# My Newest System!!!



## CrackerJack (Jan 24, 2008)

GIGABYTE GA-MA69G-S3H AM2 AMD 690G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard  

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Black Edition 

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel 

Western Digital Caviar WD3200AAKS 320GB SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (2) (AND YES I'M USING SATA)

SAPPHIRE X1950 PRO (OC)

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I'M GOING BE DOING OVERCLOCK!!! I SEEN WHERE THE GIGABYTE BOARDS ARE VERY OVERCLOCKABLE. I'M GOING TO TRY TO PUSH IT AROUND 3.0Ghz or more. I'VE SEEN WHERE SOME HAS GOT UP TO 3.2Ghz. BUT ANYWAY TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK. THIS IS ON A LIMITED BUDGET. WITH NO CROSSFIRE. I WISH I COULD. BUT JUST CAN'T FIND A DECENT PRICE ON A BOARD WITH CROSSFIRE. OH WELL





CrAcKeRjAcK


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## Cold Storm (Jan 24, 2008)

well what price are you looking at for the mobo??? and it seems like a good build for a budget.


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## zCexVe (Jan 24, 2008)

It is a good budget build with a good potential of OCing.I saw newegg had a board for cheap,but it was a while ago.Haven't checked lately.


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## Snipe343 (Jan 24, 2008)

as far as oc my board let me get to 3ghz on my 4000+, i dont have that board tho


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## CrackerJack (Jan 25, 2008)

Cold Storm:
i'm looking between the prices of $30-$100. But this system is going be around $600.  The system i have now was $800. But it's time for me now to upgrade. I'm using the 939 boards and 4200+ x2. 

Snipe343:
What board was you using? And what was you idle and load temps?


THANKS


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## Cold Storm (Jan 25, 2008)

all right i'll look to see if there is anyother board to look at. will be later today. 
solid build so far
if i can find a hd24xx  hd26xx for a good price would you go for it?


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## CrackerJack (Jan 25, 2008)

Cold Storm:
sweet! yeah i been wanting to upgrade the card for awhile. If i could i would like to go with HD2600, or maybe 2900. if the price is right!!!


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## ChillyMyst (Jan 25, 2008)

hey cj, you may want to hold out a little while, biostars got a new 780 board coming out in their tseirse VERY soon that should be a good price and should overclock that 5000+ blacky and even phenoms very well.

http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en-us/t-series/content.php?S_ID=344

if you keep and eye on PCPER and RebelsHaven forums somebody no dought will post when the egg is expected to get it within the next week or 2, its got 6 sata ports, 3200 onboard video insted of 1200, also uses solid caps, and the t-seirse are kickass overclockers!!!!


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## CrackerJack (Jan 25, 2008)

chillymysy:
yeah i'll wait for that board. seem's really good!!!


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## ChillyMyst (Jan 25, 2008)

i really like the specs, sb700 also should kickass, i mean damn, matx with that many sata ports.........sweet!!!

probbly endup using them for a few builds for friends when they come avalable!!!!

sometimes its hard to wait but manytimes its well worth it if you get a better product, my buddy waited to get a 5000+BE till the TA770 came out, the 5000+BE droped by close to 30bucks in that time, in the end it saved him 10bucks over the board+cpu at the time he started drooling(5000+BE had us all drooling!!!)


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## CrackerJack (Jan 25, 2008)

are biostar's good at overclocking? sapphire is overclockable, but it's not. i just want a board that will overclock pretty decent and be able to cold boot. if i could get 3.Ghz out of the 5000+ i would be more than happy  but with the gigabyte i know for a face that overclock good. but i haven't really put them to test. i build one about 6 months ago, with a 3800+ x2. nothing fancy. but that sucker ran faster than mine!!! lol 

AMD ATHLON 64 4200+ X2 (OC 2.5Ghz)
2Gb Wintec AMPO DDR 3200
Sapphire X1950 PRO OC
160 AND 200Gb Hard Drives (IDE)

with these specs i get between 5200 and 5600 with 3dmark05. im trying to go for atleast 7000 if not higher. Is it possible? lol


