New project no 2

[texasboy]

  Here we go again. Its great being a pensioner.
New PC in the making.
XFX Nforce 780i socket 775, sata 300,2x gigabit ethernet, firewire,8 channel high def audio

Intel Q6600Core 2 Quad 2.4GHZ 1066mhz FSB 8MB Cache Quad Core.
Thermal Take 750w PSU.
Samsung 500GB SATA HD.
Will try the Corsair  ddr2 800 mhz PC2 6400 Black heat spreader  before  the 1066 mhz memory.
LG dvd/cd RW
Usual Freezer 7 PRO (seems to work on most CPU`s}
And of course Billies favorite case The Coolermaster Elite 332. Plenty of room and easy no screw fittings.
Changed the Gainward 6800GS Cards over to this board on core 2 duo. Working well.(graphics  not as good as on 8800GT cards)
Have the 2x 8800GT cards free for new board in SLI unless a single card  would work better.?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Cheers

[Quantum]

What OS and how much RAM are you going for?

Also you looked at the VelociRaptor hard drive if you're going for gaming?

[texasboy]

What OS and how much RAM are you going for?

Also you looked at the VelociRaptor hard drive if you're going for gaming?

Just getting the hang of Vista 32 and havent had any problems and will stay with Vista, Is there much of a difference on 64 bit?.
Will probably run max 4GB ram for now at 800 dual memory.  The VP hard drive, do you have a link? Is that 10,000rpm instead of 7,200rpm. Will probably start playing some games as I find more time. Tks
cheers

[Quantum]

What OS and how much RAM are you going for?

Also you looked at the VelociRaptor hard drive if you're going for gaming?

Just getting the hang of Vista 32 and havent had any problems and will stay with Vista, Is there much of a difference on 64 bit?.
Will probably run max 4GB ram for now at 800 dual memory.  The VP hard drive, do you have a link? Is that 10,000rpm instead of 7,200rpm. Will probably start playing some games as I find more time. Tks
cheers

What's the point of having 4 GiB of memory when 32 bit versions of windows can't effectively use more than 2? (They can use more than 2, you just don't get the same performance benefits).

Here's a quick review of the drive: http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3303

Yes it's 10'000 RPM, 300 GB. A faster hard drive should make everything from loading windows to bootting applications snappier, load times on games are reduced but not much more (you don't see the difference with gradual small data chunks being loaded like during the level of a game).

Also if you're not gaming then why the very excessive graphics system and have you looked at the alternatives? Especially the 4870 X2 that's supposed to be out in a week to 2 weeks time.

[texasboy]

Just getting the hang of Vista 32 and havent had any problems and will stay with Vista, Is there much of a difference on 64 bit?.
Will probably run max 4GB ram for now at 800 dual memory.  The VP hard drive, do you have a link? Is that 10,000rpm instead of 7,200rpm. Will probably start playing some games as I find more time. Tks
cheers

What's the point of having 4 GiB of memory when 32 bit versions of windows can't effectively use more than 2? (They can use more than 2, you just don't get the same performance benefits).

Here's a quick review of the drive: http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3303

Yes it's 10'000 RPM, 300 GB. A faster hard drive should make everything from loading windows to bootting applications snappier, load times on games are reduced but not much more (you don't see the difference with gradual small data chunks being loaded like during the level of a game).

Also if you're not gaming then why the very excessive graphics system and have you looked at the alternatives? Especially the 4870 X2 that's supposed to be out in a week to 2 weeks time.
[/quote]
Only running 2GB ram on Vista 32 at present. Most of the items you are talking about are latest on market. Dont see me changing to VP hard drive or core 2 duo.  I am only talking abt 8800gt cards which are already becoming old. Even the Q6600 has been  superceeded. As for ram. http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/01/14/windows-vista-32-bit-and-64-bit-x86-and-x64-maximum-supported-ram-physical-memory-limit/  Most people using the Q6600 and half decent graphic cards have found that OC is not necessary to play most games. And yes I just noticed that the 64 bit will utilise more of the ram than 32bit, I also said that I would start trying some games. You have got to remember Quantum that this is a young 65 year old finding his feet. Yes I could go with all the latest graphics cards and processors but why spoil a learning curve before I`m ready.lol
cheers

ps. Presume the Mobo meets with approval? Some people having slight problems with ASUS version and recommended the one I have coming. ASUS  I find easy to work with.

[Quantum]

I don't know Intel mobos very well, but I've never had anything but problems with ASUS mobos, so even though the high end ones are supposed to be the best I still avoid all ASUS products.

I don't know why you linked to that article, it even says what I said:

"So if you want to fully utilize your physical memory of 4 GB or more in Windows Vista, the only way is to install 64-bit Windows Vista operating system"

It's not that 32 bit CAN'T take 4 GiB, it's just not going to use it very well.

