780i build

[spartan015]

So I got a few questions for a EVGA 780i build.

it's the evga 780i A1 model http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813188024

i'm wondering if it's possible to use the new 45nm C2D 8400
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819115037

and I'm wondering if I can use the Crucial Ballstix 1066 2gb RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148069
( i got rec to use them but idk if they are compatible, according to crucial site and evga they aren't listed so i think not but hey i'm just asking, if it's not i'm going to get those crucial dddr2-800)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820146565

getting 2 evga 8800GT

power supply i'm looking at thermaltake toughpower 1000w (upgrade options later lol maybe doing that evga offer where u pay the price difference and return the graphic card and get GTX later)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817153053

cpu cooling i was thinking the thermalright IFX-14 which was reviewed recently on tomshardware

Case is a termaltake armor series with 25cm side fan...

ummm hard drive some WD or Seagate 250-320 gb SATA hard drive

new G15 keyboard and G5 mouse prolly...

Lite-On or Samsung Lightscribe dvd burner

yeah i think that's it, it ranges to around 1500 total give or take 100

so my question is if the 45nm c2d e8400 works on the 780i and if the crucial ddr2-1066 works on it too. and any other inputs would be nice. i am going SLI and it's final lol so i know about price and what not but i want to and i really like the 780i board from evga.... but if you convince me that the Asus is better... lol yeah i don't know, any advice would be useful too as i'm building 2 of these computers (difference is GTXs on the other one)

[711]

The E8400 does work with the 780i

I have the g15 and g5 and they're both amazing.

You might want to consider not going sli and waiting for the new 9800 series.

[Katreat]

You dont find much 1066 ram listed for any board. So you best bet is to read product reviews and see if someone got them to work. If you are not planning on a major OC of the system then 1066 is a waste of money. The 8400 is a 1333 FSB processor so anything above 800 will just step down anyway unless you are speeding up the processor. You actually have quite a bit of room with just 800 to OC so 1066 is really for major OC'ing.

Kat

[Dave21]

You also don't need any additional cooling unless you overclock.

I say scrap the 780i and just get a asus p5k and get the 9800gx2 card when it comes out. Going SLI is just a marketing gimmick for your money. Not worth it performance and money wise.

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by Dave21 You also don't need any additional cooling unless you overclock. I say scrap the 780i and just get a asus p5k and get the 9800gx2 card when it comes out. Going SLI is just a marketing gimmick for your money. Not worth it performance and money wise.

I would wait for the reviews for the 9800gx2 to show up before deciding whether to get a 9800gx2 or a hd3870x2.

[Dave21]

Originally Posted by Masaki 7-11 I would wait for the reviews for the 9800gx2 to show up before deciding whether to get a 9800gx2 or a hd3870x2.

Yea, I meant to say get one high end next generation card over the 2 8800gt in SLI

[Katreat]

I would still recommend against SLI, but if you are set on going that direction check out this review on the 780i. They pretty much suggest you wait for the 790i if you are about to build.

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquir...-heels-unhappy

Kat

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by Katreat I would still recommend against SLI, but if you are set on going that direction check out this review on the 780i. They pretty much suggest you wait for the 790i if you are about to build. http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquir...-heels-unhappy Kat

The 790i has support for DDR3 only, so it will be a lot more expensive to build than a computer with a 780i.

[Mavrick813]

Check out my Sig.

[spartan015]

haha thanks for all the input. yeah i'm pretty much set on SLI (even if it's a marketing scheme) it's really like my treat for lasting so long on an AMD XP2500... i mean my macbook didn't even last 8 months....

Mavrick u lucky bugger lol. how much did that set u back? tho the cpu cooler i would get something entirely different. the one they reviewed on tomshardware. i wasn't really a fan of the zalman.



i was reading that article on the 790i... the price is too much. i mean sure it seems great, but i don't think i want to be dropping a lot of money on DDR3 just yet....I waited for DDR2 to drop... so i'm going ot use that

[Mavrick813]

Just over $1500.00 But I know ways to make my $$$ Stretch...

