Building a new computer - Need advice.

Eminef · 09-29-2008, 03:22 AM

Hello.

I'm building a new computer mainly for gaming and need to know if everything will work together.

Q1. Will everything work together fine or would do i need to change anything.
Q2. Will the PSU provide enough power to run Graphic card two way SLI.

New Stuff
Tower - Gaming Case
PSU - ThermalTake 700W
GPU - XFX Geforce GTX 260
MotherBoard - XFX S775 nForce 780i
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00GHz
Ram - DDR2 PC2-6400

OldStuff from old pc.
HDD - 200GB SATA
Sound Card - Creative Live
DVD Rom - DVD RW

Tumbleweed36 · 09-29-2008, 04:34 AM

It is my opinion that you might be a little light on the PSU to run two of these cards. I would think you would need at a bare minimum a 750 with an 850 being a preferable PSU.

raptorkid · 09-29-2008, 09:51 AM

wouldn't it be better to have a more powerful single card, like the GTX 280 or 4870x2? i was under the impression that Sli was pretty poor at scaling...

Tumbleweed36 · 09-29-2008, 10:55 AM

One 4870 is a real killer and I would choose that any day over two cards that are not as powerful.

Eminef · 09-29-2008, 01:54 PM

Well my plan was to get just the one GFX card now.. then in a year or more when games start struggerling, instead of tossing my £200 GFX card in the bin i was gonna upgrade to sli, and of course by then the same gfx card will be cheap as chips and should make a big differents for low price.

Well.. that was the plan.. Does Sli make a big differents? i was under the impresstion it does.??

Toucan Sam · 09-29-2008, 02:21 PM

some of the time it does, some of the time it doesn't. It does not always, however, give you twice the performance. Anywhere from the same performance as if you had one card up to twice the power, but usually it will be around the higher side of the middle. (ex. 1.8 times the fps)
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/g...dx876,571.html
might give you some idea of how it scales, but scaling is usually dependant on the game. That's also a slightly outdated list.

Eminef · 09-30-2008, 02:34 AM

Yeah.

Nvidia 8800 GT OC SLI - 55.30
Nvidia 8800 GT OC - 30.60

Nvidia 8800 GTX SLI - 53.80
Nvidia 8800 GTX - 28.70

Nvidia 8800 GTS SLI - 38.80
Nvidia 8800 GTS - 20.90

Just under double.. seems worth it to me.

But im no expert.. what do you think?

Will it make a nice differents adding a second GTX 260 in a year or so, or should i toss it out and spend another £200-300 on the next best thing??

Thanks for your input.

Hardwarenerd · 09-30-2008, 04:38 AM

me personally? i have had SLI and Crossfire, there are only about 20-30% of games that are scaled for SLI properly, but crossfire will work with about 80% of games, anyways, i am biased, i am ATI fan all the way, so in my opinion, get the 4870 or 2 4850s.... or the 4870x2 but you will def need bigger psu, and probably bigger HDD... imo...

Toucan Sam · 09-30-2008, 05:00 AM

Yeah crossfire>SLI right now. What I would do is get a SINGLE card right now. When that card blows by itself, pick up another for half the price.

Eminef · 09-30-2008, 06:13 AM

Well yeah i was plaining on getting one GTX260 then adding another when it starts struggerling on its own.

I dont really know much about ATI tbh.. im more of a Nvidia person, i thought crossfire and sli we're the same ..

**wrench97** · 09-30-2008, 12:00 PM

SLI is Nvidia's dual card setup Crossfire is ATI's the motherboards are different for SLI you have to use an Nvidia chip set, for crossfire either Intel or AMD and right now Intel has the better platform,
Tumbleweeds is right the 700w is a little small for 2 cards.

Eminef · 09-30-2008, 02:18 PM

Ok i understand now.. thanks.

And yeah i posted this same thread on another forum and i got the same feed back on the PCU.. This guys suggested this Corsair 750W is this good enough?

And as for the the rest.. without the second gfx card.. will the MOBO, CPU and GPU all work together fine? or do i have to change something?

**wrench97** · 09-30-2008, 02:43 PM

The Coesair PSU is a very good choice.
I not a fan of the 7xx series at all I have found them buggy, very picky about memory and difficult to get running properly.

Eminef · 10-01-2008, 03:31 AM

Well i can only seem to find a 1000w as the next one up from this.. but i dont feel like adding another £80 to my already pricey pc hehe.

I think i'll go for the 750w.. i good good feedback about it from another forum so im kinda happy with it.

raptorkid · 10-01-2008, 12:29 PM

Um, i think he meant the 7xx series of motherboards, not PSU...

Eminef · 10-01-2008, 12:52 PM

Ahhh.. well thats ok cause i've changed the mobo to this Asus P5K Premium

**wrench97** · 10-01-2008, 12:57 PM

Yes I meant the MB and the P5K is a better choice.

