Check these Specs for me Please.

[Justsomebloke]

A pair of Para-Souls X1950Pro 512Mb graphics cards.
Gigabyte P35-DQ6 Rev 1.0 motherboard.
CPU I've got a Xeon 3210 (like a
high-spec Q6600, runs at 2.13GHz stock, or clocks up to about 3GHz) and
2Gb of PC8500 Ballistix

What do you reckon this lot is worth & what would it get in 3D 06 ?

[Justsomebloke]

I appreciate this is a bit out there as a set up but some must have an opinion of a Quad core crossfire set up & it's pit falls.
Complex, Over complicated, hot running, dodgey gaming issues etc etc
Also what do you reckon the Power draw would be ?
Anybody ?

[LeperousDust]

I think the problem with old school crossfire is its not worth anything because its not in any shape "fast" anymore or on the enthusiasts list, and the people who would be buying the machine won't want the hassle involved with crossfire. Everything else seems nice/standard really. I couldn't put a price on it, but i don't think its going to sell for loads, its just standard spec now, even the little touches like slightly faster RAM are generally ignored at this consumer level second hand price.

Basically its a used up enthusiast PC you can't sell it to enthusiasts because they'll have mostly the latest, and the people who have the right money won't care that the ram is slightly faster or the processor is "special" etc...

Hope you don't take that wrong but that what i observe.

//Edit: Wait a second i just assumed you were selling it, are you selling or buying :D? Depending on the price if you're buying it you can use what i just said to your advantage :p Only thing i can see being hassle worthy is the crossfire, but that shouldn't really be a problem :)

[Justsomebloke]

Well I am badly in need of an upgrade & have been offered the above for 200 quid.
Dude reckons it's good for 10k in 3D 06 which is a major upgrade for me as my current system only kicks just over 4k.
The guy has the best feedback I've seen on M&M like over 130 odd, he is building & testing the above & is prepared to deliver.
Having absolutely No money at all I am Scared to spend what little I have.

So with that What do you reckon my options are :)

[semi-pro waster]

I'm not sure I'd bother with the Crossfire myself but is that part of a bundle that won't be split? It is a pretty decent setup although older, the X3210 is more optimised for applications than gaming if memory serves but it is still no slouch.

If you can negotiate a decent discount without going for the Crossfired cards (say £80 off) then buy a G92 8800GTS 512mb or even better an ATI 4850 and enjoy the better performance with less hassle. Power draw will also depend on what else you have so difficult to estimate but if you've got a decent PSU in the 550-600w range or above then you should be fine with that setup, you might be ok with a bit less but if your PSU is old or less than 500w I probably wouldn't risk it.

[Mark]

Well, the CPU isn't quite a Q6600-equivalent because the Q6600 is 2.4GHz stock, but otherwise it's very similar spec (LGA775, 65mm process, 8MB L2, etc.) and as it clocks well (a common trait of Xeons) it's as good as.

I rate the Gigabyte boards myself. I've got two of them (though not the DQ6), both overclocked, both running 24/7 and not even a hint of trouble from either of them.

Crossfire your mileage may vary. Never seen the need myself but then I'm not a gamer. You could always sell on one of the graphics cards if it doesn't work out, though I suspect it'll be OK, or sell on both and do as above if he won't split. :)

The price doesn't sound extortionate, though I don't know the going rate for sure, and I have no idea about anything to do with 3DMark06. :)

[LeperousDust]

Yeah agreed, its good, and if you can get it without the crossfire for money off definitely much much better. Crossfire will be more hassle than its worth, since you will be essentially playing with cutting edge technology for mid level gaming...

[Justsomebloke]

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/7045/1012517ld2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


Could you resist that :shocked: Coz i cannot :evil:
The Dude is booting it up now for a test & is talking about delivering it to my door late tonight :party2:
Can you see all that Tech Lovelyness that Will be Mine ;D
As for power it is touch & go as I have an Antec Trueblue 480w but he does assure me that although a heavy weight set up the cards are not that power hungry & my PSU should be fine. I can live without maxing out the clocks until I raise enough for a bigger PSU if needed.
I am In Love with how it looks though & have that 12 year old excited feeling about my purchase so **** it, Unzip those flys & Balls out I say :D

[Justsomebloke]

I've just read your posts again & am getting that O Crap feeling ;D;D

[semi-pro waster]

If necessary you could always run it with only one of the graphics cards in, it should still be at least on a par with your current graphics card (I can't remember offhand if you have an AGP X1950 now or still with the AGP 7800GS?).

