Now, what's an effective Platform / gfx / cpu upgrade?

I'm contemplating a rather impulsive upgrade (contradiction in terms, I know :P)

I've built a couple of A64 systems really and am quite happy to go down that route. I play some FPS games so require something pretty hot on display side.

At the moment, I have what's in my sig; and in order to initially save on cost, I'm thinking of reusing my dual ddr ram (corsair xms 400MHz 2-2-2-6-2 2x 256MB = 512MB)

I've seen the MSI K8N for sale in the forum and am tempted by that 'cos I like the sound of the CL sound card. I've noticed the thread about comparing AL-850 codec to the SB Live PCI so not sure if it's comparable to the built-in one on the K8N. But HardOCP seem to like the K8N board according to their review

What I'm not so sure is is the SLI setup worth going for in getting good bang for buck? The system I built for a friend just after xmas was SLI but with only 1 6600GT with the possibility of upgrading in a couple of months when he has more cash. I know the 1x 6800GT or 2x 6600GT debate has been done to death. However, right now, ATI are / have brought out some rather decent gfx cards at very aggresive pricing. If they're that good and not SLI compatible, should I really consider the NF4 SLI boards or look at something else? As an indication, I don't want to spend a fortune on a gfx card, but something around the £100-150 mark sounds good. :undecided:

In terms of CPU, still tempted to be a cheapskate and go for a 3000 winnie, unless someone can convince me otherwise.

I'll probably get a new case and will deffo get a new PSU.

So what do people reckon?

Sorry for posting another "advice please" thread :o :rolleyes:

nforce 4 SLI/Ultra has sevreal other features than just SLI like NCQ, 10 USB (yes 10!),PCI-E slots for future add on cards(HDTV?),Very good firewall etc...Anyways if u buy a motherboard and not sli-ing buy the Abit AN8 (nforce ultra)it has some amazing features and alos uGuru and believe it or not is is extremply useful. U have two choices buy a winnie 3200 nowor wait 2-3 months for the venice core which will let u run 4*1GB at DDR400 speedas it has a much awaited improved mem controller. There is only one card in your range the 6600GT.

Thanks for the speedy reply, sppedy_s :D

I'll do some reading on the AN8 :)

Also good to know about this venice thing. I can always buy a "budget" winnie core and use that for a bit, then change over to venice (such a romantic name for a cpu core) when it's relatively mainstream :)

Sell that RAM and buy at least 1GB of any PC3200. Doesn't matter what brand it is, what the latency is or how many LEDs it has on it, you will have a better playing experience with more RAM.

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Originally Posted by schmunk

Sell that RAM and buy at least 1GB of any PC3200. Doesn't matter what brand it is, what the latency is or how many LEDs it has on it, you will have a better playing experience with more RAM.

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I know a new PC will work better with a gig of memory, but what I have now is compatible and would get me going. I just want to make sure I get the right "foundations" for the system :) Changing RAM is a quick 2 minute job with the power down and possibly some tweaking in the bios when it boots up.
Changing the mobo is a little more involved ;)

Just looked at the AN8 board. Looks nice, but I can't help thinking that all those OTIS fans will generate noise (says the man who's looking at going SLI) :(

Go to komplett , go to bundle then upgrades. If you insist on cheap 3000+ get the 3000+/1gig RAM/PCI-E S939, otherwise go for 3500+ (around £350).

Whatever you do dont buy SLI & 1 * 6600 with poss of upgrade, it just doesnt make sense, for the cost of 2 (roughly 220quid) you could buy a 6800gt, if you can't afford it then save up!

Imo, if you are looking to spend 100-150 on gfx card you should not be even considering SLI , games wont start to benefit from this over a fast single card for a good while yet.. (and certainly not from 2 cheap ones). Developers won't be keen (even with pressure from ATI/Nvidia) to write games that need 2 cards for optimum performance. Having said that its nice to get 10000 in 3dmark2005!

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Originally Posted by tfboy

Just looked at the AN8 board. Looks nice, but I can't help thinking that all those OTIS fans will generate noise (says the man who's looking at going SLI) :(

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You don't have to connect those fans! Furthermore. you can specify for each of those OTES fan at what degrees to run full speed and when to run less speed by adjusting the volts (8-12) through oc guru. A8N is an expensive board (cost same as some sli) mind you. The reason i am recomending is partly because of uGURU which AFAIK is exclusive to abit and also abits are generally EXTREMLEY well made and offer lots of ocing :devilish: . Don't go sli. It would be a waste of money.i would wait for venice if i were u as adding mroe than 1Gb which u will in the future will seriously affect performance(DDR333, high latencies, 2T command rate).

