New Desktop

[NLSoulja]

Here are the spec's, I ordered it today. With all these new games, its about time to get a computer that can handle it without a problem.

Tell me what you guys think, i.e. where did I choose wisely and where did I fuck up, in your opinion :robo:

CAS: CoolerMaster Mystique 632 Tower 420W Case [-34] (Black Color)
CASUPGRADE: NONE
CS_FAN: Default case fans
CPU: (Sckt775)Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo E6750 CPU @ 2.66GHz 1333FSB 4MB L2 Cache 64-bit
CD: NONE [-35]
CD2: 16X DVD ROM (BLACK COLOR)
CABLE: None
FLASHMEDIA: None
FREEBIE_CU1: FREE! CyberPower Multi-Purpose Carrying Briefcase ($19.99 Value)
FREEBIE_CU2: FREE! Cyberpower Unleash The Power T-Shirt ($19 Value)
FAN: CoolerMaster Liquid CPU Cooling System (Superior Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dba)
FLOPPY: NONE [-5]
HDD: Single Hard Drive (320GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [-43])
HDD2: NONE
IEEE_CARD: NONE
KEYBOARD: NONE [-7]
MOUSE: NONE [-5]
MODEM: NONE
MONITOR: NONE
MONITOR2: NONE
MOTHERBOARD: (Quad-Core FSB1333) Asus P5N-E nForce 650i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard
MEMORY: (Req.DDR2 MainBoard)2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (($30 off Mail-in Rebate) Corsair XMS2 Xtreme Memory w/ Heat Spreader [+50])
MSGAME: MICROSOFT(R) FLIGHT SIMULATOR 2004 [+6]
NETWORK: ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD
OS: Microsoft(R) Windows Vista(TM) Home Premium (64-bit Edition [+19])
PRO_WIRING: None
PRINTER: None
PRINTER_CABLE: None
POWERSUPPLY: 600 Watts Power Supplies (CoolerMaster Unit 600 Watts eXtreme Power - SLI Supports)
RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS 24/7 LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
SOUND: 3D WAVE ON-BOARD 5.1 SOUND CARD
SPEAKERS: NONE [-72]
TEMP: NONE (AS SHOWN)
TVRC: Media Center Remote Control [+35]
USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
UPS: None
USBHD: NONE
VIDEO: NEW!!! NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB 16X PCI Express (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)
VIDEO2: NONE
VIDEOCAMERA: NONE
WNC: NONE
WAP: NONE

[NLSoulja]

btw, anyone who has experience with SLI dual card configuration, is it pretty easy to configure, i.e. just a matter of plugging it in? I plan on adding a 2nd card later.

[Jack]

put in the other card and link them together with a cable provided with one of the video cards. With that setup it will be important to get a second card since there are games out there that can utilize more memory for loading textures. I am interested in who made that video card. If it is EVGA then you have a special upgrade option that you can tap into if you think you need more within 3 months of purchase.

Buying a cooling kit is probably the worst way to go with water cooling. there is one brand that is the best but still not better then building your own. (ex. no kits use car heating coils for cooling which is the best way to go. I believe it was crystler that makes the best one for the buck)

BTW, good choice on the cpu, anything 6600 + is better then the amd 6000+ (not huge but still better). You wont need to worry about your cpu for a long time unless Microsoft pulls more bunnies out of their asses with Vista (there is already Dx 10.1 and no card on the market supports it properly).

That is at a glance. Ill pop in later to give a better reply if I can.

[Allerun]

Does Nvidia have SLI drivers for Vista yet?

[Jack]

Latest NVIDIA Windows Vista Driver News (keep in mind this is just Vista Driver news, including beta drivers)

August 20, 2007

On behalf of NVIDIA, the Vista Quality Assurance team would like to thank our user community for participating in the bug report system. The information you provided is valuable and will help us improve the quality and performance of our drivers.