Antec do make pretty decent PSUs so you should get away with it but I think you would be right not to try much in the way of overclocking for the moment.

[Mark]

Having had two old-ish Antec PSUs (one of them a Trubelue 480W) either go bang (literally) or undervolt like crazy I'd treat that PSU carefully and check voltages as you go. At least when mine popped it just fried a fuse, so they're not usually hardware-killers like certain other brands I could name. :)

[Justsomebloke]

Kit is due to arrive @ 3pm :D

I've got that excited but nervous feeling :cool:

[Stan_Lite]

I used to run 2 X1900XTs in crossfire and noticed a decent jump in performance over a single card, so the crossfire isn't without it's uses.
I'm not sure why you guys are so anti crossfire, I ran it for a couple of years with no issues - do you guys know something I don't :huh:

Let us know how she goes mate :)

[Justsomebloke]

Just woke up from my afternoon snooze to read an email saying he is an hour & 40 minutes behind schedule :(
My whole day was planned perfectly right up to my Snooze finishing off at 2.50pm & now I have an hour & a half to fill, All the best laid plans go to ****.

[LeperousDust]

Malc its an hour and 40 mins, lol, not particulary the end of the world, most of my life runs later than that behind schedule ;D

[divine]

I used to run 2 X1900XTs in crossfire and noticed a decent jump in performance over a single card, so the crossfire isn't without it's uses.
I'm not sure why you guys are so anti crossfire, I ran it for a couple of years with no issues - do you guys know something I don't :huh:

Let us know how she goes mate :)

I think it's mostly down to if you're buying new, the money you'd spend on two cards in crossfire, would normally yield more performance on a single higher end card. And two higher end cards cost so much money as to be bordering on insanity.

I think it's only recently with the graphics market stagnating a bit it's made more sense, ie. 2x 8800GT outperformed a single 8800GTX and cost about the same.

[Justsomebloke]

Imagine a 12 year old boy waiting for his Prezzy since Christmas Eve (last night)
Then Imagine getting woke up by your Ma in the morning only for her to say You cannot go down stairs for an hour & forty :angry:
This is how I feel ;D;D

It feels like I have been waiting 2 years for this upgrade :p

[Wossi]

Imagine a 12 year old boy waiting for his Prezzy since Christmas Eve (last night)
Then Imagine getting woke up by your Ma in the morning only for her to say You cannot go down stairs for an hour & forty :angry:
This is how I feel ;D;D

It feels like I have been waiting 2 years for this upgrade :p

I know what you mean, I was and still am dead excited with my new setup. Hardly use it as it's mainly for my dad to play the latest games on (he's loving COD4 at the mo)

[Justsomebloke]

Looks at clock :angry: Paces about the room some more :angry:



(Yes I only wrote this to waste a few mins :p)

[Justsomebloke]

The Dude came at around 5.30pm 'ish & left around 7.30pm 'ish.
What can I say, You couldn't wish to meet a Nicer bloke. Came in all casual, Chatted like a mate & dealt like a Man :cool:
Honestly I cannot speak highly enough of this fella & if you get the chance to deal with him then Do it with Complete confidence.

Build.
I've had a few probs, Initially just being cautious but having an 8 socket 12v ATX & a 4 pin plug from my PSU scared the bejesus out of me for a few mo's.
Acfter reading that it goes in anyway I braved it.
Next prob came when it came to powering the cards, Only one correct plug left me only installing one card & needing another connector.
As it stands it fired up first time & all seems well (touching wood) & I'll get another adaptor/connector tomorrow.
Of course I am sitting up now doing all my re instal & updates but I am a happy Chappy :)
Not true I am an excited ecstatic bunny :D

Onwards & upwards & I'll drop by for some Spam during the night.


I now have a Quad core & nearly a crossfire set up :p
Tell you what though it looks complete Sex, I've found out during the build that I have a fetish for Copper, Must be the Pikey in me :evil:

[Justsomebloke]

Meh !!!!
Sorted me Update prob & my emails & all that crap & have now ran out of things to mess with :(
No point me installing games until I get the connector I need for tuther card, No point me benching either, BAhhhhhh I WANNA PLAYYYYYYY :p

[Stan_Lite]

Meh !!!!
Sorted me Update prob & my emails & all that crap & have now ran out of things to mess with :(
No point me installing games until I get the connector I need for tuther card, No point me benching either, BAhhhhhh I WANNA PLAYYYYYYY :p

Hehe, I always get like that on a new build - especially a new gaming rig :D

I would bench it with just the one card first while you're waiting for the adapter and then bench again with crossfire to see what sort of gain you get.

