Elite Gaming Rig??

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Basically been humming and arring for the past 2 weeks now over one or two things, gonna buy everything from Scan, he is the rig i was tempted to get.

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 S775, 2.40Ghz, 1066Mhz FSB, Conroe Core, 4M Cache Retail

900W Tagan Quad SLi Quiet 21db Also support 12v EPS/SATA/XEON 3 Years Warranty ATX/BTX

2Gb (2X1Gb) Corsair TwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC6400 (800), 240 Pin, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5-5-5-12

ASUS P5N32SLI SE DELUX NF4 SLI, S775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX

1Gb Gainward 7950GX2, PCI-E (x16), Mem 1200 MHz, GPU 500 MHz, 48 Pipes, HDTV/2x DVI-I --- could be a diff brand?

Here is the problems I have,

1) Cant decide which 7950GX2 to go with, Scans star rating looks abit messed up, which would u buy? Excluding the XFX XXX version and the water cooled 500 squider

2) The 900W Tagan PSU isnt compatible with the Antec P180 i was gonna get so I need a similar case to house all the above = basically Silver(prefered), 4x5.25 slots , 4x3.25 slot min, decent cooling ie number of fans

3) Anybody know of any problems with any of the above or can you recommend any other?

Thanks, any help would be much appreciated

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[Lu-tze]

The 900W PSU is ridiculously overpowered. Some recent advertising gumph has lead people to believe that these PSUs are essential for running high-end SLI systems (and for the original quad set-up, perhaps they were), but the 7950 is based on the laptop GPU and thus the power requirements are quite low, likewise the core 2 duo. For this reason, i would recommend the silverstone 600W unit. The latest revision has slightly longer cables than the original, which means that it is compatible with the P180. The 600W silverstone will still offer headroom for a second 7950 (if it will fit in your set-up) and overclocking. It will also be much more quiet (the 21dba listed for the tagan is optimistic).

I havent checked the mobo, just make sure it is conroe compatible and you should be fine with your set-up.

[Jinx]

Just to give you some idea, a reuptable review website recently ran 2 7950GX2's in a machine on a 450w PSU (high quality, obviously) so a 900w in your case is a bit of overkill....

If you want to allow for future expansion, go for something in the range of 500-550w....that should be ample....

edit: Sorry, my error, it wasn't 450w........it was 420w......

[FatalSaviour]

I would concur with the PSU recommendations...900W is overkill for a system such as this.
You may want to allow some headroom, so, as mentioned, a quality 500-600W PSU should do you proud.

Other than that...the spec looks good (unless the X1950 takes your fancy...although we'll have to wait for the NDA to be lifted first before any conclusions as to relative performance v 7950GX2 can be drawn.

HTH

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strange one that Scan say for power two of these card in Quad Sli you require a 900W. Was gonna get the 600W Seasonic until i read the post

Author: John Sheridan | Date: 28/07/2006 16:57
Question / Problem
What is the recommended power supply for GeForce 7950 GX2?

Author: John Sheridan | Date: 28/07/2006 16:57
Answer / Solution
Please note as a single Card - Dual SLi setup - a 580w PSU SLi compatiable power supply unit is recommended. *** Please note as a Dual Card - Quad SLi setup - a 900w PSU SLi compatiable power supply unit is recommended.

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also

http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp

when maxing out my PC with everything possible for an upgrade it still only gives me a rating of 639W, altho I may get it just to future proof myself as much as possible and im suprised two of these cards only used 600W ish

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will these two cases successfully house 2 7950GX2 if i decide to get another one? only need room for one more pci card (sound card), will it be long enough?

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=137417

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=135773

Edit

This is the case i already have if its good enough I might aswell keep them same one, main thing is does any1 know whats its like for airflow?? running 3 80mm fans and can it fit the beasty tagan psu?

http://www.thermaltake.com/product/C...#specification

[menthel]

Akasa case would be good. Big, quiet and really easy to work in. I have owned an eclipse 62 and it was great.

[Rack]

I've been looking at the GX2 power, they use about 150W at full load. Take into account the CPU also uses much less than 100W (it's a conroe after all - 64W!), If you're pessimistic that's 400W max.
Add peripherals, etc, you're still nowhere near 900W, let alone 600W.

If you're considering SLI, I would wait for some real X1950 reviews, but I don't think you'll really go wrong by buying a single GX2. However in Quad setup I'm not so sure they are so great.