New build gaming pc. Did I do it right?

[A-Bomb]

I had a custom built pc made for me about a month-month and a half ago. I love it. It is so nice to have a hardcore gaming pc, something which I have always wanted, and something I have worked very hard to pay for. Let me break down the specs.

ViewSonic 19" Flat LCD with 4ms response
Antec P180 case
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4400+ Processor
ASUS A8N - SLI Deluxe
1 GB 433MHz RAM
(2) PNY 256 MB GeForce 6800 GT SLI enabled
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Audio
Creative Inspire T7700 8-Speaker System
160 GB HDD SATA RAID 0
Vantec Stealth 520-Watt ATX Power Supply
Samsung TS-H552U DVD+RW / DVD-RW / DVD+R DL

Let me say once again how much I love this rig. I seriously kiss it once a week. It is my prize possession. I know I'm sick, but I don't care.

My questions is this... I know I don't have the absolute best computer out there. But I want to make sure I have close to that. Most important to me are the GPU's and the CPU. I have been reading a lot lately about GPU's, and I have heard that they are coming out with one that is SLI on one card instead of 2. So does that mean I can get 2 -Single Dual cards, for a total of 4 GPU's??? LOL! That would be sweet! Also, with the money I spent on the 2 6800 GT's, would I have been better off with just 1 - 7800 GTX KO? If so, why? Aren't 2 - 6800 GT's way better then any 1 card on the market today? If not, why? Then there is the processor. The gentleman who built this for me said that I was way better off with my particular processor for gaming purposes. He said it was dual core, and the that the AMD FX 57 was not (I had heard the FX 57 was the absolute best out there, but he said no...) Also, I would like to know if I have made a good decision with regard to the ability to upgrade this system. I plan to sell the 2 - 6800 GT's within 6 months to get the newest and best, and probably sell my processor for something better as well. Are the 939 Socket motherboards new or is there something better out now or in the future? This particular motherboard only allows for DDR at a max of 433 MHz. Isn't that low? I am looking to have the best computer around, and I know I don't have that now, so I am looking to find out what I would need to make it so. But my biggest question for right now is... are 2 - 6800 GT's better than 1 - 7800 GTX KO?

 

[DonNagual]

You have an awesome system, pretty much at the top, no worries there. Probably your biggest hangup at the moment is your ram, actually. Up that to 2gb and you'll be flying. You'll want two sticks of 1Gb, not 4 sticks of 512, and you should look at getting a high performance make if you really are wanting to get performance.

What make is that ram you have now? Do you know what the timings are set at?

As for your CPU, not many games are using dual core at the moment (in fact, are there any?). The single core CPUs in general are performing better gamewise with their higher clockrates. BUT, hopefully the games that start coming out now will start taking advantage of dual core technology.

I am curious about the 433Mhz memory. I thought that 400mhz was the max. Need someone with more knowledge than I have to answer that.

As for your future upgrade options, at the moment the sky is your limit. Socket 939 is still the best for AMD, and PCI-e is still the best for graphics. That board should keep you at the top of the heap for a while to come.

Finally, just a warning for you (I have the same mobo). Your chipset fan may fail on you sometime in the near future. If you hear a freakishly loud noise all of the sudden, that's what it is.

Actually, take a look at your motherboard now. Is the chipset fan mounted parallel to the motherboard? I.e., square? (as opposed to being diagonally installed - a diamond shape)? The square mounted fan is the older type, and have a high percent chance of dying. Easily replaced, just a pain in the.....

 

[pkroks]

almost exactly like my system.
my system runs beautifully! Haven't had any problems with it yet!

Now--- No, 2 6800GTs do not beat a 7800GTX KO. 2x 6800Ultras have been know to lose to just a 7800GTX...
The socket 939 is new, but in december AMD plan to release a new socket 940.. socket 939 will still be around for at least another 6months if not a year. you won't need to upgrade that too soon.
If your chipset fan has a fan speed of about 5000rpm then there should be no problem.. the ones that have failed have been known to spin at a wopping 8000rpm or there abouts..
And from what i understand, i think it is possible to have 2 graphics cards that both have dual core (thereby effectively meaning 4 graphics processors).. anyone can correct me on that..

 

[DonNagual]

Good point on the chipset fan. Mine was hovering at about 8,000 rpms until the day the noises started. My new one now is at 6,000 idle temps.

 

[vnf4ultra]

The socket 939 is new, but in december AMD plan to release a new socket 940.. socket 939 will still be around for at least another 6months if not a year. you won't need to upgrade that too soon.

940's been out for a while, it's more server oriented I think. The new socket is M2(which may have 940 pins, I don't know).

 

[pkroks]

oh, thanks for the correction..

 

[vnf4ultra]

Actually you were kinda right, apparantly the new m2 socket does have 940 pins, but since 940 has already been taken by the socket 940 opterons, they came up with "m2".

 

[Didou]

i think it is possible to have 2 graphics cards that both have dual core (thereby effectively meaning 4 graphics processors).. anyone can correct me on that..

That's not (yet) possible.