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## ChillyMyst (Jan 25, 2008)

tseirse boards are killer clockers, they are ruffly equivlant to the DFI lanparty/expert boards for clocking fetures, but they lack one thing that DFI's offer, the biostars ARENT PICKY ABOUT RAM OR OTHER PARTS.

a 4200 in a decent board should hit at least 2.9, my 4000+ is at 2.85, backed down from 2.95 because im paranoied and running in 64bit windows(more stressfull on cpu)

im using a tforce550 board that ROCKS, tested a buddys 5000+BE when his board wouldnt take it(bad bios that didnt support unlocked chips) i got 3.3 out of his chip no problem 100% stable!!!


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## CrackerJack (Jan 25, 2008)

wow sweet!!! well i got another question. i haven't got use the PCI-E 2.0 X16 Slots. Will my PCI-E X16 work in it? I'm guessing it will!!!


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## ChillyMyst (Jan 25, 2008)

yeah, its just like AGP moving from 1x to 2x or 4x to 8x, the slots the same just more bandwith avalable(like its needed....)  

its all good you can use any card you got for pci-e in this board.


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## ChillyMyst (Jan 25, 2008)

http://www.rebelshavenforum.com/sis-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum;f=53

check that out, gives you a good idea what you will see in biostar bios and boards, also a great place to ask about them!!!!

i would say RH is the best sorce on the net for info about tseirse boards, Polygon and the gang over there are lovers of the tseirse


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## Cold Storm (Jan 25, 2008)

sapphire HD2600 512mb for $119 I hope this is a good price for you.
Sapphire Hd2900 512mb for $159 There is for cheaper but its open box, so I don't know how you feel about that...
If you need to go cheaper let me know, I believe I can find for cheaper, just have to do more digging..


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## ChillyMyst (Jan 25, 2008)

would be better to just save up and get a 3850 512mb when you can afford it, the 2900 uses WAY to much power and the 2600 is slower then your 1950 by a good bit.

the 1950pro is still a damn good card to be honest, only reasion i moved to a 8800gt was i had to rma a 1900xtx that died and couldnt wait for it to get back to me.

oh and paying the little extra for a powercolor 3850 is worth it, lifetime warrinty!!!


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## Cold Storm (Jan 25, 2008)

ChillyMyst said:


> would be better to just save up and get a 3850 512mb when you can afford it, the 2900 uses WAY to much power and the 2600 is slower then your 1950 by a good bit.
> 
> the 1950pro is still a damn good card to be honest, only reasion i moved to a 8800gt was i had to rma a 1900xtx that died and couldnt wait for it to get back to me.
> 
> oh and paying the little extra for a powercolor 3850 is worth it, lifetime warrinty!!!



Yeah, your right it would be better to go with a 3850. and powercolor is a great brand for one. The only thing I have about that is i've seen a lot of bottlenecking with the AMD x2 processors... But, then again, it was old parts with a new card like that... So it should be better... and your also right with the 2600 and 2900's... but, he has a pretty nice psu, so I don't think the 2900 would be a problem.


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## ChillyMyst (Jan 25, 2008)

2900 would bottle neck the same, the perf of the 38*0 and 2900 cards is on par, only diffrance really is the fact the 38*0 cards use ALOT less power and run ALOT cooler.

and about the bottleneck, its not that big a deal, really as long as ur gaming at a decent res its gonna be the videocard that bottlenecks b4 the cpu.


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## Cold Storm (Jan 25, 2008)

all right, I did the calculations and it shows that your true chilly. There really isn't a diff. about 2900xt and the 38x0. The only different is the price... lol.. So now, i withdraw my 2600 and 2900 prices and go with the powercolor 3850


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## ChillyMyst (Jan 25, 2008)

yeah thats the card i been reccomending to friends, there are cheaper versions with 512mb but they are a good bit slower, most are clocked at 668mhz, the powercolor is 720, comes in pretty close to the basic 3870 cards in many cases.

damn good cards, specly for the price, the cooler alone is like 40-50bucks, then add that its got lifetime warr and you really cant go wrong


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## Cold Storm (Jan 25, 2008)

Yeah, I went with a Gecube 3870... I wanted so bad for a powercolor but they were sold out... so i got the one year... and that went to hell... so i really don't care to much for if i need ot have a warr or not.. but they are pretty nice cards


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## ChillyMyst (Jan 25, 2008)

i personaly would have gone with asus or diamond over gecube, not that gecube is bad but they others offer 3 year warr


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## Cold Storm (Jan 25, 2008)

well here's the thing... i void warr.. so name sake for that don't work for me... i wanted a his, but they were sold out... all that was left was the gecube, and i wanted to over night it all so i could get it for the weekend run..


