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need help with new processor and SLI

N

Nidhogg

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 24, 2005
Messages
388
i want to upgrade my comp soon and spend alittle more than $1500

it will only be used for gaming and thats it, i have plenty of other comps for web browsing ect so i will never alt-tab.

i have a ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI and im looking to get a new processor and videocard(s)

should i spend a lot on a processor and get 1 7800GTX or get a cheaper processor and get 2 7800GTX to SLI

also should i consider an X2 processor to be futureproof or will i gain nothing from dual processors if i only use it for gaming. i wont even alt tab to use the web because i have other comps for that.

i want to use air cooling, xp-90 or xp-120 mostlikely, and i dont want to have to overclock too much


should i get an expensive processor like the FX-57 and go with 1 7800GTX
Athlon 64 FX-57 2.8GHz $1100
Geforce 7800GTX $550
$1650

or go with a cheap processor and use SLI
Athlon 64 4000+ 2.4GHz $475
Geforce 7800GTX (2) $1100
$1575

also should i consider an X2 to use instead of the FX-57 or 4000+
Athlon 64 X2 4800+ 2.4GHz $1100
Athlon 64 X2 4400+ 2.2GHz $650

prices taken from newegg
 
do you know anything about overclocking? I would consider overclocking to save yourself a ton of cash, as these 939 rev. e chips overclock great. A 3200+ venice will hit 2.4 at least, and leave you with enough for a dual 7800gtx setup. The X2 currently offers jack shit for gaming over a single core setup. It won't future proof anything, as by the time optimizations come around for SMP, you'll be upgrading again anyways. A 3200+ leaves you with plenty of money to upgrade to a X2 later.
 
yes, go with a 3200+ venice, check my oc'ing sticky on how to overclock, and use the money for extra video power, or fun ram :p
 
Might as well save more and get a 3000+ they OC the same as the 3200+. Or grab a 3700+ San Diego for about $300 i believe. Get the 7800gtx just one nad if you find you a second one get it later. Grab some good ram that can do 250mhz at 2-2-2-5.
 
TehDuffman said:
Might as well save more and get a 3000+ they OC the same as the 3200+. Or grab a 3700+ San Diego for about $300 i believe. Get the 7800gtx just one nad if you find you a second one get it later. Grab some good ram that can do 250mhz at 2-2-2-5.
Click to expand...
well, mr week 16 3000+, things have changed. I wouldn't be surprised if a week 21+ 3200+ didn't OC as well as your week 16. I'd like to see some results of new week 3000+ processors, as I doubt they are doing as well. Don't waste money on RAM that does 250@2-2-2, it isn't needed, will cost a ton (plus good luck finding that in a 1gb package, if you really need it, 2x512 of twinmosSP, and a DFI), and again, doesn't do jack for performance compared to a 2nd 7800gtx.
 
mikelz85 said:
do you know anything about overclocking? I would consider overclocking to save yourself a ton of cash, as these 939 rev. e chips overclock great. A 3200+ venice will hit 2.4 at least, and leave you with enough for a dual 7800gtx setup. The X2 currently offers jack shit for gaming over a single core setup. It won't future proof anything, as by the time optimizations come around for SMP, you'll be upgrading again anyways. A 3200+ leaves you with plenty of money to upgrade to a X2 later.
Click to expand...


will a 3200+ at 2.4 be enuff for the games coming out 6 months from now?
i already have enuff for dual 7800gtx and about $500 after that for a processor
if i go with the 3200+ and get it to 2.4 is it going to be a huge bottleneck compaired to my dual 7800s?

i can overclock some but dont wanna push it as i probably wont upgrade for some time after this

thanks for responding
 
it'll be fine for games in 6 months, plus should games start to use SMP/DC, the X2 is just a drop in upgrade, and will be far cheaper by then.
 
mikelz85 said:
well, mr week 16 3000+, things have changed. I wouldn't be surprised if a week 21+ 3200+ didn't OC as well as your week 16. I'd like to see some results of new week 3000+ processors, as I doubt they are doing as well. Don't waste money on RAM that does 250@2-2-2, it isn't needed, will cost a ton (plus good luck finding that in a 1gb package, if you really need it, 2x512 of twinmosSP, and a DFI), and again, doesn't do jack for performance compared to a 2nd 7800gtx.
Click to expand...

Wrong, some of the newer chips (week 19, 20, 21) have been clocking as good or better compared to week 15's and 17's. 3000+ and 3200+ are basically identical, except for multiplier. So it's up to you, add $50 for the same chip but with a higher multipler (10x vs. 9x) or go with the 3000+.
 
I don't think newer weeks on average overclock as well, the reason for this isn't that the line has decreased in quality, but that AMD is binning the difference, which they weren't before. Plus, odds are good that a chip ordered today won't be any older than a week 20, likely newer. Thus, I suggest the 3200+, as if the difference is binned, a 3000+ won't be as good on average. You just aren't seeing people taking every rev. e. regardless of rated speed, to 2.7+ ghz like you were when they first came out, thus I assume, the newer weeks aren't as good.
 
Nidhogg said:
will a 3200+ at 2.4 be enuff for the games coming out 6 months from now?
Click to expand...
i have a 3200+ clawhammer that is more than enough for any game i would want to play ;)
 
honestly though eclipse, I am wondering where the point of diminishing returns starts to kick in on CPU clock eliminating the bottleneck on a dual 7800gtx setup? Many say that a dual 7800gtx setup is just "too powerful" for the CPU, and is bottlenecked. Is this a case where there might be more to be gained out of the GPU with another 100-400mhz on the CPU? My experience here is limited, I'm just now ironing out an OC on my new refurbed x800pro, and haven't seen any variable CPU clock 7800gtx benches. Surely it'll be plenty of power, but I want to make sure that games wouldn't greatly benefit from a higher CPU clock due to bottlenecking, though if there is any bottleneck, it won't be much.
 
I've read articles linked in other threads that shows slower cpu bottlenecking occurs mainly at lower resolutions (below 1280x1024).

If this is in fact an issue, then I think a 3200+ oc'd to 2.4-2.6GHz, two 7800GTXs, and 2GB of RAM will be a fabulous setup for running most any game at above 1280x1024 with higher AA/AF settings. Can anyone confirm the low resolution bottleneck theory from their own personal experiences?
 
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