I Have made a Decision, What do you all think?

[Praetor]

The HSF Fan does it need the thermal tape the thermal compound or both?

One OR the other. I'd reccomend the compound.

Also I have a DVD Drive and a DVD/CD Burner, which do I set to Slave and which to Master?

Depends how you want to config your drives (i.e., two optical drives on one channel or hdd-optical drive configuration).

Primary or slave will not matter, they will both work in either role

Yeah they will work -- but depending on the task they may not work well (i.e., DVD-DVD OTF copying with them on the same channel)

I would simply put the thermal tape on

Thermal compound is much more effective

 

[Meraxus]

Well I got the computer up and running today. Let me tell you I love it Thanks for all your help guys and now that I know how to build a comp it will be easier next time

 

[Praetor]

See? It wasnt so bad after all!

 

[Viper_86]

u a gamer?

Hey man...not a bad machine,unless that is ur a big time gamer like myself who is going all out on top of the line stuff . i highky recommend the x800 xt platinum if u truely want the most gaming power out of ur pc. the x800 xt platinum isnt out yet but the x800 pro is. as for the x800 pro vs the nvidia 5800...go with the x800! 1st of all the x800 gives u better gaming performance at higher resolutions, which is good, in my opinion anyway coz it looks much better. the nvidia also uses a ton more power...using i think around 400-450 watt power supply and is much more demanding of ur machine, as for the x800, it only uses a 350 watt power supply, same as the radeon 9800 pro and xt. and the last thing i thot i might mention is ur processor, once again if u rnt a gamer then dont worry bout it, but i recommend an amd athalon over p4's any day! especially 4 games. the amd athalon 3800 is top of the line if ur willing to spend 800 bux on one piece of hardware...as for myself im going down 2 levels to a 3200, which is a great prrcessor, barely below the 3400. so theres some things to think about and if u rnt a gamer then sry for wasting ur time

 

[Praetor]

Hey man...not a bad machine,unless that is ur a big time gamer like myself who is going all out on top of the line stuff

I'm not a rich-kid. I buy my own stuff

x800 pro vs the nvidia 5800...go with the x800!

You seem likeyou know what you're talking about in general,why such a ridiculous comparison?

 

[Viper_86]

Well graphics card wise the Nvidia 6800 ultra performs just as well as the ati Radeon x800 in benchmark testing.QUOTE]

no way man, the x800 blew the 6800 away!...way better at higer resolutions and way less power required and less demanding of ur pc...still a very good card none the less...but i recommend the x800 over the 6800 anyday!

 

[Viper_86]

haha sry i meant the 6800

 

[Viper_86]

I'm not a rich-kid. I buy my own stuff

im no rich kid either...im just saving up for this computer that im gonan buy...right now im not even half way but i will b there after a couple more paychecks. im not very satisfied with 2nd rate computers... i have my standards set way up high..dont like to settle for much less computer-wise.

 

[Praetor]

haha sry i meant the 6800

In that case id reccomend you check again. The 6800 series is superior card -- even without resorting to fanboyism. Now if you are comparing the X800XT to the GF6800 -- well no shit, you're comparing the top end card to the low end one ... no doubt the X800XT would win.

It is an interesting thing to note that while the X800 is a great series, the X600 and X300 series both can be kicked around by a stock 9800. It's quite remarkable also that ATi decided to make a 64bit version of the X300; with the 9200SE that made sense kind of and it filled a very good niche of subbudget card but with the new flagship "X" series, they should have left the budget cards with at least a 128bit interface.

Now if I understand the nVidia product line well enough, they've got the baseline bring the 6800 followed by the 6800GT and 6800Ultra and their various variants. Note that the top end of the previous generation (59x0 series) doesnt kick the 6800 and 6800GT series around like a ragdoll.

This is a good thing that nVidia has done: they've provided developers with a very solid platform from which to base their games off. COnsider the GFX series, that was a mild success only because of the "support" the GFX5200 offered for DX9 but it lacked major in final overal performance. Now with the baseline 6800, "low performance" by our standards today and probably for the next 8-12 months) will not be the case -- even if it is, the baseline 6800 will outlive its counterpart the X300 by a large margin and will probably outlive even the X600. Does this mean that developers-hardware companies have gotten a working alliance to raise prises? Maybe, but there will always eb budget oriented cards --- and at least now there is an option where those budget cards from a given series arent put to shame by the previous generation of cards (consider that the GF4MX beat the GFX5200 in many benchmarks as well as the Radeon8500 beating the Radeon9000 all over)

 

[Viper_86]

Now if you are comparing the X800XT to the GF6800 -- well no shit, you're comparing the top end card to the low end one ... no doubt the X800XT would win.