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## ChillyMyst (Jan 25, 2008)

ah, i have techincly voided wars, but i tend to beable to cover up the evedance


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## Cold Storm (Jan 25, 2008)

well, i have a friend, who tends to when he mods, get some shaky hands.. so i think this IS noticable... and sorry for hijacking cracker... but i think this works to help you also...


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## CrackerJack (Jan 26, 2008)

cold storm:
no problem, all this info is really helping me on my decision. when it comes time to order that parts, if i got the money for i would like to go with the biostar board and the HD 3K Card. I really love the specs on that board. One thing is that is AM2+, Two DD2 1066 and Three PCI-E 2.0 If i don't go with this. Then i might just go with the orignal specs from the begining. And just still upgrade my video card.

I'll make my decision when the biostar comes to egg. If it's not to much more then the gigabyte, i'll get it. I actually believe it might be cheaper. Biostars newest models are selling for only $85. So yeah I believe it won't be to much. But if I get the Biostar, it will be awhile before i get the HD 3K. I can't fork out $200 right now on a card. But i'll let ya'll know


THANKS

CrAcKeRjAcK


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## Cold Storm (Jan 26, 2008)

hey i'm just glad that both Chilly and I's chat worked in your favor... and its a lot of money to look at, but you get at lease 3 years with that videocard... or what i think is good enough because you may get another one for crossfire...
the biostar looks really impressive. i would tell you to get my blood iron but its only intel   ... 
it all looks good and keep us posted! love to see happy foke!


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## Pandaz3 (Jan 26, 2008)

I have two 5000+ Blackies and all you do is go direct to the multiplier and set it at 16, that will give you 3.2 and no need to raise the VCore, very reasonable Temps (I use a Scythe Ninja on both)

I hear good things about Biostar every forum I go.


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## CrackerJack (Jan 31, 2008)

what do ya'll think about this board. 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135069


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## JrRacinFan (Jan 31, 2008)

Here's something else to look into if you have the extra $20:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138102


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## CrackerJack (Jan 31, 2008)

yeah that board looks nice to me!!! i seen it's overclockable. that's what i want!!! and the price won't kill me. i'm trying to stay less than $100 

thanks


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## JrRacinFan (Jan 31, 2008)

You are very welcome.


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## Cold Storm (Jan 31, 2008)

+1 on the board, it looks pretty nice for him.


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## Pandaz3 (Jan 31, 2008)

I am not badmouthing the ECS, but I think the Biostar is a better board.


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## CrackerJack (Feb 2, 2008)

i need a favor from somebody. will some upload there results for Performance Test (passmark) i look for someone that has:

Amd Athlon X2 5000+ BE
2Gb DDR2 1066 (800 will also good)
And atleast 1 SATA Drive (3Gb)

I'm wanting to compare what i got now. And what I'm want to get.

thanks


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## Pandaz3 (Feb 2, 2008)

I have my board in for RMA and will have to do that when it comes back, sorry I can't help you now.


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## ChillyMyst (Feb 2, 2008)

problem with ecs is ALWASE the overclocking support, its rare they put out a true overclockers board, and when they do it seems more by accedent then by design 

the biostar is by far the better choice


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## CrackerJack (Feb 7, 2008)

i found this board
http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en-us/t-series/content.php?S_ID=310

the biostar website says it can run ddr2 1066 and newegg only say ddr2 800. i would rather run 1066.


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## JrRacinFan (Feb 7, 2008)

I wouldn't always trust what NewEgg says. They have been known to be wrong from time to time.


