How bout this!

[forizzle111]

ok i am lookin for video card suggestions or better yet just wondering if my choice wud be good. this is for my new build which will be:
AMD athlon64 3200+ venice 939
BIOSTAR SLI ATX socket 939 nvidia nforce4 mobo
Geil 2 x 1gb for dual channel (2gb)
western digital 160gb SATA HD
Raidmax case with 420watt psu
??alabtron Geforce 6600GT video card??
my question is how well will this card perform? and will it be enough to handle most games on pretty high settings?
my budget is about $900 and this comes out to about $800 with the other small stuff included(dvd-rom,floppy,card reader,dvd burner, ECT.) Thanx :)

[glc]

Time to rethink the budget - you aren't going to run a SLI board with a Raidmax power supply. Add $160 for a SLI-certified power supply. Change to a standard PCI-E board and you can get away with a $60 power supply, but the Raidmax power supplies aren't even good enough for that.

NEW games on a 6600GT at high settings? Questionable.

[forizzle111]

yea i am planning on gettin a certified PSU when im ready to get the secong card cus i dont have the dough right now :)

[glc]

Gonna trust even one card to a Raidmax? If it's ATX 2.0 with a native 24 pin connector, maybe. If it's ATX 1.3 with a 20 pin and an adapter, I dunno.

[netnamakan]

I would save more if I were you, and get the funds for a proper PSU, and a DFI/Asus Mobo with one 6600gt for now.

If you want to save some money, and build sooner rather than later and add as you get the cash consider going with 1x 1gb Geil right now, and add another stick later. Make sure the core components especially are high quality, that includes Motherboard and PSU.

The one 6600gt by itself will be able to push decent frames on high/medium settings at 1024x768. Again, if you save more money now it would be better in the long run to go with a non SLI Nforce4 board (more money saved) and get a single 6800GT which will perform better than 2 6600GT's.

My 02 :)

[forizzle111]

thanx. i think i am jus gonna get a 6800 right off the bat but if the PSU dies it wont damage anything will it? P.S. i have changed the motherboard to the ASUS A8N for $139

[netnamakan]

Good choice with the Mobo and GFX.

That is the problem with low quality PSU's, it is a gamble whether or not they will take anything with them. Sometimes the work perfectly for a lifetime, and sometimes they blow right on the first boot taking most or all of your hardware with it.

[forizzle111]

i.....c...... well its def. not worth it then thanx alot :)

[tomster2300]

I run a 6800 GT with 1 gig of DDR400 and Battlefield 2 (one of the most graphically intensive games out right now) will not run without stuttering somewhat on high. There's a benchmark -- yet I don't have the processor you will; if I did it might boost my fps by around 10.

[forizzle111]

ok thanx for the input

[David M]

SLI certified PSU's

http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone_build.html

None are Raidmax...why chance it?

[fedz]

Here are two perfectly decent PSU's which will run your rig (even in SLi) without breaking the bank:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817189003
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817171001

I'd recommend the second one as it has active PFC

:) fedz

[forizzle111]

thanx but i am gonna go with the ANTEC truepower 2.0 550 watt PSU for $99
mainly because it is SLI ready and its ANTEC. :)

[David M]

Good choice forizzle....and its SLI certified.

[glc]

I guess we finally have a SLI-certified PSU to recommend that won't break the bank?

[forizzle111]

yes indeed :)