While the Geforce 6800 is a great card, any of the x800 series outperforms the 6800, look at the benchmarks. the 6800 may be better with low resolution, tell me wut gamer uses 800X600 unless they have to. the x800 performs better at high resolutions, which is great!

 

[Praetor]

While the Geforce 6800 is a great card, any of the x800 series outperforms the 6800, look at the benchmarks. the 6800 may be better with low resolution, tell me wut gamer uses 800X600 unless they have to. the x800 performs better at high resolutions, which is great!

I see we have a fanboy .... might i remind you if you visit nvidia's website you'll see benchmarks noting the exact opposite .... so much for benchmarks. In case you havnt realized it yet, benchmarks dont mean shit, both ATi and nVidia have benchmarks that indicate their company's point. Sides 00 you're comparing the top end cardm the X800, against the bottom end card, the 6800. Now if you did a proper comparison, it would be X300 vs 6800

 

[Viper_86]

Sides 00 you're comparing the top end cardm the X800, against the bottom end card, the 6800. Now if you did a proper comparison, it would be X300 vs 6800

well im sry but i like doing the top end cards of each company...thats how i decide what ill get, i get what is better obviously. its true that i have always liked ati's over nvidia's, ive had plenty of both and ati's cards have always satisfied me more. and you keep saying that the 6800 is the better card but then ask y i dont do a more fair comparison with the x300 vs the 6800, but if the 6800 was better than the x800 it would be a fair comparison. and im not saying that nvidia has a bad card, they're great, i just prefer having ati's cards.

 

[Praetor]

well im sry but I like doing the top end cards of each company...thats how I decide what ill get, I get what is better obviously.

In that case, the comparison should be between the X800 and the 6800U

and you keep saying that the 6800 is the better card but then ask y I dont do a more fair comparison with the x300 vs the 6800, but if the 6800 was better than the x800 it would be a fair comparison. and im not saying that nvidia has a bad card, they're great, I just prefer having ati's cards.

Yes! But your comparisons are worthless because you comparing a top end card to a low end car -- SURE... you're right but the results arent useful... let's just say for argument sake that the X800 is better than the 6800 ... ir would be quite a shock to see the X800 not beat the 6800 considering the you're comparing the top versus the bottom.

Edit: just to be comapring the 6800 to the X800 speaks volumes about the 6800 as it is

 

[Viper_86]

In that case, the comparison should be between the X800 and the 6800U

ok...ill take a look at the 6800U, havent heard anything or even of it till now. unless thats the nvidias newest card, which i thot was the 6800...so if the 6800U is nvidias newest card and the 6800 is older lower end card, then my comparison stand for the x800 vs the 6800U. ill look around at the 6800U a bit.

 

[Praetor]

ok...ill take a look at the 6800U, havent heard anything or even of it till now. unless thats the nvidias newest card, which I thot was the 6800...so if the 6800U is nvidias newest card and the 6800 is older lower end card, then my comparison stand for the x800 vs the 6800U. ill look around at the 6800U a bit.

Kewl ... I havnt had much time to examine nVidia's product line much but as I understand it, they are structured as:
- Baseline: GF6800
- Midrange: GF6800GT
- Premium: GF6800U
Of course with variants amoung each "class" of cards. The ATi lineup looks like
- Baseline: X300
- Midrange: X600
- Premium: X800
Again with variants amoung each class.

Without debating which cards are faster than which because you and i both know that's a pointless pissing contest and both companies can make benchmarks that contrast with each other ... and unfortunately, Tom's cant be a trusted as an unbiased reviewer anymore (not for me at least, even though their bias agrees with my preference ... it's unprofessional .. but that's another rant). The bottom line is that benchmarks give a general idea -- the specific numbers are really irellevent unless one wants to get into pissing contests (which i'm not gonna do) .... it's more useful to look at trends and patterns with those numbers. Which raises an interesting point:

About Pixel Shader 3.0, currently an "nVidia only" kinda deal, there IS an improvement and a NOTICEABLE one at that (i was argueing with my friend, an ATI fan until he showed me otherwise). To be honest if there is an improvement on graphical quality, it's wasted on me as both Pixel Shader 2.0 and 3.0 look fabulous. The difference however is that the 6800-series perform shockingly better when making use of Pixel Shader 3.0 (i was expecting a frame here or there but there were some very significant improvements). A very interesting time for game developers!

