I'm buying/building a new computer, and after reading many of these threads, I'm still a bit confused. If I run this motherboard: "Asus M2N SLI NVIDIA nForce 560 SLI MCP Chipset DDR2/800 SATA RAID PCI-Express MBoard" Would I be better off with an NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS 512MB, or two 8500's in SLI? The games that I would be playing are Conan and Warhammer online. I don't play too many FPS type games, and I do have a slightly tight budget. Also if I only run one video card, what would my motherboard options be. Thanks in advance.

1st of all, the 8500GT is a weak, low end card. A single 8600GTS is better than 2x 8500GT.

2nd, what components DO you have so far? Are you saying you don't have a board yet? What about a CPU, RAM, power supply?

I have the Motherboard, (unopened), 2 gigs of Ram, 650w PSU, and will be using either the AMD Athlon™ X2 5400 Dual-Core CPU, or a AMD Athlon™ X2 6000+ Dual-Core CPU. The 8800 cards are a bit out of reach for me still, but Im using a nVidia 5400 Ultra from 4 years ago. If I only go with one vid card, should I still keep the SLI board?

Any Input?

Personally, I'm not a fan of SLi or Crossfire. There's almost always a single card that will beat a pair, unless you're pairing up two high end cards. But if you do that, you're usually spending big bucks. Two cards use twice as much power so you need a really good PSU. Simply saying that it's 650W doesn't mean a hell of a lot...the amperage specs are what's important, plus it should be a reputable name brand unit, not a generic cheapo.

I wouldn't get either of those CPUs, especially not the X2 6000+. It's a 125W power hog. You'd be better off getting the X2 5000+ Black Edition (65W) for about $90 & overclocking the crap out of it.

There's nothing wrong with getting an SLi board. Nothing says you have to use two cards. You could even get a single ATI Radeon card if you wanted to. I would have suggested a board with the 570 SLi chipset though. Overall performance is similar, but the 570 has a few added features. Here's one possibility:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...

Here's a table of the 500 series chipsets:

http://www.nvidia.com/page/nforce5_...

I have no idea how to overclock a CPU, and the power supply isn't handy and I don't have the specs, but its a CoolerMaster Unit 600 Watts eXtreme Power - SLI Supports.

If I use the MOBO above, and the GeForce 8600 GTS 512MB card...what CPU would you use w/o overclocking? Don't mean to be a pain here, just wanting to get this done. I was even looking at one on Cyberpower for around $800, which is about my limit with this thing.

This is the one I built on Cyberpower earlier...it does have the 600w PSU listed above.

CASE: Hot !!! Apevia X-Telstar Junior 420W Case w/ Temp Display and Fan Control (G Type Blue Color with Side-Window)
CPU: AMD Athlon™ X2 5000+ Black Edition Dual-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
MOTHERBOARD: Asus M2N SLI NVIDIA nForce 560 SLI MCP Chipset DDR2/800 SATA RAID PCI-Express MBoard w/GbLAN, IEEE1394, USB2.0, &7.1Audio
MEMORY: (Req.DDR2 MainBoard)2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)
VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS 512MB 16X PCI Express (EVGA Powered by NVIDIA)
VIDEO CARD 2: NONE
LCD Monitor: NONE
HARD DRIVE: Single Hard Drive (320GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
Data Hard Drive: NONE
Optical Drive: (Special Price) 20X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (BLACK COLOR)
Optical Drive 2: 16X DVD ROM (BLACK COLOR)
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

The thing about the 5000+ Black Edition is that it's "unlocked", meaning that you can either lower or raise the multiplier. With a "normal" X2 CPU, the multi can only be lowered.

The 5000+ runs at 2.6GHz (13 x 200MHz) by default. If you were to simply raise the multiplier from 13x to 14x, you would essentially have created a 5400+...increase it to 15x & you'd have a 6000+. The only other thing that you *might* have to do is raise the CPU voltage a little bit.

http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/H...

The CoolerMaster PSU is OK, but it's not great. You'd be better off getting a unit with a single +12v rail with high amperage rather than a unit with multiple +12v rails at 18A each. Like this 650W Corsair with 52A:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...

With the money you save by getting the cheaper 5000+ CPU, you could invest in a better video card. Possibly a 9600GT?

Thanks for the CPU information, I'll use that for sure. The 8600GTS video card, and the 570SLi chipset board. Actually will save a couple dollars this way to boot. Any other suggestions before I close up for the night? I'm planning on going to Tigerdirect in the AM, so any last minute info will be appreciated.

Actually doing the math as we speak....was typing when you posted your last.

Actually I may be able to swing the GeForce 9600 GT 512MB, but thats gonna be pushing it around the house. So I guess the question two posts up....including this Vid card, is hows it looking?

Why TigerDirect?? Check Newegg.com

Checking both, but there is a Tigerdirect near where I live.

"there is a Tigerdirect near where I live"

Which means you'll have to pay tax if you shop there.

Here's a few memory deals from Fry's Outpost. Three choices for 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2-800 for just $20 after rebate:

http://shop1.outpost.com/product/55...

http://shop1.outpost.com/product/49...

http://shop1.outpost.com/product/52...

Finally placed my order, after looking online, and with the information I recieved here this is the setup I finally decided on.

ASUS EN9600GT silent/HTDI/512M GeForce 9600GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Black Edition Processor

GIGABYTE GA-M57SLI-S4 AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI

And 4 Gigs of Crucial 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

Hope this all works out!!

Thanks for the info Jam

Looks good. Post back & let us know how it goes....

"And that's the fishing line, because Sharkboy said so!"