1. SPS Accounts:
    Do you find yourself coming back time after time? Do you appreciate the ongoing hard work to keep this community focused and successful in its mission? Please consider supporting us by upgrading to an SPS Account. Besides the warm and fuzzy feeling that comes from supporting a good cause, you'll also get a significant number of ever-expanding perks and benefits on the site and the forums. Click here to find out more.
    Dismiss Notice
Dismiss Notice
You are currently viewing Boards o' Magick as a guest, but you can register an account here. Registration is fast, easy and free. Once registered you will have access to search the forums, create and respond to threads, PM other members, upload screenshots and access many other features unavailable to guests.

BoM cultivates a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. We have been aiming for quality over quantity with our forums from their inception, and believe that this distinction is truly tangible and valued by our members. We'd love to have you join us today!

(If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you've forgotten your username or password, click here.)

Core 2 Duo and SLI

Discussion in 'Techno-Magic' started by Faraaz, Nov 4, 2006.

  1. Faraaz Gems: 26/31
    Latest gem: Diamond


    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2003
    Messages:
    2,403
    Likes Received:
    0
    Yeah...but I could render a Pixar movie on that rig, couldn't I?? Real-life sucks... :( Why do these gfx cards have to cost money??

    Ontopic: Guys, I've had a look at the prices for E6300, E6400 and E6600 Core 2 Duo CPUs retailing in India at the moment and these are their respective prices:

    E6300 C2D 1.86 GHz - 195.121 USD
    E6400 C2D 2.13 GHz - 260.454 USD
    E6600 C2D 2.40 GHz - 361.512 USD

    I've also had a look at the prices for RAM and I've come up with these:

    1 GB DDR RAM 400 Mhz - 134.726 USD
    1 GB DDR2 533 MHz - 123.499 USD
    1 GB DDR2 677 MHz RAM - 163.916 USD

    I'm tempted to go with the cheaper DDR2 533 MHz option...if only to save $80 (2 GB remember?) but I dunno...is it worth spending an extra 80$ to get that 140 MHz boost to RAM speed? And I'm guessing I should be buying DDR2 RAM??

    Okay, assuming I go with the E6600 and DDR2 533 MHz option, that's 690 dollars or so already...I still need to get a motherboard, HDD, Optical drive, power supply, cabinet and graphics card...

    The problem with the dealer I'm getting these parts from is that the best graphics card he stocks is the ASUS - 256 MB GEFORCE FX 6600...not too good I know. I'll probably pick up the graphics card later whenever the GeForce 8800 comes out in India but for now, I'd appreciate it if you could comment on the stuff I have mentioned so far.

    Also, can you tell me what motherboard type I should be looking at to go with my CPU? Only..its all abbreviations and I have no idea what they mean so I'm just a bit dazed looking at their options online...

    [ November 10, 2006, 00:51: Message edited by: Faraaz ]
     
  2. Blackthorne TA

    Blackthorne TA Master in his Own Mind Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

    Joined:
    Oct 19, 2000
    Messages:
    10,417
    Media:
    40
    Likes Received:
    233
    Gender:
    Male
    Yes, you must buy DDR2 RAM, and from the benchmarks I've seen, DDR2 533 is about the same and in some cases better than DDR2 667 for the Core 2 Duo (because the FSB is 1066 MHz).

    The newest Intel chipset for the Core2 Duo is the P965, but they don't support SLI, so if that's important to you , you'd need to get a NVidia chipset-based motherboard. The socket is LGA775.
     
  3. Faraaz Gems: 26/31
    Latest gem: Diamond


    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2003
    Messages:
    2,403
    Likes Received:
    0
    Okay, the maximum power unit these guys stock is a 500 W SMPS unit. Is this enough to run an SLI setup with a Core 2 Duo?? I'm looking at worst case scenario here.

    The test system for the GeForce 8800 was running a 750 W SMPS...but then again, they had 4 GB DDR2 RAM... :rolleyes:

    Okay, the motherboard options for C2D in stock are as follows:

    * ASUS P5LD2 - VM SE

    ASUS P5LD2 - VM Intel 945G Chipset Socket 775 MicroATX Motherboard / Integrated Graphics / PCI - Express Sloat / 1066 MHz FSB / 533-667 DDR2 / SATA / 10/100/1000 LAN / 6 Channel Audio - (For Pentium IV, Pentium D and Core 2 Duo Processors - 3 Years Limited Warranty)
    Price : 109.111 USD

    * INTEL DG965 RY

    Intel DG965RY Socket 775 MicroATX Motherboard / Integrated Graphics / 1066 MHz FSB / 800-667-533 DDR2 / SATA / 10/100/1000 LAN / IEEE 1394a / Audio - (For Pentium D and Core 2 Duo Processors - 3 Years Limited Warranty)
    Price : 148.481 USD

    I have no idea what half of all that jargon means. Furthermore, IIRC Micro-ATX is a smaller sized cabinet and motherboard right?? Will this be adequate to house a possible SLI set up?? And how do I find out how many PCI-E slots these things have?
     
  4. Blackthorne TA

    Blackthorne TA Master in his Own Mind Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

    Joined:
    Oct 19, 2000
    Messages:
    10,417
    Media:
    40
    Likes Received:
    233
    Gender:
    Male
    From the specs I've seen, you need a 500 W power supply minimum for one 8800. It is the processor and video card(s) that will require the most power.

    Ideally, neither of those motherboards are what you want, but they should do if that's all you have to choose from.

    Both of them are Intel chipsets, so no SLI. They both have the onboard graphics chipset too which you don't want. They're microATX so they don't have many expansion slots (maybe doesn't matter), and the ASUS board has the older Intel 945 chipset.
     
  5. Faraaz Gems: 26/31
    Latest gem: Diamond


    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2003
    Messages:
    2,403
    Likes Received:
    0
    Could you recommend something for me then?? If I know exactly what I want, I can have my dealer source them for me, albeit with a slight premium. Its just that I have no idea about chipsets and stuff when it comes to mobos so I was just trying to choose from what he has already.

    Again, your assistance is much appreciated BTA! :)
     
  6. Blackthorne TA

    Blackthorne TA Master in his Own Mind Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

    Joined:
    Oct 19, 2000
    Messages:
    10,417
    Media:
    40
    Likes Received:
    233
    Gender:
    Male
    Well, somebody else may want to chime in since you want SLI and I never looked at NVidia chipset motherboards, but here are a couple that look good:

    Asus P5N32-SLI Premium/WiFi-AP is a full featured board that includes two PCIe x16 slots for SLI, dual gigabit LAN, SATA and even a wireless access point. NVidia nForce 590 SLI chipset.

    EVGA 122-CK-NF68 is one of the first boards with the new NVidia nForce 680i SLI chipsets. Two PCIe x16 slots for SLI, dual gigabit LAN and SATA.

    Asus has a good reputation, I'm not sure about EVGA and motherboards.
     
  7. Faraaz Gems: 26/31
    Latest gem: Diamond


    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2003
    Messages:
    2,403
    Likes Received:
    0
    Hmm...P5N32 looks alright...not too expensive either. Nice...now if only I could find out how much the G80 retails for... :hahaerr:
     
Sorcerer's Place is a project run entirely by fans and for fans. Maintaining Sorcerer's Place and a stable environment for all our hosted sites requires a substantial amount of our time and funds on a regular basis, so please consider supporting us to keep the site up & running smoothly. Thank you!

Sorcerers.net is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products on amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.