Opinions on a new rig setup

[DarkSign]

Without further ado...

• CORSAIR, HX Series 620W Modular Power Supply, 24-pin ATX12V EPS12V, Triple +12V, Multi-GPU Ready
• ASUS, P5N-E SLI, LGA775, nForce 650i SLI, 1066MHz FSB, DDR2-800 8GB /4, PCIe x16 SLI /2, SATA RAID 5 /5, HDA, GbLAN, FW /2, ATX, Retail
• INTEL, Core™ 2 Duo E6700 Dual-Core, 2.66GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 4MB L2 Cache, 65nm, 65W, EM64T EIST VT XD, Retail
• THERMALTAKE, Big Typhoon VX (CL-P0310) CPU Cooling Fan, Socket 775/754/939/AM2, Copper/Aluminum, Fan Control
• CORSAIR, 2GB (2 x 1GB) XMS2 Xtreme PC2-6400 DDR2 800MHz CL4 (4-4-4-12) 2.1V SDRAM 240-pin DIMM, Non-ECC, w/ Heat Spreader
• eVGA, e-GeForce 8800GTX Superclocked 621MHz, 768MB DDR3 2GHz, PCIe x16 SLI, 2x DVI, HDTV/S-Video/Composite Out, Retail
• WESTERN DIGITAL, 150GB WD Raptor®, SATA 150MB/s, 10000 RPM, 16MB cache
• HITACHI, 500GB Deskstar® T7K500, SATA II 3GB/s, 7200-RPM, 16MB cache

I'll put games on the Raptor and image storage on the 500 gig hd. I chose Intel since from what I've read here, Intel seems to be ahead of the game, if only slightly. DDR3 also seems to be a lot of money for only 3-5% increase.

Anyone think that I'd get a decent amount of performance out of a second 8800 GTX? If so, how much? I started with an Ultra, but got told it wasnt worth the money.

Im still in a quantry with Vista vs. XP though. I want to play Crysis and other DX10 games the instant they come out. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

[shadowpr]

I would get the E6750. Believe it's cheaper then the 6700 anyway.

Get a Seagate drive, and you'll get more space for less. From what I've read, you won't really notice the slight difference in speed anyway.

What about an optical drive?

I wouldn't bother with SLI, better off just upgrading your video card later on down the road. It's just not really worth it to me.

Might want to look at a MB with the FSB of 1333 too. P5K is highly recommended here.

Vista or XP, that's more a personal choice. I like both. I'm used to xp, and it works well, but I'm using Vista now and like it.

[Katreat]

Increased performance in SLI depends on the game you are playing. I have seen tests from 20-70% so it is pretty variable. What is important is that two 8800s will run faster than one, but at a price that will make the Ultra look reasonable.

Generally speaking, SLI iis designed to make the best better and should not be used for anything else in my opinion. If you need the speed right now and have deep pockets it will be faster. But if you are looking for upgrade potential down the road, or build with any video card below the top then you will be money and performance ahead just upgrading a single card when the next generation arrives.

That being said, I would agree with shadow's recommendation and go with a Asus P5K MB and one 8800 GTX. If you are set on SLI then you need to up your PSU to somethinig certified to run SLI with 8800 GTX's. Check out this site:

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

I like Seagate for HDs. They come with a 5 yr warranty and I have had the best luck with them. WD is good also but only give you a 3 yr warranty. I am also not a Raptor fan. Dont think you get enough speed advantage to justify the high cost and small size.

As for OS I have made the switch and Vista is doing well on my system. No problems so far that I have not been able to deal with. I think they got most the bugs out and I wanted to be ready to enjoy 10X. I dont think you can go wrong with either OS.

Kat

[DarkSign]

I'm trying to configure an AMD system now...just for kicks. I'll stick to the highlights:

• (Socket AM2) AMD Athlon™64 X2 6000+ Dual-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
• (Socket AM2)Asus Crosshair nForce 590 SLI MCP Chipset DDR2/800 MBoard w/ Dual 16x PCI-Express
• Corsair4GB (4x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory
• NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB 16X PCI Express

Is there a better configuration for a 21-2200$ AMD gaming rig?

Would the previous version be better?

Sorry...I just want to get the most for my money.
Thanks.

[shadowpr]

This will help you see about performance: http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu_2007.html

[Katreat]

Intel has the lead right now in performance. That could change in a month or two when AMD gets there new quad cores up and running, but for right now Intel is top dog. So, if you are looking to build now and want the top performer stick to Intel.

Kat