Need some good advice for a VM purchase

S

SR45

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 27, 2005
Messages
447
Down to the wire ( Few more days ) on my next purchase and I'm not to swift on some hardware that some of you maybe able to help with.

Thinking of a VelocityMicro Gamers Edge with the following:

1. 680i SLI ChipSet... Is this so much better than getting the 650i SLI ChipSet with the ProMagic system ?

2. 2 Gb of Corsair DDR-2 667. Is there a noticeable difference, if I do not overclock the memory, ever, from the Corsair DDR-2 800 mhz memory, and do I need 4 gigs now with only Vista 32 bit OS. 64 bit OS very soon after. I play the new Flight X Sim game from Microsoft, First Person Shooter games and the like

3. 150 Gb Raptor 10,000 rpm 16 mb Cache. Is this much better over the 74 gig Raptor 10,000 rpm 8 mb cache hard drive ?

4. 18X DVD Plextor. Is it really worth the extra $85.00 over the 20X DVD driver from Lite On ?

5. E6700 core 2 duo Or should I just stick with the E6600 cpu instead ? Lots of difference or not much in way of playing games ?

6. Do any of you know what it means by " Certified " that is next to both the 850 and 1200 watt power supply and not with the 500 watter ?

I do not wish to just throw away some good money on those items I do not really need or will notice any difference with. Many of you will know with some experience that I do not have.

Thank you so very much for any of your time with these questions :)
 
1) The 680i will allow you to overclock if thats what you intend, more so than the 650i. The 680 may be more feature rich as well.
2) Vista and many games to come will like 4 GB of RAM. The faster the better. If you have the money get 4, but you can always add more later very easily yourself and maybe cheaper.
3) Raptors are expensive but fast storage. You might want a smaller one for the OS and a large SATA ii drive for basic storage, or just can it altogether and get a big ass SATAii. Ive never used Raptors. I get by just fine with basic SATA ii drives, just 2 cents.
4) Lite-on = just fine. When was the last time an optical drive failed??? save your money there.
5)You can easily OC an e6600 to way beyond the basic Ghz of a 6700. They are both good but if you can OC even a little bit you'll save a bunch of money. They are the same chip with different multipliers. Read the nVidia OC guide and you'll know everything you need.
6) I didnt read the page, but VM may be referring to SLI certified PSUs.....here's where a few bucks may help. Go as big as you can with power. When you upgrade that power will come in handy. 850 may be a good spot to consider, eapecially if you decide to SLI.

I might could help more if you posted the whole system.

The certified indeed related to SLI, which allows you to run 2 video cards ( on select motherboards,like the 680i) rather than 1. The video power is increased allowing for higher resolution gaming and effectively better performance. The PSUs that are certified have been tested to produce the amps/watts needed to power two cards, and generally have the PCI-e connectors in enough number as to make installation easier.
 
Magoo, I appriciate the responce. Since I have never been able to overclock the cpu, I have a Dell, and getting the 680i Gamers Edge may just let me try it out to save a few bucks. Good to know about Lite On. Have one now for a number of years without issue but wondered if anyone had Plextor and how it rated over Lite On.


Thank you again for the information. :cool:
 
No problem. I have Plexor and Lite-on, and really have no preference. The Plexor came with a prior system and I've purchased Lite-on for quite some time on various builds.

Honestly, if you go to the nVidia site and download their 680i overclocking guide, coupled with a C2D CPU you will be able to get that 6600 to a great OC, well above 3 Ghz in most cases.

Of course, you'll need to check with VM as to the warranty if you do OC.
They might even be willing to OC for you to some degree if you phone them.:D
 
SR45 said:
Down to the wire ( Few more days ) on my next purchase and I'm not to swift on some hardware that some of you maybe able to help with.

Thinking of a VelocityMicro Gamers Edge with the following:

1. 680i SLI ChipSet... Is this so much better than getting the 650i SLI ChipSet with the ProMagic system ?

2. 2 Gb of Corsair DDR-2 667. Is there a noticeable difference, if I do not overclock the memory, ever, from the Corsair DDR-2 800 mhz memory, and do I need 4 gigs now with only Vista 32 bit OS. 64 bit OS very soon after. I play the new Flight X Sim game from Microsoft, First Person Shooter games and the like

3. 150 Gb Raptor 10,000 rpm 16 mb Cache. Is this much better over the 74 gig Raptor 10,000 rpm 8 mb cache hard drive ?

