So which one would you build?

Which build?

  • Total voters
    14
DejaWiz

DejaWiz

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Apr 15, 2005
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Alrighty, folks. Need some input and advice here, as I'm teetering on the fence over this.

uATX System
CASE: CM RC-541 (have)
PSU: CM RP 750 (have)
MB: Biostar TA690G
CPU: 6400+ BE (have)
HSF: OEM 6400+ heatpipe
RAM: 4GB G.Skill DDR2-800
GPU: BFG 8800GT OC (have)
GPU HSF: Accelero S1 with Scythe 120mm PWM
HDD: Seagate 500GB SATA-II (have, and will add 2nd 500GB later on)
120mm FRONT CASE FAN: Scythe 49cfm fluid dynamic
80mm REAR CASE FAN (x2): CM SAF-S84-E1


SLI System
CASE: Tt Shark in black (have)
PSU: same
MB: Gigabyte GA-M57SLI-S4
CPU: same
HSF: Thermalright Ultima-90 (have)
RAM: same
GPU: same
GPU HSF: same
HDD: same
120mm CASE FANS (x2): Scythe 49cfm


Oh, what to do, what to do?
 
I would stick the thermalright HSF on top of the 6400+ BE (since the BE dont come with a HSF) and then I'd pick the uatx one.
 
Version_3 said:
I would stick the thermalright HSF on top of the 6400+ BE (since the BE dont come with a HSF) and then I'd pick the uatx one.
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Thermalright hsf won't fit in the uATX case. Way too tall and will prevent the side panel from being closed.
 
[LYL]Homer;1031924112 said:
Depends on if you want/need SLI.
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Won't be using it, likely. But I figure it probably won't hurt to have the option there in case I can score a 2nd gpu on the cheap. Kind of like having 6 SATA and USB ports available but only needing 2 or 3 at most. *shrug*
 
Build whichever one fits your needs best. If you need a small system because you go to lan parties, then build that type of system. If you don't move your computer much and don't need to save space in your room/office, then go with a full tower system.

SLI as an upgrade path isn't great. You can typically just sell your old card and put that towards the budget of a new card that will outperform a last gen SLI setup (usually).
 
enginurd said:
1. Build whichever one fits your needs best. If you need a small system because you go to lan parties, then build that type of system. If you don't move your computer much and don't need to save space in your room/office, then go with a full tower system.

2. SLI as an upgrade path isn't great. You can typically just sell your old card and put that towards the budget of a new card that will outperform a last gen SLI setup (usually).
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1. System doesn't move. I don't go to LAN parties. It just sits there. ;)

2. Been using SLI for over 3 years now (6600GT and 7800GT). Did so only because I bought the first card, waited a while, and nabbed a 2nd for super cheap since going SLI at the time was a better upgrade path than going single flagship. But now with the 8800GT's out that run circles around the 7800GT's in SLI, I'm sticking with single GPU for now. But like I stated previously... I'm wanting to have the SLI option there just in case. I'm not planning on using it, but it's still there if I decide to. Besides, the cost of an SLI board vs a non-SLI board is negligible anymore, so there's really no reason not to get one.
 
Since you don't need a small tower, go for the full tower with SLI support.

"Cheap" is subjective. I can now get a 7800GT for around $80. If I sell mine for $80 and pickup an HD3850, that will outperform 7800GT's in SLI, right? I'd go for that instead of SLI.
 
enginurd said:
"Cheap" is subjective. I can now get a 7800GT for around $80. If I sell mine for $80 and pickup an HD3850, that will outperform 7800GT's in SLI, right? I'd go for that instead of SLI.
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I was talking in the past tense.

When I had the 6600GT ($125 for the 1st).... it was a cheaper upgrade path ($100 from eBay for the 2nd) than getting a 6800GT or GTX. And performance was comparable.

When I had the 7800GT ($270 for the 1st).... it was a cheaper upgrade path and comparable performance ($230 from Monarch for the 2nd) to getting a new 7900GTX. I would have had to try and sell my 7800GT for around $200 to help offset the ridiculous pricing of the GTX, and still pay more than what I did for the GT SLI path.

Now however, a single 8800GT significantly outperforms my two 7800GT's in SLI, so that is the path I took a couple of weeks ago (listed the 8800GT as "have" in the first post).
 
I'm thinking full ATX is best, but I think an AM2+ board for guaranteed Phenom compatibility, if you choose to upgrade in the future, and supposed AM3 chip compatibility may be the way to go.

The ASUS M3A is the same price as that Gigabyte nForce570 board you're considering, and Gigabyte's GA-MA790X-DS4 is pretty sweet with the all solid caps.
 
I would go with the SLI option. In the future it may be cheaper to add a second GPU than to upgrade everything else.
 
DejaWiz said:
I was talking in the past tense. ...
Click to expand...

Yah, it depends how long you wait for that future upgrade. Judging from the prices you paid, you did so in less than a year, I'm guessing. If you wait more than a year+, SLI isn't worth it, IMO. If you're upgrading in less time, then SLI is a little better, especially if you have a large monitor. From what I can tell, SLI only has benefits for resolutions greater than 1600x1200/1680x1050.
 
enginurd said:
Yah, it depends how long you wait for that future upgrade. Judging from the prices you paid, you did so in less than a year, I'm guessing. If you wait more than a year+, SLI isn't worth it, IMO. If you're upgrading in less time, then SLI is a little better, especially if you have a large monitor. From what I can tell, SLI only has benefits for resolutions greater than 1600x1200/1680x1050.
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It was within one years time, so it worked out to my advantage. I think with today's GPU's (ATI 38xx and NV 8800 series), dual cards greatly benefit the resolutions you stated. However, with my 6600's and 7800's, I greatly benefited at 1024x768, 1280x960, and 1280x1024 because I like to enable AA and AF to as high of a settings as I can while still getting great frame rates.
 
MrMike said:
I'm thinking full ATX is best, but I think an AM2+ board for guaranteed Phenom compatibility, if you choose to upgrade in the future, and supposed AM3 chip compatibility may be the way to go.

The ASUS M3A is the same price as that Gigabyte nForce570 board you're considering, and Gigabyte's GA-MA790X-DS4 is pretty sweet with the all solid caps.
Click to expand...

If I do upgrade to quad core any time soon, it's going to be intel. The Phenom just doesn't compare in terms of performance, power draw, and heat.

As for the boards you recommended, I appreciate it, but I'm only considering AM2 boards with dual PCI-e for SLI. The AMD chipsets are nice, but I don't feel like downgrading to an ATI GPU solution.
 
DejaWiz said:
If I do upgrade to quad core any time soon, it's going to be intel. The Phenom just doesn't compare in terms of performance, power draw, and heat.

As for the boards you recommended, I appreciate it, but I'm only considering AM2 boards with dual PCI-e for SLI. The AMD chipsets are nice, but I don't feel like downgrading to an ATI GPU solution.
Click to expand...

No doubt that's the case. If you definitely want an AMD platform with SLI then the one you already selected would be my personal choice for a board.
 
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