I've tended to stay away from this forum, because my old machine wasn;t suitable for gaming. Well that is about to change for me.

Just some quick history:
I run a small single man PC repair shop and opted in to several partner programs like Nvidia, Microsoft, CA, etc. A while back I was contacted to do a "focus study" on Hybrid SLI boards and cards and as a thank you they sent me a Hybrid SLI motherboard and 8500 GT graphics card. Since I got them, I figured I would take advantage and build a system.

Things I purchased to finish the build are as follows:
4GB 1066Mhz DDR2 OCZ Ram
AMD Phenom 9570 Quad-Core
750 Watt PS

As for the drives (hard and optical) I will pull from my old machine since those are pretty new as I just updated them.

With GeForce Speed Boost I will supposedly get the performance and power of an 8600 GT from the 8500 they sent me.

Now I just have to find some decent games to play and get away from my console gaming addiction. I used to play alot of Battlefield 2, but again on my older machine it was sluggish to load.

Heya man, gratz on the swag :) here is the thing though, I THINK you wasted your money on too much RAM. Windows (both XP and VISTA) cannot use more than 3 gigs of RAM. I don't know why, but that is the way it is, epic fail, I know. One last comment, are you sure your 750 watt is enough? if it were up to me I would be running 1000 watt PS, just to make sure the power is flowing to the power-hungry vid card.

Games that you should try: world of warcraft (if you dig subscription fees) World in Conflict, Call of Duty 4 (make sure you update for your multiplayer goodness) BioShock and Command and conquer 3 / Kane's wrath.

BTW, are you gonna liquid cool your rig? cuz that is always a fun thing to do and it elevates your rig to "trophy to my technical prowess" status.

Regarding RAM, it depends what version of OS you're running. 32bit will see just over 3Gb, and 64bit a lot more than that. Anyways, RAM is getting cheaper so an extra 80-100$ for 2 more GB of RAM isn't all that bad!

Also, how'd you swing being a tester for that?? That's awesome!

I have never had any luck with the manufacturer "boosting" software. It always tends to make my rig more unstable..

when loading BF2 RAM is a huge proponent, granted BF2 loads a lot slower than most games, but you will see the most speed boosts with the RAM you have. Graphically, you don't need a powerhouse to run BF2 so you will be able to run it full bore. Don't forget to use the widescreen resolution trick (if you're using a wide screen monitor)

Regarding games, to add to YoniX's list, play Gears of War! (awesome game, very fluid)

Thanks for the suggestions.

I should've pointed out that I will be running 64 Bit Vista Premium, which I have already. I usually buy my OS's in bulk so I have one left out of the last bulk I bought. No plans yet to liquid cool it. I have a couple of case fans now, and also have a tmep monitor so I will keep an eye on it.

For the games, I haven't been keeping up with what is out now available so I welcome the suggestions. I play alot of COD on the PS3, so I think I will pick up World in Conflict and Gears of War. Gears is something I always wanted to try, but I don't own a 360 so I never got the chance.

As for being selected for the "focus group" I think it was just random for Nvidia partners. As a side note, I called my Nvidia sales rep today to let him know I received the motherboard and GPU. He then asked if I heard about their new line of GPUs that are coming out and I said I'm not sure what is it. He told me he couldn't say because they weren't annouced yet and asked if I wanted to be part of that focus group also. He said he couldn't guarantee it, but pretty much everyone in this group will receive the new GPU. So he signed me up for that group also.

Last thing, the "boosting" I belive is done via hardware on the motherboard. Only to cards work with the GeForce Speed Boost and they are the 8500 GT and an 8400 series cards. I'll know more tomorrow when I get it together.

I don't own any of the new consoles (just the ps2) so my gaming is all PC. I picked up Gears for the PC a couple months ago, and I was impressed! Definitely worth the look.
World of Conflict wasn't really my cup of tea, I just couldn't get into it.
Look out for Gears2 this year!

Although my rig can handle a fair amount, I find myself playing old school games just due to replayability over fancy club med Crysis graphics. Games like BF2, Gears, or Rise of Nations :)

I LOVE World in conflict and I will tell you why, you really aren't limited, when you need artillary, BAM there it is, when you need more material 90% of the time you can have it on demand. I espcecially like the end of the 2nd mission when you have to call in all the artillary and fire support you can to hold off the russians. MAN what a rush! :). Its basically world war 3 and they call it that too. Moving on, I neglected to mention, I would also give SPORE a look-see. The demo gets released either tommorrow or wednesday (6-17 or 6-18) depending on who you ask. with the final release date bing Sep. 9th.

Posting just to get past my 13th "unlucky" post.

As for being selected for the "focus group" I think it was just random for Nvidia partners. As a side note, I called my Nvidia sales rep today to let him know I received the motherboard and GPU. He then asked if I heard about their new line of GPUs that are coming out and I said I'm not sure what is it. He told me he couldn't say because they weren't annouced yet and asked if I wanted to be part of that focus group also. He said he couldn't guarantee it, but pretty much everyone in this group will receive the new GPU. So he signed me up for that group also.


They haven't been announced yet? But websites posted reviews today! Check out Anandtech or Toms Hardware - the GTX280 and GTX260.

They haven't been announced yet? But websites posted reviews today! Check out Anandtech or Toms Hardware - the GTX280 and GTX260.


Is that them? I was just reading the spec for those cards on Nvidia's website. I'll call me rep and ask if those are the cards he is speaking of. Gotta love sales reps.

Edit: Just got off the phone with my rep and those are the cards. He said he found out after our conversation that the info has been released. I feel good knowing my rep is knowledgable. :D