In regards to building a comp.

I am building a new comp. I used to do this all the time but its been 3 years or so. wanna make sure i am getting this right if you'd be so kind.

So far this is what i got
MOBO
ASUS M3N72-D AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA nForce 750a SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

CPU
AMD Phenom 9850 BLACK EDITION 2.5GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HD985ZXAGHBOX - Retail

HDD
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3750330AS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

RAM
Patriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PVS24G8500ELKN - Retail

DVDROM
ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T - Retail

CASE+PS
RAIDMAX SMILODON Extreme Black ATX-612WEBP 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case With 500W Power Supply - Retail

now i have not chosen a vid card..i am confused about whats compatable. it says chipset "NVIDIA nForce 750a SLI" but what does that entail? any PCI Express 2.0 X 16? or is it specific cards...any opinions or comments appreciated. I wanna use the SLI eventually but funding will have to replenish first i think...

 

Hi,
Any pci-xpress should do...i don't know where you get your parts from, but if you use some place like tiger direct, new egg, geeks, their sales/order people are usually pretty knowledgable and they could help your also...anyway, i have always had good luck with them...sounds like a nice system you are putting together there...

 

Ok so its any pci Express good deal, I am currently going through Newegg.com always have had good luck with them in the past so, old habbits die hard right. appreciate the vid card question, prolly sounded pretty stupid but ya never know if stuff changed greatly. Thanks.

 

Well no it's "not any PCI-e" express cards. The nVidia "chipset" means you could choose any single card by make or model but if you really want to go SLI you will have to choose nVidia makes and models as the motherboard will "not do" crossfire and thus you should not be choosing any ATI makes or models if you intend to run dual Video Cards in the future!

 

So basically say, any 2 SLI Nvidia PCIe 2.0 X 16 would work.

Now one more question if you would. How do I know if my Power supply can handle it, the current vid card I am looking at says 500W Minimum, so if i SLI that, 1000W min for cards alone? so i need say 1250W PS? or am i straight up wrong on that one. The card I am looking at is "XFX GX260NADF9 GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card"

jeez, now another question, would the size of my case fit all of this? think I need a full size?

Thanks again.

 

Let's really clear some things up here.

Not any nVidia Cards but only those cards from the same series will run together. When I say series I mean like the 2xx series for example. Within this series there are currently the 260 and 280 (but later there will be 280x2 and 260x2) and any of these cards will run in SLI together. But None from that series will run in SLI with any of the 9800 series, and same once again for the 8xxx series (e.g. 8600, 8800, etc). Basically the first number will indicate what the series are and currently this will "dictate" what other video cards you can use for SLI. No ATI or nVidia card will work together!!!

The motherboard you have chosen will run a single card at x16 but for SLI will run at x8/x8:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131323

Have a look at the specifications for that board;

"PCI Express 2.0 x16 2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 @ dual x8"

This indicates that with a single card you will get the memory bandwidth at x16 to the Video Card but when you apply dual cards (therefore SLI) you will get that bandwidth shared between the 2 cards and therefore x8/x8 for each card. You will still have the benefit of the dual GPUs' and Video Card RAM but at a "crippled speed". The 750 chipset was built as a budget board. You may want to look for a board that has a 780 or 790 chipset:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131339

This board is only an example I would choose something different.

When a Video Card indicates a 500W minimum this is for the Video Card plus the rest of the components in your system (HDD, CPU, Fans, DVD drive, etc etc). If you get another Video Card then you may only need a decent 700-800W because the rest of your system and Video Card has already come out of the first 500W.

I don't want to over simplify nor over complicate this for you. Post back if any of this is unclear.

 

AH. Ok, that is very good to know, so here I am learning again. sweet. I think I am caught up enough to actually build this, here is what I have if you can be so kind as to make sure I have not screwed up.