[Justsomebloke]

Went to bed at gone 4am & was Wide awake again at 8.30am :D
Did my chores & then went off on a search for the connector I needed. Of course Nobody local stocked one so it meant a trip over to Eclipse Computers in Coventry. I borrowed me mates Satnav for that one as Cov is Indian territory for me. (Indian territory as in Wild West uncharted wilderness Not a Racial slur on our Asian Friends :))
Connector cost me under 3 quid & I must say that Eclipse was Well worth the visit, Comprehensive display & stock list & there prices are fair as well :cool:
Back home I've slung the other card it hooked the bridges up & then connected them, Fired the Beast up (I know I know it's a common name but to me it is nowt but a Beast :evil:) The CCC picked the change up & auto guided me through about 3 clicks to enable giving me the Wondeful message back of You are now in Crossfire :cool:
Benchmark time now but the download of 06 is taking kin Ages :angry:
Time to relax now & gather myself & enjoy my hard work, I cannot believe I got some money together for an upgrade & even more than that cannot believe how much my money has got me.
S'pose I should wait for the Benchys but the only forseeable problem now would be my PSU holding my clocking back. I'm hoping it will be fine but at the very least I am hoping that I can run my chip clock & 2 cards at default for now until I scrape enough up for a beefier PSU.



On a side note times like these really piss me off when I think about work/a job.
I couldn't think of a better person to employ to get a job done than myself as I am about as single minded as you can get when I have my teeth in a task. I'd make my Boss a Fortune given the chance (Insert raised eyes smiley here)

[Justsomebloke]

First Benchy with 3D 06 is 9415 :party1: :party2: :party2: :afro:
That is with my chip @ a Gentle 2.6ghz & the 2 cards @ Default :cool:
That is an Increase of 5300 for 200 quid :cool:
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/5778/firstbenchypw8.png (http://imageshack.us)

Tweaks & Clocking will easily take me over the wanted 10k.

[LeperousDust]

So you've more than doubled your score and youre pretty much bang on the "average" system too, can't have done much better for £200 i guess :D Well done :)

[Justsomebloke]

Well I have to say You guys were right, It is a fair amount of trouble running a Quad core & Crossfire set up. I've been buried for over a week in my system just trying to get to a happy level of understanding. From day one I had it up & running & playing games & benching perfectly but **** have I had a battle to get to grips with the Overall system/Bios/settings.
Today I can comfortably say that I now know my system & am at a happy level of control. It hasn't helped that Intel is all new to me & the different terminology has completly screwed my head up. Tbqfh it's like learning a new language for things you already know & can read, deffo a WTF situation.
Coming out the other end though I can say that the learning curve I've been on has been Massive & very saticfying :cool:
My Mobo Pawns big style & now I have my head around it the Bios & features are Sublime. God knows where my ceiling is but when I reach it I can still look forward to the upgrade path I have without having to swap out my Mobo.
I got a AC64 from OcUk delivered yesterday which has dropped my temps untold, I'm now running a mild clock at 10c lower than default speeds with the default cooler, Which was a noisey **** btw.
Once I max out my clocks I'll use EIST to drop my clocks whilst @ desktop using the inbuilt power saving features on the mobo. In tests it drops it down to 1.6ghz & pops it back up to your clock as soon as an app starts. Obviously I won't know how reliable it is until it's been tested for a week or so but I'll give it a go as it drops Volts, Fan speeds as well as my clocks so a nice quiet system that is easy on my leccy meter would by nice if it works Faultlessly.

In use my system is just Uber Fast, I've ran BF2 then dropped to desktop & browsed & done my email & every time I click on something it still comes up faster than my last system even though I have BF2 or FSX on in the back ground ;D Obviously the Quad cores coming into there own in that situation as Nothing slows it down no matter how many apps I stack.
I think for 200 quid I did Blinding & am as happy as a pig in **** even with all the issues i've had to overcome.

Forgot to say that 1 of my mem sticks was borked kicking up errors all over the place. The seller dropped a spare 2gig to my door for me to test/use till I got my RMA back, How ***** cool is this seller :shocked: + :cool:

Anyway that's about it, I'm Loving my new system & what I've learnt recently has taken me further down the road to Geeksville :cool:

[semi-pro waster]

Good stuff, sounds like an absolute bargain now and very decent of the seller as well, if it is the guy I'm thinking of he's always seemed pretty sound anyway.