General Questions on Graphics, Mobo Issues

[jsailorca2002]

Hi everyone. I have a few questions regarding building a desktop (something which I have not done in a LOOONG time.)

I am thinking about building a desktop to be compatible with the next generation of C2D (Wolfdale) processor as well as for the next generation HDTV viewing.

1) What kind of video card should I be looking into for high-def? (I know this is a stupid question but I just don’t know the requirement.

2) Is HD viewing as intensive as say gaming requirement? Is there a requirement as to the specific type of GPU and memory size which are required for adequate viewing of the highest HDTV resolution right now?

3) What brand (ATI or Nvidia) would you recommend for HDTV or light gaming? I am leaning towards Nvidia here but aren’t they about the same? I am curious.

I know one of the most important issues in building a desktop is the motherboard.
I am leaning towards the P35 or X38 ASUS and Gigabyte motherboards because both P35 and X38 supports the next generation of C2D. But I also want dual option for SLI-ready motherboards which are offered only for motherboards with MCP from Nvidia. So I am at a lost here.

4) Can one choose P35 or X38 motherboards and still have this dual option (parallel??) for graphic cards in PCI-16x? Or is this applicable only to motherboard with SLI only? Does ATI offer dual-option (parallel??) of two graphic cards?

5) Now, if I were to choose only SLI-ready motherboards which one would I know support the next generation of C2D??

I am hoping someone can resolve some of my confusion here.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Tedster]

For a good review and comparison of graphics cards go to tomshardware.com Read their reviews. Also post graphics questions in the audio/visual forum.

 

[jsailorca2002]

Thanks Tedster.

I will look into it more.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

P35 and X38 motherboards offer Crossfire capability, which is ATI's version of SLI that only works with (surprise, surprise) ATI cards. Also, if you want a graphic card that can decode HD and run games at medium-high settings, then get a Radeon HD 2600XT. If you get a P35 or X38 based board, you can probably throw in another for better performance if you need it. As far as good gaming performance and HD viewing goes, you can't get both, since the top-end ATI and NVIDIA cards don't decode HD video.