Video Cards?

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InsaneVr6

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There is no rush on what I am doing and there is no budget.
(MAIN QUESTION AT BOTTOM OF POST)

In the near future I will slowly begin building a computer with the best of the best in it for gaming / media purposes. Though I do not know the exact parts I will be using, I have an idea but I need some more information. Unless Windows 7 comes out and it proves to be a better OS than Vista, I will be installing Vista 64bit on an Intel Quad Core processor. I will be filling my RAM slots (depending on the mobo) to the max with the biggest DDR2 (or DDR3 whichever proves to be more efficient) sticks I can find. I think I will worry about my power supply after I know everything that is going into my rig. I have an optical drive and am contemplating a Blu-Ray counterpartto go with it. I also have a 250GB and 500GB hardrive waiting to go in. The case doesn't matter to me too much as long as it fits what I need. I will also be looking into watercooling vs aircooling.

One of, if not the most, important part about any gaming rig is a great video card. Well I was wondering what the benefits were of a quad video card setup? Would I get better video performace or would it just be good for running multiple monitors and a waste of money. Yes I said money is not an option but I mean I am not on a budget because I am bulding this over a long period of time which is also moslty why i haven't picked specific parts yet. Sorry if this is long but I will try and resolve any confusion generated from this.

So quad video cards for gaming?
 
Quad-Crossfire\SLI might look cool, but real-world benefits are very little, since the performance increase in going from one GPU to two of them is 50% at best, and most of the time, it is around 20-40%. In some cases, two GPUs may actually perform no better than one. So quad-GPUs are more of a gimmick and even for multi-monitor support, two single-GPU video cards are a better choice.

As for the rest of your system, look at an X58 motherboard paired with a Core i7 CPU and a good-quality Corsair XMS2\Crucial Ballistix\OCZ Reaper DDR3 kit. For a good PSU, look at the 750W and above units from PC Power & Cooling, Corsair and Silverstone.
 
Sounds good so far. Quad GPU not so great unless its multi-monitor. Thats what I figured but I assumed I would ask before I buy three extra video cards I wouldn't really need. I did not know about the dual GPU however, which I think is what I will aim for. I also did some slight research on the x58 mobo. Looks pretty sick!
 
Just FYI, although the chipset only supports Crossfire officially, there will be motherboards based on it that will support SLI and Crossfire. So you might want to wait for those to release first.
 
I will probobly wait for the SLI and Crossfire support. Any tips on a good case that will fit all this stuff haha? I will also be putting blue LED's/LED fans throughout the case for some effect.
 
For mid-tower cases, the Antec Nine Hundred and Cooler Master Centurion are great picks.

For full-tower cases, Thermaltake's Armor series, Cooler Master's Cosmos and Stacker series and Antec's Twelve Hundred are fantastic choices. I personally own a Stacker case and love the space and cooling options in it. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone.
 
Thanks. I would think that a full tower would be my best option due to all the things I want to put in the system. I also like having alot of room so things don't get hot or cramped. I want to have one with a side opeing door aswell because that would be alot easier for me to tinker with things than unscrewing the back..

The thermaltake armor series and Antec1200 doesn't look to appealing to me...not too fond about the front
I like the Stacker and the Cosmos cases however.

Or I could murder my Inspiron530 case and put everything in there =)
 
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