dual core possibility

[tacosareveryyummy]

Alright my budget is one grand u.s. I need everything but the monitor speakers, keyboard and mouse. I really want to go dual core but cant seem to get it under one grand. Its probably because I need the os also. Anyways for my question. Is sli really nescessary . Will there always be a single card solution for games or will sli be the way of the future? Also are p4 dual cores worth it? They are a little bit cheaper than amd counterparts. They are better for my budget. However if the primary use is gaming would I be better of with a single core 3500 or something similar?

 

[sc00ter]

I'd only get dual-core if you do a lot of multitasking. Otherwise, something like a 3700 would be fine. SLI, IMO, is also a waste of money. Just get a single card, both the 6800GT and X800XL are good cards that should last through another couple years.

 

[Dan_D]

I'd only get dual-core if you do a lot of multitasking. Otherwise, something like a 3700 would be fine. SLI, IMO, is also a waste of money. Just get a single card, both the 6800GT and X800XL are good cards that should last through another couple years.

I disagree on the SLi part. It's nice and worth it, but ONLY if you can afford it and are willing to spend the money on it. Definately not worth it for lower end cards like the 6600GT.

 

[Mr45]

My take on it is that SLI is only "required" if you are going to run high resolutions, 1600x1200 with AA and AF for example. As for dual cores, they are a waste if your primary use is going to be gaming. The dual core Intels make for great small business servers with the Matrix RAID allowing for hotswap mirrored arrays. I would not use the Intel's for a gaming rig however. You might consider a system with a 3000+ Venice and a 7800GT and overclock them, you could squeak in under a grand with careful shopping and have a dam fast gaming rig.

I have a Socket 754 3400+ Clawhammer, 1Gb Corsair, 6800 Ultra and a single 74Gb Raptor and run 1280x1024 on a 19" LCD.

I also have a Pentium M 1.8@2.4Ghz, 2Gb of Corsair, 2 Raptors in RAID 0, and a 7800GTX on a 19" LCD @ 1280x1024

My buddy has a CM Stacker with a dual core 4400, 2Gb of Corsair, Asus AN8 SLI with dual 7800GTX's and 4 Raptors in RAID 0 and runs 1280x1024 on a 19" LCD.

You can't tell the difference between our machines when playing BF2, we have the settings maxed for the game and run on a LAN using a 24 port gigabit switch. Sure his loads faster obviously due to the 4 Raptors, but normal gameplay is the same. The "old" 6800 is able to keep pace with the 7800's when actually playing games, I.E. gameplay is smoothand there is no lag. Things turn ugly however when benchmarks are run and the frame rates are quantified.

I see my "old" Clawhammer/6800U system lasting another few years, or until the next generation of games come out with new graphics features that are not supported by the card. I have, however, relegated the machine to backup use as it's in a tower and Pentium M is now my primary gaming/lan party machine as it's in a much more portable Aspire X-QPack.

Just something to consider