A bit of help on system i want to buy.....

[gamer4eva]

Ok here goes i want to buy a....
2.5GHZ quad core Q9300 processor
4GB ram ddr II
500GB Seagate SATAII 7200RPM
64Bit Vista
---was recommended to buy ANY 8800GT or 8800GTS for gaming

Now i want to mainly use this pc for gaming...is this an ideal spec...
Also with the SLI ready motherboards...do i HAVE to install 2 PCI-e SLI ready cards or can i install only one? I ask this because i don't want to have to upgrade when i do do decide to go SLI.

Thanks for all your help people!

[clocker]

You can install just one video card to begin with and add the second anytime.

For a gaming PC, the e8400 would probably be a better- and cheaper- choice of CPU.

[gamer4eva]

Right thanks for that information. I will most likely be getting the SLI ready mobo and install a second gfx card later on. What motherboard would you recommend thats a reliable one. I am lost in terms of getting a good motherboard...so many and also some have catches like only run at certain speeds etc...like last time my mobo only ran pci-e 4x max. I dont want to fall into the same pit again.

[clocker]

Sorry, SLI capable motherboards (i.e., nVidia) aren't something I've kept up on.
SLI never made much sense to me from a price/performance aspect anyway...I've always thought just buying one great vid card was enough.

[Broken]

I too think SLI and crossfire are a waste of cash. One high-end video card is more than powerful enough for even the most demanding games out there.

Before I recommend a Mobo, what's your budget... or I should say, what are you looking to spend. Because the sky really is the limit, and the more your willing to spend the better the board (of course).

[LaPistola]

nforce 780i for the mobo

[joshydt58]

i had almost similar hardware and was running one 9600 gt video card and could run crysis on the highest settings

[Detale]

Hey hey G4E whats Up! Long time no see. As far as Vid cards go I have read over and over the 9600 series is a waste of money and you should get the 8800GT and OC it yourself, if you even have to.

[SingaBoiy]

Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q6600 (8MB L2 cache,2.4GHz,1066FSB)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic
24 inch E248WFP Entry Widescreen Digital Flat Panel Monitor
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 2DIMMs
250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
16X DVD+/-RW Drive
Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
Dell USB Keyboard and Dell Premium Optical USB Mouse
Dell 19 in 1 Media Card Reader
Windows Vista™ Basic

Price is $999.99 - $300 (coupon Q4MVHZTFT04Z1W) = $699.00
Free Shipping

Think this might be with 2GB mem though. All you need is a vid card upgrade and you're set