upgrade options

[WR2]

It looks like you have a better than average power supply. Its always good to know it recieved good reviews (I googled a couple extra review articles and all were positive). It's also good to know that the company is still around and still putting out quality products (even if they have changed names to APEVIA) http://www.apevia.com
New 20 pin PSU on sale at NewEgg for $50 the newer 24 pin PSU is $60.
The new 24 pin PSUs are usually the ones to say "SLI ready".
You may need a PSU adapter to get power to the big GPU. I dont know if they put one in the box. Your PSU does meet the x1900XTX 30 Amps on 12 volt rail recommendation. I think you can give your PSU a chance to carry on.

Have you checked the price difference between XTXx and XTs? Usually there is a very small frame rate difference (ie, 3-5 fps). X1900 XT/XTX comparison

I don't think that a DX10 GPU falls into the "must have" category any time soon - say the next year to 18 months. For one thing it will only run DX10 with Vista and the consumer version of Vista is due out Spring 07 (at the earliest). And how many games will really need to DX10 card to be enjoyable? WinXP and DX9 cards will be in the majority for the next couple years and the game makes will not ignore the biggest part of the market.

Same for Quad Core. Unless you're a server guy it's not likely 4 cores will do much for the average gamer. According to AMD, K8L includes a quad-core design for servers, workstations and high-end desktops, and a dual-core design intended for mainstream desktop markets.
So Quad cores will need Socket F motherboards (1207 pins). The 65nm dual core design will use AM2 or AM3 motherboards (940 pin). It will probably be a year before they're on the street in numbers and at prices that are under $1000+. Then again - how much more will a quad core give in performance over dual core in games? Hopefully the newer games will better utilize SMP and SLI/Crossfire. Software always laggs hardware's abilities.

Personally, Im interested more in the 65nm dual core K8Ls. Will be interesting to see if they can match the Conroes.

 

[MRetired]

If new video card will last a year, then spending the money now for decent Video card is okay with me.

So basically i have narrowed down to these options.

1. Intel e6600, X1900XT overclock it, MB, memory. Hopefully in a year, I can just upgrade video card again as a suitable upgrade.

2. Foxconn MB, X1900XT, keep existing CPU and memory. In a year, do a complete system. For 50 dollar MB, and video card that I buy anyway, why not try it?

MSI p965 Neo-F mb seems to be sold out everywhere.

 

[Newf]

MRetired wrote:
Please let me know about this power supply before I decide on anything. Thank you.

It looks OK, but it does only have a 20 pin main connector. If you use it with a motherboard upgrade you will need an adapter. The square 4 pin plug is not related to this and must be used with both old and new mobos.

 

[MRetired]

Thanks for clearing that up about the square 4 pin connector, I was thinking it could be used. Add one adapter to shopping list.

By the way, I see ASUS MB with Dual-channel DDR2 667/533. This might be dumb question, but isnt DDR2 800 faster?

 

[MRetired]

Okay, I have been reading up on computers, and testing results and the like. I think this is what I want, and yes my budget has been increase to 1500 if needed, thanks to my wife.

1. Definetely want the Intel E6600 CPU
2. Motherboard need help with this. SLI or no SLI?
3. Memory need help with this, but seems DDR2 800 is right?
4. X1950XTX I think I need the Crossfire? I read this review of it and sounds really awesome. Has quieter cooling than X1900XT

http://www.behardware.com/articles/637-17/ati-radeon-x1950-xtx-and-high-end-multi-gpu-solutions.html

Keep in mind I have 23 inch LCD display, and play HL2, CSS, Doom3, etc..

 

[WR2]

It looks like ATI will be pricing the X1950XTX and X1950 Crossfire at the same price. For that reason it just makes sense to buy the Crossfire edition.
You can easily hold off on the decision to get a 2nd video card till you have had a chance to run your new system and check its actual performance.
Another good review of X1950 Crossfire

If you want to look at SLI instead of Crossfire the options are a bit more limited at the moment. In another couple of weeks a lot more nVidia 590/570 motherboards will start showing up in retail channels.

You will need to revisit your power suppy capability for SLI/Crossfire to make sure its adequate.

Check out this article for help on motherboard and RAM decisions.
Conroe Buying Guide: Feeding the Monster