Hi all, I would appreciate any advice you can offer on the following upgrade spec. At the moment I’ve got a spare Lian Li atx case, Antec 440W True Power PSU, Keyboard, Mouse, DVD writer and Monitor left over.
I’m considering getting:-
3500+ Winchester Retail
A8N SLI Deluxe
1 Gig Corsair Value Select (2x512)
Gigabyte 6600GT GV-NX66T128VP
Seagate SATA 120Gig NCQ
I’ve decided to go for a 3500 and value ram over a 3200 and higher quality ram as I’m not an overclocking guru. I’ve chosen a 6600GT over a 6800GT due to cost and my optimal gaming resolution due to monitor restrictions is 1024x768/1280x1024.
With the lower cost of 6600GT PCI-Es over AGP offerings and future upgrade-ability I’ve opted for the Nforce4 platform over Nforce3/Via offerings.
Questions
1) Would I need a 20 pin to 24-pin converter for this build, and does the A8N fit existing ATX cases?
2) Any experience of this 6600GT card, or other brand recommendations? (video out is essential)
3) Do you think this system will be capable of playing games like Half Life 2, Farcry, etc at 1024x768 with AA and AF on? I’ve heard that 6600GT’s performance significantly drops when these are activated.
4) I plan on using onboard sound as I am happy with just 2 speakers/headphones, is it worth waiting for the DFI board, which I have heard has better onboard sound? Or alternatively investing in a SB Audigy card to save fps.
5) As I will only be using one HDD and A DVD Rewriter, my understanding is that an A8N Standard will suffice over the Deluxe version, both are SLI capable it seems?
Thanks in advance for your help
James