asus mb

[wildman2]

Is the Asus Blitz Extreme a good MB?

[wildman2]

I bought it anyhow.

[ZAK]

Hi, so far I I experienced have is this a Good Mainboard for Gamer and Overclocker. The Characteristics of this Board is the Passiv Cipset Colling with Water, and the Speziel PCI Express Soundcard and one special PCI-Express Controller (Crosslinx)
The Audio-Codec is not on the Mainboard, the Soundcard is one SupremeFX II Soundcard with the ADI 1988B HD-Audio Codec http://au-ja.de/bilder/2008/asusblitzextreme-tn13.jpg The Sondcard is Only with ASUS Mainboards Compatible, do not with Anohter Boards
Here more Pictures: http://au-ja.de/asusblitzextreme-fotos.phtml?fnummer=1

PS: I find the Extern Soundcard good, is this on Board and Later Defect, is this not good. By this Board can you one New Soundcard by ASUS Order and the Defect change.

wfg :waving.gif:
ZAK

[Bluetiereign]

How did I not see this post ? Sorry Wildman. If that board is anything like the other ASUS boards I've owned, you will be pleased. Very pleased. What are you building ?

[wildman2]

quad core 3.0 ghz ddr3 2000 crossfired 4870 in a Antec Titan pedestal server case with multiple sata 3.0 hd's in raid "0" on an Areaca raid card. w/2seagate 500gig 32mb cache storage drives Antec or Corsair 1000 watt ps.Trying to squeeze a couple of ssd's maybe (will see how that go's)To top it off a lg 24in monitor. Dual core(swifttec) rad + mcp655 pump to cool the cpu and the north bridge.
I plan on taking over the world. Wanna watch?
Thats whats planned anyhoo.Already have the MB, sata HD (raid ones) tubing for the water cooling 2 19in monitors also.
I'll be running 3monitors when not in crossfire mode.19in 24in and 19 in (for the 3d stuff)
It will be a monster of a pc for sure may seee just how far it will over clock hehehe.

[Charger]

When you kick that thing up, my lights are gonna dim... :thumb:

[wildman2]

Good thing I only live 20 miles from a nuclear reactor hehehe.Think this power supply would be overkill http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817101033

[Bluetiereign]

So what is up with this build there Wildman ?

[RAB]

I'm working on a rebuild too. I've been running this P4 3.2 for over 5 years now.

CPU .......... Core2 Duo E8400 3.0 GHz@1333FSB 6 MB Cache
Motherboard .......... ASUS Maximus II Formula (delivered on tuesday)
Memory .......... Corsair XMS2 1066MHz (2x2GB Modules)
Video .......... EVGA 9800GTX+
Hard drive .......... samsung HD10 1TB SATA 32MB Buffer

Have everything here except the board. Can't wait to get it up and running.

[Charger]

Well since I myself have been planning an upgrade, just out of curiosity, everyone seems to go with Intel over AMD. I've always ran AMD basically for the price and the matter of opinion with people I know who have run both at one point or another, they tend to feel the AMD holds up better. I've had great luck with AMD.

My honest opinion is that either one is probably just as good as the other and not all computers run alike even if they have the exact same hardware in them.

Whats the general consensus on Intel vs AMD?

[Bluetiereign]

Right now, Intel is kicking AMD's rear end from one end of the boards to the other. They now have true quad cores and the memory controller on the chips. They have faster clock times and lower wattage.

I'm going Intel here shortly... and I've been using AMD for about 8 years now.

[RAB]

I figure the difference between AMD and Intel is about the same as comparing ATI to nVidia. At any given time one or the other will have the better chip. But to really tell the difference you would need to run all the bench mark programs they do in the tech articles. As long as you get something that is fits your needs then either brand will run good.

On a personal note though. I've always been an Intel man. It's good to see them back on top again.:spin:

[Charger]

Well with that I will probably rethink my choice and check the numbers a bit more before ordering components. Like Bluetiereign, I've been with AMD quite awhile now but maybe its time for a little change...we'll see how it goes.

[Bluetiereign]

Well, I broke down and bought an AMD Phenom 9950BE. I'm going to run a few benchmarks and post in the Rig Specs later... when I update in the thread.

