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**TheGrandMom** · 06-16-2010, 04:40 PM

Re: Motherboards

First question: Yes they come with a cover set up for each mb.

Second question: I disagree with the 2 cheaper cards are just as good or better than one high end card. But if thats the way you see it then it does no good to argue the point.

**DakAttack** · 06-16-2010, 04:56 PM

Re: Motherboards

Originally posted by TheGrandMom View Post

First question: Yes they come with a cover set up for each mb.

Second question: I disagree with the 2 cheaper cards are just as good or better than one high end card. But if thats the way you see it then it does no good to argue the point.

Wouldn't they be? It's not like a video card costs exactly as much as it's worth, so it's possible to find two mid-range cards that, together, can out-perform one high-end card. This is assuming that the dual card set-up isn't being limited by the motherboard.

**TheGrandMom** · 06-16-2010, 05:13 PM

Re: Motherboards

The second card is not fully utilized...period. You will only get a % of that cards power. Therefore you could have 2 low to mid cards that will not equal the power of one high end card. I ran 2 cards and I only got a 32-38% performance boost from the 2nd card. Also 2 cards make for a significantly hotter machine so be very diligent with your cooling system....and remember more parts to a machine mean more things can go wrong. My son tried dual cards and so did I, we both ran into our fair share of software/hardware issues and felt in the long run that one high end card was definitely better for us. But maybe you'll enjoy duals more than we did, to each their own.

**DakAttack** · 06-16-2010, 05:37 PM

Re: Motherboards

I'm just looking for opinions and experiences...

**TheGrandMom** · 06-16-2010, 06:08 PM

Re: Motherboards

It's quite a hot topic on hardware forums...lots of heated discussions. There are great arguments on both sides and I totally get why people feel it's worth it. I will say that I would absolutely run duals if I could afford 2 high end cards, and a nice aluminum case with liquid cooling....but I'd also have to be an avid fan of some software that would utilize all that power. It's really overkill otherwise.

**DakAttack** · 06-16-2010, 06:26 PM

Re: Motherboards

That damn benchmark had me wondering, that's the only reason I got into this whole thing. Right now, it seems like my current board is just fine for what I'm running. Some other functional upgrades I'm considering are expanded memory slots, which isn't that important, CPU socket type, which appears to be important, and simply upgrading the card.

Upgrading from an LGA 1133 up to 1366 would allow me to run i7's, with a faster FSB, but I'm not quite sure what that would really translate out to in terms of power. Current i7's aren't that much more powerful than i5's, especially when you're running programs that weren't designed to take advantage of more than two cores. I can see how i7's could easily become must-haves, but by that time the prices will drop. It seems like I would have to upgrade both the board and the CPU at the same time, because, while I could upgrade to an i7 with my LGA 1133, what's out now isn't that impressive, and I can't use 1366's with my current i5, so that's pointless.

I'd like to upgrade the graphics card, but that just isn't a big deal right now. My 3.0GHz i5 can run L4D2 on max settings perfectly, with some issues when recording through WeGame while playing. I doubt I would notice the effects if I stuck a stronger card in this machine.

**Mhurron** · 06-16-2010, 06:54 PM

Re: Motherboards

SLI looks cool. That's really the only reason I did it. You can save money with it by getting 2 sort of good cards, they probably won't out perform the top end in the same family but they should perform a little smoother then one of the same card.

**DakAttack** · 06-22-2010, 03:36 PM

Re: Motherboards

I'm going to forego creating a new topic for this:

Why is there such a price difference in quad-core CPUs between AMD and Intel? AMD quad-core at 3.2GHz is around $150, while Intel is charging half a grand for the same thing? I feel like I'm missing something.

Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor

Newegg.com - Intel Core i7-960 Bloomfield 3.2GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor

Also, I found this motherboard, which has two x16 PCI-E slots that both run at x16, but do share bandwidth with some of the other PCI-E slots.

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-890FXA-UD5 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

**Mhurron** · 06-22-2010, 03:41 PM

Re: Motherboards

Originally posted by DakAttack View Post

Why is there such a price difference in quad-core CPUs between AMD and Intel? AMD quad-core at 3.2GHz is around $150, while Intel is charging half a grand for the same thing? I feel like I'm missing something.

