Curse

Archangel Xavier · Feb 24, 2007, 01:59 AM // 01:59

Heres the setup I plan on buying:

Asus Striker Extrem motherboard
2 XFX Nvidia 8800 gtx 768mb VCs
Intel Core 2 Extreme x6800 2.93Ghz
And 2 or 4 gb of 800 or 1000mhz ram

Will this setup basically dominate GW and be able to run on full blast?

I don't know what ram is compatible with the motherboard. Any comments on overall compatibility and what kind of power supply I'll need are welcome also. I plan on going quad sli later in the year.

Dex · Feb 24, 2007, 02:04 AM // 02:04

Yeah, that setup is total overkill for Guild Wars. You can run it at max settings with a lot less than that, so go crazy.

Please don't go quad-SLI. For me? Honestly, it's nothing but a way for nVidia to squeeze money out of people that are willing to give them more. Quad-SLI is a passing trend...trust me. Even regular SLI is a gigantic money sink when you consider that single GPUs handily trounce dual-GPU setups from the previous generation and cost half as much. Quad-SLI continues to get limited support from game developers, is buggy in general, and the price/performance ratio is so abyssmal that I can't even bring myself to finish this senten-

EDIT:
Actually, do what you will. I have friends that are willing to pay thousands of dollars for nothing more than bragging rights, so who am I to tell you where to throw your money away...

eggrolls · Feb 24, 2007, 02:17 AM // 02:17

if you are going to spend that much money on the computer, definitely get 4GB of memory. i just hope you have a big monitor (high res) to take advantage of what those cards are capable of.

Eldin · Feb 24, 2007, 02:43 AM // 02:43

Yeah. Get a monitor at least 1280x1024 and you can run GW with its interface on "Large" or "Larger". Looks so awesome. You will totally destroy GW in terms of performance. Enjoy!

One thing, though. GW seems to like ATI cards more and, as other threads show, ATI users have better framerates. But with a computer that powerful, you needn't worry a thing.

Empedocles · Feb 24, 2007, 03:04 AM // 03:04

Not sure if OPs trolling or not, however:

ditch one 8800, downgrade 6800 to e6600, buy 2Gb ram.

Spend the money saved on a high-end 24"screen, it will retain its value much longer than the rest of the system.

Dex · Feb 24, 2007, 03:07 AM // 03:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by eggrolls

if you are going to spend that much money on the computer, definitely get 4GB of memory. i just hope you have a big monitor (high res) to take advantage of what those cards are capable of.

Get 4GB if you're planning to run Vista...2GB if you're set with XP. XP doesn't use more than 3GB very well.

Even with 2 of those video cards you're going to need to run games at enormous resolutions to take advantage of them. MUCH higher than 1280x1024...much higher than 1600x1200. Yeah, get a huge monitor.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Empedocles

Not sure if OPs trolling or not, however:

ditch one 8800, downgrade 6800 to e6600, buy 2Gb ram.

Spend the money saved on a high-end 24"screen, it will retain its value much longer than the rest of the system.

That would be sensible. By the time games are taking advantage of your rig's power there will be better hardware available for less money.

tijo · Feb 24, 2007, 04:49 AM // 04:49

All has pretty much been said, just keep in mind that video cards are one of the fastest evolving computer hardware component, so no need to get a state of the art card right now, getting a very good processor with a cheaper video card is a money saver and your processor will retain it's value and usefulness longer than your video card. Also definitely go with a huge monitor with that system else all those specs will become pretty much a waste of money and as stated before your monitor is component that will retain a certain value longer than anything else.

Kyuuba · Feb 24, 2007, 04:56 AM // 04:56

seriously that is overkill for GW
if GW is your primary game then you definitely dont need so much stuff.
save some money you wont even stress that computer with GW (MAXED OUT)

DO YOU PLAN ON OVERCLOCKING big thing to consider when buying all the "best" parts

striker extreme - overpriced really not so amazing (save money get a P5N32-E SLi they are practically the same)

2 8800 GTX? are you insane? 1 8800 GTX is already overkill, infact you could get a 8800 GTS and still play maxed out.
I suggest an 1 8800GTS, just wait... 8900GTX's will start popping out and u'd wish u didnt buy 2 8800GTX's.