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## cdawall (Feb 7, 2008)

Cold Storm said:


> sapphire HD2600 512mb for $119 I hope this is a good price for you.
> Sapphire Hd2900 512mb for $159 There is for cheaper but its open box, so I don't know how you feel about that...
> If you need to go cheaper let me know, I believe I can find for cheaper, just have to do more digging..



do a 2900GT its really cheap and better than a X1950
best card for $130

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102712


and by beat i mean KILL

http://hwbot.org/hardware.compare.do?type=gpu&id=1054_1&id=1035_1&id=1256_1


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## CrackerJack (Feb 7, 2008)

well what should i go with

ddr2 800 or ddr 1066

i'm going use a amd athlon 64 x2 5000+ BE

i can get the 2x2Gb 800 for like $90 or get 2x1GB 1066 for $90. if the 1066 will overclock, then i would like to get it. 

DDR2 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231112


DDR2 1066
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148069
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148070
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227181


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## cdawall (Feb 7, 2008)

go for more the 2x2gb will give you better overall performance than the faster 2x1gb


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

thats the better of the 2x2gb sets


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## CrackerJack (Feb 7, 2008)

i like the video card you show me!!! AWESOME!!! I wish i could find MB that's got 2xPCI-E. And overclockable!!! 

i like this board
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128075

i don't know if it's overclockable yet! but i'll have to see what the wife says!!!! LOL


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## JrRacinFan (Feb 7, 2008)

Want some good memory? These are known to be mad overclockers!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211066

EDIT: ^^Close to 85% of the motherboards on NewEgg are "overclock friendly".

But yet again, that kit cdawall linked is very nice and little on the inexpensive side.


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## CrackerJack (Feb 7, 2008)

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products...oard&ProductID=2695&ProductName=GA-MA790X-DS4


THIS BOARD SEEMS TO HAVE WHAT I WANT!!!


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## Cold Storm (Feb 7, 2008)

grap that as fast as you can. Where ever you can! That was the board I was waiting on when I was choosing between amd and Intel. Great board, and you'll like alot


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## CrackerJack (Feb 7, 2008)

Jrracinfan
Thanks I Seen The A-data Early This Mourning. I Din't Know If It Was Any Count!!


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## JrRacinFan (Feb 7, 2008)

Yeah, it's a really nice board. Here's a little something for you to look at for not much more:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130136

A little more futureproofed, supports quad crossfire if you ever decide to go that route.


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## CrackerJack (Feb 7, 2008)

ALRIGHT!!! Here's what i got. I'm pretty happy with this. Remember this is on a budget.

Western Digital Caviar 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive x2
G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel 
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Black Edition  
GECUBE Radeon HD 2600XT 256MB 256-bit GDDR4 PCI Express x16 CrossFire x2
GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-DS4 AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX Ultra Durable II Motherboard

 RATE THIS 1 OUT 10!!!!


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## CrackerJack (Feb 7, 2008)

OR SHOULD I GO WITH 2 OF THESE

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102703


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## CrackerJack (Feb 7, 2008)

And Another Note: I Know I Could Get 1 3k Series In Be Just As Fast. Idk If Thats True. But In About Another Year I'll Be Able To Get The 3k Series. I'll Take The 2600 And Put Them In My Other System I Got Now. And Then Get 3k Series. But That Will Be Another Year Or So!!


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## vexen (Feb 7, 2008)

hello CrackerJack, your current card is already better than the 2600XT.

there is no reason to go to a weaker card, only to get weak DX10 performance.

see tomshardware GPU charts here : http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html?modelx=33&model1=1064&model2=725&chart=318

the next step in order would be a 3850, 2900xt, 3870, 8800gt 512.

cheers.


