Legit Reviews

Hi all,
alright it's been a while but im making a pc for my dad because his old pc has borked itself.( BSODing fried circut in the motherboard and Fried overheating radeon 9550)
So he wanted a upgrade and asked me because i know more about computers than he does.
I just need help from the forums for advice and recommendations. BTW, i HAD to order the parts because my dad was impatient,
because we went on a vacation where there wasn't a computer nor internet, so my dad had asked me to order already. So this is what i ordered..


MSU: XFX NFORCE 680I SLI INTEL SOCKET 775 DDR2 - MB-N680-ISH9

CPU: INTEL E8400 CORE 2 DUO 3.0Hz 6MB LGA775 CPU BX80570E8400 E8400/3.00GHz/6MB/1333FSB/LGA775

RAM: Corsair TWIN2X2048-8500C5D 2GB (2x XMS2 1GB) PC-8500 (1066MHz) DDR2 RAM, 2x240-pin DIMMs, Non ECC, Unbuffered, 5-5-5-15

GPU: 2XGeforce 8800GT 512MB 660mhz 256-bit (haha i accidently ordered two 256MB cards because i did not look close enough at the description. but not ro worry i cancelled the order LOL)


Is all of this hardware compatible? I had a look at nvidia's ram recommendations and matched them with the ram i bought.
This is the first time creating a pc with sli, are all the 8800gt's available in sli? Also Do the cards come with a sli bridge? or will i have to buy one?

Thanks in advance..

There is usually either a SLI bridge with the motherboard or cards.

What resolution will these be used to game at?

And what power supply are you using to power them all?

Dan

thats good then, the games will most likely run at 1280x1024
and as for his power suppply i think it's 350 or a 450W standard that came with the case. I informed my dad that he might need a new one because the power that is needed. Should we purchase a new power supply?

Yeah, that would be the strongly recommended option.

Depending on how much you want to spend on a new PSU depends on what brand/model is going to be best for you, but one thing you should know is that you *should not* skimp on buying a decent PSU. If the PSU is cheap and dies, it has the potential to kill everything else. The corsair series of PSU's are great, either their 550VX or 620HX will suit you for years to come.

I know you probably wanted to try SLI out, but it's complete overkill at that resolution, seen as though you've already bought the cards though, there's no point preaching at you

Dan

thanks for the info, i will certainly consider getting one of those.
also about the gfx cards i actually canceled the order for the 256mb versions (Luckily).. and reordered the 512 versions.
The card im getting is a ZOTAC brand, is this brand any good? http://www.betterit.com.au/scripts/prod ... 1&idAff=40
also, would it be better getting the AMP version (OCed)

And also are ALL my pc parts compatible? im worried about the ram.

i dont see any reason the RAM wouldnt work. Like Dan said your 2 8800gt is probally to much. I have heard of ZOTAC but only from seeing them on newegg.com - If its possible i would cancel that order and get a better single card from a company like EVGA, BFG, XFX.. i have had cards from all of them and no problems. a 8800gts 512mb card would be fine I think.

you may have an issue with a 45nm cpu on a 680i board, most support them, but you may need a bios update

it supports the latest 1,333MHz FSB CPUs, and the forthcoming 45nm Penryn architecture CPUs, as long as you update the BIOS to the P31 revision first.

Quote from: http://www.custompc.co.uk/labs/137964/x ... -ish9.html

I looked all over XFX's site for a CPU Support List like most motherboard manufacturers have, but it was a no-go. That's the best info I have, so you'd better hope it gets sent with a P31 or later BIOS update, otherwise you'll need to swap in a 65nm LGA775 CPU to flash the BIOS.

cant i just update it myself? i've been googling and people say xfx 680i sli is compatible with a E8400 wolfdale processor,only with a bios update.
So can't i just update it myself?

easily, but you have to have an already-compatible CPU to pop in it first in order to run the pc and flash the bios

so will it be able to run? I had a quote that from xfxsupport that it should boot up no problemo with wolfdale. But i it wont run properly until i update the bios.
either way, if im unable to run it, what can i do?

if it doesnt come shipped with the required bios version, you have to find a 65nm cpu so you can boot to that to flash it.

so you saying i'll have to buy another cpu to make my e8400 run? That's just stupid.
In any way could i contact xfx or the store to update the bios for me?

I doubt they would, that would mean a lot of work for them.

Do you know anyone with an Intel processor you can borrow to flash the bios? As long as it is a compatible processor you can just use it for 10 minutes to do that, then your processor will work.

arrr fark, i know someone with a p4 but im not sure theyd let me rip it out of there system . But i'll have to see for now, lol i havn't told my dad yet about the incompatibility of this cpu rofl, but im trying to work things out for now. Woudn't the motherboard be updated with the latest bios when they manufacture theses products?

yes but you dont know how old the boards are. since sli is total overkill for your resolution, why not get a p45 board?

bahhh i coudn't get a board now seeing as i already ordered it, my dad will get angry... I just hope the motherboard has the right bios version to make my cpu run

cross your fingers... and if in fact it comes with a previous BIOS, call around and see who has a 65nm LGA775 processor... or buy a cheap one online?

lol i hope , But if it doesn't i guess i will have to buy a cheap one. With my own money, i only have $170 in my wallet atm, any cheapo recommendations?
I'll probably buy it then sell it on ebay once im done, but i think i wont make a profit, if i return it to the store dont i have to pay for return fees?

siicogamer wrote:lol i hope , But if it doesn't i guess i will have to buy a cheap one. With my own money, i only have $170 in my wallet atm, any cheapo recommendations?
I'll probably buy it then sell it on ebay once im done, but i think i wont make a profit, if i return it to the store dont i have to pay for return fees?

This will most likely be your best bet, a $38.99 - 1.8GHz Celeron with 512KB L2 Cache will do you just fine while you flash you BIOS.
Maybe even OC a little bit to test the waters ;)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819116039