Lets talk about your processor.. hmm.. Intel Core 2 Extreme x6800 2.93Ghz
definitely an overkill, you wont be overclocking and you dont need so much power for GW. for the price i rather go for a quad core 6600 for future proofing but then again i wouldnt blow so much on a cpu anyways and probably go for a 6600. oh but then the new 6x50's are coming out.. hmm probably should wait for those.

memory: definitely 2GB, 4GB if you really wanta max it out. MHz? well 800 is basically the standard now, dont know if your a tweaker or not but many ppl get ram with micron d9's to 1000+. anyways i u really wanta blow massive money then go grab 4gb of corsair dominator 8888, i believe they are 1111MHz.

powersupply.. well a high quality 600w should run it all, but who knows why not go crazy and get a 1000w powersupply, btw 1000w is 1kw, sounds crazy its like what power bill rates are cent/kw.. if you do pay that.

anyways there are many more things to say.

cooling, case, sound card, harddrive, optical drives...

have you done your research or have u been sorting by price descending?

Dex · Feb 24, 2007, 06:12 AM // 06:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyuuba

have you done your research or have u been sorting by price descending?

That made me laugh.

Archangel Xavier · Feb 24, 2007, 06:49 AM // 06:49

Alright, so I guess I'll go all out on the processor and skimp on the gpu. So is SLI a waste of money? I guess I could go with one 8800 gts or gtx and if I decided to I could always upgrade later. Quad SLI does seem like it could be a waste of money thats why I wasnt going to get it right now. I wanted to wait and see if it went the way of rambus.

Kyuuba- as for the motherboard I've read a little in to this particular model and yes while the pn32 is definately enough in the way of performance and compatibility, the striker has some interesting power managment upgrades among other slight upgrades from its predescessors. Overall it seems to be the superior piece of hardware. In my experience I've learned never skimp on the motherboard. Also, yes, I have been doing my research and yes I pay the electric bill. On a side note I'm not 12. I happen to have a fairly decent understanding of computer architecture if I do say so myself. I've just been out of the loop of the hardware world for some time now and alot of these relativley new technologies like multiple processors and gpus as well the need for power supplies as big as 1kw are entirely foreign to me.

I'd like to get the 8888 dominator, but if I do I can only afford 2gb. I'll most likely get 4gb of lower quality and just not worry about it. I plan on skimping majorly on a sound card which is why I didnt mention it. I don't care so long as nothing is sounds distorted or scratchy. I don't know much in the way of cooling and cases and recommendations?
What's this 6 x 50? When is it coming out and should I get it?

easyg · Feb 24, 2007, 07:06 AM // 07:06

http://www.futuremark.com/community/...fame/3dmark06/

This is just the 3DMark06 top 20 lists. See something interesting? All the top scoring machines are exactly the same configuration of CPU, chipset, and GPUs.

680i SLI m/b
2 x 8800 GTX
QX6700

We're in one of those intervals when the gulf between nVidia and ATI, and Intel and AMD, is a full generation apart. Won't last forever. In fact, R600 will be out of the box next month prolly.

Just food for thought....

Archangel Xavier · Feb 24, 2007, 07:34 AM // 07:34

I'm a diehard nvidia/intel buyer. I've tried ati and I've tried amd both of which failed me. The AMD processor ( I don't recall which one as it was years ago) died after two months of use and the ATI cards seem to more geared towards users with little understanding of gpus. The configurability of ATI cards seems to be lacking in accessibility and overall freedom. This is obviously dependent on which card and drivers you are using, but with the few ATI cards I've used I havent been satisfied.

What I'm a little confused about are the processors. There's the Core 2 Extreme qx6700, the Core 2 Extreme x6800, and the Core 2 Quad Processor. Are they not all quad processors? and which is the best?

easyg · Feb 24, 2007, 08:10 AM // 08:10

Nope, they aren't all quad cores. The X6800 is a dual core processor. The other two processors are quads (really two dual cores on the same die).

In the past, Intel used the "extreme" moniker to designate a CPU with an unlocked multi (obviously very useful for overclocking). To be honest, I can't remember if the qx6700 is locked or not, and I'm too lazy to check.

