LostBoy5

Looking into upgrading my current piece of crap.

Im a hardcore gamer and want to spend around the 1000 mark.

Think mesh do the best deals so i have seen 2 similar Intel dual core systems on their website.

1 has 2x 256MB nVIDIA Geforce 8500GT (2 Graphics Cards in SLI™ Configuration)

and the other has

320MB nVIDIA 8800GTS Graphics

Which would be best?

Also is a Intel core 2 quad processor much much better than a Intel core 2 duo processor?

Cheers for any comments

finalzero

Go for the GTS, better spec, the 8500 is a budget level card. If you can opt for the 8800GTX then go for that or a 8800GTS with 512M+ ram (you can get some with 728mb ram now) - future games will demand more resources.

As for processors, tbh you will not see any difference at the moment as there is hardly anything out there that will support quad processors. If your 3D Artists, developer or photoshop person you will notice he benefit as these apps take advantage of the extra grunt however I only know of 1 game that supports quad processing and thats Supreme Commander (awesome RTS game).

Your better spending some money on the fastest Intel Core 2 Duo you can buy and then the money saved can be spent on a decent graphics card and memory.

satanbaby

i agree with ^

LostBoy5

cheers

any thoughts on this tower package running 2 320mb 8800 GTS?

: : : Gamer Infinity SLI 900 : : :

andys

Will need a larger PSU

Iain Young

I used to have an SLI rig and wouldn't go back to one again. It's a very expensive way of getting performance and isn't always 100% compatible with everything. Several games I've played have had problems, (corrupted graphics, hangs etc). Problems are usually sorted out with patches, but it's worth bearing in mind. Have a look at the Nvidia forums and see how many people have problems with the SLI setup...

I just went from 2x7800GTX cards to a single 8800GTX card, and I'm not only getting better performance (as should be expected with the newer card), but it's more reliable as well.

davecweed

if u can afford it, go for the asus en8800 gtx (768mb ram), nothing else can touch it at present, ive got one in my pc, it kicks **** in everygame.

LostBoy5

after trawling google for build pc packages

this PCSPECIALIST.CO.UK - Custom PCs, Custom Computers, Custom PC, Custom Built Computers, Gaming PC

or

this : : : Gamer Infinity SLI 900 : : :

andys

Would conisider having a look at the overclockers rigs

"Ultima OC 8800GTS" Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 2.40GHz @ X6800+ 2.93GHz Dual Core SILENT DDR2 System - Vista Premium

MJW

There's hardly any software that even uses dual cores to their full potential, let alone quad cores ! Very few titles. Also DX10 games are only just beginning to trickle through, and I guarantee that all DX10 stuff will have the option for DX9 codepaths so as not to alienate a large proportion of the games-buying public. It's also only a few months since a 64-bit operating system has been released, and how long have people been buying 64-bit CPUs over the last few years, with all that un-realised potential ? Be careful of buying too far into the future ! An 8800 GTS would be the best buy at the mo, though if you could come by a cheap 7800 GTX or a 7950 GX2 that will do until the GeForce 8 prices come tumbling down.

mart360

Wouldnt touch Nvidia with a barge pole.... too many of there poxy cards have either died in situ, or failed to stat up, / energise there gpu...

SLI....hmmmm where did they think of that?? well fck me, didnt 3DFX have linked cards 10 years ago .

What about the fabled co processor card brought out recently.....blown away by software emulation....

ATI for me,



Mart

LEUVEN

Not surprising considering Nvidia bought 3DFX's trademarks.

Nvidia: Scalable Link Interface
Voodoo: Scan Line Interleaving

Never had a GPU failure from 8 years of ownership of Nvidia............................................ ..................

Daz34

What resolution are you intending to play at?

ru'

So ATI haven't copied the idea with crossfire or whatever their attempt was called?