a few pc questions.

[Far]

im coming into some money in a few weeks. and wanted to upgrade my computer.

i think i want to get a smaller pc case. i use 1 HDD, and 1 DVDRW, so i dont need all that space.

1. are m-atx boards becoming obselete? iv currently got an m-atx asus mb, but not sure whether to get another m-atx or just an atx. like i said, i wld rather have a smaller case if possible.

2. this new SLI, would any games ever require it? ive got a 4 year old gainward graphics card and it can run every game perfectly. so would having two top of the range gfx cards be put to use yet?

3. if i am advised to get an m-atx board, would the smaller case suffer from heat issues?

4. can any m-atx or atx board handle any spec of gfx card, beit pci-e or agp?

5. what would be better, a 2.67ghz quad core, or a 3.0ghz dual core? i want the best proccessor out?


thanks for reading, and hope you can answer some of my questions.

 

[Janae]

About the graphics, theres going to be some high end games in the future so if i had the money I would buy the best there is...but thats just me.

 

[¤]´)÷¤--§îr Äürøñ--¤÷(`[¤]

im coming into some money in a few weeks. and wanted to upgrade my computer.

i think i want to get a smaller pc case. i use 1 HDD, and 1 DVDRW, so i dont need all that space.

1. are m-atx boards becoming obselete? iv currently got an m-atx asus mb, but not sure whether to get another m-atx or just an atx. like i said, i wld rather have a smaller case if possible.

2. this new SLI, would any games ever require it? ive got a 4 year old gainward graphics card and it can run every game perfectly. so would having two top of the range gfx cards be put to use yet?

3. if i am advised to get an m-atx board, would the smaller case suffer from heat issues?

4. can any m-atx or atx board handle any spec of gfx card, beit pci-e or agp?

5. what would be better, a 2.67ghz quad core, or a 3.0ghz dual core? i want the best proccessor out?


thanks for reading, and hope you can answer some of my questions.

1 - mATX is most certainly not obselete. It just receives less attention because there are formats that are FAR smaller, and those that are larger have been redesigned (read: BTX).

2 - SLI is only really effective with mid-range cards. And the gains are certainly not 2x the performance. Some games won't support SLI, for example, and only use a single card.

Really, you're better off with a single, beefier card, than two weak ones.

3 - Less space will result is less airflow. You could avoid heat issues through the use of heatpipes, or liquid cooling.

4 - Depends on the card. If it says it supports PCI-E 16x, you should be alright. However, some cards are too large for the mATX cases (read: RadeonHD 2900). Also, some require extra power from the PSU, which would present an issue with the small PSU you'd be using with a mATX PC.

5 - At this time, unless you're video encoding or 3d rendering, I can't honestly recommend the quad core. It costs more, uses more power, and has a slower core speed. In practically every other application, you'll find the dual core CPU faster (Unless you're comparing the Q6700 with the AMD 6000+, in which case get the quad-core :P).

I hope this answers your questions. If you're looking for a small-scale PC, consider buying a "barebones" PC, and fitting your own RAM, etc. Or even consider a Shuttle.

 

[Janae]

Never did understand that phrase "barebone pc" what is it exactly? im assuming its a basic pc with no card ram etc or am i completely wrong?

 

[Demonic]

Never did understand that phrase "barebone pc" what is it exactly? im assuming its a basic pc with no card ram etc or am i completely wrong?

I'll le the wiki tell you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barebone_computer

 

[Far]

you see, i thought about a barebone. but some things worried me...

i was told the air flow in them was terrible

since the mb is attached to the case, is it that upgradable? id want to be able to upgrade it with the newest cpu, ram and gfx i cld get.

with the gfx, i presume only certain types could be used. for example, the new nvidia 8800 cldnt fit in a shuttle from what i can see.

 

[¤]´)÷¤--§îr Äürøñ--¤÷(`[¤]

you see, i thought about a barebone. but some things worried me...

i was told the air flow in them was terrible

since the mb is attached to the case, is it that upgradable? id want to be able to upgrade it with the newest cpu, ram and gfx i cld get.

with the gfx, i presume only certain types could be used. for example, the new nvidia 8800 cldnt fit in a shuttle from what i can see.

Top of the range cards will have SIGNIFICANT problems fitting in ANY small case :P

No, the motherboard isn't really upgradable. Yes, the air flow is crappy, but you use watercooling/heatpipes in their place.

Unfortunately Small & Fast is the ultimate contradiction in computing

 

[Far]

but worth getting?

i do want top performance, but if im going to see problems that cant be overcome with a shuttle then i wont get one.

in all honesty i dont need to upgrade my pc, it'll still play anything on the market today with ease, but i really want a smaller case. ive got a lian-li atm, and its just too bulky, i only want 1 HDD and a DVDRW in it. so the extra space just isnt required.

 

[¤]´)÷¤--§îr Äürøñ--¤÷(`[¤]

but worth getting?

i do want top performance, but if im going to see problems that cant be overcome with a shuttle then i wont get one.

in all honesty i dont need to upgrade my pc, it'll still play anything on the market today with ease, but i really want a smaller case. ive got a lian-li atm, and its just too bulky, i only want 1 HDD and a DVDRW in it. so the extra space just isnt required.

If you want the very best performance, consider looking for a smaller tower.

It's not so much heat issues, as size issues, that prevent high performance in smaller PCs. (Namely, ATI seem incapable of designing a normal-length card).

 

[Far]

i read through this review. and was quite impressed with what he said, shoving 3 HDD's and a 8800 into it.

http://www.trustedreviews.com/pcs/review/2007/05/30/Shuttle-SD39P2-Barebone/p1

im an nvidia man, and if that 8800 can perform well in a case that size its gonna make me like these shuttles.

cheapest price ive found that case for is £290 from dabs, only thing that annoys me is all my current components are so outdated, im gonna have to buy a brand new setup.

my hdd's - IDE
my gfx agp
my proccessor - socket 478
my ram ddr 3200

bummer.