Gorgon

He's a 15 year old kid, not a terrorist mastermind. Jeez.

I would probably be jumping for joy, if I were 13 years old.

To clarify I should say that the 'C0' stepping matches what I found on intel (some of it) and there is no listing on 'E0' which might be an oddball not produced in any great number. This is promising as far as I can see.

I like the MSI because it supports DDR 3 SD ram, which is what I want if I'm to salvage it later.

So i'm on Intel and according to them 'E0' is not a valid stepping. Which is odd. http://processorfinder.intel.com/List.aspx...c=&OrdCode= However, armed with the local retailers product number, I find that it matches what Intel calls the 'Box order nr'. Well one of them, because of course there is two, and the other one doesn't match mine from the retrailer Retailers supplied product nr BX80570E8400 On intel : Box Order Code: BXC80570E8400 BX80570E8400

Yeah, but I don't want to buy a combo thats not verified to work.

Ok so I looked at this MSI, remember it's not expected to last through an upgrade so I might as well save where I can. Going with an x38 rather than a x48 chipset. http://global.msi.eu/index.php?func=prodcp...p;cat3_no=#menu This is all the cpu info I have for the one i'm looking at : Core 2 Duo E8400 3 GHz / Socket 775 / 1333 MHz / 6 MB L2 / 72.4

yeah typo. Anyway looks nice

Also, will any chipset that is on the crossfire ready list from ATI accept the cards. Is there some special feature or designation in PCI express that must be present. I ask because the Radeons are called PCI-E-A series and the Nvidia cards PCI-E-N series - but I'm having trouble finding that differentiation when I'm looking at board they just list the number of PCI E and PCI 32 slots. Is the PCI E slot just where the graphics card goes ?

Look at the sound chart, the numbers for 4800 and 4870 are about the same

Silly question. 64 bit is processor dependent right, are the core 2 duos 64 bit ?

Any recommendations on a PS capable of lasting to a Nehalem upgrade and whatever sli/crossfire I decide on. It means the world for stability so its not worth cheapskating on a ps.

The cheapest 'extreme' is 5 times as much as the deal I can get on the e8400. So I think my money is better off in the bank until Nehalem becomes price viable. The core 2 quads are all rather low on mhz. The highest I can find locally doesn't even hit 3 ghz, and with quad core support not that prevalent I think the right move is to hold out. In this view I think it's worth getting a board I'm not going to be using for more than a year or two. The only gripe I have with the wonderfully cheap yet extremely effective crossfire 4850 is the noise and heat. I would love to see a version with proper cooling. The 4870 should be out in a matter of days, maybe I should see what they sell it for before ordering anything. I would like to have more than 512mb of video ram too.

This thread made my heart skip a beat, bastards. Then I realised it wasn't Total War, nothing to see here, move along.

And this review thinks differently http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/1481/12/s...fire/index.html

Unfortunately they have been described as noisy as well under full load. Thats a serious drawback if you are thinking low noise for the cpu and case fans.

I am getting quite interested in the 4850 in crossfire configuration, but I have a few questions. The only local one I could find was 512 mb, is that enough. And is my CPU going to drag it down ?

It would be nice to have ram that I had some assurance could go in a Nehalem board, thinking long term. Can't buy a board for one yet obviously, so maybe not much point in getting bells and whistles for one that will be chucked out down the line. The e8400 is cheap. around 1000 DK. Totally acceptable if that last just a few years. It reads: Core 2 Duo 3 GHz / Socket 775 / 1333 MHz / 6 MB L2 / 72.4

Well the chip is out, where can I read benchmarks and comparisons. I usually go to Tom's Hardware Guide, but it's got nothing on it.

Man this is confusing. You really have to read the fine print when looking at prices. Nvidia's naming policy ensures only the specially initiated understrands anything from either letters or numbers. Where are we with new releases with all this smoke and mirrors stuff, prices dropped massively after ATI put their stake back in the market, I wouldn't want to buy just before the price drops again, and at the same time I want something that isn't useless in a few years. What about CPUs. Is quad core necessary ?. If I'm going with a high end card I can't be crippled with an insufficient processor. I understand It's Intel rather than AMD these days ?

I wonder how the priest would react to some vintage slayer.

Or perhaps not, seeing as how my old box is AGP, so the only thing I could possibly salvage is the case and the drives. I have been reading up over at Tom's Hardware Guide to get current before I decide anything. So far what I have come up with is that I want a good value for money CPU that will deliver enough juice not to hamper the purchase of a a high end graphics card ready for SLI, I could then get the other card when I have the money. I remember hearing that windows could not make use of more than 2 or was it 4 gigs of ram. Well, surely other programs can, no ?. I'm kinda toying with the idea of 8 gigs of system ram because I like to use art programs, and much of their smooth operation depends on keeping huge files open while you work on them. I have no thoughts on boards, but everything other than CPU, Ram, PS and GFX Card is on a minimum budget. Don't care about sound cards or optical storage, a 500 gig standard HD is pretty cheap these days, and solid state drives aren't quite there yet. If you had to build something like that yourself, what would be good value ?. I'm even open to pre-assembled rigs, friend of mine said certain companies are getting so competitive it might not even be worth the hassle putting it together yourself.

This is what happens when the govt mandates you install a secret torture chamber in every home. Remember the Belgian child rape/ torture cases. Same deal with mandatory bomb shelters. Some rule dating back to cold war concerns. Anyway the father should be institutionalised for the rest of his natural life. So the children won't have to worry about seeing him again.

yawn

Missed the rope 3 times,gave up. I guess the Bossman will be living happily ever after in his hall of square tile. A result, I'd say.