[avalix]

Hi all. I am building a new PC. This is my first time and I have just bought a case (Xg Dragon - http://www.mgecompan...ases_dragon.php ) and Now i want to buy the next bit , the motherboard.

At the moment i I curently torn between these two boards:

A8N32-SLI Deluxe
http://www.asus.com/...744&modelmenu=1

Or

LANPARTY UT NF4 SLI-DR Expert
http://us.dfi.com.tw...ID=3872&SITE=US

I'm wanting it to be a beast of a computer so im trying to get the best i can. At the moment the only things im sure about are that i want a Athlon 64 x2 processor and the board to be SLi ready (Actually im still a bit iffy about choosing SLi or Crossfire but i leave that to another topic later)

So which would you sugest or are there any others that you would recomend.

Thanks Avalix

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Well dual gfx cards unless done at the time of purchase with the best cards is pointless(6800GS is about the only exception where you can use it now and later and it would be ok due to its low cost/performance ratio) otherwise both sli and crossfire are pointless, sure they look nice but both are limited severly you can only use certain cards with each other and you will never be able to span a card generation so you couldnt get a DX9 card now and get the next gen of DX10s it wouldnt work, and later down the line you always see better performance from a whole new card from the current or just before generation than the dual card config. Its more of a gimmick than a practical technology and its far from essential, for some people its ok but unless as i said its either a pair of 6800GS or x1900xtx not worht it.

Out of those mobos the lanparty would be my choice Asus mobos are ok "when" they work which is more common fault that you would think from its good reviews. After that i would go either the Abit fatality or the MSI neo4s both are of very high build quality and offer excellent performance which is superior to the DFI board if you arent overclocking or for moderate overclocks, DFI is primarily for the overclocking and case modding crowd although they are generally just good motherboards as well.

When you put together a computer you should always buy everything at the same time a bit here and a bit there isnt as good as if you wait and get everything at once you ensure the lowest price and maximum compatiblilty as well as being able to get the latest available then not what was the latest when you got it.

[warriorscot]

Well dual gfx cards unless done at the time of purchase with the best cards is pointless(6800GS is about the only exception where you can use it now and later and it would be ok due to its low cost/performance ratio) otherwise both sli and crossfire are pointless, sure they look nice but both are limited severly you can only use certain cards with each other and you will never be able to span a card generation so you couldnt get a DX9 card now and get the next gen of DX10s it wouldnt work, and later down the line you always see better performance from a whole new card from the current or just before generation than the dual card config. Its more of a gimmick than a practical technology and its far from essential, for some people its ok but unless as i said its either a pair of 6800GS or x1900xtx not worht it.

Out of those mobos the lanparty would be my choice Asus mobos are ok "when" they work which is more common fault that you would think from its good reviews. After that i would go either the Abit fatality or the MSI neo4s both are of very high build quality and offer excellent performance which is superior to the DFI board if you arent overclocking or for moderate overclocks, DFI is primarily for the overclocking and case modding crowd although they are generally just good motherboards as well.

When you put together a computer you should always buy everything at the same time a bit here and a bit there isnt as good as if you wait and get everything at once you ensure the lowest price and maximum compatiblilty as well as being able to get the latest available then not what was the latest when you got it.

[avalix]

Thanks for the advice. You have a good point with the SLi cards. i was going to get one now and get another one for SLi at alater date. I might stear away from SLi for now and just buy a top end single card any sugestions on the best single graphic card board?

I did forget to mension that i want to have two monitors running. Do i need 2 cards or can it be done with 1 high end one.

I had a look at the ffatality SLi board last night and i did like the look of it but i was reading review and they tend to conflic a lot

Ill have a look at MSI boards tonight and see what they are like

Well I am goning to mod this case a bit so it would help if it did look nice but i want performance at the top. I havnt tryed any overclocking yet but i want to experiment on this new comp.

man theres alot of stuff to look through.......

[warriorscot]

Yeah, its easier once youve read it all to keep up with the new stuff, one good card is always better than two mediocre ones as a rule, at the moment the best on the market is the x1900XT-X but its quite expensive in the states, it is always better to get one now or two now and two cards are twice the gfx card to go wrong and you dont get the full x16 speed on noth lanes with most boards only asus and DFi have boards capable of running two pci x16 lanes on sli and those are there most expensive motherboards.

You can get an SLI board and not use sli, there are alot of people in that position and most will never use SLI but it can sometimes be almost the same price and some of the boards have something extra on the SLI that they dont on the single slot, but you do lose one of your slower PCI-e slots on the sli and you lose a couple of pci slots which can or cannot be an issue for some people. So if you want alot of PCI cards then normal is the way to go.