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## vexen (Feb 7, 2008)

about the cpu, see tomshardware price/performance ratio table here : http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu_2007.html?modelx=33&model1=930&model2=928&chart=444

then there is the gaming test (supreme commander, one of the only game to make good use of multi-thread) : http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu_2007.html?modelx=33&model1=930&model2=928&chart=421


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## Cold Storm (Feb 7, 2008)

I'm with Vexen on the video card. The 2600 is the Middle of the hd's and wouldn't proform better then what you have. IF you went with a 3850 and call it a day! 
then with that i'd go with a 7ish... but with the one you show... a 4


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## cdawall (Feb 7, 2008)

CrackerJack said:


> OR SHOULD I GO WITH 2 OF THESE
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102703



dont go with 2 of those get a 2900GT or 2 its only slightly more expensive and has much better performance also look at this mobo it is a very good one and a known good oc'r

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130138


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## Cold Storm (Feb 7, 2008)

+1 on that... don't go low, go high!


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## ChillyMyst (Feb 7, 2008)

i say 3850 and 512mb if u can manage it, the powercolor versions clocks are highest you can get, pretty close to 3870 clocks!!!!!

the 2900gt/pro/xt cards draw alot more power and produce alot more heat then the 3850/70 cards :/  

later u could add a 2nd 512mb 3850 from powercolor and you would be set for crossfire(i hate that MSI board tho, i hate msi period.......bad support)  

a 2nd reason i like powercolor is that their warrinty is KICKASS!!!! lifetime on high end products like the 1900/1950/38*0 cards, and they use non stock cooling solutions, the 3850 has a $40+ zerothrem cooler on it insted of the stock amd/ati cooler


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## CrackerJack (Feb 8, 2008)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103242

or this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103194


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## CrackerJack (Feb 8, 2008)

how about this Radeon HD 2900PRO. i could find it in that chart to compare it.
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16814102717


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## JrRacinFan (Feb 8, 2008)

The HDD2600XT is something myself personally would go with ... but that's me .. Mr. Budget-who-runs-last-gen

Go with HD2900's or 3850's.


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## Cold Storm (Feb 8, 2008)

+1 on ALL OF THAT! lol 

Jr, your only "mr. budget builder" because you don't get w/ the miss on your "honey i want list"! lol nah, there is no problem w/ working on a budget. Its all ways better to fing the great deals!


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## cdawall (Feb 8, 2008)

CrackerJack said:


> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103242
> 
> or this one
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103194



go for the 5000+ black edition it has an unlocked multiplier and most times clocks higher




CrackerJack said:


> how about this Radeon HD 2900PRO. i could find it in that chart to compare it.
> http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16814102717



its a good card but the 2900GT is going to be your best bang for the buck



JrRacinFan said:


> The HDD2600XT is something myself personally would go with ... but that's me .. Mr. Budget-who-runs-last-gen
> 
> Go with HD2900's or 3850's.



really you wouldn't spend an extra $30 for the 2900GT and get almost double the performance?


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## CrackerJack (Feb 8, 2008)

alright guys thanks

what do you think about this 2900gt
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102712


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## cdawall (Feb 8, 2008)

its a great card go for it


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## CrackerJack (Feb 8, 2008)

well i ran into another problem i forgot about!!! POWER!!! i've only got a 600 watt with only 
1 pci-e 4. and not 8. so sucks, i guess i'll just get one card then get the other one later when i can afford the power supply!!!! THIS SUCKS!!! lol


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## JrRacinFan (Feb 8, 2008)

cdawall said:


> really you wouldn't spend an extra $30 for the 2900GT and get almost double the performance?



It would equate me having to get a new power supply.


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## CrackerJack (Feb 8, 2008)

here's my specs for my psu
http://hi-techreviews.com/reviews_2006/ExtremePower600/P1.htm
i know i can atleast run one 2900gt. but with two i'm not sure if i'll have enough power. i do plan to use just the 6 pin connectors. Master would be 6 pin connector from the psu and the Slave will be a molex 6 pin adapter. that's the only thing i can think of. i hate when i have a tight budget!!!!!


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## JrRacinFan (Feb 8, 2008)

Tight budget you say .. hmmm ....

And you can afford 1 2900GT? 

Interesting .... Have you planned on your choice of board yet?


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## CrackerJack (Feb 8, 2008)

yeah i can afford 2 2900gt. i'm thinking about going with gigabyte board

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16813128075


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## JrRacinFan (Feb 8, 2008)

I know I am a pain, and I cna't MAKE you do anything ... But why not go with the MSI board and with the little cash you save pickup a better psu? 