I wonder how Wildman's build went.. haven't heard from him.

[Charger]

Been pricing out some stuff for a new upgrade and I'm looking for opinions on my selection. You have to remember my choices are based on a budget. I'm still researching and determining any issues I might run into haveing this combination. As I said this is about being able to put together a decent upgrade and stay within the ammount I can spend, not really getting the best possible stuff, believe me I am very jealious of some of the specs I'm hearing here from some of you guys.

I know a few people who have similar systems as like what I'm trying to get and they can run just about anything with out problems or muss. I'm researching all the possibility's before actually buying, but I'm looking to get this together in the next week.

CPU-AMD Athlon 3.1GHz AM2 Dual-Core
Motherboard-AMD AM2 Nvidia GeForce Micro ATX
Graphics Card-EVGA 512MB GeForce 8800GTS
Mem-4GB Dual

I noticed that this Micro board only has one IDE port so I'm planning to replace my IDE Hard Drives with SATA and keeping my ROMs on IDE. I can buy a fairly large HD for a decent price and still fits into my budget perfectly.

My present PS is 400W but I'm not sure this will be ok for my choice, any input on this?

[wildman2]

sounds good but that 400 watt ps may be a bit under powered.Who makes the power supply?
My build didn't go exactly as planned had to cut way back due to the automotive industry's problems.What I've come up with screams non the less.
e5200 2.5ghz dual core oc to 3.13
2gig a data 1333 ram
200 gig wd hd
9600 gt 512 ram gpu overclocked
get about 10500 on 3dmark 06 without oc the cpu.Not bad for under $300.00 huh.
will be slowly getting the quad and other stuff as money permits.

[Bluetiereign]

Charger...

I think you are 'budgeting' yourself short. Spend a little extra and go Quad. The motherboards are inexpensive - and compatible with the phenom II - you can then move to the phenom II when you are ready. DDR2 sticks for these boards are very inexpensive - 4 gigs only cost $60.

Do yourself a favor - and get an PCI-E 2.0 SLI capable motherboard. This way, if you get the urge to get a second card - you will be ready.

Also... I would skip the 8000 series for the video card. I had 2 of them in SLI on my other machine - and they they just don't have the uuumph you need to enjoy some games - even with low/medium settings. At the least - go to a 9800. After looking a RAB's 3dMark06 scores... I don't think you could go wrong.

As for the power... move it to a Modular 500-700W that is 80 Plus Certified. 700W if you think you think you think you might go SLI.

Just my 2 cents.

[Charger]

I originally looked at PCI-E 2.0 SLI capable motherboard with a 9800 - SLI for that reason if I eventually could add another card. Its a little out side my range right now since I'm trying to add a PS and HD and sound card to the mix.

Vince also suggested I go SLI but I wasn't sure this would be the smart way to go because of my budget. I will re-configure and see what I can come up with.

And yes I value your opinion, thats why I post my intentions. :thumb:

[Charger]

Well I've ordered my parts, they should be here on Wednesday. I went with SLI configuration, 9800GTX with AMD Athlon 64 3.1GHz Dual-Core and 4Gigs of Mem to start. Ordered a 600Watt PS and SATA HD. Can't wait to get this thing together and play some games on it.

[RAB]

Sounds good. Let us know how it works out for you.

[GarretJax]

Lots of good info in this thread!! Going to be building a couple machines for the wife and I here shortly......need to be able to run the current shooters out there.......last build was about 4 years ago.......going to build from scratch...would like to throw out a couple questions if I may

Is it unrealistic to think 5 bills apiece will do it (guts only, single vid, have OS)
should the board be upgradable or just fit the CPU I choose
ddr2 or ddr3....any difference besides price...... ddr2 really low now!
is 700W enough to run dual vids if I choose to later
where should the most money be spent?

Im no guru with this stuff, though I have a brother thats a tech but not much of a gamer.....

