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WARNING: This is fairly long, but I have some great questions I'd love answered. You guys have always been extremely helpful!
My parents have been quite generous since they moved out of state, and I'm pretty sure they want to buy me some computer gadgets for xmas so I can rebuild my computer.
I made a new rig in January. At the time, it was awesome. Opty 146 (OC to 2.8ghz stable and cool), Epox 9npa+sli, XFX 7900GT, 2x1gb DDR400 Corsair XMS at really tight timings (2-3-2-6). But it's starting to show its age - especially with the processor not being dual core. Lots of games in 2007 will require dual core processors, so I figure it's time.
I plan to only upgrade my mobo, processor, and memory (questions about vid board later). My HDDs are good, optical drive is good, PSU is good, everything else is good.
For mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123005
I'm an EPoX !!!!!!. I *love* their boards. I've owned two and I'm in love. This'll be an upgrade from 939 to AM2. Lil question though - is there a comparable board in quality and price that does 16x16 SLI? Anything but DFI. I've had nothing but nightmares with DFI boads.
For processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103751
I'd love for it to be insanely overclockable (25% gain at minimum). I have good coolers. Both a Scythe Ninja with a Silverstone fan that spins so fast it creates antimatter, and a Thermalright SI-120 with the same fan. I alternate them depending on the season. It's cold inside now, so I'm using the SI-120. I can get my Opty 146 to 2.8ghz from 2.0 (3.1ghz was my tops, but I was uncomfortable pushing it that hard, tho it was stable over 3 days of prime95 torture). Stable as all hell just on air cooling, using either cooler. I'd prefer to get an AM2 dual core Opty, but they're insanely spendy. Think I chose a good alternative?
Why am I not going Core Duo? Not impressed. Sure, it's great tech, but AMD has served me quite well for nearly 10 years and I don't plan on ditching them. The new Intel stuff is also way overpriced for what it is. And hey, I like to support the small guys. And my last Intel overheated (with a nice Zalman cooler on max speed, no less) every 15 minutes.
What about memory? I haven't kept track of memory quality lately. I'll have to replace my DDR 400 with DDR2 800. 2x1gb sticks. Something quality, not too pricey, and with easily tweakable timings. Good OC performance wouldn't hurt a bit either.
As far as video cards... would you recommend I SLI my 7900GT (which are becoming nearly impossible to find lately... ugh), upgrade to 1 superclocked 7950GT, or bite the overpriced 8800GTS bullet? I'm happy as hell with my current card, but over 2007, it's gonna age quite quickly. Any clues when the 8800 cards will drop in price? Assuming it'll be when nvidia upgrades the 8800s like they did the 7900s. But no telling when.
That's pretty much it. I'd appreciate any feedback. Researching new hardware is always quite the debacle.
My parents have been quite generous since they moved out of state, and I'm pretty sure they want to buy me some computer gadgets for xmas so I can rebuild my computer.
I made a new rig in January. At the time, it was awesome. Opty 146 (OC to 2.8ghz stable and cool), Epox 9npa+sli, XFX 7900GT, 2x1gb DDR400 Corsair XMS at really tight timings (2-3-2-6). But it's starting to show its age - especially with the processor not being dual core. Lots of games in 2007 will require dual core processors, so I figure it's time.
I plan to only upgrade my mobo, processor, and memory (questions about vid board later). My HDDs are good, optical drive is good, PSU is good, everything else is good.
For mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123005
I'm an EPoX !!!!!!. I *love* their boards. I've owned two and I'm in love. This'll be an upgrade from 939 to AM2. Lil question though - is there a comparable board in quality and price that does 16x16 SLI? Anything but DFI. I've had nothing but nightmares with DFI boads.
For processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103751
I'd love for it to be insanely overclockable (25% gain at minimum). I have good coolers. Both a Scythe Ninja with a Silverstone fan that spins so fast it creates antimatter, and a Thermalright SI-120 with the same fan. I alternate them depending on the season. It's cold inside now, so I'm using the SI-120. I can get my Opty 146 to 2.8ghz from 2.0 (3.1ghz was my tops, but I was uncomfortable pushing it that hard, tho it was stable over 3 days of prime95 torture). Stable as all hell just on air cooling, using either cooler. I'd prefer to get an AM2 dual core Opty, but they're insanely spendy. Think I chose a good alternative?
Why am I not going Core Duo? Not impressed. Sure, it's great tech, but AMD has served me quite well for nearly 10 years and I don't plan on ditching them. The new Intel stuff is also way overpriced for what it is. And hey, I like to support the small guys. And my last Intel overheated (with a nice Zalman cooler on max speed, no less) every 15 minutes.
What about memory? I haven't kept track of memory quality lately. I'll have to replace my DDR 400 with DDR2 800. 2x1gb sticks. Something quality, not too pricey, and with easily tweakable timings. Good OC performance wouldn't hurt a bit either.
As far as video cards... would you recommend I SLI my 7900GT (which are becoming nearly impossible to find lately... ugh), upgrade to 1 superclocked 7950GT, or bite the overpriced 8800GTS bullet? I'm happy as hell with my current card, but over 2007, it's gonna age quite quickly. Any clues when the 8800 cards will drop in price? Assuming it'll be when nvidia upgrades the 8800s like they did the 7900s. But no telling when.
That's pretty much it. I'd appreciate any feedback. Researching new hardware is always quite the debacle.