Purely gaming spec

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Need...well needs a big word...want a gaming spec'd pc, will be overclocked, need an OS, got a dvd drive already so no need for one of them, got a case..

Really would like to go SLI or Crossfire in 3 months time as I''ll have my 2 student loans in so not sure about this:


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Not sure on what card to pick, is DDR4 mem better on the ATI, would HDMI be an advantage for me? I'm thinking would it be better to go crossfire with that 2900 or go SLI with the 880GTX, bare in mind, would like to play Crysis and games up to date, all settings kicked in the teeth high up!

With the OS, not sure to go to Vista 64 as that can take 4gb RAM but not sure if Win XP Pro can? Pretty much all my questions for the moment
 
go for the 8800 over the 2900 if you can afford it. had them both and the 8800 owns it hands downs :D

as for 4gig ram if your going vista64 it wont hurt to have the extra ram.
 
8800 it is then!

MofoKilla- thanks dude for the card advice
C64 - added the Hdrive you recommended!

Still unsure about the OS, can XP Pro use 4gb or just 3gb? Would like to stay with xp but if it cant handle 4gb then Vista Ultimate it is then

Spec revised:

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Small question I forgots to ask, can the IP35 SLI as it has 2 PCI-E x16 slots?
 
If you want the best boards for SLI and a Qaud it's this one http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-000-EA&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat= and this one http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-208-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=

Xp pro will use 3.25 gig but only in limited applications.64 bit OSystems seemed troubled still and have issues and niggles so my advice would be forget vista if you like gaming for now just stick to xp pro and 2 gig of ram maybe just buy an oem xp wait until vista is actually better than xp for gaming and in general has less issues,remember nobody wanted to swap to xp until it was actually better than win98 for games and such.

However if you are prepared to put up with little issues and problems then get 4gig and 64bit vista.

No it is not sli all the boards state 2 x 16x slots but they are 1x16 and 1x4 and 8x 8x crossfire.Sli is a waste of time and here's why, by the time you get another card to run in sli the same as your current card there will be a single card that beats 2 x 8800gtx in sli and will work out cheaper than the cost of the 2 cards.

It is already rumored that the next high end nvidia card is twice as fast as the gtx.One 8800 gtx is going to be fine for any games you throw at it for ages yet just keep the one and sell it on and upgrade when is most viable.In 3 months time the whole scene is going to change.

There's ati bringing a card in november which apparently beats the 8800gtx and nvidias next generation, nvidia bringing cards at the end of this month, and the next generation 8800gtx killers q1 next year so by the time you get your loan there will be better options rather than sli 2 x 8800 gtx.
 
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I have been running Vista 64x for a while and haven't had any major problems so would recommend Vista Home Premium 64x or XP 64 to utilise the full 4GB.

Most guys on this forum would class SLI or Crossfire as a waste of money as its not realy double the speed of a single gfx setup.

But thats my opinion from what I'v read.
 
ok, will stick the 8800gtx for now, now with XP64, won't one have problems with 32 bit software and drivers? Or should i fudge it and stick with what i've got?


EDIT: think i'll go with Vista Ultimate 64bit, now because its an OEM, I'm not sure but won't I have problems if I changed or upgrade some parts of the machine and asks me for a licence?
 
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updated now, after reading from the replies and getting advice from some friends, this is what im def getting, purely gaming and going to be oc'd to max at can go, going 4gb on vista and that's pretty much what i'll be doing!


On a small note, somewhere I read that, because the OS's is going to be OEM, if I were to upgrade certain parts of the machine then it would ask me to activate again the OS, is this true or not??
 
On a small note, somewhere I read that, because the OS's is going to be OEM, if I were to upgrade certain parts of the machine then it would ask me to activate again the OS, is this true or not??

Hey DragonWoLf, once you have installed and activated Windows Vista, it is then bound to that system. You can change/upgrade any component, excluding the motherboard without invalidating your license. If you change your motherboard then you will have to purchase a new copy of Windows Vista otherwise you will be breaking the EULA.

As regards to activation:

You will have to re-activate your copy of Vista if you reformat your hard disk drive, a virus infects your computer and corrupts your activation status etc. (That is normal)

If you are not quite sure which version of Windows Vista to purchase, have a look here to compare all of the Vista versions with one another. :)
 
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your speccing him a PC and you dont even know what res hes playing at?
or what hes playing?

Chances are you wont be playing on a high spec enough monitor to even need SLI or crossfire.
Just because you have student loans doesnt mean you have to blow them on a pc, you might want to save it and buy... more games? :) go to a lan? i dont know, id rather go on holiday and buy a car to be honest :)
 
your speccing him a PC and you dont even know what res hes playing at?
or what hes playing?

Chances are you wont be playing on a high spec enough monitor to even need SLI or crossfire.
Just because you have student loans doesnt mean you have to blow them on a pc, you might want to save it and buy... more games? :) go to a lan? i dont know, id rather go on holiday and buy a car to be honest :)


on a SAMSUNG SM2232BW 20", so at a res of 1680x1050, nah already bought what I wanted, was a digital camera which I was after for ages and then next loan buy a True HD TV next term, to note I can get the tv and monitor with staff discount at my store as well as games later on :p, holiday cant do with all my work and car?...well failed 3 times already my certificate ran out so I got to do everything all over again so that can wait abit till about Feb/Mar times



EDIT: Fire Wizard thanks dude for that, was helpful!
 
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8800GT comes out Monday ;). Will be about £140 - £165 tops (I think) and will probably overclock very well. I'd hold off for a few days and see what happens with the new cards before making your purchase. No point in jumping the gun imho as it's only 2 days away.
 
Hey DragonWoLf, once you have installed and activated Windows Vista, it is then bound to that system. You can change/upgrade any component, excluding the motherboard without invalidating your license. If you change your motherboard then you will have to purchase a new copy of Windows Vista otherwise you will be breaking the EULA.

As regards to activation:

You will have to re-activate your copy of Vista if you reformat your hard disk drive, a virus infects your computer and corrupts your activation status etc. (That is normal)

If you are not quite sure which version of Windows Vista to purchase, have a look here to compare all of the Vista verions with one another. :)

i dont understand the mobo part?? if u buy a new mobo u have to buy Vista again ??
 
i dont understand the mobo part?? if u buy a new mobo u have to buy Vista again ??

Hey Haze, with Windows Vista OEM, once you have installed Vista it is then bound to that machine. You are not allowed to change your motherboard (This does not apply if your motherboard becomes faulty) or move it from one machine to another. If you do so you will be breaking the EULA.

Now if you have Windows Vista Retail then you are allowed to install it on any machine but you must only have it installed one machine at a time.

That's the basis of it anyway. :)
 
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