Upgrade question

[Mistaman]

I have been debating for a little while about upgrading my system. I was looking at the new 8800GT video cards and was thinking about if it would be compatible with my motherboard. Then i started thinking should I just get a new mobo to make sure it will fully support the new pci-e 2.0? I plan to get a new q9450 when they are released also. I have liquid cooling for my cpu and gpus also.

i would like some ideas from everyone so i can make a better decision then just go out and buy everything.

 

[rgeist554]

If you have the motherboard listed in your spec - I'm sure it will be compatible. PCI-E 2.0 just doubles the bandwidth, which not even the power-house GTX can fully utilize.

 

[nzxtlexa]

Yes you have a good system as it is. Why are you looking to go from 8800gts down to 8800gt?? They will work fine on the striker extreme anyway.

 

[prolfe]

Hey Mista,
I agree with the others, PCIE 2.0 is not necessary with this generation of cards (and not the next gen either, most likely). I also don't understand the need to upgrade your rig. The 6750 has a 10X multiplier, but the 9450 is 8X, meaning that your 300Mhz FSB will net you a 2.4Ghz clock speed. Considering that the 45nm processors are about 7% better than the 65nm, you can see that the performance of the new chip will actually be LESS than the current chip. The extra two cores will not help with gaming, but of course would help encoding or other multicore applications.

Edit: Thanks to cnumartyr for showing me this specific way of thinking about CPU's!

 

[Mistaman]

Ive heard that the 8800GT actually out performs the GTS and is more inline with the GTX, for being nearly 200 less. most of my concern is that the Q9450 wont work with the mobo that I have now.

My system is still the same as in my sig. I had to change the ram cause i had upgraded to the dominator

 

[prolfe]

You are correct about the GT being better than the 640 GTS, but not if the 640s are SLI-D. Of course, if you were going to SLI the GT's, that would be another story altogether.....

 

[Mistaman]

Hey Mista,
I agree with the others, PCIE 2.0 is not necessary with this generation of cards (and not the next gen either, most likely). I also don't understand the need to upgrade your rig. The 6750 has a 10X multiplier, but the 9450 is 8X, meaning that your 300Mhz FSB will net you a 2.4Ghz clock speed. Considering that the 45nm processors are about 7% better than the 65nm, you can see that the performance of the new chip will actually be LESS than the current chip. The extra two cores will not help with gaming, but of course would help encoding or other multicore applications.

The 6750 has a 10x multi? I hate to sound stupid but I thought it was locked at 9x? im not dead set on an upgrade yet at all, just tossing the idea around in my head a little.

 

[prolfe]

I'm basing the 10X on the fact that the FSB is 266. Your sig says it's stock speed is 2.66Ghz, which would mean the multiplier is 10X. Even if it's 9X, the argument still holds true: why spend ~300 on a chip with less performance than what you already have?

 

[nzxtlexa]

OK well I also have the striker extreme and I can tell you that with the latest BIOS it will support dual core 45nm but it will never support the quad core 45nm cpus. I'm personally going to hang on to my striker as I've only had it a few weeks and get an E8500 when they come out later this month

 

[Mistaman]

You are correct about the GT being better than the 640 GTS, but not if the 640s are SLI-D. Of course, if you were going to SLI the GT's, that would be another story altogether.....

Only way to go imo

 

[Mistaman]

I'm basing the 10X on the fact that the FSB is 266. Your sig says it's stock speed is 2.66Ghz, which would mean the multiplier is 10X. Even if it's 9X, the argument still holds true: why spend ~300 on a chip with less performance than what you already have?

I see what you mean now. You make a good point, I'll look at the new C2D and go that direction

 

[Mistaman]

OK well I also have the striker extreme and I can tell you that with the latest BIOS it will support dual core 45nm but it will never support the quad core 45nm cpus. I'm personally going to hang on to my striker as I've only had it a few weeks and get an E8500 when they come out later this month

the latest BIOS was giving me a lot of problems with running my ram at the rated speed, while having the cpu over clocked at all. I am currently using 1301 BIOS

 

[nzxtlexa]

Ok but you'll either have to wait for another BIOS to be released that doesn't affect your ram otherwise you'll never be able to use any of the new 45nm chips on the striker.

 

[Mistaman]

Thats why i was thinking of grabbing a Maximus Formula, then the RAM and video card and processor would all be in line for future upgrades, if i decide to make them.

Thanks for the help by the way

 

[neisonator]

your system is still a very good system i would wait till about march save up i bit more $ then get the next generation nvidia cards

 

[Mistaman]

your system is still a very good system i would wait till about march save up i bit more $ then get the next generation nvidia cards

Hmm, sounds like the time when tax returns will be...returned. Just might have to do that.

 

[Mistaman]

Was just going through more threads, and figured I'd just get a Maximus Formula and then worry about other upgrades after that. Any Suggestions after that?

 

[rgeist554]

Can I have some of your money? Seriously though, you have a really good system at the moment, I can't really see any reason to need to until the 9800's and the 45nm chips hit. Buying anything that's out now isn't guaranteed to support new hardware, unless the manufacturers explicitly state it somewhere, that is.

You just bought a Mercedes because your BMW wasn't good enough. :O

 

[Mistaman]

Can I have some of your money? Seriously though, you have a really good system at the moment, I can't really see any reason to need to until the 9800's and the 45nm chips hit. Buying anything that's out now isn't guaranteed to support new hardware, unless the manufacturers explicitly state it somewhere, that is.

You just bought a Mercedes because your BMW wasn't good enough. :O

\

HAHA, my friends say that all the time, i just buy stuff cause I can not because I need it at all lol. Your right about waiting though, i really should wait. I guess i didnt do enough reading on the MF, it doesnt support SLi from what i saw on asus website.

i guess i'll wait for a few more months.

 

[rgeist554]

HAHA, my friends say that all the time, i just buy stuff cause I can not because I need it at all lol.

I had that feeling all the time when I got my first good job. It started out as just a new GPU, but then it ended up being a whole new PC. Even after I finished building, I was like man... this could be even faster if I only spend $100 more on a better CPU.

 

[Guest]

This is madness. Tell me sir, what games do you play right now that your (2) G80 8800GTS's cannot run?

Your system is still very solid, and until 2 months ago, about as fast as can be afforded. You're walking down an expensive path if you wish to upgrade your components every 6 months.

Instead of dropping $800-$1000 upgrading to get a 20% performance gain now, save that money and wait a year. In a year that same money will get you a much much better performance gain.

Also, you say SLI is the only way to go. Very untrue unless you are gaming at resolutions of 1900x1200 or greater.

 

[nzxtlexa]

I agree with deuce. Not sure about waiting a year though. the 9800 cards look very nice and so do the 45nm chips. I just couldn't hang on that long!

 

[Mistaman]

This is madness. Tell me sir, what games do you play right now that your (2) G80 8800GTS's cannot run?

Your system is still very solid, and until 2 months ago, about as fast as can be afforded. You're walking down an expensive path if you wish to upgrade your components every 6 months.

Instead of dropping $800-$1000 upgrading to get a 20% performance gain now, save that money and wait a year. In a year that same money will get you a much much better performance gain.

Also, you say SLI is the only way to go. Very untrue unless you are gaming at resolutions of 1900x1200 or greater.

You hit the nail on the head pretty hard right there. I haven't come across a game yet, but COD4 and Bioshock aren't gods of graphics really.

The only reason I say SLi is the only way to go is because, its like having a Porsche 911 GT2, and then buying JUST a Corvette. It's still fast as hell, but there is nothing like that Porsche