:lol: ...whuts stutters????...wasn't that something people used to experience and complain about way back in the old days of XP before dual HDs, quad core , and 8Gbs of RAM as standard gaming requirements:hmm:


Since eveyone is giving advice I'll jump in with mine ....take it for what it is worth...

Don't settle. Wait until you can get a state of the art rig. As soon as you buy a system- what you paid for it immediately becomes irrelevant....that part is over and done.

HOWEVER:


....the problems and limitations associated with a less than optimal gaming computer will stick around to haunt you for a long ...long time.:shifty: :shifty: :shifty:

I know, as soon as you press 'OK' on the credit card machine and get the "payment accepted" sign it's old.
It would make it a lot easier if I would go for the top nudge but I simply don't have that kind of cash.
To pay about €3000,- to €4000,- for a rig is a bit much even though you might enjoy it for a longer period of time.

@ Arclight
I didn't forget to post there, just didn't have the time to do so yet... did some checking on the site among others.

Vista isn't my thing... waiting for the new Windows version (and see what it does)which is said to come out next year or the year after as Vista flunked the expectations.
Can't remember the name of it though.

I know this is going to sound dumb but why are people saying not to go for a SLi if....

Could someone please explain to me in plain English what the difference is between a SLi and a non-SLi board.

I'm getting bombarded by the term on most sites and in reviews but never really understood the idea behind it.

I'm not an expert on it, don't have SLI, but I'll give it a go;

In a nutshell: SLI-board has multiple slots for graphics cards, preferably all PCI-E 16x. The cards are connected by a bridge that connects the cards at the top. Now the cards can work together to render the frames before they are sent on, dividing the workload. Average gain is about 30%. The biggest benefit AFAIK is the increase in available bandwith. More bandwith means more data can be sent at once. Anti-Aliasing and high resolutions require a lot of bandwith. Especially modern games like Crysis require a lot of bandwith to run smooth on (really) high settings.

In short; if you want to run everything at 1600x1200 with all possible settings maxed, SLI is something to consider.

Something to read; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalable_Link_Interface

Personally, I'd prefer a single card with 2 GPU's (effectively the same as running 2 cards), like Geforce 9800x2 or Radeon 3850x2 / 3870x2. Bandwith of the bus (basically the slot you put the card into) might be an issue in this case, don't know for sure. Guess that's why they came up with PCIE 2.0

As with most things, SLI has benefits and drawbacks. Best advice I can give you is; do some research (that link is a good start), determine what you want to accomplish and decide if you need SLI or not. Ohh, and if you have quesstions just ask, offcourse. ;)

i really like to listen to the guys that complain about sli or crossfire rigs....but they have yet to own build or run one ...and give advice on them...if the man want's to build a sli or crossfire rig ..let um build it ...personaly..i'd never go back to a single gpu rig...

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/391/1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATI_CrossFire



intel core2 duo e6750 2.66ghz thermaltake big typhoon cpu cooler
asus p5wdh deluxe
twin 100 gb hdd's raid 0 sata 7200 rpm
asus EAH3850 512mb x2 crossfired video cards/w/zalman vf700-cu vga coolers
creative x-fi extreme gamer fatality pro soundcard
coolermaster realpower pro 850 watt psu
dvd r=rw
dvd r=rw dl df
floppy drive
11 in 1 card reader
2 gb pc2 6400 oc'd ocz crossfire memory
1 120 mm front intake fan
1 120mm rear exhaust
1 90 mm top exhaust w/controler
1 90mm rear exhaust w/controler
logitec 5.1 surround speakers/turtle beach 5.1 surround headset
saitek eclipse keyboard
razer deathadder mouse
xp pro sp2
20inch viewsonic vx2035wm
thermaltake armour steel case/250 mm side intake

3dmark06 score 14264

I totally agree. They are way too expensive, just build your own computer, it's not that hard. A little intimidating at most.

And I really like to read posts made by a lot of (but not all) SLI owners containing full specs and benchmarks to prove their rigs superiority. :D

C DuDe: Again, consider what you want / need, do your homework and decide for yourself. ;)

Windows 7 is the current codename.
MS has stated that Vista is a step towards the framework that Windows 7 will have.
Something about how programs are linked together etc..

Expensive yes but that doesn't make them a bad rig. Building your own is fine if that is what you want to do and as I said before, I may do it in the future just for the heck of it (to see if I can) but right now (or back when I bought my Alienware) I have neither the time nor inclination to do that and they provide a service for a top notch machine and I give them the money for it.

It's kinda like saying "I wouldn't recommend (insert top end sports car) because they're to expensive." I can build a five thousand dollar engine that will smoke most cars that are sold from a dealership but am I willing to do that? I've done it a few times but I'm not likely to do it again anytime soon.

Hiya's,

Check out replacing the vidcard with an ATI 4870

Just a thought

Def

Order placed!
 

Within 2weeks I should have my new rig!!!:rock:

Spec's:
Case: Antec Performance one P180
PSU : Cool Master Real Power 850W
Mobo: Gigabyte X48-DQ6 (DDR2)
RAM: 4GB Corsair Dominator
Processor: Inter E8400
Cooler: Cool Master Hyper 212
Harddrive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11
Vid-card: 2 Sapphire HD 4870 crossfire
DVD burner (no Blue-ray as yet)
OS: Vista 64bit

This should do the trick for the next couple of years

Thx for all the advice you gave me and I whish you happy hunting!

Greets,

CD