Part Suggestions Please

[Vizzin72]

All,

I am planning my first build. I'm not a genius but I am an engineer (Civil not Electrical...thus my thread) and have learned the hardware jargon and reviewed a few how to's and troubleshooting forums. As well, I have studied the specifications for several Nforce motherboards. My question to the group is as follows ( I will list my needs and intentions at the end):

note: this link is the baseline for my choice of parts

https://marketplace.slizone.com/SliM...rd/Wizard.aspx

1. Would anyone vouch for a Nforce 680i series mobo.

2. If so what is the difference between the SLI and the LT SLI boards.

3. I have always had computers with AMD processors, but if I go with this board it will have to be Socket 775 which leaves me with pentium or better correct (Intel)?

4. I'd like to try and get a graphics card for this board if I go ahead with it and i'd like to keep the cost of the card around 200 to 250 (one of the GeForce series) and there are so many to pick from I'd don't know which to start looking at. Any suggestions that will match the hardware above?

Ok here is the stuff that will make this post a reality to answer ( I hope)

I'm thinking about going with the said motherboard and said brand of graphics card. I will not be stingy with the PSU. Most importantly I am thinking about going with an Intel Pentium 4 641 (BX80552641). Again I have always had systems with AMD but alot of the cheaper AMD CPU's that I looked at are not featured in any of the Nforce series boards listed in the above link.

My reason for building is to be able to have said that I build a decent system with my own hands. I will be playing video games on it RTS like Lord of the rings Battle for Middle Earth (i want it to look nice and smooth) and possibly running some engineering software like autocad civil 3d08.

My main goal is to prepare for the system to be easily upgradeable so that I may be able to go ahead and change the video card and or processor over time.

Thanks

[Katreat]

1. The 680i was the standard for high performance SLI systems, but it is getting a bit old. Nforce has just released two new chipsets, the 750i and the 780i, to support the newer 1333 FSB CPUs. They also allow you to do SLI with I think up to 4 video cards. All that being said you should also know that for most people SLI is just not worth it. You pay a lot of money for very little real performance gain unless you are using a HUGE monitor. On very large monitors, such as the newer 28” widescreens, SLI will provide a substantial performance boost.

2. Don’t know the answer to that question although if the LT boards are new it might have something to do with the new chips. I personally think SLI is only for those with money to burn so don’t really keep up with changes.

3. Yes, but you would be better off sticking with the newer C2D or Quads. The most highly recommended CPUs right now are the Q6600 and the new E8400. The 6600 is a quad core at a reasonable price and you get fantastic performance and future proofing. The E8400, which was just released at about the price break of the E6750, has the newest 45mm core and runs at 1333 FSB. It sits in the sweet spot for performance/cost.

4. If the computer is mainly for games then I would start off with a 8800 GT. It is a fantastic card and performance wise just under the top. If you want a bit more performance they also make an 8800 GTS (go for the newer 512 model) and the 8800 GTX ( fastest card on the market but you pay for it). It gets confusing because they have a couple of older GTSs (320 and 640) that use a different chipset and are actually slower than the GT, so be careful to chose the right one. Check out this review:

http://www.tomshardware.com/2008/01/...ming_graphics/

If you are building today, I would recommend the Asus P5K MB, which has the newer P35 chip set. Intel processors always seem to work best with Intel chipsets and the P35 is an Intel chipset. Match that with either the Q6600 or the E8400, depending on rather you want more future proof or higher performance right now. The E8400 is faster, but as games come out utilizing more cores the 6600 will have an advantage. Get a good PSU, probably in the neighborhood of 550 w and up from a good manufacture. The 8800 GT (512) video card. Throw in the case of our choice, 2 GB of Corsair XMS 800 ram, a Lite on SATA burner, and newer 16 or 32 MB SATA HD from WD or Seagate in the size you need and your will be ready to go. Oh, don’t forget an OS. Either XP or Vista 32 works fine.

Kat

[Vizzin72]

Okay thanks so much I will take your advice and I think will definitely alleviate a lot of my concerns. This makes me fell more confident.

[Masaki 7-11]

Right now, it would be better to get a 780i motherboard instead of a 680i motherboard since they around the same price, but the 780i has better processor support. Pentium 4 is a really bad choice a the moment considering you can get really fast Core 2 Duo processors for a good price.

A very good video card from nvidia for $200-$250 is the 8800GT: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130318

Here is a link to one of the fastest Core 2 Duo processor at a good price: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115037

Here is a link to a 780i nforce motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813188024

Depending on your budget, you may want to make some changes, the 780i and 680i motherboards are very good motherboards, but if you don't plan on using dual nvidia video cards, a motherboard with a P35(intel) chipset from a maker such as Asus is a better solution.

[Vizzin72]

Yeah I'm getting that sense of urgency now that is really pointing me towards what I think will work best. I don't play on using multiple Graphics cardsIi just stumbled upon the SLI boards and used them as a baseline because they had a good listing of product specifications that i didn't see on other sites. I'm definitely going to go with the Asus and gonna go ahead and view your link for a nice CPU (I'm checkin out the ones that Kat posted above). Good good thanks also.