X800 256MB for £169 inc del looks to be good and definitely better than a 6600gt
http://www.lowestonweb.com/Products/...B-02FD498D9B82

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Originally Posted by speedy_s

A8N is an expensive board (cost same as some sli) mind you.

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The regular version is in line with other nForce4 boards but the Fatality is a bit dearer than most non -SLi boards.

afaik u can get an asus a8n sli for the same price as abit a8n

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Originally Posted by speedy_s

afaik u can get an asus a8n sli for the same price as abit a8n

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That seems to be the case at the present time and a lot of people gave the Asus board a severe BEATING when it was released but Asus have made the motherboard even better now by implementing a lot of BIOS updates to fix a shedload of issues such as the inability to boot with 1 PCI-E card installed without pressing the power button 10 times :)

Stability is great - I've got the 3500+ (2.2 Ghz standard) running at 2.6 Ghz on AIR cooling and as soon as I get water or even phase change cooling I'll be pushing it higher.

Audiowise.... my old audigy is in the box under the bed as the 8 channel onboard does the job and does it well. Couple this digital output its great :)

Driverwise, the newest from the nvidia website seem to be the best for stability and performance and they also give you access to the lovely nvmixer instead of the asus supplied realtek audio panel (its fugly)

Also..... The deluxe has 8 SATA ports ( 4 on Nvidia controller and 4 on the Silicon image 3114 ) and enough USB to shake a stick at ( 10 or 12 ... I can't recall but thats more than plenty ). Also add the ability to have 2 external SATA for "backup" purposes this is a nifty board, tarnished with a bad bios on release which has now been fixed and the boards flying :)

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Originally Posted by speedy_s

afaik u can get an asus a8n sli for the same price as abit a8n

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You can get an AN8 for £85-88, I haven't yet seen an A8N SLi for that?

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Originally Posted by WildmonkeyUK

That seems to be the case at the present time and a lot of people gave the Asus board a severe BEATING when it was released but Asus have made the motherboard even better now by implementing a lot of BIOS updates to fix a shedload of issues such as the inability to boot with 1 PCI-E card installed without pressing the power button 10 times :)

Stability is great - I've got the 3500+ (2.2 Ghz standard) running at 2.6 Ghz on AIR cooling and as soon as I get water or even phase change cooling I'll be pushing it higher.

Audiowise.... my old audigy is in the box under the bed as the 8 channel onboard does the job and does it well. Couple this digital output its great :)

Driverwise, the newest from the nvidia website seem to be the best for stability and performance and they also give you access to the lovely nvmixer instead of the asus supplied realtek audio panel (its fugly)

Also..... The deluxe has 8 SATA ports ( 4 on Nvidia controller and 4 on the Silicon image 3114 ) and enough USB to shake a stick at ( 10 or 12 ... I can't recall but thats more than plenty ). Also add the ability to have 2 external SATA for "backup" purposes this is a nifty board, tarnished with a bad bios on release which has now been fixed and the boards flying :)

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Thanks :thumbsup: that's exactly the kind of info I was after.

I gather most people are tending away from SLI 'cos to really benefit from it, you need to spend a mountain of cash on 2x 6800GTs or whatever.

But apart from the cost of ths SLI board, is there any real dis-advantage of having one if you only have a single gfx card? OK, PCI expansion is limited and all that but with the pleathora of on-board devices, I'd only have 2 PCI cards I'd want to put in any board anyway.

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Originally Posted by tom deloford

Whatever you do dont buy SLI & 1 * 6600 with poss of upgrade, it just doesnt make sense, for the cost of 2 (roughly 220quid) you could buy a 6800gt, if you can't afford it then save up!

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Hmm. I haven't read that THG article, but the figures seem strange. I would have thought that more recent drivers would make an improvement. I mean SLI is actually slower than a single gfx card? :crazy:

Keep the views coming guys, I appreciate it really and :iloveyou: :p

two ford fiestas dont make one ferrari

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Originally Posted by YorkieBen

two ford fiestas dont make one ferrari

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Yes, but two golf 2.0 engines make this ;)

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You can get an AN8 for £85-88, I haven't yet seen an A8N SLi for that?

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Oh! Price drop i didn't see. well spotted.
IMO sli is only worthwile if u have a 3500+ upward cpu as with even two 6600gt u will get cpu limitation. If u get 1 66oogt and plan going sli unless u will be getting a second card within 6-8 months of ur purchase there will be new cards with same price and better performance(look at 9800 series) and they CANNOT sli with ur old one.