The 9000 series is only a slight revamp of the 8800GT, so it's not exactly old. Not telling you to go with all the latest stuff, but some times they have a better price/ performance point than older stuff. It's not worth excluding a product just because it's new, they don't have the same kind of premium that they used to, it's a very competitive market.

[texasboy]

Tks Quantum. Only put in link for others to read. Processor and ram arrived today.
It may be of interest to others that the current fastest Futuremark 3D06 is with an ASUS board.
32,601 3DMarks
ASUS P5E64 WS PRO.
iNTEL CORE 2 EXTREME QX9650
Vista of course.
CPU speed 5.707
GPU ATI Radeon HD 3870X2
2GB memory.

You will remember that I was only getting about 13,000 3D marks with the E6550 and 2x 8800GT cards. ( but older 650i chip).

Futuremark has updated to Advantage now, with better engine and tighter tests, and the results are more to the higher graphics available. Mind you the fastest marks were acheived by professionals.
I have had several ASUS mobos and found them great to work with,a big improvement on the old ABIT board.
Hope this will be of some interest to others.
cheers

[Quantum]

I wouldn't get too fussed about 3DMark scores, computers and complicated machines that excel differently in all sorts of areas and really can't be reduced down to a single number. Those that get high scores on 3DMark like that probably don't have a better system at all, just very good at running 1 benchmark for 10 minutes.

[texasboy]

Should have all the pieces in next couple of days. Will give you some input when I get this lot together.
cheers

ps. memory received is Corsair  XMS ddr2. 2x1gb 1024-6400 matching pair,

500GB SATA hard drive  + ThermalTake PSU arrived today 15/5/08 just waiting on MOBO tomorrow

[texasboy]

  After a long weekend of work , I finally got to put part of this project together. Only got one card (8800gt) installed. Extremely quiet on stock settings. Downloading at 1.3MB on most files. Vista 64 bit Ultimate. (so easy to install). Still working on updates before adding extra 8800GT card and running SLI. More info as it happens. Not much room if you decided to run 3 cards in SLI especially if cards have heat sink and fan built on.
Will add extra card and possible OC a little at a time and post some results.
Let me finish updating and I`ll post soonest.
cheers

[billyfridge]

OMG...........Tex is turning into a computer geek 

[texasboy]

OMG...........Tex is turning into a computer geek 

  Just an old mans hobby. Would never have got this far without the great help offered by other members.
cheers

[Synbios]

I'm glad you decided to go with the 64bit version. I think it's better to start moving toward 64bit these days and as Quantum said it can handle larger amounts of RAM much more efficiently. The 9 series geforces are a complete waste in my opinion.

The 9800 GTX doesn't even outperform the 8800GTX in some of the tests. Nvidia really screwed up their whole numbering system. The 9800 GX2 really should have been an 8900 GX2. Why they never had an 8900 I don't know. It's good to see you got an 8800GT though, that's a damn good card.

I guess mass production variables come into play a lot with motherboards. I had a lot of problems with Gigabyte's top of the line models back in 04. I have heard some good things about gigabyte but I don't see what people saw in them. Their customer service is horrible too and I ended up having a totally dead board, waste of money. I switched over to Asus and I've been using Asus mobos in all machines since. Never had a problem once and I also recommended it to three of my friends who are all new system builders and love them.

Corsair is my favorite RAM. I have always used corsair and right now I'm also using the DDR2-6400 XMS pairs (DDR2-800Mhz).

By defauly my board had the RAM set to 533Mhz to be in 1:2 ratio with my 1066FSB. I had to manually change the RAM over to 800Mhz. I would just double check that your ram is running at full capacity. I also had to change an option for my system to utilitze all 4 gigs of my RAM.

[Quantum]

I'm glad you decided to go with the 64bit version. I think it's better to start moving toward 64bit these days and as Quantum said it can handle larger amounts of RAM much more efficiently. The 9 series geforces are a complete waste in my opinion.

The 9800 GTX doesn't even outperform the 8800GTX in some of the tests. Nvidia really screwed up their whole numbering system. The 9800 GX2 really should have been an 8900 GX2. Why they never had an 8900 I don't know. It's good to see you got an 8800GT though, that's a damn good card.

The 9000 series really started with the 8800GT, but they still wanted people to buy the left over bulk of their 8800 cards so they called it an 8800.

I really hate the phrase of "x doesn't even out perform y in specific test z". Certain Pentium 4's out perform Intel's latest Quad Core offerings in certain tests, this is the nature of modern chip design.

[Synbios]

But that also means that P4 is better than a quad core for certain applications. My computer before this was a 3.6Ghz P4, and now I have the QX6700 (2.66 quad core)

Was my old computer faster than this one sometimes? Yes! If I am going to buy a new product then I want it to be faster in every nature. I got a quad core so I can do more multitasking, but I still wish I had waited until the processor speeds got up a little higher.

I do agree the 8800GT should really be a 9 series considering the design of the GPU. I think it's stupid to buy a 9800GTX over an 8800GTX though, simply because the 8800GTX can do most of what the 9800GTX can.