NightSky said:
Good point about system stability.
Despite my favoring ATI at the moment, I do have to admit that a pair of
6600GT's would provide great performance while not being as hot as 6800GT's
(for example). A person could even start out with one card and then add a
second one when prices go down and when the boost in performance is needed.
My understanding is that the 6600GT is as good, if not better, than the 9800
Pro.
That's the PC hardware beef of the year really. I've complained
Nvidia's middle sector offers a lot in the past two years, but I have
zero reasons to do so this year. I really like my 9800 Pro. It runs
silent, offers enough speed even today, but 6600GT has stolen the
sweetspot market place. And if you look the card's specs, it fools you
somewhat to realize it has 128bit bandwith against 9800 Pro's 256bits.
It's the card that 5900 Ultra should had been.
You're right about the Pentium 4's above 3GHz. I'm kinda glad I settled in
at 2.8GHz, but I still felt the heat from it (and my overall system) last
summer! My second computer is an Athlon XP 2500+, which has even greater
temperatures. Luckily, the components I have in it aren't as powerful.
I've been hesitating for going over certain speed in both CPU
manufacturers' models. With the Athlon XP line I've sticked to 1914MHz
and if I'd choose P4, I'd choose the same model as you have right now.
I used to be more of a speed enthusiast when I was younger, but I guess
with age you start looking for stability more than just pure speed. Not
that I wouldn't have a Ferrari fever, it's just that I like to keep my
nerves under Zalman heatsink.