That way you can go with 2 2900GT's no questions asked.

EDIT: Removed a false comment


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## ChillyMyst (Feb 8, 2008)

CrackerJack said:


> well i ran into another problem i forgot about!!! POWER!!! i've only got a 600 watt with only
> 1 pci-e 4. and not 8. so sucks, i guess i'll just get one card then get the other one later when i can afford the power supply!!!! THIS SUCKS!!! lol



epower has good units that have proper plugs BUT again i would just get 1 of the powercolor extream 3850 512mb cards, then later u could add a 2nd one, the 2900 is a high draw chip, VERY power hungery, thats why i didnt get one, my PSU could take it, but i run my system 24/7, and the extra power use over the 8800gt or 38*0 cards just couldnt be justifyed(higher power bill!!!!!) 

i have setup 3 ppl with the pc 3850 512mb card from newegg, they all LOVE them, 2 came from 8800gts cards(320 and 640mb versions!!) one of them got a 3870 thinking the perf would be alot better, he returned it after compairing them because the diffrance was VERY small only 3dmark really showed the diffrance, he is still planing a 790 board and  2nd 3850(same as the first one) once more choices of 790 boards are avalable


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## CrackerJack (Feb 9, 2008)

JrRacinFan said:


> I know I am a pain, and I cna't MAKE you do anything ... But why not go with the MSI board and with the little cash you save pickup a better psu?
> 
> That way you can go with 2 2900GT's no questions asked.
> 
> EDIT: Removed a false comment





i seen your point on the msi i board. but they at x8 with crossfire enable.  as far as newegg says. correct me if i'm wrong. i just want a good board that will over clock really good. i'm looking at overclocking the blacky at around 2.8 and 3.4, so if that msi will do it. then thats fine, but it's just the pci-e speeds i'm also worried about. i'm sorry i'm just really picky. lol but right now with these specs i'm looking around $1,250.00 which isn't bad.


GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-DS4 AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX Ultra Durable II AMD
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 2900GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 X2
HIPER HPU-4M880 ATX12V / EPS12V 880W Power Supply
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz AM2 65W Dual-Core Black Edition 
A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit 
Western Digital Caviar 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 
LITE-ON Combo Black SATA DVD-RW

all that and about another $80 worth of stuff. Like mouse, speaker and new tower for my wife. lol i'm keeping mine  see i'm selling her's and pretty much giving her mine, i've got now. so even if this computer is $1,150. It's really only going cost me $850. I'm selling her's for $300.  But yeah, I'm just looking only to 1. Games 2. Videoediting 3. Overclocking. 

but i really do appericate ya'lls help 

i'm going sleep on it though thinking about that MSI board!!!


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## CrackerJack (Feb 9, 2008)

ChillyMyst said:


> epower has good units that have proper plugs BUT again i would just get 1 of the powercolor extream 3850 512mb cards, then later u could add a 2nd one, the 2900 is a high draw chip, VERY power hungery, thats why i didnt get one, my PSU could take it, but i run my system 24/7, and the extra power use over the 8800gt or 38*0 cards just couldnt be justifyed(higher power bill!!!!!)
> 
> i have setup 3 ppl with the pc 3850 512mb card from newegg, they all LOVE them, 2 came from 8800gts cards(320 and 640mb versions!!) one of them got a 3870 thinking the perf would be alot better, he returned it after compairing them because the diffrance was VERY small only 3dmark really showed the diffrance, he is still planing a 790 board and  2nd 3850(same as the first one) once more choices of 790 boards are avalable





yeah i know about higher bill  

when i went to a 450 to 600, my bill went up almost another $30. I ran it also 24/7. but's worth though  

but yeah i'm about to build 2 computer for a buddy. It's going have 2 PowerColor 3870 512mb with a 1000 watt psu.  i can just image what his power bill will be. But his getting of them so yeah.


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## CrackerJack (Feb 9, 2008)

i'm going ahead ask this question before i forget. I've never crossfire or sli. so this sound alittle dumb. never really wanted till now. lol if i get, this is just a example. 1 HD 2900GT 2 HD 2900XT. will the twos card core and memory clock combine one. or will it do like memory does when you put like 333 in with 400 speed stick. you know how it runs at the slowest speed. will the cards do the same? i'm thinking they won't. but i thought i would ask first.


