D. J. Bernstein
Computer hardware

The 2009.09.20 server

ZipZoomFly:
PriceComponentWarrantyWatts
$123ASUS M4A78T-E: Socket-AM3 PC3-10600 (DDR3-1333) ATX motherboard, AMD 790GX chipset; gigabit Ethernet; Radeon HD 3300 with VGA, DVI outputs; two PCIe 2.0 x16 slots (but x8 if both used); five SATA ports3 years from Asus
$180AMD HDZ955FBGIBOX: 3200MHz Socket-AM3 2MBL2+6MBL3 Phenom II x4 CPU with a fan3 years from AMD125
$469BFG Tech BFGEGTX2951792BE: PCIe 2.0 dual-chip GPUlifetime from BFG Tech (if registered within 30 days)
$476XFX GX295NHWFC: PCIe 2.0 dual-chip GPUlifetime from XFX
$175Antec TPQ1000: 1000VA power supply5 years from Antec10? for fans
$125Antec Nine Hundred Two: mid-tower case with four fans3 years from Antec40? for fans
$89 -$15 rebateSeagate ST31000528AS (Barracuda 7200.12): 1TB SATA hard drive with NCQ3 years from Seagate10 typical, 25 (+12V) at spin-up
$83 -$5 rebateSamsung HD103UJ (Spinpoint F1): 1TB SATA hard drive with NCQ3 years from Samsung9 typical, 40? (+12V) at spin-up
$30Samsung SH-S223B: CD, DVD drive (black)1 year from Samsung
$07-day shipping (or $83 for 2-day shipping)

nextwarehouse.com:
$112Kingston KVR1333D3E9SK2/4G: 4GB DDR3-1333 unbuffered ECC memory in two DIMMslifetime from Kingston
$112Kingston KVR1333D3E9SK2/4G: 4GB DDR3-1333 unbuffered ECC memory in two DIMMslifetime from Kingston
$07-day shipping (or $26 for 2-day shipping)

Issue #1: Can the motherboard really handle both GPUs? There's a space question and an x8-vs.-x16 question. Is there any quality difference between the two GPUs?

Issue #2: Is the power supply big enough? SLI Zone says that the Antec TruePower Quattro 1200 is certified for two GTX 295 GPUs. This is probably overkill, assuming more drives etc.; on the other hand, there's at least one site that measured "Furmark" burning 313 watts on a GTX 295, so I'm not sure 850 is enough.