KoLAddict

Ok, here are the components for my "uber build". It's not getting built for a while, but I was bored and wanted to set one up. I was just wondering if there was a cheaper PSU I could go with. Here is my build:

ENERMAX Uber Chakra Steel Full Tower Case: $130

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811124123

ABIT Motherboard: $220

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813127020

GeForce8800 Ultra: $640

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814130090

Intel Core 2 Duo E6850: $280

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819115028

Kingston 2GB DDR2 1200 RAM: $175

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820134430

WD 250GB HDD: $70

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16822144701

Philips 20X DVD-R Drive: $30

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16827248008

Thermaltyke Toughpower 1000W: $335

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16817153056


That's my build. With all the other stuff, can I get a less-wattage PSU? I think I grabbed it because I was originally planning to sli 2 cards together, but I'm not going to right off, I can always get that done some other time.


Regarding the 8800Ultra (I know how people see that thing and cringe at the price), how does sli two cards work? Do all games work with two vid cards like that (like, do all games run with the power of both vid cards)? If so, I'd be willing to drop the 8800Ultra for two vid cards that would get me about the same power. Also regarding that, where do you get the sli connector? I've never actually built a PC before, is that something that has to be bought separate or do vid cards come with it?

1 g0t 0wn3d

THis is only like 3-5% slower and half the price
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130312

THis is a great unit and will run 2 8800's in sli
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817703009

The sli connector comes with your motherboard

Are you going to be overclocking?

KoLAddict

I'm not planning to overclock, thanks:)

How does sli-ing 2 vid cards work with games? Do you know if all games work with it?

Thanks. I did decide to swap to the 8800GTX and that PSU.

1 g0t 0wn3d

Well in that case the gts (g92) i posted will be faster then the gtx

It works with most new games but you normally only see a 30-40%proformance increase over a single card

Deathtron5000

I've heard even lower numbers than that tossed around for what you gain performance-wise. It really seems like there's no definite answer to that though, but it's usually not a very high estimate.

I think the SLI technology is good if you're going to try to squeeze some more life out of your old graphics cards, but if you're using the latest card models it's probably just overkill. Unless you have sacks of money you want to throw away, that is. The 9800 will almost certainly be faster than a dual 8800 setup when it launches anyway, so the glory of the system will only last about a year anyway. Less than that now, probably.

And you STILL won't be able to max out Crysis...

TheMatt

You can put two 8800GTS G92's in SLi for the same price as a single 8800GTX and you will get more than 1.5x the performance.

I would look at a board with the newer 780i chipset such as the P5N-T as well as the E8400 Wolfdale processor.

mrscottydog

Actually I personally would get two ATI 3870's.
That's my own opinion though, plus they're like 200 bucks cheaper then the 8800 GTX

TheMatt

The HD 3870 with the current ATi/AMD drivers is slower than the 8800GT 512MB, so I would stick with SLi nVidia G92 cards.

SLi will give anywhere from a 1.75x to 1.8x performance increase. Since it is controlled through the driver rather than the game, game coders to not need to code the game specifically for a multi GPU system. On a high end chipset like the 780i you can expect excellent performance.