AWD9-MAX

[yf]

I'm ready to buy right now, but the new intel board is not in store yet. should i wait for it or the AWD9-MAX is as good, remember i'm not a overckloker, i just need the best!and fast! for FSX
Thanks

this is the rest of my system

- Intel Core 2 DUO Extreme X6800 2.93GHz processor

[congo]

Congratulations on the highest spec PC ever to grace the wish list of SimV YF

[yf]

I will tell you my story in short

[NicksFXHouse]

Are those video cards different, and if so, wouldn't it make sense to get the same ones ?

With crossfire you must use the ATI system to match certified cards. Generally you dont use 2 identical cards. They system will recommend a crossfire card and match it to its sister card for best crossfire performance.


I assume thats what he did however I have not checked the ATI site

Also, the motherboard must be designed and certified for crossfire AND for the cards being used.

Thats also allot of money with DX10 sitting out there in the next 4 months

Also, the RAtpors.. be careful because the X brand does not mean they are faster.. they just have a silly case that lets you see the internals. The same drives can be purchased for 100 or more less without the funky casing.

[yf]

so imagine DX10 and crossfire! it will be rocket power...

[NicksFXHouse]

so imagine DX10 and crossfire! it will be rocket power...

I agree and my next system will be crossfire however you cant run DX10 on the cards you selected. The DX10 hardware will not be out and proven (worth buying) until next year.. probably around March.

[cheesegrater]

AWD9-MAX is a better board than the first "Bad Axe" (D975XBX) board. However, I got no idea what the second (D975XBX2) "Bad Axe" board is like.

Both of the boards are crossfire compatible. They should support two X1950XTX since they are both top of the line boards for both companies. I would ask them just to make sure.

However, I would honestly buy E6600 instead of X6800. For several reasons:

1) FSX is more dependant on the graphics cards.

2) You are buying overclocking RAM and motherboard. So, to take advantage of the RAM and the motherboard you will need to overclock. Otherwise it is a waste of money. If you overclock you can take that E6600 past X6800 speed.

I agree and my next system will be crossfire however you cant run DX10 on the cards you selected. The DX10 hardware will not be out and proven (worth buying) until next year.. probably around March.

Yes, that's true. You won't be able to use DirectX10 features on current cards. Right now is not the best time to buy a new computer with Vista and DX10 being released soon.

That is a sad story. Flying is perfectly safe. I think flight school is a better investment because you are investing in yourself.

Good luck.

BTW I heard some people saying that current cards might receive new firmware to make them DX10 compatible. Is there any truth to that? I'm guessing it is BS, but I just want to make sure.

[congo]

Ok, I'm going to go out on a limb and explain the overclock thing to save your poor hard working Mom some cold cash.

Say you buy the E6600 CPU (not the 6800) and your flashy "Dominator" RAM.

I think the Dominator is supposed to be able to run at 1066mhz or something ridiculously high without changing the timings much.

When you boot up the first time, that ram will probably (if it's like most others) boot at lower timings than it is supposed to run at, manufacturers set the SPD speed lower to make sure the ram will boot on more types of systems I believe.

This means you will have to go into your BIOS settings and change the timings to get the best performance anyway, in other words, you are effectively going into overclocking regardless of what you buy. (Unless Dominator SPD's to it's rated speed).

Next:
It's a pretty well accepted fact that the Conroe boards run better with a 1:1 FSB to memory speed ratio.

Fitting a Conroe with 800mhz RAM (PC6400) sets a different ratio, so it's best to set the ratio (called a divider) to 1:1, (though 1:1 is actually in sync and is no divider at all! ). This again is delving into overclocking settings.

When you set that 1:1 ratio, your memory will run slower, so to fix that and bring the memory back up to speed, you set the FSB speed up (Front Side Bus) until the memory is once again at it's rated speed.

This results in the CPU being overclocked because the CPU rides on the FSB

[Viper22]

After reading this, I have a E6600 and Muskhin 800mhz PC6400 RAM, so should I be changing my ratios and stuff then?  Is my computer not living up to what it should be?

[congo]

I think you already know the answer to that Viper

[Hai Perso Coyone?]

Holy f**k...What an kick ass rig

[yf]

Can you believe this?

I have in my hand the money for my new

[cheesegrater]

www.newegg.com

It looks like they have everything except the boards. AWD9-MAX and D975XBX2 are both brand new boards so almost nobody has them. However, newegg has AWD9 and D975XBX.

[congo]

Newegg sells these 975X mainboards and I think just about any one of them will do fine. The first one is most commonly used by enthusiasts.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131025



This one looks the same, has the box been opened on these ?

[NicksFXHouse]

The biggest problem with the AWD9-MAX is the layout and design... there are very few ports on it and although it comes with a decent sound riser card you get 1 slot for any other PCI card. The second video card blocks areas an overclocker would want unimpeded access. The board seems to boast one of the best performace ratings however I would be very cautious and look it over carefully to make sure what you want to run will fit in it.

Its available at ZipZoomFly.com

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDe ... ode=240505