Eminef · 10-01-2008, 03:39 PM

Ahh ok.. yeah i was told to get this on another forum lol.

KharnakIHazWoW · 10-02-2008, 05:07 PM

I had a 8800gts before, and well, you dont really need anything better than that for playing wow - a single 4850 will work for most games now.. except crysis in ultra high.. duhh :p im building a PC myself atm - ive read alot about nvidia and ati and after all the reading, im actually an ati"fan".. not because ati has some ultra good stuff, but nvidia just has too bad rep in my opinion, im too afraid to use them :O Never hear anything bad about ati, and well, my friend has a 4870, and it kicks butt*cks :O

Eminef · 10-03-2008, 04:14 AM

Yeah it seems ATI is more popular.. i've always been an NVIDIA 'fan' tbh mostly cause i never tryed or looked into the ATI cards.

I've got a GeForce 6800 atm and im a CoD4 fan which is evil cause this card cannot handle the game what so ever yet i still play it on bare minimal graphics and still lag like hell.

So im gonna give ATI a change and grab the (HD 4870 1GB) i want the x2 version but with building a whole computer i cant afford it.. but i hope to crossfire it in the future.. unless thats a bad idea?

09-29-2008, 03:22 AM	#1 (permalink)
Eminef Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 69 OS: Windows XP - Service Pack 3	Building a new computer - Need advice. Hello. I'm building a new computer mainly for gaming and need to know if everything will work together. Q1. Will everything work together fine or would do i need to change anything. Q2. Will the PSU provide enough power to run Graphic card two way SLI. New Stuff Tower - Gaming Case PSU - ThermalTake 700W GPU - XFX Geforce GTX 260 MotherBoard - XFX S775 nForce 780i CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00GHz Ram - DDR2 PC2-6400 OldStuff from old pc. HDD - 200GB SATA Sound Card - Creative Live DVD Rom - DVD RW

09-29-2008, 04:34 AM	#2 (permalink)
Tumbleweed36 Asst Manager Hardware Join Date: May 2005 Location: USA Posts: 19,686 OS: XP Professional	Re: Building a new computer - Need advice. It is my opinion that you might be a little light on the PSU to run two of these cards. I would think you would need at a bare minimum a 750 with an 850 being a preferable PSU. __________________ ---------- I don't receive email notifications of replies to subscribed threads. (Internet provider policy) Therefore, if I don't respond to your post within 24 hours, please send me a reminder PM and include the link to your thread.

09-29-2008, 09:51 AM	#3 (permalink)
raptorkid Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Biddulph, UK Posts: 91 OS: xp sp2 My System	Re: Building a new computer - Need advice. wouldn't it be better to have a more powerful single card, like the GTX 280 or 4870x2? i was under the impression that Sli was pretty poor at scaling...

09-29-2008, 10:55 AM	#4 (permalink)
Tumbleweed36 Asst Manager Hardware Join Date: May 2005 Location: USA Posts: 19,686 OS: XP Professional	Re: Building a new computer - Need advice. One 4870 is a real killer and I would choose that any day over two cards that are not as powerful. __________________ ---------- I don't receive email notifications of replies to subscribed threads. (Internet provider policy) Therefore, if I don't respond to your post within 24 hours, please send me a reminder PM and include the link to your thread.

09-29-2008, 01:54 PM	#5 (permalink)
Eminef Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 69 OS: Windows XP - Service Pack 3	Re: Building a new computer - Need advice. Well my plan was to get just the one GFX card now.. then in a year or more when games start struggerling, instead of tossing my £200 GFX card in the bin i was gonna upgrade to sli, and of course by then the same gfx card will be cheap as chips and should make a big differents for low price. Well.. that was the plan.. Does Sli make a big differents? i was under the impresstion it does.??

09-29-2008, 02:21 PM	#6 (permalink)
Toucan Sam Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: charlotte, nc Posts: 153 OS: vista 64-bit SP1 My System	Re: Building a new computer - Need advice. some of the time it does, some of the time it doesn't. It does not always, however, give you twice the performance. Anywhere from the same performance as if you had one card up to twice the power, but usually it will be around the higher side of the middle. (ex. 1.8 times the fps) http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/g...dx876,571.html might give you some idea of how it scales, but scaling is usually dependant on the game. That's also a slightly outdated list.

09-30-2008, 02:34 AM	#7 (permalink)
Eminef Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 69 OS: Windows XP - Service Pack 3	Re: Building a new computer - Need advice. Yeah. Nvidia 8800 GT OC SLI - 55.30 Nvidia 8800 GT OC - 30.60 Nvidia 8800 GTX SLI - 53.80 Nvidia 8800 GTX - 28.70 Nvidia 8800 GTS SLI - 38.80 Nvidia 8800 GTS - 20.90 Just under double.. seems worth it to me. But im no expert.. what do you think? Will it make a nice differents adding a second GTX 260 in a year or so, or should i toss it out and spend another £200-300 on the next best thing?? Thanks for your input.