[David M]

Spartan...check out my rig in my signature. It is very similar to what you are looking at. SLI DOES make a difference...I have compared between one and two cards for myself. There is a difference which makes SLI worthwhile for those people with the higher resolution monitors..1600X1200 and up. I don't see SLI as a gimmick if you have a larger monitor.

The RAM frequency does make a difference in the benchmarks as well. I have my frequency set at 1100...(1150 max for the RAM), with the max for that board at 1200. There is a noticeable difference in the benchmarks between 800 and 1100. DDR3 is not quite ready for Prime Time...not till the prices are more proportional to the increase in overall system speed.

I see some debate about diminishing returns in this thread. There is always a diminishing return on speed as the cost of hardware goes up. If we wanted to maximize our returns then it would make sense to go ahead an buy a Dell for $690. Different people have different levels that they are willing to accept. Yours is higher than some other peoples levels. There is no right or wrong answer here...just your own level of what is acceptable to you. Listen to what other people have to say but don't think you are wrong in your decision because you differ in your level of diminishing returns.

I would not wait for the 9800GX to show up, it is going to be well over $500...just get what is available now. Two 512 GT8800's I think hits a sweet spot for you.

The E8400 is also good. Get one when someone has it in stock (it goes in and out of stock all the time)...get a good air heatsink for it and overclock the hell out of it (4GHz+)

You will have a fast rig for under $2000

[spartan015]

well i was looking at the gigabyte p35 ds3 and maybe getting a 9800x2... but idk hahaha, i'm planing on getting a 37inch LCD or a 40 inch plasma... and some 22inch LCDs lol.... i love mutiple windows with high resolutions...

well David i just needed that slight push, I think I'll go pick up my mobo soon, and start searching for a wolfdale core...

i think i'm going to do a bit of video editing so yeah, i might have to get 4gbs of ram but that's really not that big of a deal, i love the crucial ballistix ram so i'm gonna get 2 set of those...

other then that, yeah, when it's done i'll drop a line and say how it turns out. the power supply is still the scary part of this rig...

[Doom]

I just built my rig w/ the 780i SLI. It's a good all around board that I like. The 790i is likely to be a lot more expensive for the board itslef in addition to the DDR3 memory. I'm running a Q9300 (45nm) on it flawlessly, so I can vouch that you're good to go w/ any Core 2 Duo or Quad.

SLI is all about preference. I'll admit from the start that I could have got just as capable a system without SLI for $50-$100. I'm running a single 9600GT and my system is rocking... but I figure I'll try a second card in a few months just to see. SLI is a nice option, but you have to realize that double GPU's doesn't mean double performance. I ultimately will go SLI... just because I can (its the manifestation of my upcoming mid life crysis).

Even if I didn't want SLI at all, I still may have gone with this board just because of its overall good functionality and design. It has a POST code block which can help in diagnosing POST problems (nice for complex systems or new guys), takes both 65nm and 45nm chips, BIOS is good to go right out of the box if you don't plan to OC and it's all USB connections in the back for your keyboard and mouse.

[spartan015]

so i just the 750i board on evga site, it's just sli, not 3 way... any ideas comparing to 780i?

the 790i is not what i want to get, ram is too expensive.

oh and i just got my c2d wolfdale 8400 off newegg... soo lucky same day they were out of stock... those things go out so fast.

[Katreat]

The 750i has PCIe 1x16 and 1x8 so unlike the 780i and 790i which have 3x16 it does not do SLI in full bandwidth. I dont know enough about SLI to know how much performance drop that represents but if you are going to the expense of SLI you probably want full bandwidth.

The 750i is also limited to 800 ram and the boards generally are move budget minded without all the primium features. I have also read that it does not OC very well but not sure if that is a feature you want or not, and I think that came from some forum posts so might be one persoans opinion.

The 790i unfortuately requies DDR 3 or it really does sound like a great chip with substantially better SLI performance. Check out this review:

http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=728&p=10

Kat