The short answer is because they're very different processors made in very different ways.

**WishMaster3K** · 06-23-2010, 12:17 AM

Re: Motherboards

I have a Quad Core 3.2 GHz AMD Phenom II, and I like it just fine. I've Overclocked it to 3.9GHz at one point, but it ran too damn hot, and it's the middle of the summer in an non-airconditioned 2nd Floor NYC bedroom.

What I suggest? AMD if you're looking for components that perform well but aren't, as you said, "half a grand".

I've made a blog post about a decent rig you can build for less than $800. The Tao of Ren

I'm totally a fan of the Radeon HD 5000 series, and I personally own this card, but it's $500. I got a 4000+ on the FFXIV benchmark, so I feel it'll do me just fine for the next two years. And then, unless they come out with DX12, I'll just get another one and Crossfire it (it'll probably be $250 by that point).

I don't recommend SLI / Crossfire for different reasons than the one's TGM pointed out:

My biggest beef is that dual GPUs are "USUALLY" done with "budget" cards in an effort to match the performance of a higher priced card. I'd say just hold off on the higher priced card, because somewhere down the line, those "budget" cards are going to feel the pain either from their 512 MB of RAM, or 128-bits.

If you want to run FFXIV, look for GDDR5. I'm trying to find the article, but there was one interview where SE admitted to the fact that they're fully intending to make a game that can be enjoyed graphically 5 years from now.

Also, I'm starting to become an MSI Fanboy. Look for their products that they say are "Military Rated". Here's a comparison of all the cards they have in the 5000 series that have the custom cooling and architecture.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2%2050001312%2040000048&page=2&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&CompareItemList=48|14-127-500^14-127-500-TS,14-127-482^14-127-482-TS,14-127-491^14-127-491-TS,14-127-490^14-127-490-TS

Pay attention to GDDR memory (3 or 5?), Memory Bandwidth (128 or 256 bits?), and overall memory. For FFXI, you might be able to get away with 512MB of RAM.. who knows... Wait until Fall or so when the release the specs required.

Also, I've spent slightly over $1800 to get my rig to where it is right now. (I think once I get a SSD for the OS and programs, and a mount for my dual screens, I'm going to stop buying things and just be happy with it >_> ), so you have to work within your budget.

I've rambled long enough, but I'll say that I don't recommend Dual Core processors for FFXIV benchmarks based on what some of my friends got. My friend has a Dual Core system with this GPU, and he got 2000 on the low-res test. Also, some people with weaker GPUs than mine got higher on the test than me because of thier CPUs (One guy had some i7 that had like 8 cores or some shit.. he got like a 5500).

I'm going to OC my CPU back to 3.9 and I'll let you know how much of a difference I get.

**DakAttack** · 06-23-2010, 05:07 AM

Re: Motherboards

Yea, I have a dual-core i5 at 3.2GHz and my score was 1000 on the highest settings. Lame-o.

I'm making a list of what to upgrade and in what order. It'll probably be motherboard and CPU to switch over to AMD, then graphics card and RAM. Of course, this is happening only if the money is there. If I wanted to spend my money more wisely then I'd purchase the GPU first, since it would take me the farthest with the least amount of money spent.

**WishMaster3K** · 06-23-2010, 07:09 AM

Re: Motherboards

The CPU, as the heart of your comp, will be a good investment to start with.

Also, the game will hopefully be out by the holiday season, so you have half a year to put away a bit of money every week.

**DakAttack** · 06-23-2010, 02:21 PM

Re: Motherboards

Right now I'm running Intel stuff, and to make the switch I'll have to replace both the CPU and Mobo.

I'm thinking a jump up to HD 5700 should do the trick, when I replace the graphics card. Maybe 5800s will be cheaper by the time I replace it.

**TheGrandMom** · 06-23-2010, 04:52 PM

Re: Motherboards

Saw this up on Gizmondo. I didn't read it but thought you might be interested in it:

The Best Graphics Cards at Every Price

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