09-30-2008, 04:38 AM	#8 (permalink)
Hardwarenerd Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Seattle/Phoenix Posts: 130 OS: Windows XP, SP3 My System	Re: Building a new computer - Need advice. me personally? i have had SLI and Crossfire, there are only about 20-30% of games that are scaled for SLI properly, but crossfire will work with about 80% of games, anyways, i am biased, i am ATI fan all the way, so in my opinion, get the 4870 or 2 4850s.... or the 4870x2 but you will def need bigger psu, and probably bigger HDD... imo...

09-30-2008, 05:00 AM	#9 (permalink)
Toucan Sam Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: charlotte, nc Posts: 153 OS: vista 64-bit SP1 My System	Re: Building a new computer - Need advice. Yeah crossfire>SLI right now. What I would do is get a SINGLE card right now. When that card blows by itself, pick up another for half the price.

09-30-2008, 06:13 AM	#10 (permalink)
Eminef Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 69 OS: Windows XP - Service Pack 3	Re: Building a new computer - Need advice. Well yeah i was plaining on getting one GTX260 then adding another when it starts struggerling on its own. I dont really know much about ATI tbh.. im more of a Nvidia person, i thought crossfire and sli we're the same ..

09-30-2008, 12:00 PM	#11 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,718 OS: Win7	Re: Building a new computer - Need advice. SLI is Nvidia's dual card setup Crossfire is ATI's the motherboards are different for SLI you have to use an Nvidia chip set, for crossfire either Intel or AMD and right now Intel has the better platform, Tumbleweeds is right the 700w is a little small for 2 cards. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

09-30-2008, 02:18 PM	#12 (permalink)
Eminef Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 69 OS: Windows XP - Service Pack 3	Re: Building a new computer - Need advice. Ok i understand now.. thanks. And yeah i posted this same thread on another forum and i got the same feed back on the PCU.. This guys suggested this Corsair 750W is this good enough? And as for the the rest.. without the second gfx card.. will the MOBO, CPU and GPU all work together fine? or do i have to change something?

09-30-2008, 02:43 PM	#13 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,718 OS: Win7	Re: Building a new computer - Need advice. The Coesair PSU is a very good choice. I not a fan of the 7xx series at all I have found them buggy, very picky about memory and difficult to get running properly. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

10-01-2008, 03:31 AM	#14 (permalink)
Eminef Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 69 OS: Windows XP - Service Pack 3	Re: Building a new computer - Need advice. Well i can only seem to find a 1000w as the next one up from this.. but i dont feel like adding another £80 to my already pricey pc hehe. I think i'll go for the 750w.. i good good feedback about it from another forum so im kinda happy with it.

10-01-2008, 12:29 PM	#15 (permalink)
raptorkid Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Biddulph, UK Posts: 91 OS: xp sp2 My System	Re: Building a new computer - Need advice. Um, i think he meant the 7xx series of motherboards, not PSU...

10-01-2008, 12:52 PM	#16 (permalink)
Eminef Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 69 OS: Windows XP - Service Pack 3	Re: Building a new computer - Need advice. Ahhh.. well thats ok cause i've changed the mobo to this Asus P5K Premium

10-01-2008, 12:57 PM	#17 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,718 OS: Win7	Re: Building a new computer - Need advice. Yes I meant the MB and the P5K is a better choice. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

10-01-2008, 03:39 PM	#18 (permalink)
Eminef Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 69 OS: Windows XP - Service Pack 3	Re: Building a new computer - Need advice. Ahh ok.. yeah i was told to get this on another forum lol.

10-02-2008, 05:07 PM	#19 (permalink)
KharnakIHazWoW Registered User Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Denmark Posts: 138 OS: Windows Vista Ulti 32bit	Re: Building a new computer - Need advice. I had a 8800gts before, and well, you dont really need anything better than that for playing wow - a single 4850 will work for most games now.. except crysis in ultra high.. duhh :p im building a PC myself atm - ive read alot about nvidia and ati and after all the reading, im actually an ati"fan".. not because ati has some ultra good stuff, but nvidia just has too bad rep in my opinion, im too afraid to use them :O Never hear anything bad about ati, and well, my friend has a 4870, and it kicks butt*cks :O

10-03-2008, 04:14 AM	#20 (permalink)
Eminef Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 69 OS: Windows XP - Service Pack 3	Re: Building a new computer - Need advice. Yeah it seems ATI is more popular.. i've always been an NVIDIA 'fan' tbh mostly cause i never tryed or looked into the ATI cards. I've got a GeForce 6800 atm and im a CoD4 fan which is evil cause this card cannot handle the game what so ever yet i still play it on bare minimal graphics and still lag like hell. So im gonna give ATI a change and grab the (HD 4870 1GB) i want the x2 version but with building a whole computer i cant afford it.. but i hope to crossfire it in the future.. unless thats a bad idea?