Need opinios on this setup please.

[raalrizzo]

AMD X2 3800+
Nvidia 7900GT
Asus A8N-SLI SE nForce4
DDR400 2x512MB Corsair Value Select
250Gb 7200rpm 8Mb Seagate Barracuda
520W Aspire ATX-AS500W 3 FAN Aluminium Black

The mobo is SLI cuz i want to be able to upgrade in the future.Will there be a prob runnig just one GPU?

In about 4-5 weeks i would like to OC the CPU.
Can i run just one stick of 1GBram instead of 2x512 and buy extra when i OC the CPU ? Any downsides to that? (do i need to buy more when i OC?)

If there is anythig else about anythig that might be wrong with the setup tell me =)

 

[mdd1963]

"The mobo is SLI cuz i want to be able to upgrade in the future.Will there be a prob runnig just one GPU?

In about 4-5 weeks i would like to OC the CPU.
Can i run just one stick of 1GBram instead of 2x512 and buy extra when i OC the CPU ? Any downsides to that? (do i need to buy more when i OC?) "

One 7900GT will run great, and two in SLI will be kick-butt at some fairly decent resolutions in every game in existence! (Read your manual to find out if there is a preferred slot for single cpu operation, as I've not personally used an SLI board yet....) (There might be a little paddle to install/remove on mb for dividing the PCI-e lanes, and/or a few BIOS settings to enabling/disabling SLI)

You can run one 1gb stick of RAM initially, albeit in single channel mode (vice dual) with about a 3-4% performance hit, and then add another 1gb stick in a few weeks, no problems....(Check mb for recommended slots for single stick and dual stick/dual channel ops)

2gb is the defacto standard these days for new gaming rigs, mainly just because of the resource hog known as Battlefield2!

 

[tehmonker]

if you are going tot OC, i would even suggest for you to replace the AMD 3800+ X2 with an Opteron 165, its about $30 more on newegg, but u get 2x 1mb L2 cache and it OC like a mofo

 

[raalrizzo]

Is the Opteron 165 the cheapest dualcore operon? (realy tight budget)
Those extra $30 i was going to spend on a better CPU cooler for the X2 later on.

Will an OCd Opteron 165 (stock cooling) perform better then an OCd X2 3800 with a better cooler ??

 

[Fox_granit]

I agree with Prozac26. The opty 165, even with a stock air cooler is going to overclock better than a 3800+ x2 watercooled.....

 

[mdd1963]

"Value RAM won't overclock that well."

Most Corsair Value will hit 225 Mhz with no probs, and one can always adjust mem ratios (starting OC with mem clock at 133, 150, 166, 180, etc..) after that....

 

[raalrizzo]

okey i willing to buy a non-SLI mobo. Wich one do you sugest that is about $20-30 cheaper?

But what do you guys think will be more importat in the future (in games)
SLI setup or a better CPU?

 

[mdd1963]

Many discourage SLI, but there is absolutely no controversy in this fact:

Adding a 2nd 7900GT 8 months from for ~$200-$250 would then boost FEAR framerates at 1280x960/4xAA by about 70-80%.....

a pair of $299 7900GT cards in SLI is usually faster than the current flagship 7900GTX...

View these benches for single card results (yellow bars) vs. SLI results (blue bars in graph) in a couple of games here...(7900GT/7900/1900XT compared in a few games)

------> http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/nvidia_geforce_7900_gt_gtx_performance/page18.asp