The number refers to the CPU frequncy. Dual and quadcore chips with the same number will run at the same stock frequency. Ergo the qx6700 runs at 2.66 GHz (basically two E6700s on the same die) vs the q6600 at 2.40 GHz (basically two E6600s on the same die).

So to recap:

Q = quad core

X = extreme edition (unlocked multiplier)

6700, 6600, etc refers to stock CPU frequency (2.66 GHz, 2.40 GHz, etc)

Hope that helps

Kyuuba · Feb 24, 2007, 09:37 PM // 21:37

You also have to be careful about all the new things coming out.
Such as pci express 2.0

if you want a decent system then i would not suggest going all out since a lot of new technology is suppose to be coming out in 2007 mainly in Q2 and Q3.
Some motherboards such as the Asus Striker will allow you to adjust the multiplier even on non "X" models, but you can only decrease the multiplier.

this is the e6x50's i'm talking about:
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=4589

For a decent setup, i would suggest you get
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
Asus Striker Extreme
2GB of Corsair Dominator DDR2 1000 (8000)
1 nVidia GeForce 8800GTX or 8800GTS
1 or 2 (so you can RAID) 7200RPM SATAII Hard drive of your choice for basic programs/operating system. (western digital, Maxtor, Seagate, samsung are all fine)
1 10000RPM Western Digital Raptor (mainly for games)
Sound card such as Creative Sound blaster X-Fi
600+ w Power Supply (Antec, Seasonic, Corsair are all good brands)
Case of your choice (look into Antec, Lian-Li etc.)
You may want to consider after market cooling (CPU Heat sink, Case Fans, Hard drive Enclosure, Water cooling systems)

Then you could save your money and then buy a quad-core CPU when they drop in price, get a new motherboard that support pci-express 2.0 and new graphics card when the GeForce 8900's come out. Either way, the setup i posted above will definitely already overkill GW.

Thats all i can think of for now...
I don't know if your an extreme overclocker or not because that also determines what parts you may want to get.

easyg · Feb 24, 2007, 10:07 PM // 22:07

Creative sound card + Vista = BSOD (for a lot of people anyway)

Archangel Xavier · Feb 25, 2007, 12:57 AM // 00:57

Ive read into the pci-express 2.0 and it seems that its at least a year away. I need a new computer not just for gaming but for other reasons as well, so I cant really wait that long. Even if it were only for the price drop on the older chipsets. I think I'm just going to get one hardrive because I just back everything up onto an external hard drive and as for speed I may just get one 7200 hard drive or a decent sized 10000rpm. I plan on overclocking my cpu and those new processors are all locked so I might as well get the qx6700 and just overclock it to the 2.93GHz.
So here is my adjusted plan:
Asus Strike Extreme
qx6700 and overclock to 2.93GHz
7200rpm 320GB Seagate or a 10000rpm with at least 150GB
2gb 8888 Corsair Dominator ram
1 8800 GTX video card ( maybe xfx xxx model or Evga's AS3)
For a case probably the CM Stacker 830 (I'd like to go cheaper, but I don't want to cut on the cooling)
Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1
Power Supply probably about 800 maybe 900 watts in case I do add a cooling system
Running Windows Vista
Thanks for everyone's input. I might get another stick of ram if the price drops on it.

Dex · Feb 25, 2007, 01:36 AM // 01:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyuuba

You also have to be careful about all the new things coming out.
Such as pci express 2.0

if you want a decent system then i would not suggest going all out since a lot of new technology is suppose to be coming out in 2007 mainly in Q2 and Q3.
Some motherboards such as the Asus Striker will allow you to adjust the multiplier even on non "X" models, but you can only decrease the multiplier.

this is the e6x50's i'm talking about:
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=4589

For a decent setup, i would suggest you get
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
Asus Striker Extreme
2GB of Corsair Dominator DDR2 1000 (8000)
1 nVidia GeForce 8800GTX or 8800GTS
1 or 2 (so you can RAID) 7200RPM SATAII Hard drive of your choice for basic programs/operating system. (western digital, Maxtor, Seagate, samsung are all fine)
1 10000RPM Western Digital Raptor (mainly for games)
Sound card such as Creative Sound blaster X-Fi
600+ w Power Supply (Antec, Seasonic, Corsair are all good brands)
Case of your choice (look into Antec, Lian-Li etc.)
You may want to consider after market cooling (CPU Heat sink, Case Fans, Hard drive Enclosure, Water cooling systems)

Then you could save your money and then buy a quad-core CPU when they drop in price, get a new motherboard that support pci-express 2.0 and new graphics card when the GeForce 8900's come out. Either way, the setup i posted above will definitely already overkill GW.