4. 18X DVD Plextor. Is it really worth the extra $85.00 over the 20X DVD driver from Lite On ?

5. E6700 core 2 duo Or should I just stick with the E6600 cpu instead ? Lots of difference or not much in way of playing games ?

6. Do any of you know what it means by " Certified " that is next to both the 850 and 1200 watt power supply and not with the 500 watter ?

I do not wish to just throw away some good money on those items I do not really need or will notice any difference with. Many of you will know with some experience that I do not have.

Thank you so very much for any of your time with these questions :)
Click to expand...

1. Stick with the 680i. the issues are being fixed very quickly, and it has much more features :)

2. Screw 4gb of ram, its pointless... stick with 2gb of the ddr2 800 they have listed :)

3. Screw the raptor. 2 x 250's or just one big drive is a WAY better deal, and the raptor isnt really that useful...

4. Plextor = MUCH more reliable than Lite-On, but dunno if its worth an extra 80 bucks :p id probably take the lite-on

5. i would personally take the e6600, as i would DEFINITELY overclock :D

6. the 850W and 1kW PSU's are QSLi certified IIRC :)

and completely ignore vista 64. its useless, as most drivers arent compatible with it IIRC, as they absolutely MUST be WHQL certified for vista 64 to like them...
 
magoo said:
No problem. I have Plexor and Lite-on, and really have no preference. The Plexor came with a prior system and I've purchased Lite-on for quite some time on various builds.

Honestly, if you go to the nVidia site and download their 680i overclocking guide, coupled with a C2D CPU you will be able to get that 6600 to a great OC, well above 3 Ghz in most cases.

Of course, you'll need to check with VM as to the warranty if you do OC.
They might even be willing to OC for you to some degree if you phone them.:D
Click to expand...

I am fairly certain VM's CEO stated on these forums that they will overclock their systems at the buyer's request. I haven't seen any posts by a VM customer since his post with any results. The exception being those who have purchased the $7k+ machine with liquid cooling, etc.

As for your other questions...

1. I would go with the 680i board
2. Stick with 2GB for now. You can always get more later and RAM is easy to install.
3. In my opinion, spending extra money on a hard disk for a gaming rig is pointless. They are simply a storage medium(=file cabinet). Get a drive with enough space for your needs, and use the $$ you would have spent on a raptor/RAID, etc for a better GPU.
4. Go with the Lite-On drive
5. e6600. It can be overclocked to 3ghz+ and it is the cheapest dual core with 4mb cache.
6. "Certified" means the power supplies are certified by Nvidia to run the 8800 series cards in SLI mode.
 
Thanks Mons....

I'm going with the Pro Magix unless someone thinks I'm making a mistake

1. 650i

2. LXe-W case silver

3. 250 Gb 16 mb cache Hd

4. 850 Watt P/S

5. 8800 GTX ( single )

6. E6600 core 2 duo

7. 4 Gigs of ram

8. Vista Ultimate

9. 20X Lite On DVD

$ 2,870.00
 
dont bother with 4gb of ram... its such a useless amount...

id recommend the same specs, but with the gamers edge PCX as a base... so 680i mobo instead. which has more features, will support 8800GTX's in SLi in the future (i think i read somewhre the 650i wont... ) and costs less with the same specs... id recommend another 250gb drive to go alongside the first though :) kind of as a backup drive, before reformatting, rather than losing everything you have or having to burn ass loads of DVD's, you can move it to the other HDD, or just put it there to begin with :D
 
The 650i does support SLI. Have never used Raid and do not think of a reason to do so now. Back up every thing I need on a DVD and let it go at that :)

Does anyone have one of these and can tell me if it comes with the SATA driver on a floppy or is it on the Vista Ultimate DVD already. Sales said it was on the disk, but not sure.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

VelocityMicro Gamers Edge now 680i

LXe-W silver case - extended

E6600 core 2 duo

2 Gb Corsair Dominator DDR2- 1066 mhz 8500

Vista Ultimate

8800 GTX ( Single )

SATA 250 gb 16 mb cache

Rounded cables

20x Lite On DVD

850 watt p/s

Vista Ultimate

3 year warranty

Edited : $3,059.00 shipped ( Upgraded memory )

Now saying good by to my old Dell Dimension 4400 of five years.

