New computer

[bigdawgfoxx]

Ok, so Im selling my current setup, minus the HDD, Case, and CD RW, to my brother and parents for 500. They are spliting the cost and will be a big upgrade from the 566Mhz celeron they have now lol.

At first I was set on:

AMD Athlon X2 3800 AM2 $170
1GB DDR2 800 $110
7600GT $130
Asus board with SLI $150
Decent PSU $50

$610 Total

Now I am looking at:

Intel Pentium 940D $190
1GB DDR2 800 $110
7600GT $130
Abit AW8D http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813127235 $170
Decent PSU $50

$650 Total

I just have this image in my head that the X2 series athlons are soo awesome, and I think it is just because they have been so exspensive for so long, but really the 940D beats it in most benchmarks by a decent amount.

Also, with the Intel setup I should be Core 2 Duo ready...which really is all that matters anymore lol

People said that the board wouldnt run with DDR2 800 and I was wondering if anyone had any experiance with it, and couldnt I just clock down my DDR2 800 to 667?

And last but not least, isnt an nForce chipset coming out for the Core 2 Duos soon? Does anyone know when it will be released or if it will be worth the wait? Thanks!

EDIT: Actually that last Abit board appears to support crossfire, not SLI...I want nvidia cards lol. UGHHH!

The cheapest board that supports SLI and Core 2 Duo is 250..screw that. I think I will just go with this Abit board that does crossfire. Whats an ATI card that compares to the nvidia 7600GT for around $150? Or are they even any? I dont see any good middle line cards from ATI like I do from Nvidia.

But I could still use a SINGLE 7600GT on that board, correct? Cuz thats really my only option

[FreeDoom]

The 940D doesn't beat the X2 3800+ by a great margin and sometimes the X2 wins. The 940D also has a higher TDP.

With that board, Abit AW8D you'll not be Core 2 Duo ready, unfortunately:

Does the AW8D support the Conroes? Well, unfortunately ... no. According to Abit, a new motherboard with a PWM refresh is required for these new Conroe processors.

Abit AW8D does support DDR800 memory: Source

Nvidia nForce 590 supports Core 2 Duo and will come out soon, they are in Nvidia site already. Maybe next month.

An ATI that compares to the 7600GT is X1800GTO but i think it's more expensive...

If you want to use just a single graphics card, then you have an excelent motherboard to buy and t's cheaper than that $250 mobos you were talking: GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 is 5*

Be cool