MOBO
ASUS Crosshair II Formula AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA nForce 780a SLI HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

CPU
AMD Phenom 9950 BLACK EDITION 2.6GHz Socket AM2+ 140W Quad-Core Processor Model HD995ZFAGHBOX - Retail

RAM
CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF - Retail

HDD
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3750330AS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

ROM
ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T - Retail

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
AND windows vista 64bit.
ant pant:

and eventually
2X "XFX GX260NADF9 GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card"

I believe thats everything, but again, any suggestions or comments is most def appreciated.

 

I think the best thing would be if you can imagine and define exactly what you intend to use this system for, e.g. gaming, or surfing and watching movies, or DATA server or buisness machine, etc. Also how long you would like it to last.

Things have changed over the last 3 years and currently Intel and ATI rule the roost and offer the better bang for buck.

It would be really nice if you could paste the links of all the parts you have selected so far so it is very easy for others to go there and will generate a lot more feedback.

 

Roger that, well essentially I am looking for a high-end gaming comp that will play all the latest and greatest on high and have no problems. I was trying to buy just the barebones for the use of my wife for a lil while, then upgrading it into said machine, so i figure i would need the PSU, MOBO and CPU to be top notch initially, go low to medium with everything else, and slowly upgrade it to top notch while she is using it. And that is odd to me, always used AMD to do this, but I will certainly try Intel and ATI if thats what takes it now.

Oh, and the monitor I plan on using it 47' Sony Bravia, max resolution is in the book, gotta check it b4 I get the vid cards.

 

Here is another thread I suggested some Intel parts for which will give you better bang for buck, have a look and a think and give me an idea of your budget. You will probably want to consider a 4870 with such a big monitor (damn that's a HDTV?):

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=168816

Have a look at the bottom post.

 

Dang, this is getting interesting, so I went and built an intel based as well taking your advice, I think I will scratch that previous statement and just go all out (or almost so) right away. here is my intel (i will post links ) and i will post my AMD.

INTEL
MOBO http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131218

CASE http://www.newegg.com/Product Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182070

CPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115041

Vid http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130386

HDD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148298

ROM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135156

RAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231179

Not sure about the vid card entirely, but until I look more...


AMD
MOBO http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131292\

CASE http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119145

CPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103273

RAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145197

HDD/ROM same as, intel for now

VID http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150308&Tpk=XFX%20GX260NADF9\

AMD 1162.94 w/o Vid W/ Vid $1422.93
Intel (vid req'd right away) $1238.93

Both have vista 64 bit ulitmate. $179.99

 

Just saw you posted this, I put it in my cart and am checking it now, I dont really have a budget, if I had to choose a number I would go with $1500 tops, but less is great.

when all of above is in my cart without totals out at 885.94 I did not find the combo ram you had mentioned, but I found a combo case with the MOBO....

Went with the 4780 and the 8500 CPU tho.
Just need to get a PSU....

PS: And yea, thats my HDTV thing is a beast motion enhancer/120 Htz is sweet, makes every show/game look like its real time.

 

Heya I'm glad I could provide some help so far and you are rapidly absorbing what I have explained so it makes life a lot easier.

I would really recommend you join and make a post at this website and we will get a lot more feedback and good info:

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/

Better to have many heads approach the same problem. You could cut and paste your 2nd last post in the thread and ask the guys there as well.

Majorgeeks (MG) is a great site (my favourite) and I have been coming here for ages but you wont find the "talent pool" to provide excellent system build advice here, sadly. MG is more of a "troubleshooting site", no offence intended guys and gals but just making sure the best possible advice is sourced. Whereas Hardware Canucks has more enthusiasts there and will generate greater advice. I'm Boldeagle over there and will help but would like input from others as well so we can bounce ideas around.

The PSU we should explore is the HX1000 if you are going for dual 4870s' at a later date (or even a 4870 and a 4870x2, giving tri-crossfire). The CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) is a very good choice.

 

For your AMD rig you speced a micro motherboard. You could save a lot of cash by getting an Antec 300 or 900 case, and a PSU. I love a full tower case, but the 300 and 900 are nice cases, and should work well with a microATX mobo.

Also, for the AMD rig, a Nvidia 8800GT is not top of the line, but should work very well for a low end system. Save some more $ on that as well.

E