Complete Newbie, 9600gt or 9800gt, please help...

K

karder

New Member
I am thinking about buying a new computer but had a few questions about the video card, hence the location of this thread.

The Specs on the computer I am considering:

CPU AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5600+ Socket AM2
CPU Fan Intel Original Socket 775 CPU Fan
Memory 4GB DDR II 800 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston) 　
Motherboard ASUS M2N-SLI nVidia nForce 560 SLI Motherboard
Hard Drive Western Digital 320GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA II
SLI Video 1 nVidia GeForce 9600GT 512MB DDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI HDTV
SLI Video 2 nVidia GeForce 9600GT 512MB DDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI HDTV
Power Supply 520 Watt Rhino Heavy Duty Power Supply

My main question is whether it is better with one 9600gt overclocked or 2 regular 9600gt(sli)?

My other alternative would be an overclocked 9800gt 512mb or a regular 9800gt 1gb?

Now, I am not talking about superclocking with 1000's percent increase and stuff like that but regular factory overclocked. And I am not looking to play Crysis on Ultra High with 400fps either, but it would be nice to be able to play newer games on medium to high settings on reasonable fps.

Can I accomplish that with the options mentioned above?

All answer, serious answers, are appreciated.
 
Also, forgot to ask: Will Vista or XP be better for these cards? I have heard rumors that Vista is better for 9600gt but not sure. And I don't have a clue for 9800gt.
 
First of all, the Intel fan would not fit on the CPU considering its AMD... 9600gt in SLi is very great performance, i would say high- very high settings 20-40fps? The 1gb 9800gt would be better since if you go higher rez it uses more... not sure whats its called.. One main problem the power supply. Not sure with the brand so it might not be any good, another thing its 520watts, 650watt PSU is good enough to SLi a good 500w quality brand should get you away with it. Overall very nice build just switch some things then it'd be perfect :)!
 
I mean a 550w PSU, and to answer your OS questing Vista isnt really better, just utilises Directx 10 which looks very ncie, with XP you get Directx9 which is still good just not as detailed.
 
Thanx for the reply.So would this be a better choice than the previous one?

CPU Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz Wolfdale 6MB 1333FSB 45nm (Overclocked to 3.8GHz)
CPU Cooler OCZ Vanquisher Ultra Silence Performance Cooler
Memory 1 Kingston DDR2 PC2-6400 2GB/800MHz
Memory 2 Kingston DDR2 PC2-6400 2GB/800MHz
Motherboard GIGABYTE GA-G31M-S2L (Intel G31,SATAII,DDR2,PCI-E)
Hard Drive 1 Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 SATA II NCQ 500GB 32MB
Optical Drive LG 22X GH22NS30 DVD+/-RW Dual Layer SATA Rewriter (Black)
Video Card 1 NVIDIA GEFORCE 9800GT Super+ 1GB GDDR3 (Palit)
Case APEVIA X-Supra G type Black-Blue Mid Tower
Power Supply COOLMAX 500W ATX Power Supply Increase this to 550W

If I just have this one 9800gt, should the PSU still be upgraded? Or can I get away with this 500W one?
 
I pretty much have the same build as your previous one mentioned.
I dont know have any BRAND NEW games on my comp but i got
Battlefield 2142 (Run on highest settings) plays great
Quake Wars (Run on Highest Setting) Plays great
and World of Warcraft on highest settings plays Great
 
TechShark: Is the graphic and system requirements on the games you have fairly similar to newer games? Such as CoD4, FarCry 2 and so on...
 
Well i think that battlefield 2142 looks better than COD4 on my XBOX360, but thats just my opinion.

I went on (www.canirunit.com)

and my PC scored higher than recommended settings for COD4

im not sure about Farcry 2. Dont know too much about it.

but i think that the games i currently have installed are pretty new and pretty similar to the newest games out.
 
Ok thanx.

So how much would be reasonable to pay for the above mentioned computers? Just wanna make sure I'm not paying too much.
 
well my computer is a custom build so its cheaper than buying from a manufacture. i built it for $300 a few months ago. but i paid almost wholesale for everything minus the 8800GT which was 169.99 with a $30 rebate.

so total around $450 for everything
 
These are the full specs of the computer I am now considering. I changed my mind from nVidia to ATI, since my friend pushed me into it. Also, more games seem to be running smoother on this system. And reviews are generally better on ATI, at east where I made the research...