Thats all i can think of for now...
I don't know if your an extreme overclocker or not because that also determines what parts you may want to get.

Good advice. I don't like the Raptor drives much, though. They're barely faster than the Seagate 7200.10 drives, and they're a lot more expensive, run hotter, and in my experience far less reliable. IMHO the 7200.10 drives are the nicest bang for the buck right now in SATA drives. Plus you can't beat the speed, price/MB, and 5-year warranty for that price.

As far as SLI goes...again, I really think it's only useful when you're running a big monitor at a high res. I've been down the SLI and Crossfire roads before (as have others I know), and pretty much always end up looking back at the purchase from 4 months in and regretting it. By the time you're truly reaping the benefits, there's a next-gen GPU on the market that gets as good or better performance for a lot less money. If you want high-end but don't want to spend money unnecessarily, getting a single high-end card is usually the way to go. Not to mention the additional inherent hassle of tweaking, driver bugs, and incompatibilities that typically exist with multi-GPU setups. SLI and Crossfire: great if you're playing at 2560 x 2048 on a big monitor. Quad-SLI: nVidia appreciates your money, sucker. Keep it coming.

Empedocles · Feb 25, 2007, 03:50 AM // 03:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archangel Xavier

Asus Strike Extreme
qx6700 and overclock to 2.93GHz

With that setup, you should be able to pass 3Ghz and even 3.5Ghz with flying colours. I mean, if you plan to overclock, why only to raise bus from 266 to 293? You can set the multiplier to 13 and run with normal bus, giving you nearly 3.5Ghz, and you don't need other than air cooling for that. However, I still think it will be terrible waste of money, all the same

.

Oh, and Audigy doesn't sound right, if everything else is high-end. One woud suspect you'd rather take an X-Fi card.

Archangel Xavier · Feb 25, 2007, 04:09 AM // 04:09

The qx 6700 is to take advanage of mutlithreaded games that will be coming out over the the course of the next few years. I don't want to have to upgrade for a long time and if I get the quad it will be better suited for future games. As for the overclock, yea I could run it at 3.5GHz, but to be perfectly honest I'm a little over cautious when it comes to overclocking. I'm really worried about the heat and lifespan of my components. I don't know a whole lot about what kind of cooling I'll need for this system so I'll end up playing it safe.

The audigy definately doesnt match the rest of the system, but I really dont want to spend much money at all on a sound card. I'd rather save the $30 extra that I'd spend on a fancier card and put it towards a new mouse or keyboard. It's just not a high priority for me whatsoever.

easyg · Feb 25, 2007, 04:32 AM // 04:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Empedocles

With that setup, you should be able to pass 3Ghz and even 3.5Ghz with flying colours. I mean, if you plan to overclock, why only to raise bus from 266 to 293? You can set the multiplier to 13 and run with normal bus, giving you nearly 3.5Ghz, and you don't need other than air cooling for that.

Hmmm, I don't think it would make a lot of sense overclocking to 3.5Ghz if all he's concerned about is real world performance in games and if he's not running the vid cards in SLI (or doing lots of heavy encoding tasks on the side).

No matter what people have heard, one 8800GTX is still going to bottleneck in most high end systems.

After I got my EVGA card in December, I benchmarked quite a bit in 3dMark06 and was pretty shocked to find that it only took a modest CPU overclock ~2.8Ghz to uncorked the GPU. Anything over that was just for kicks, with the E6600 + Abit AW9D (975X) + EVGA 8800GTX (stock) topping out at at ~ 11,500 marks.

If he overclocks the GPU, whole different story.