My Build Situation

[markelphoenix]

I just bought a Gateway with:
Q6600 Processor
400W PSU
3 Gigs of Ram (1033)
8800 GT 512mb(FFX)

Now, I am wanting to overclock, but the MOBO doesn't support it. So I got the brilliant idea, what if I bought a new mobo, case, and PSU and transplanted everything? How much of a pain is this really? Would it be worth it?

One of the main things that is causing me to think about this is Lord of the Rings Online. It runs great till my Graphics Card crashes me to a BSoD. I am wondering if its a voltage problem (only 400w PSU). I also don't like that, as far as I can tell, the mobo doesn't have any means of measuring temperature.

Food for though....Should I do it? If so, what PSU, mobo and case? I want something upgradeable. It bugs me that the Nehalem is coming out soon, because I worry about the architecture being so different and making my mobo last years news.

Should I wait for the Nehalem supporting mobos, or would they be incompatible with Q6600 and require an upgrade on the processor side too?

 

[Shadow703793]

Please list model of the Dell.

Btw, Nehalm will need new RAM, Motherboard, and CPU.

 

[markelphoenix]

It is a Gateway: GT5630E

3 Gigs of Ram are at (667) mistake in original post

I guess what I am concerned about is the PSU, Cooling, Temperature, and Trying to find a way to overclock. If I could overclock this, I'd be happy with waiting for Nehalem. Also, I was wondering how I could increase the voltage to my Gcard, I have the sinking feeling it may be being under supplied. The only thing that makes me believe that my rig has OC potential is that the 8800 GT are suppose to be Energy Efficient.

 

[dagger]

It is a Gateway: GT5630E

3 Gigs of Ram are at (667) mistake in original post

I guess what I am concerned about is the PSU, Cooling, Temperature, and Trying to find a way to overclock. If I could overclock this, I'd be happy with waiting for Nehalem. Also, I was wondering how I could increase the voltage to my Gcard, I have the sinking feeling it may be being under supplied. The only thing that makes me believe that my rig has OC potential is that the 8800 GT are suppose to be Energy Efficient.

Just wondering, is there a rma option for that whole machine? The parts are good, but if you're going to end up stripping and swapping motherboards, that's almost as much work as building a new rig. Might as well return the whole thing and build a new one from scratch.

Overvolting graphics card is a bad idea. Just get a good psu that will keep it well powered.

 

[oushi]

^ Agreed. If you're planning to overclock, it's never a good idea to get a retail PC. And since the machine's giving you problems, is there a way you can return the rig and build a new one from the ground up?