingeling]

They would be slower than 2 GTXs, I know that for sure. The 2900 pro is a lower-end version of the 2900XT. It's like the 8800GTS is to the GTX, except less of a performance and price drop. I also suspect that two 2900 Pros would still be slower than 1 GTX. They might have an advantage in a few games, but generally SLI/CF will only give you an average 50% increase in framerate, and the single GTX will have a huge advantage over the single Pro.

Not necessarily, as the Pro is basically a downclocked XT, so if you overclock it to XT speeds, you can beat dual GTX's/Ultra's. Have a look a the futuremark ORB, two of the three highest scores are with dual 2900XT's in Crossfire. You also have to figure in the price difference though, you can get two 2900Pro's for about 530$, where that barely pays one GTX! And two 2900Pro's wills tomp all over 1 GTX!

[Capo]

Not necessarily, as the Pro is basically a downclocked XT, so if you overclock it to XT speeds, you can beat dual GTX's/Ultra's. Have a look a the futuremark ORB, two of the three highest scores are with dual 2900XT's in Crossfire. You also have to figure in the price difference though, you can get two 2900Pro's for about 530$, where that barely pays one GTX! And two 2900Pro's wills tomp all over 1 GTX!

 

Will the two 2900s still tromp the GTX on games that "are not optimized for CF and/or SLI?" I seem to hear a lot of games are being optimized for nivida these days, am I going to run into issues with that? If ATI is the better route for the money, then I will certainly go that route, my only fear is not getting the "for sure best," which seems to be Nvidia (recently, at least).

 

Also, to run ATIs in crossfire do I need to buy anything additionally to do so (other than proper psu, mobo, and case)? Is there a cable or something i have to connect or are they simply linked through the mobo?

[kingdingeling]

No, you do not need to buy anything special to connect them. Each card comes with a Crossfire bridge, so then you have two (one from each card), and you just connect them with each other.

 

As far as performance is concerened, it doesn't matter which cards the game is optimized for, that's only advertisement usually.