[cheesepuff]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...Force+780i+SLI

i was guna go with the XFX, but i am not sure its using a copper heatsink for the north bridge. so i was kinds looking at the other ones with the distinct color of copper. but they don't seem to have as good of rating. i am very aware that the north bridge in particular can get very very hot, so i was hoping to get one that wont overheat in that area. I'M going to do some OC'ing, so i just wana make sure.

i was looking at this one in peticular

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131294

think i should redo the thermal compound with arctic silver 5 too?

[computeruler]

asus is a pretty good motherboard

[Blue Eagle]

unless you really want SLI in the near future, then dont get a 780i at all. Get one of the intel chipsets like the P35/X38. Much easier to overclock and much more stable

[cheesepuff]

thing is my next rig is guna do SLI.

[Blue Eagle]

Why? the 4850 and 4870's offer much better value for money. And you will only see much of a difference at high res's with either CF or SLI.

[cheesepuff]

the 4870's are a bit more powerfull, but the price is much much higher per card.
http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards....=564&card2=544#

you need to set the core to 700mhz on the 8800gt and the mem on 1000mhz to match the one im getting.

and i dont see how it would only help at hi res seeing that the 2nd card in SLI's Vram cant be used (in other words, only 1 cards memory can be used) and even then i play at huge res already. (1680x1050 + 1080p tv at once)

[Blue Eagle]

Lol, you cant just take an Nvidia card and put it beside an Ati at the same clock and expect it to be the same. I could just say that the 8800GT has 128 shaders so the 4870, with 800 shaders is going to be 4.25x faster (800/128=4.25), but it isnt. But what i can say is go and look at some benchmark score (real world benches) and the 4870 will keep up with 9800 GX2's easily and will leave the 8800GT for dead. And of course there is the 4850 if you are at he end of your budget, it is still faster than a 9800GTX

[cheesepuff]

im not dissagreeing with you here. but from what i see price to preformace wise, the 8800GT looks to be what i want. screw the 9xxx seriese. they a joke. and 1 other thing that bothers me with the ATI cards are that the use 2 slots cuz of the fan. I kind of need it to be a 1 slot card cuz of the other components i am putting in there. they wont fit if the ATI card is in there.

[Blue Eagle]

Firstly, the 4850 has a single slot cooler so that is not a problem

Also have a look at this review: http://www.overclockersclub.com/revi...pphire_hd4850/
For example, in the bioshock bench, at 1650x1080 (the res i use) the GT got 67fps, but the 4850 got 98fps, and the OC version got 113fps

Also going by the prices on scan, the 8800GT is £110, and the 4850 £130, so the value for money really lies with the Ait card

[cheesepuff]

interesting...dispite my bad past with ATI i might just give it another shot. Give me a moment to do some research