 

[Viper_86]

About Pixel Shader 3.0, currently an "nVidia only" kinda deal, there IS an improvement and a NOTICEABLE one at that (i was argueing with my friend, an ATI fan until he showed me otherwise). To be honest if there is an improvement on graphical quality, it's wasted on me as both Pixel Shader 2.0 and 3.0 look fabulous. The difference however is that the 6800-series perform shockingly better when making use of Pixel Shader 3.0 (i was expecting a frame here or there but there were some very significant improvements). A very interesting time for game developers!

i agree...nvidia does have ati beat with the pixel shading hands down. in my opinion tho ati has nvidia beat overall. but i dont no how things r gonna turn out once nvidia releases its new card, the Nvidia sli, which is gonna b a kick ass card! ofcourse i dont expect ati to just stand by and watch, but if they let nvidia once again take the lead in visual performance and power, i just might go back to nvidia, that is till ati hits back ;-p i dont think u really said wut card u prefer, just a lot of defending the nvidia 6800U, whicch is a great card...b even better if it didnt use so much freakin power.

or the does the ati even have pixel shading???

 

[Praetor]

i dont think u really said wut card u prefer, just a lot of defending the nvidia 6800U, whicch is a great card...b even better if it didnt use so much freakin power

I'm an nVidia fan... not because of performance....not becuase of drivers .... not even because i like badass ultra loud fans ... but because I've bought 4 ATi cards in my life ... 3 of those times I open the box and that's not the card i paid for. I'm not going through that again period.

I'm not so much the type to bounce from company to company based on performance or nothing but when i "trust" a label or a brand, I'll stick with it until i get burned.

Edit:

or the does the ati even have pixel shading???

The ATi cards support Pixel Shader 2.0 ... I was quite shocked myself to see that they didnt "step up" and offer Pixel Shader 3.0 considering that the generation old 9800s have Pixel Shader 2.0

 

[Viper_86]

I'm not so much the type to bounce from company to company based on performance or nothing but when i "trust" a label or a brand, I'll stick with it until i get burned.

i like to go with the card that performs the best, which l8ly has been ati...but i havent been following the hardware part of computers till about 5 or so years ago...which isnt all that long to some1 whoes been in2 that stuff their whole lives.and seeing that i havent bought any cards myself until the 9800 pro just recently,..well my dad was the one who actually bought it for hus computer but i was there...i havent had any problems with the product at all, and wut a great difference it made goin from the nvidia...somewhere around the 5200 or someting...i dont no many models that nvidia has other than the more recent ones...anyway...that was a pos card...it was like 3 or so yrs old. dont worry im not even thinkin about comparing the 9800 pro to any of the nvidias 5000 series. my computer that i recently own is a hunk of shit, stupid emachine. its specs r freakin stone age...not 3.1 or even dos era, but its a 450 mhz celeron with a 4.02 hd!!!! OUCH it came with 32 mb of ram till i bought a stick of 128 coz my games werent workin to well on it, and now none of my games would probably even recognize that its an actual computer this is y im saving up for a new machine, our dell doesnt quite cut it gaming wise, not my dads puter...which is miuch better..only has better vid card and more ram. haha i have no idea how i even got started on talking about this...o well

 

[Praetor]

dont worry im not even thinkin about comparing the 9800 pro to any of the nvidias 5000 series. my computer that I recently own is a hunk of shit, stupid emachine

The 5200 is a piece of junk. The 5500-5700 are good cards for their money. The 5800 was a marketing disaster even though it was a very advanced chip. The 59x0 chips will take that 9800Pro quite evenly.

 

[Nephilim]

Oh, Lordy do we have a benchmark war going or what? Benchmarks are a rough guide as to how a card will perform not concrete evidence.

Even if benchmarks really mattered, in every single one of the many reviews I've read on both top-o-the line cards from ATI and nVidia are running neck and neck in almost every benchmark. Neither card is a runaway winner, simple as that.

Has anyone here bought both cards and tested them side by side? If someone has, I'd recommend listening to them.


Does the nVidia look nice to you? Then buy it. Does the ATI appeal to you more? Then buy it. Both companies offer such close performance in each price bracket it's a moot point to argue that one is way better than the other.


As for the pixel shader 2.0/3.0 arguement I ask myself one question - Am I playing a shooter to stop and look at the trees to see if I can notice that much of a difference in the leaves? Nope. I'm there to slaughter everything I can as fast as I can so leaves that look just a bit prettier aren't that big of a deal to me.


A little less benchmarksturbation and a little more real life would help those wondering what to get