BryanK

does anyone have the new Gigabyte mobo ?

Or at least some test results on them. It sounds like a kickas board... GA-8KNXP-ultra has built in SCSI. is it worth the extra $$, $150.00 difference over the non-ultra. As you have probably guessed, I am building a gaming computer and im stuck on the mobo and the monitor.

Thanks for any help!!
Bryan

Camp

Gigabyte makes very good boards (I have one hanging on my wall right now).
If it's a gaming machine I wouldn't recommend wasting money on SCSI. Nice for bragging rights but not much else (for gaming, that is).

Bill Wise

Bryan,

I'm with Camp... the SCSI is overkill for gaming. Also, the ultra version of this board doesn't have firewire while the straight GA-8KNXP does. Save the jing and put it toward a better monitor, video card, or RAM for your gaming rig.

Have Fun,

Bill

KyleS

I also would recommend staying away from the Ultra motherboard because that $150 could buy you a new 8mb 120gb western digital hard drive which will get you close to SCSI hard drive performance without the killer price.

KyleS

BryanK

Thank you all for the help, you just confirmed my feeling about the ultra board.
Bill thanks for the info about the firewire, I didn't know that.

Now without causing any major arguments (heated discussions maybe) what would be the best monitor available for gaming? somewhere around 19" and under $600.00 I'll be using either an Ati 9700 pro or 9800 pro.

again thanks for your help and opinions, it will all go to good use

Bryan

Bill Wise

Bryan,

For $600, you can get quite a bit of monitor anymore. 19" models from Sony, Viewsonic, and NEC should be well under that target (by $200-$300) while a little hunting might find you a 21" or 22" model from the same manufacturers that fits your budget. Other manufacturers (AOC, KDI, etc.) will have comparable models for even less.

Just make sure you keep your refresh rate on a monitor this size above 85Hz, your dot pitch under .25mm, and your warranty at three years or longer.

Happy Hunting,

Bill

RobD

Scsi is not a waste for gaming.

I'd recommend buying the non ultra version and then picking up a seperate ultra160/320 card on ebay. Will make future upgrades easier to have a seperate card and it will be cheaper too.

Use the current Seagate X15 drive as a boot and app drive and then a large ide drive for the rest of your stuff. The low access times of scsi drives make them really responsive and you will notice the difference far more than say an extra 200Mhz. Btw: The LSI scsi cards are just as good as adaptec and usually can be bought cheaper.

Im not saying SCSI is a must but it sounds like you have a fairly high budget and so you should at least consider it.

Camp

From a cost/performance ratio it is a waste.

Masood Ali

SCSI is a waste for "just" gaming use. 8MB cache drives are more than adequate, and if you want something with a little more ooomph, try WD Raptor Serial ATA drive.

For $600, you could get two good flat-CRT 19" monitors, or one flat-CRT 22" monitor. You could also get a 19" LCD...there are a few good ones out there that would pass for gaming use, but if you're an FPS freak, I'd stick with the CRTs.

Masood Ali

22" Flat CRT

19" Flat CRT