Want to thank all of you for your advise and wish you well with your own systems
 
SR45 said:
The 650i does support SLI. Have never used Raid and do not think of a reason to do so now. Back up every thing I need on a DVD and let it go at that :)

Does anyone have one of these and can tell me if it comes with the SATA driver on a floppy or is it on the Vista Ultimate DVD already. Sales said it was on the disk, but not sure.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

VelocityMicro Pro Magix

LXe-W silver case - extended

E6600 core 2 duo

4 gig of ram DDR-2 667 for later 64 bit Vista Ultimate

8800 GTX ( Single )

SATA 250 gb 16 mb cache

Rounded cables for the Hdd, and floppy

20x Lite On DVD

850 watt p/s

Vista Ultimate

3 year warranty

$2,869.00 shipped

Now saying good by to my old Dell Dimension 4400 of five years.

Want to thank all of you for your advise and wish you well with your own systems
Click to expand...

i KNOW the 650i supports SLi, i do NOT believe it supports 8800GTX's in SLi. EDIT: nevermind, it does apparently :S could have sworn i read somewhere it didnt.

you are wasting your money on 4gb of ram. 2gb of better, DDR2-800 would be a MUCH better thing to do... 667 is dog slow now-a-days...

a 320gb hard drive is 30 bucks more (in the gamers edge PCX config atleast) than a 250... and i never said use raid, i meant two completely separate hard drives.

rounded cables are worse for hiding... stick with standard :p
 
Not knowing much about memory, but taking 2 gigs off and replacing the other two with the DDR-2 800 instead, will it really give a some what boost over 4 total of 667 withot caring about overclocking ?
 
2 gigs of nicer RAM will be better for your purposes than 4 gigs of slower RAM. Get the 2.
 
Thanks for the added advice guys.

Memory

Did some checking on the world wide web, and found that with the better ram, I would get around 3 to 6 frames per second more in some games, which translates about $ 26.00 per frame for the added cost. Cannot justify that for my needs. O/C the video card a bit will give me that, and yes gentlemen, I do know that every bit does help, but I'm not that hard of a core gamer ;)

My system set up will probably allow windows vista 32 bit to address around 3 gigs at this time, since I do not have all the other slots, and bays filled, and this will give me the memory when I get the 64 bit Vista version.


650i compared to the 680i

The ASUS 650i SLI ChipSet motherboard has also been written about, and its rated almost at the same level as the 680i ChipSet, so that will remain as well instead of switch.

More hard drives installed

Adding another hard drive ? I have a 120 gb now, and have not filled even that one. Do not need the extra drive, so the 250 Gb is more than enough. I burn everything to disk, and can install those disks later if necessary, unlike many I suppose that like to keep everything on the HD. Personnel preference. Always can change at another time. Keeping my files onto this other drive is a good idea, but for me I never had a compelling reason, so perhaps later I may do this, but for now, to keep the cost down a bit more.
 
Consider>>>>> the ASUS P5N32-E SLI Plus board is a hybrid of sorts. It's main chipset is a 650i which overclocks pretty well. The southbridge chip is a 570 or 590 SLI chip from the last generation of boards and allows 16x PCI-e lanes in SLI.....this is not a bad board, it has most of the 680i features with a bit lower price. [H] enthusiast has written it up, you should give it a read.

Regardless of what everybody says.....if you have the cash, get 4 GB of RAM, its going to be needed soon in games. But I'd get the 800Hz and not 667.

Think about buying a cheap external HD (80-120GB) that you can plug in and transfer files you dont use all the time. Its a great way to store data and not need a bunch of HDs inside the box.
Truthfully, my gaming computer has a 250GB SATAii and its no where near capacity. If you store alot of video, pictures or music then having a big ass drive or two is a good idea.
 
Thank you magoo.

Going for the external HD instead of Internal as suggested. Still have a few hours ( not much, but sales told me when the cut off point will be for any changes) to think of the 800 memory over the 667's.

OK, changed order to the EVGA nForce 680i and left everything else the same
-------------------------------------------------------
 
I'm sure you'll enjoy your new computer very much. You won't be able to stand how much better it is!:D VM will do you right.
 
Will do magoo. ( Much better than my old 5 year old Dell, thats for sure )

Final selection and purchase after listening to the feed back and two upgrade calls to VM..

VM Gamers Edge PCX
680i nForce SLI motherboard
E6600 core 2 duo
2 Gb Corsair DDR2-1066 Dominator
850 watt power supply
8800 GTX single card
Integratated sound ( Bad ears, no need for anything better )
20x Lite On DVD
SATA 250 WD 16 mb cache ( don't need anything better for now )
Vista Ultimate
 
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