I do most of my shopping at newegg......seems reasonable, is there a better place for the bucks?

any input would be appreciated gents.......thanks!:waving.gif:

[RAB]

Is it unrealistic to think 5 bills apiece will do it (guts only, single vid, have OS)
I'd say yes you could build something for 500 to play the current games. But that would leave you needing to upgrade in the near future for the next round of games coming out. Personally when I build a system I try to go for the best I can get. Cost a little more at first but keeps you from having to spend more money later to be able to play newer games. My rebuild cost me a little over 1000. That was everything new except the case and DVD drive.

should the board be upgradable or just fit the CPU I choose
I prefer a board thats expandable. I went with a dual core intel board. But do have the option to upgrade to a quad core in the future. Budget permitting. I find alot of people tend to go with lower cost boards to save money. As I did on the first couple builds I did. But when you think about it, Your motherboard is what puts all your parts together. You can have the best CPU, video card and ram. But if your board won't utalize them to the fullest your not really getting your monies worth out of them.

ddr2 or ddr3....any difference besides price...... ddr2 really low now!
DDR3 has a higher clock speed. Also along with the higher price for the DDR3 ram there is also the higher price for the board that will support it. When I was building mine the difference was about $100 between the boards. Would have liked to have gone with DDR3 myself but unfortunately the budget didn't allow for it. Although I am very happy with the performance I'm getting out of the DDR2.

is 700W enough to run dual vids if I choose to later
Yes. 700 watts will run dual video cards. If you go with an Nvida board I would suggest the 780i chipset. (Not an XFX or EVGA board though. There are issues with them.) The 780i chipset will allow you to run 3 video cards if you wish. A tri-sli set up requires a 1000 watt power supply with three rails though.

where should the most money be spent?
That's really a hard question to answer. The obvious choice would be video card. But then again all the other parts are equalling important, in my opinion anyway.

Another thing to consider when building a new rig. When you pick your CPU. Try to pick the RAM with a clock speed as close to the front side bus speed as you can get. That eliminates or reduces any bottlneck while the CPU utilizes the ram.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask. Will be glad to help where I can.

[GarretJax]

Wow....thanks RAB:thumb: thought 5 bills would put me just ahead of the curve but does'nt sound promising......Im with you on the board being more adaptable, my Bro's answer was to ask me "when was the last time you upgraded your cpu without changing out the board and case" my answer was "well if my board was upgradable I would'nt have too!" hehe!

anyway it looks like I'll have to start rethinking things a bit... even if it means a bit more out of the wallet.... the main purpose of this build is to play the newer games and as you mentioned going for the best I can get right now may be better in the long run....If in fact you can say there is actually a long run when dealing with PC's:brutal173.gif:

really do appreciate your opinion on this RAB....thanks:bouncy:

[Charger]

I've had my new computer running for a few days now, haven't done any benchmark on it yet, till I have all the drvers and such in. I have to say that I'm impressed at what I got for the money I paid ($501), thats CPU, Motherboard, Memory, 250GB SATA HD, 600Watt PS and 9800GTX and I didn't lose fingernail one in the process. I found out something improtant with todays games that nine out of ten games do not express anything in the line of grahics cards that are above and beyond what most people can afford, though its acceptable to say that the better the card the higher your gonna be able to up your graphics. Most games center the concern around the porocesser speed. Most all require dual core and GHz above 2.5...most games specifie 6000 series and up.

Is it safe to say, Processor for loading time and graphics for looks?

I went with AMD 6000+ (3.1 Dual-Core) on a MSI SLI ready motherboard, SLI for upgradabilty. Since Windows XP only recognizes roughly 3.25MB of memory I just went with 4Gigs of DDR2 800, it rocks this boat rather well I have to say.

I got a 9800GTX for around $156 from Newegg and it fit perfectly in my ATX tower with room to spare. The only thing is if I added a second card it would litteraly cover one PCI slot but thats not a concern right now.

I can max my games and play online with out a hitch or hicup. Its just smooth seamless action all the way so I'd say I made the right choices for what I'm doing and as for upgrading, buy the time I'm ready for it the stuffs already gone down in price.

Though Quad might be the way to go, I think the prices are still a little steep for just casual gaming. :thumb:

[Charger]

Whats a good benchmark test?

[Bluetiereign]

Depends on your Operating System. Vista can use 3DMark Vantage. XP cannot run that - but can run 3DMark 06.