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## ChillyMyst (Feb 9, 2008)

if u try and cf cards with diffrent clocks the drives will run both cards at the slowist cards clocks.


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## vexen (Feb 9, 2008)

hello CrackerJack, if you are on a budget, it would recommend you simply upgrade to a better graphic card later rather than adding a second one.

Just imagine a SLI of 6800 Ultras against a 7900GTX in F.E.A.R.

I myself did the error of 'spending' on another graphic card, and i would not recommend it to anyone (7900GT's)


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## CrackerJack (Feb 9, 2008)

vexen said:


> hello CrackerJack, if you are on a budget, it would recommend you simply upgrade to a better graphic card later rather than adding a second one.
> 
> Just imagine a SLI of 6800 Ultras against a 7900GTX in F.E.A.R.
> 
> I myself did the error of 'spending' on another graphic card, and i would not recommend it to anyone (7900GT's)





yeah, but i plan to use put the HD 2900GTs in my wife's computer, then i'll upgrade again.


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## JrRacinFan (Feb 9, 2008)

Was just researching:

Maybe a single 8800GT maybe in order as well, CrackerJack. It will run close to the same as your plan of a pair of 2900GT's.


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## CrackerJack (Feb 10, 2008)

i was just comparing the 2900gt and the 2600xt. and the 2600xt was showing higher clock speeds than the 2900gt. ????

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16814241064,N82E16814161206&page=2&bop=And



and plus the 2600xt is gddr4 and the 2900gt is only gddr3 ????


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## ChillyMyst (Feb 10, 2008)

ddr4 dosnt matter, its about the chip itself, look at clocks+pipes+shaders on each card(check with TPU review section)


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## CrackerJack (Feb 10, 2008)

ChillyMyst said:


> ddr4 dosnt matter, its about the chip itself, look at clocks+pipes+shaders on each card(check with TPU review section)






yeah i forgot about that


http://hwbot.org/hardware.compare.do?type=gpu&id=1256_1&id=1144_1


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## ChillyMyst (Feb 10, 2008)

i would still take the 3850 over the 2900gt tho, just because im not a fan of extreamly hot power hungery cards, really what i see going on with the 2900 cards is a fire sale, trying to dump the stock they have of them b4 they cant sell them anymore, this is good for people who dont mind a HOT card or who are looking to go CF with them, but its bad for people who arent up on tech and buy the card not knowing how power hungery they really are, or how hot they run.

my 8800gt is nice, but the stock coolers on them are TOTAL ASS, peices of shit......why couldnt nvidia put a decent cooler on them?  this things smaller then the cooler that came on my buddys x1800gto.......infact i have seen people mod x1800gt/gto coolers and use them on 8800gt's to cool the core......pretty sad when a cooler from an older low high end card is better then the cooler from a newer card thats marketed at a higher bracket........


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## Cold Storm (Feb 10, 2008)

I'm also with Chilly about this. If you want a card that you know will have Future Proof, then go with the 3850. I am so amazed with the design of the whole HD3xxx series cards. You want something whenever you do a build to last you.. The 2900 is a great card, and such, but its had it time on this earth, and is time to go with the new stuff.
3850 FTW!


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## cdawall (Feb 11, 2008)

both the 2900GT and HD3850 run pretty evenly sure it runs hot but for $169 is it worth the extra money if your looking at that look at the 8800GS to

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...82E16814161211,N82E16814150275&page=5&bop=And


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## beyond_amusia (Feb 11, 2008)

Nice.


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## CrackerJack (Feb 11, 2008)

on this charts, there seems to a little difference between them. (towards performance)  

http://hwbot.org/hardware.compare.do?type=gpu&id=1235_1&id=1256_1


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## CrackerJack (Feb 11, 2008)

HERE'S A BETTER CHART



http://hwbot.org/hardware.compare.d...035_1&id=1049_1&id=1256_1&id=1236_1&id=1279_1


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