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Netskimmer

New Member
I'll probably start ordering stuff by the end of the week. It depends on what, if anything, anyone else has to say about the setup and how my research into WC goes.

How cool do your 8800 GTXs run, do they have stock coolers?

I've read about four wc guides and they seem to conflict a bit on preferences but for the most part they agree on the performance advantages. Though I must admit I'm a bit worried. The thought of building a $3,000+ system then having a leak fry the whole thing is unnerving to me, but as long as I take my time and take great care, I should be ok. Hopefully when it comes time to put this thing together someone here who has experience with wc will take me under his/her wing and help me with it.:)

It still seems weird to spend so much on a vid card. This is the first time I've had the money to really splurge on things. Up until now I just got a mid-range card, around $250-$300 then got an after-market cooler, modified the bios, and OC'ed the hell out of it using software I got off the internet.
 

oscaryu1

VIP Member
I'll probably start ordering stuff by the end of the week. It depends on what, if anything, anyone else has to say about the setup and how my research into WC goes.

How cool do your 8800 GTXs run, do they have stock coolers?

I've read about four wc guides and they seem to conflict a bit on preferences but for the most part they agree on the performance advantages. Though I must admit I'm a bit worried. The thought of building a $3,000+ system then having a leak fry the whole thing is unnerving to me, but as long as I take my time and take great care, I should be ok. Hopefully when it comes time to put this thing together someone here who has experience with wc will take me under his/her wing and help me with it.:)

It still seems weird to spend so much on a vid card. This is the first time I've had the money to really splurge on things. Up until now I just got a mid-range card, around $250-$300 then got an after-market cooler, modified the bios, and OC'ed the hell out of it using software I got off the internet.

Yes, they have stock coolers, not very cool though :D.
 

mep916

Administrator
Staff member
How cool do your 8800 GTXs run, do they have stock coolers?.

Yes, they have stock coolers. The temps are good. I OC'd them a bit, but I didn't really notice any significant performance increase. They're currently running at stock speeds.

I've read about four wc guides and they seem to conflict a bit on preferences but for the most part they agree on the performance advantages. Though I must admit I'm a bit worried. The thought of building a $3,000+ system then having a leak fry the whole thing is unnerving to me, but as long as I take my time and take great care, I should be ok.

Yeah. I understand, trust me. I'm gonna WC one the new 45nm Intel's when they ship. I'm a little nervous. Then again, I was nervous before I put together my current rig. Everything went together fine. However, there is a significant amount of risk associated with a WC setup. Continue to research, and hopefully, everything will be fine.

I'm not trying to discourage you, but you will acheive a healthy OC on air w/ the G0 stepping. You shouldn't take this type of risk if you're not ready. :)

Hopefully when it comes time to put this thing together someone here who has experience with wc will take me under his/her wing and help me with it.:).

If you don't find the WC info you need at this forum, click here.

It still seems weird to spend so much on a vid card. This is the first time I've had the money to really splurge on things. Up until now I just got a mid-range card, around $250-$300 then got an after-market cooler, modified the bios, and OC'ed the hell out of it using software I got off the internet.

It's an expensive hobby. :) You can OC the GTX as much as you would like. It still will not match the performance of the Ultra. BTW, when you receive the Ultra, would you mind taking a measurement of the length? I'm gonna use the EVGA step up program and trade in the GTXs. Until I get the Cosmos, I want to make sure they'll fit in the 900. I read an article that claims the Ultra is shorter than the GTX. I find that hard to believe.
 
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b3rt_d4ni3l

New Member
Hey mep916,
I found some info for you about the size of the 8800Ultra.

Size then, just like the GeForce 8800 GTX graphics card the Ultra is 27 CM long, you could say a well hung piece of hardware. It's been said and explained to me by quite a number of female counterparts (render targets as I like to call them) size does matter (Ed: So many jokes, so little time... ).

Due to the size, note that the power connectors are routed off the top edge of the graphics card instead of the end of the card, so there is no extra space required at the end of the graphics card for power cabling. But before purchasing please check if you can insert a 27 CM piece of hardware in that chassis.