There is a new Windows Vista Beta driver release available to download from NVIDIA, v163.44. This is a new driver which will support GeForce 6, 7, and 8 series graphics boards; it does not support GeForce Go mobile GPUs. Please continue to check with your notebook manufacturer for a new driver for GeForce Go GPUs. GeForce FX users should continue to use the v96.85 driver.

* Download Windows Vista 32-bit driver
* Download Windows Vista 64-bit driver

Here is a summary of new features and bug fixes this new driver addresses:

New Features

* Beta driver release.
* This driver supports single GPU and NVIDIA SLI™ technology on DirectX 9, DirectX 10, and OpenGL for GeForce 6, 7, and 8 series GPUs.
* Improved compatibility for BioShock.
* Added HD video post-processing for H.264, VC-1 and MPEG-2 HD content on GeForce 8500 series products.
* Numerous game and application compatibility fixes. Please read the release notes for more information on product support, feature limitations, driver fixes and known compatibility issues.

Note: The NVIDIA Control Panel may take up to one minute to open when accessed the first time after restarting the system.




162.22 is the current WHQL Driver for Windows Vista 32

[Ragnarok]

have you made sure the vid card your getting is SLi ready? cause based on the info you have posted it doesnt say that it is

[NLSoulja]

Its not EVGA, but for $10 more I could change it to EVGA, worth it? How does the program work?

[Ragnarok]

Its not EVGA, but for $10 more I could change it to EVGA, worth it? How does the program work?



Taken directly form Wikipedia

"EVGA's video cards feature factory-overclocked (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overclocking) GPU (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphics_Processing_ Unit) and memory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAM), which enhances performance.[1] (http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=3 5183) The company provides a Limited Lifetime warranty for products purchased after June 22, 2005 [2] (http://www.evga.com/support/lifetime/)(those whose part number ends in A1, AR, AX, DX, DR, FX, FR, SG, SL, or S2), and provides discounts for users upgrading within 90 days. The discount is known as "Step-Up." For example, if a user were to buy a $500 eVGA videocard today from an approved list of vendors[3] (http://evga.com/stepup/systemvendor/default.asp), whether it be inside a system or a retail card-in-a-box, the user can trade the card in within the 90 day time frame for a full credit. So, if this user were to trade for a $650 videocard with the $500 card, he or she would pay only $150 plus shipping fees. However, it is not possible to stack Step-Ups, i.e. to Step-Up a card and then send the card the user Stepped-Up to in for another Step-Up. Detailed information on the Step-Up can be found on eVGA's website.[4] (http://evga.com/stepup/)."


have you found out if your Vid card is SLi ready?

[NLSoulja]

Yeah it is

[NLSoulja]

So I upgraded to the EVGA Superclocked model today for $17.

http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=320-P2-N815-AR&family=23

[Ragnarok]

So I upgraded to the EVGA Superclocked model today for $17.

http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=320-P2-N815-AR&family=23

'tis nice nolimit but check out mine

http://www.hisdigital.com/html/product_ov.php?id=2 50&view=yes

[NLSoulja]

Yeah thats a nice one too, but after my last ATI card, I decided to switch to NVIDA and Intel for a while.

[Jack]

nolimit's card spanks 1650

[Pocketpac]

I am fimiliar with sli and run it, and one thing you need to realize (if you do not already or maybe I missed it in a previous post) is that the cards must match. From a technical standpoint the GPU must match and memory sizes should match for stability and compatiblity reasons, but the cards themselfs could be different. But it is recommended that you buy a second of the video card you already own.

Just a heads up if this was not already known

[Jack]

could always flash them both with the same firmware :) that is what I plan to do if I buy one that is clocked different.

[NLSoulja]

Yeah, my plan is to either
A)upgrade the card within 3 months, maybe a 512 GTX or something or whatever new may come out.

OR

B)AFter 3 months, buy a 2nd of the same exact card

[NLSoulja]

BTW, has anyone played Bioshock, I ordered it and can't wait to play it.

[Jack]

I have not gotten around to getting it but I can promise you will enjoy it.

[Allerun]

BTW, has anyone played Bioshock, I ordered it and can't wait to play it.
Yes, it's kick ass.