CPU AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 6000+ AM2,2X512KB,3.1GHz
CPU Cooler AMD Athlon™ 64 Original Stock Fan & Heatsink
Memory 1 Kingston DDR2 PC2-6400 2GB/800MHz
Memory 2 Kingston DDR2 PC2-6400 2GB/800MHz
Motherboard ASUS M3A78-CM (AM2+,Hybrid CrossFireX,DisplayPort)
Hard Drive Western Digital Caviar SE16 320GB 7200RPM 16MB SATA II
Optical Drive LG 22X GH22NS30 DVD+/-RW Dual Layer SATA Rewriter (Black)
Video ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB GDDR5 PCI-E 2XDVI-I (Sapphire)
Case APEVIA X-Supra G type Black-Black Mid Tower
Power Supply Thermaltake Purepower 500W (W0100RU) Power Supply

I went on Newegg.com and individually selected every item on this list and came up with a total of $787.66 including shipping. This, I'm assuming, does not come assembled. And even though I see myself as fairly handy at some stuff, computer component assembly is not on my resume.

On the other hand, I get these parts assembled and completed by professionals for the sum of $809.00. This is the total price, shipping included. Should I seal this deal? Is it a good one? Or can I get a better deal?

Thanks
 
After some extensive research, I found that this is the system I most probably am going to buy. Sorry all nVidia fans, but a friend of mine had nothing but good stuff to say about this video card. And reviews have not been too bad either. Also, the systems mentioned above had graphics cards that are a little more out of date than Sapphire Radeon 4870 1gb and probably wont last as long when newer games come out.

CPU AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 6000+ AM2,2X512KB,3.1GHz
CPU Cooler AMD Athlon™ 64 Original Stock Fan & Heatsink
Memory 1 Kingston DDR2 PC2-6400 2GB/800MHz
Memory 2 Kingston DDR2 PC2-6400 2GB/800MHz
Motherboard ASUS M3A78-CM (AM2+,Hybrid CrossFireX,DisplayPort)
Hard Drive Western Digital Caviar SE16 320GB 7200RPM 16MB SATA II
Optical Drive LG 22X GH22NS30 DVD+/-RW Dual Layer SATA Rewriter (Black)
Video ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB GDDR5 PCI-E 2XDVI-I (Sapphire)
Case APEVIA X-Supra G type Black-Black Mid Tower
Power Supply Thermaltake Purepower 500W (W0100RU) Power Supply

I went on Newegg.com and individually selected each component listed above and cam up with the total of $787.99 including shipping. Now I assume this does not come assembled, and even though I see my self as fairly handy at most stuff, computer component assembly is not on my resume...

On the other hand, I can get these parts assembled and all and shipped to me for the total price of $809.00. Should I clinch this deal? Is it a good one, or can I get a better? I just need 1 or 2 more capable people telling me this is a good deal and I will buy it. (peer pressure has never been a strong side of mine :))

Thanx
 
Really building a PC is simple...invest in a anti-static wrist band they are not expensive and can save you from *cry* I destroyed my motherboard *cry* though you can RMA 99% of the time and get away with it. Just make sure your grounded to prevent static electricity. I got a wrist band for free but it allows me to not be paranoid.


Btw get a better cooler for your CPU...stock coolers SUCK from AMD. I have yet to see a X2 cooler work very well @ stock speeds.

My x2 4400+ my buddies X2 5200+ and my girlfriends X2 5800+ stock coolers couldn't keep it cool @ stock speeds. Temp would never "settle" would just keep raising.

BTW is that 6000+ a 89w version? If so might want to look @ Freezer 64 Pro its cheap about 25 bucks on newegg...if its the 125w will want a nice zalman cooler.


Also for a 4870 1GB you might wanna make sure your power supply has enough juice to power it.
 
Thanx Twist. So is this better?

CPU AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 3.1GHz 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 89W Dual-Core Processor

CPU Cooler ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler

Memory, 2 of these Kingston 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

Motherboard ASUS M3A78-CM AM2+/AM2 AMD 780V Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

Harddrive Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Optical Drive LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS30

Video SAPPHIRE 100243-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5

Case hec Prime Black 0.8mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Black Computer Case With 585W

No Power supply because of the case one


How does this system look? And how do I know whether something will fit or not? Also, the total price for this is $681.99 including shipping. Please tell me its a good deal... :)

Thanx
 
Seems like a hell of a deal.

Everything should fit...the only wild card is the case PSU. If it has 6pin power connector though should have no problems at all.

I would buy before the end of the month ^-^ deals might go away.
 
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