[james_8970]

The Thermaltake ToughPower is probably your best bet here, though I do not recommend running a high end SLI rig on this PSU, regardless of what it states.
James

[Advertisements]

I spoke with a Cyberpower rep and found out that the 780i's will be available at the end of this month/beginning of next month. In the meantime I'll keep doing my homework.

As it stands, I'm looking at...

Win XP (I can get Vista from a friend for free when the time comes)
CoolerMaster Stacker 830
Default case fans 2 and adding another 2, total 4
Thermaltake ToughPower 600 Watt Power Supply
Core™ 2 Duo E6850 CPU
Vigor Gaming Monsoon II Lite CLT-M2LI LGA775 CPU Air Conditioner Cooling SystemMSI P35 Neo-F P35 Chipset LGA775 Supports Core 2 Duo CPU FSB1333 DDR2/800 Mainboard w/GbLAN,USB2.0,&7.1Audio
2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory Corsair
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express
400GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD
18X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER
16X DVD ROM
3D WAVE ON-BOARD 5.1 SOUND CARD (just gonna add my SBlive x-gamer 5.1 from current pc)
ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD

At the moment, it's roughly $1330.00.


Ok, from doing my homework, what I'm thinking it boils down to is PCIe 2.0 & SLI/Tri, but the question is will I really be missing out on anything? The video card config seems to be major holdup.

I've made up my mind to stick with one vid card, so I wouldn't need SLI. I would think later down the road NV would come out with a better (single) card that I could replace that would work just as well. The better choice in this instance would be the P35.

What gets me though is the PCIe2.0, the cards of the future will be going this way. Can I really argue with paying an extra $100/$200 now to have this technology in my back pocket? The only option available to me (CYberpower) that I'm aware of with the 2.0 would be the 708.
The 2.0 is reverse compatable, so I could run anything now and then. The 708 is a new board, but I know it's basically a 608 with an upgraded 2.0, but does that mean since it's a 608 it's tested tried and true, or is something new all together that's gonna have the hicups as all new things do?
I hear that the 608 and 708 aren't very stable to begin with.

I've heard that 1.0 hasn't gotten to point of bottleneck anyways, so who knows if 2.0 is gonna be a factor anyways?

These are just some thoughts I've had with the info I believe to be true. If I've stated incorrectly, please let me know.


Thanks for the continued help!!!

Edited by renaldoaoa, 11 November 2007 - 09:26 AM.

[renaldoaoa]

I spoke with a Cyberpower rep and found out that the 780i's will be available at the end of this month/beginning of next month. In the meantime I'll keep doing my homework.

As it stands, I'm looking at...

Win XP (I can get Vista from a friend for free when the time comes)
CoolerMaster Stacker 830
Default case fans 2 and adding another 2, total 4
Thermaltake ToughPower 600 Watt Power Supply
Core™ 2 Duo E6850 CPU
Vigor Gaming Monsoon II Lite CLT-M2LI LGA775 CPU Air Conditioner Cooling SystemMSI P35 Neo-F P35 Chipset LGA775 Supports Core 2 Duo CPU FSB1333 DDR2/800 Mainboard w/GbLAN,USB2.0,&7.1Audio
2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory Corsair
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express
400GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD
18X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER
16X DVD ROM
3D WAVE ON-BOARD 5.1 SOUND CARD (just gonna add my SBlive x-gamer 5.1 from current pc)
ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD

At the moment, it's roughly $1330.00.


Ok, from doing my homework, what I'm thinking it boils down to is PCIe 2.0 & SLI/Tri, but the question is will I really be missing out on anything? The video card config seems to be major holdup.

I've made up my mind to stick with one vid card, so I wouldn't need SLI. I would think later down the road NV would come out with a better (single) card that I could replace that would work just as well. The better choice in this instance would be the P35.

What gets me though is the PCIe2.0, the cards of the future will be going this way. Can I really argue with paying an extra $100/$200 now to have this technology in my back pocket? The only option available to me (CYberpower) that I'm aware of with the 2.0 would be the 708.
The 2.0 is reverse compatable, so I could run anything now and then. The 708 is a new board, but I know it's basically a 608 with an upgraded 2.0, but does that mean since it's a 608 it's tested tried and true, or is something new all together that's gonna have the hicups as all new things do?
I hear that the 608 and 708 aren't very stable to begin with.

I've heard that 1.0 hasn't gotten to point of bottleneck anyways, so who knows if 2.0 is gonna be a factor anyways?

These are just some thoughts I've had with the info I believe to be true. If I've stated incorrectly, please let me know.


Thanks for the continued help!!!

Edited by renaldoaoa, 11 November 2007 - 09:26 AM.

[james_8970]

Win XP (I can get Vista from a friend for free when the time comes)

Why not just get a genuine copy of Vista for the same price?
James

[renaldoaoa]

The Vista program is genuine, unopened box @ no cost.

[james_8970]

Note it's 680i and 780i

Basically PCIe 2.0 is to PCIe as PCIe was to AGP, if that makes any sense.
The differences between PCIe and PCIe 2.0 is bandwidth and the amount of power the PCIe2.0 slot can give to your GPU is greater. You're only limiting your future uppgrading route, current performance will not be affected. It's also important to note that video cards likely won't require PCIe 2.0 for another year or two.
PCIe2.0 will be a factor in the future, it's only a matter of when.

X38 also supports PCIe2.0, but its limited to crossfire only, not SLI.

If you don't plan on getting SLI then yes P35 is your next best option.

The Thermaltec 120 ultra is a cheaper cooling solution, and better performer as well.

James

Edited by james_8970, 13 November 2007 - 03:53 PM.