I found it in this article:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/428/3/

Hope that helps. :)

EDIT: if you are not familiar, 27 centimeter = 10.629 921 26 inch (so roughly about 11 inches)
 

Netskimmer

New Member
Well, I hate to say it but I think I might wait until November after all. Thats when the new 9800's come out so I can see what they are made of and if I decide to stick with the 8800Ultra, the price should drop like a stone when the 9800's get here.

I can't see waiting for the 45mn cpu though, It will be months before it gets here and they will probably be unreasonably high priced, and while I was looking at the potential release dates on them Intel had an article talking about their work on 32mn chips with 1.9 billion transistors. So by the time the 45mn chips hit mainstream, they will be dangling those 32's in front of us.

Mid November is only a few weeks off, and most of the parts on my list won't be affected by that short of a wait, probably just the CPU and GPU. Now that I've got most of the rig planned out I think I can survive the wait. We can still talk about and continue to tweak the other components of the current setup of coarse! :D
 

mep916

Administrator
Staff member
Well, I hate to say it but I think I might wait until November after all. Thats when the new 9800's come out so I can see what they are made of and if I decide to stick with the 8800Ultra, the price should drop like a stone when the 9800's get here.

I don't believe a release date has been set for the 9800's. You know someone at nVidia? :p

I can't see waiting for the 45mn cpu though, It will be months before it gets here and they will probably be unreasonably high priced, and while I was looking at the potential release dates on them Intel had an article talking about their work on 32mn chips with 1.9 billion transistors. So by the time the 45mn chips hit mainstream, they will be dangling those 32's in front of us.

The QX9650 will ship in three weeks. The rest will be released in January 2008. The 32nm procs in 2009. The price list for the 45nm CPU's are posted here.

We can still talk about and continue to tweak the other components of the current setup of coarse! :D

Sure! :)
 

Netskimmer

New Member
I don't believe a release date has been set for the 9800's. You know someone at nVidia? :p

This article suggested they would release in November.
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Nvidia-9800-Series-Coming-Soon-62786.shtml

The QX9650 will ship in three weeks. The rest will be released in January 2008. The 32nm procs in 2009. The price list for the 45nm CPU's are posted here.

Exactly, The only one available at first will be $1,000, the rest won't hit stores until mid Jan, about three months from now. I really don't want to wait 3 months. As long as they are going to be socket 775 and my current Mobo will accommodate them, I think the best thing to do would be build the rig with a CPU that can handle my games until then and then swap it out for say a Q9450.
 

mep916

Administrator
Staff member

That article stands alone, unfortunately. Nvidia would have leaked something on either their forum, or to the mainstream technology press by now. Besides, it's highly unlikely that their next product line will carry the "9000" label. Remember, ATI already released a "9000" series. That would be very poor marketing, and potentially confuse consumers, IMO. The speculation continues...

Exactly, The only one available at first will be $1,000, the rest won't hit stores until mid Jan, about three months from now. I really don't want to wait 3 months. As long as they are going to be socket 775 and my current Mobo will accommodate them, I think the best thing to do would be build the rig with a CPU that can handle my games until then and then swap it out for say a Q9450.

Sounds like a good plan. :)
 

Netskimmer

New Member
So is there an educated guess as to when the next series from Nvidia will come out? They probably would have mentioned something about it if it was going to be before 2008 wouldn't they?
 

mep916

Administrator
Staff member
So is there an educated guess as to when the next series from Nvidia will come out? They probably would have mentioned something about it if it was going to be before 2008 wouldn't they?

The earliest would be mid to late 2008. It kinda depends on what ATI does with their product line. It's too soon for nVidia. They still have a ton of product on the market.
 

Netskimmer

New Member
So my best bet is to just build the rig now with a descnet cpu and swap it out in 3-4 months when the 45nm chps get here. Since I'll only have the chip for 3-4 months, should I go with the cheaper E4500? do you think it will be able to hadle my games between now and then?
 
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