There are others... but I kinda quit putting stock in any of them because although I cannot see a much of a difference in scores of my old and new machines - I can see a HUGE amount of performance boost in games like FarCry2 and Crysis.....

[wildman2]

3dmark 03/05/06, Aquamark 03 i think, superpi, Vantage.Put benchmarking software in google and see what it comes up wiyh.
This new pc benchmarks way better than my old one especialy when overclocked a bit.Used to get aprox 7600 on 3dmark06on old pc even overclocked,now I get up to 11600 same video card and still not at max on overclock on vid card and Cpu.

[RAB]

I'd say use the 3D Mark 06. That seems to be what most people use. Me and BTR posted ours from that. Would like to see how everybody else stacks up using the same benchmark.

[Charger]

Not sure where you guys posted your results before. I just downloaded 3dMark06 and ran the tests, didn't mess with to many settings but got this for an overall score...

10755
CPU was 2363

If its good or if its average I do not know yet.

Had a question about running dual channel memory sticks. I have two 2GB matched moduals, acording to my mobo specification for running dual channel they should be in the right spots. When I run si-soft or other programs theres no indication that the memroy is infact in the dual channel mode.

I remeber my old computer hat in some tests it did indicate the memory was dual channel. Any input on this?

Nevermind, I just ran cpuz and found out it is actually running in the "single" channel mode. Guess I'll have to fix that.

[RAB]

I know its an odd place to look for the benchmarks. But it was in the "What are your rig specs?" thread. LOL Took me a minute to find it. Was looking in the Tech section but it was in the C4 section instead.

http://www.checkpointdelta.net/showthread.php?t=112&page=3

I scored a 14262
BTR scored a 13134

[GarretJax]

Getting ready to order.....would like your opinions or any info on the parts good or bad! I wanted to stay around 500.....really liked Chargers build so I tried to stay close to that.....

Raidmax extreme ATX case
OCZ 700W ps / free 22x dvd drive included
OCZ Reaper memory 4G ddr2 1066
SG Barracuda 250G HD
ASUS P5QL PRO ATX Intel MB
Intel core2 duo E7400 wolfdale 2.8
EVGA 9800GTX vid

Total cost with shipping 540.00

Thanks Gents for your support..hehe!:bouncy:

[RAB]

With that board you don't have the option to run dual video cards at a later time. Don't know if you were considering that or not. Other than that it looks good.

[GarretJax]

I must have read those specs wrong RAB..crap!...I'm building 2 machines .....one meant to run a single vid and the other dual vids sometime down the line....my thought being when it was time to upgrade I could double up the 9800's on 1 and just swap out the cpu's along with a single newer vid card for the other..... if you catch my drift.....does that make any sense to you?

I think I could go a little cheaper on the board for that build I listed (about 55 bucks) since its only meant for a single vid. what do you think of this board for the eventual dual vids on the other machine...everything else would be the same pretty much except for the memory which would have to change to 800 vs the 1066 because I want that to be interchangeable on both....price would be about the same all in all.

MSI p7n SLI platinum ATX ddr2 800

:alcoholic.gif::barfy::saint2:

[Charger]

Nice choice Garret. I first considered going with DDR2 1066, I probably should have but I was having a little trouble finding a board that fit in my price range and SLI ready, at least on the site I ordered my parts from.

I really wished I could have gone quad like BTR did. I am running XP Pro so I'm not able to use DX10 which would have been great. Oh well I am totally happy with what I was able to get and I feel I made the right choices and for the type games I'm playing, this thing kicks some ass.

[GarretJax]

Thanks Charger......I think being able to upgrade to the quads later may help some down the line........got my fingers crossed!.......right now the wife and I are playing on an old P4 2.4 and AMD 1.6............we've run out of games the machines will play lol.......so these 2 should get us back in the action and give us some real choices for todays games.......:thumb:

Appreciate all the info gents.....this thread has been very helpful in my decision making......CPD & its members has always been a great site for help and info!!!!

If I have any problems when I get these together I'll know where to go!!:agree.gif:

[wildman2]

Overclocked cpu to 3.6
Overclocked video card 800 1000.
now I get 14895 in 3dm06.
now I get 51896 in 3dm03.