[Mike11418]

Hey guys, I am correctly getting ready to buy all the parts for my first build but I do have some questions.

1) I'm not a huge gamer but I do want to play some of the high demanding games out there and want a cp that can provide good performance for a while (obviously I'll need to upgrade eventually). So whats the best video card out there for about $150 I was leaning towards the 8600GT is that a good choice?

2) Are all my parts compatible? And what do you recommend a full-tower or mid-tower?
- Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KSRTL 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
- Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card
- OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply
- G.SKILL 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5S-2GBPQ
- Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80562Q6600 OR Intel Core 2 Duo 6750
- GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
- LITE-ON 52X CD Burner Black ATAPI/E-IDE Model DH-52R2P-08
- SAMSUNG Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Model SFD321B/LBL1

3) Can someone explain what SLI really is? If I understand right it allows use of 2 video cards, so would two 7600GT work better than one 8600GT?


Thanks ALOT,
Mike

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Welcome to Geeks to Go.

SLI is Nvidia's name for the simultaneous use of two video cards. It sounds like it would crush single card set ups but this is usually not the case. Performance gains are no where near double at a much high cost. Not only do you need two graphics cards but also a SLI motherboard and a SLI compatable PSU. Prices on both will be higher than your non-SLI couterpart. I look at it as more of marketing gimic than anything else. The only time I find it to be really practical is if you use two real high end cards to achieve performance than no one card can eg- two 8800 GTXs.

This card here is $120 after the rebate and will run circles around the 8500GT: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814161060

Unless you actually plan on having a 7.1 sound system that sound card will not be needed. The on board audio of modern motherboards works very well.

Games take up a lot of space these days and you may want to consider a 320gb HDD. 320gb seems to be the "sweet spot" right now as far as size/cost goes.

Edited by Titan8990, 13 October 2007 - 02:12 PM.

[Titan8990]

Welcome to Geeks to Go.

SLI is Nvidia's name for the simultaneous use of two video cards. It sounds like it would crush single card set ups but this is usually not the case. Performance gains are no where near double at a much high cost. Not only do you need two graphics cards but also a SLI motherboard and a SLI compatable PSU. Prices on both will be higher than your non-SLI couterpart. I look at it as more of marketing gimic than anything else. The only time I find it to be really practical is if you use two real high end cards to achieve performance than no one card can eg- two 8800 GTXs.

This card here is $120 after the rebate and will run circles around the 8500GT: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814161060

Unless you actually plan on having a 7.1 sound system that sound card will not be needed. The on board audio of modern motherboards works very well.

Games take up a lot of space these days and you may want to consider a 320gb HDD. 320gb seems to be the "sweet spot" right now as far as size/cost goes.

Edited by Titan8990, 13 October 2007 - 02:12 PM.

[Mike11418]

Thanks alot Titan, that certainly does clear up SLI down. Now main concern now is that the component I'm planning to buy (listed in the first post) is not compatible or there is a better setup (I am on a budget of around $1000 preferably less as my current price for this setup and a full tower is around 900 with a year warranty before rebates, so any suggestions please keep that in mind.

[Titan8990]

Your build looks perfect other than the video card. What componant are you refering to?

Edited by Titan8990, 13 October 2007 - 02:41 PM.

[Mike11418]

Thanks alot for the quick response titan! eh just used the wrong word just referring the the parts i listed. Anyway thanks again