New questions for an old builder.

[TheRealFatTony]

So, I haven't built a machine since my last box, which was a Barton core with a RADEON 9800, needless to say... much has changed.

Basically I haven't been paying much attention to the hardware scene since I last built a computer, family doesn't need them because dell can churn them out for like 20 bucks now, and games have been running fine until recently. I just have a few questions about some of the newer technology.

1. SLI.... I use newegg for all my purchases, and I've noticed a lot of parts have an SLI emblem. What pieces really NEED to be compatible with SLI vid cards to work? IE mobo/psu/???/profit. If I buy an SLI mobo, will it run any of the PCI-E video cards? And what's with those 30 dollar video cards? Will that really work by itself, and if so.... is it as bad as one would expect for $30?


2. AMD 64's vs Core 2 duohmygod. Generally from the reading I've been doing, I'm seeing that the core2 is the better bet. What i'm not clear on is the whole 64 bit thing. Is it going to benefit me to have a 64 bit processor ready for when Vista hits, or will it not really matter since none of the applications/games i'm going to be using aren't going to be ready to take advantage of this. Is the core2 capable of running Vista to the same potential as a comparable AMD? And what's the difference between all these different socket types? 939/ 940 / am2 / whatever intel uses?

3. Does this make sense?

4. What's with AMD and naming their processors after places instead of something.... relevant?


Sorry if this is all old hat for you guys, but there's really just been too much **** going on to look up articles about everything. Thanks in advance for any help.

[Rocketmech]

Ah, a man with a 1000 questions , eh ? here's my 2 cents

1.
a. Motherboard , video card and psu .
b. Yes
c. They are cheap
d. Some mobos want to see sli , that is , dual cards . Usually 1 card setup will work dandy. Its best to check.
e. What do you expect for $30 ? you get $30 worth .
Performance is in the GPU and vram. Quality is in the brand . I would budget for $75 -100 min.
eg. ATI x800 , x1000 series or Nvidia 6600 , 6800 , 7600 , 7900 series . PCI-E x16 slot , SLi ready .

2.
a. No . 64 bit works when both hardware and software are working at 64 bit . You can buy 64 bit ready hardware (cpu) and it will work fine with 32 bit software . Without looking at an official list : All AMD A64 cpu's are 64 bit ready . Intel's are mixed , some single core and some dual core . All Core 2's are 64 bit ready .
b. Yes
c. Pin count . Some cpu cores are limited to socket design .


3. Yes . IMO, there are better psu's and 2 x 1gb ram is better .

4. Ahhh , sorry but no one here at Sysopt was asked thier opinion either .

[herosrest]

The deluge of stuff being introduced at the moment makes your task difficult.

Give a thought to cell phone developments underway... remote computing will never be the same once yer desktop remotes to yer mobile phone over mobile broadband.