Dimming the lights (new build help)

[vodka]

Apologies if seen on motherboards.org, but my topic was abandoned.

I've done my fair share of swapping parts and getting frustrated at programs to attempt a byo.

Problem is, I'm an amd fan, but reviews for quad cores seem to favor intel.

I'm aiming for a gaming machine.

Specs and questions follow:
So please recomend away

ASUS L1N64-SLI WS Dual Socket L (Socket 1207FX) NVIDIA nForce 680a SLI MCP SSI CEB AMD Motherboard - Retail
(2)AMD Athlon 64 FX-74 Windsor 3.0GHz Socket F (1207 FX) DSDC Architecture Processor Model ADAFX74DIBOX - Retail
4 gigs corsair dominator
(2)Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250820AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit Ultimate
SILVERSTONE ST1000 ATX12V / EPS12V 1000W Power Supply - Retail
dvd and floppy too
or
Case ( Tuniq Symmetry Gaming Tower Case
Case Lighting ( Cold Cathode Neon Light Blue )
Power Supply ( NZXT 1000 Watt Power Supply [Quad SLI Ready] )
Processor ( [=== Quad Core ===] Intel Core 2 Extreme Quad-Core Processor QX6800 (4x 2.93GHz/8MB L2 Cache/1066FSB) )
Processor Cooling ( CoolerMaster Liquid CPU Cooling Fan System Kit )
Motherboard ( [New !!!] Asus Striker Extreme nForce® 680i SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 Dual PCI-E MB )
Memory ( 2048MB [1024MB X2] DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module Mushkin Xtreme w/Heat Spreader )
Video Card ( [==New !!!==] NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTS 640MB w/DVI + TV Out Video )

Hard Drive ( 250 GB HARD DRIVE [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 8M Cache

And my list of questions:

Not sure if oems come with cables, so any one have a clue of what I need?

Any one with a quad notice the difference when gaming? and are there heat issues without overclocking. Will the performance be better with an sli setup or a quad? (wondering this cause for the price of a processor, I could get a another card) and any space issues with a quad amd setup in your case?

Thank you guys

[Disgrace]

Yo... welcome to PCMech.

I would have to say 4GB of RAM is a bit overkill... I don't think anything will actually be allowed to use more than 3GB of it so perhaps you could save some cash there and get a better HDD. I think you can improve the 8MB Cache to 16MB. Also, it doesn't cost too much to get the same model with a bit more GBs. You might find 250GB a bit restricting for a gaming machine. You can always buy more than 1 of the same...

Seagates are recommended for HDDs. For the RAM, Corsair is recommended.

Not sure about Vista yet... it's still new and a bit buggy.

Intel is currently ahead of the game with their CPUs so that's recommended above the AMD.

Lite-On DVD-ROMs are recommended.

For motherboards, ASUS is generally recommended but I wouldn't be sure about specific models.

Hope that helps you start... on to the experts...

[Katreat]

Right now Intel is winning the game with processors. If it is within your budget, and looking at your parts it appears to be, go Intel for now. Not only are they performing better but they are new technology and run much cooler which is important in a gaming build.

SLI is generally a gimmick! It will potentially help performance if you have two of the highest end cards right from the start, but the next generation card will likely beat your SLI set up so you will be money ahead just buying a top end card now, saving some money on the mobo, and replacing it when it becomes dated. It is not a valid upgrade path.

As for quad core I know next to nothing….. Sorry. The standard duel core 6600 will run cool with stock fans and heat-sink unless you are seriously over-clocking. I expect the quad cores run hotter, but not sure if you need more cooling or not, will have to wait for the experts.

OEM usually comes without cables and software. Also, for some items have a shorter warranty although that is not always true. About the only OEM items I have bought are hard drives (cables come with Mobo) and secondary DVD (primary should be retail to get the free burning software). Processors will not come with a heat-sink so unless you plan on alternate cooling you should stick to retail for those also. If you use alternate cooling I think it is generally recommended to start with stock and then add it because using aftermarket cooling will void the processor warranty so its nice to make sure it works before going this route.

Sorry I can’t be more help with a quad core set up but its new territory for me. Right now there are very few games that make use of even duel core so I am not sure if you will see any performance boost. For me the advantage of duel core is that I am usually multi tasking while playing games. I expect that will change in the future when more games are actually designed to take advantage of multi cores but for now I don’t think you will see a real performance gain. But I could be wrong.

[vodka]

Yeah, I'm a bit reluctant to get vista right now, anyone know this?
I know microsoft is marketing a line called games for windows, for compatability with xbox live, but I'm getting the impression that dx10 is for vista only. Can anyone confirm this?

but hard drive issue is fixed 2 seagates with 16mb cache

And katreat, I've heard mixed messages about sli, from a 30% performance increase, to sli not being able to even use all of the memory available on beefier cards with high memory. That's why I was going to just buy one for now.

Thank you guys, you have been much morehelpful than other sites as far as input.

[Katreat]

I will not argue that SLI can be faster than a single card. There are problems with it on some applications but if you read Toms Hardware video card comparisons you also see some gain.

The problem is that the next generation card has always eclipsed that gain. History has shown that any new generation card is faster than two cards of the last generation in SLI.

So, if you add up the price of your SLI Mobo, SLI PSU, and second top line card you are easily spending more money today than you would if you just used one top end card and replaced it in a year or two.

It is just a lot of money to spend for a 30% increase in performance when on average a new generation card will be produced in less than a year that will likely give you a much larger increase in performance.

Another problem is that the cards have to be identical. I know people who did what you suggest and waited for that second card only to find it no longer being sold. If you are going SLI you should go SLI from the get go.

Kat

Edit: As for the HD, the seagate 320 is only $10 more. $10 for 70 GB is a pretty good deal.