Quick Question About My Upgrade

mphusker

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May 22, 2008
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After spending some time reading these forums and articles on this website I decided to upgrade my CPU, Mobo, GPU, and RAM. I have only a "basic" understanding when it comes to building a computer so I'm hoping some of you guys may help. I decided on the Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 cpu, Gigabyte GA-X48 Mobo, and EVGA 640 8800GTS video card. My questions:

Will my Antec 550W PSU (2 years old) be adequate?

I will need to upgrade my RAM too it seems, any recommendations?

Will this be a decent gaming computer for the next few years?

Any other suggestions on what I may need to upgrade? I'm hoping to keep my current hard drive (only 2 years old) and windows xp.

I know that there are answers to most of my questions throughout the forum, but I'm concerned with compatibility so hoping if you see all the components I have I can get a more specific recommendation. Thanks
 

Lord Gornak

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Jan 31, 2008
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No to the 8800 GTS 640 G80. I have it and it's still a great card, but the 8800 GTS 512 G92 is cheaper and performs 20-30% better in pretty much all benchmarks.
 

mphusker

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May 22, 2008
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Yeah, I'm an idiot. I got SLI and Crossfire mixed up.

I'll definitely take a look at the 8800GTS 512 G92, especially if it's cheaper.

Thanks for the help guys
 

mphusker

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May 22, 2008
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I was thinking of swithching motherboards to the 780i to get the sli capabilities, but all the talk about video corruption kind of scares me. Would it be safer to just switch to an ATI gpu? Always used Nvidia cards so not real familiar with a comparable ATI card. Most in these forums seem to think that Nvidia is the better choice too.
 

kad

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Feb 29, 2008
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1- No to nForce chipset mobos(680i-750i-780i-790i)
2- No to DDR3 mobos
3- No to DDR3 memories
4- No to 8800GTS (640MB)
PSU at the edge of your requirements , if you'll add another graphic card you'll need 750W PSU
Go for 8800GTS (512MB) and one good graphic card is better than 2 with lower specs in SLI or CrossFire
Go for DDR2 800 4GB(2X2GB) memory if if usin XP 32 bit
 

mphusker

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May 22, 2008
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Thanks kad. Real quick....there will be no problems putting in ddr2 800when the mobo memory standard says ddr2 1200 right? Probably a stupid question just want to make sure
 


That is not a problem.
 

mphusker

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May 22, 2008
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Went ahead and ordered these components this morning

Gigabyte GA X48 motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128336

Intel core 2 duo E8400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

8800 GTS (G92) GPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134037

2*2GB of DDR2 800 RAM

I understand that I won't be able to take advantage of the crossfire by using an Nvidia card but I didn't plan on throwing 2 gpu's in it anyway. I'm hoping this will be an ok set up for me for some gaming
 

mphusker

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May 22, 2008
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I think I want to stick with the 8800gts(g92)...is there a big difference between you linked and the one I bought?
 

ozcot

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May 19, 2008
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Looks like a very good board. If you already bought I am sure it will serve your purposes just fine. Never heard of that brand but by the rating I may have to check it out myself..