Upgrade : Compatibility check

[StellariuS]

hey guys

I'm looking to upgrade my nVidia 7600gs for some eye candy,

I've been looking up all cards to replace with. The 9800gt for $115 is looking good to me, as I'm only familiar with nVidia. I'm just not sure if its compatible with my motherboard. I've found the specs for it.. doesn't really clarify it for me.

P5LP-LE Motherboard.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00864946&lc=en&cc=us

Also, I've been looking at the Radeons. It looks as if you get more bang for your buck... if anyone can steer me away from the 9800gt to a better card, that is compatible.. be my guest

any help will be great
cheers in advance

 

[simon12]

The motherboard has a PCI express slot X16 so any card will be fine as long as your PSU can handle it. Check toms best graphics card for your money @ http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/graphics-card-radeon,review-31911.html for recommendations.

 

[StellariuS]

cheers for the quick reply

is DDR an issue? e.g i have DDR2 ram installed, will it take any DDR graphics card?

 

[StellariuS]

7600 is what i have ATM, its alright i guess. I'm looking for a bit better then what you've suggested, just to narrow the limitations.

thanks anyway dude.

 

[StellariuS]

right now its a 300w its bin material tomorrow when i replace it for a 650w

yeah the 5670 sounds good, you say its the same performance as the 9800gt? it being quieter sounds good as well. I've just upgraded from an old, slow, noisy machine to this dual core beauty for $100

 

[StellariuS]

I'm not too sure yet on the power supply, it'd be just a cheapy but only for short term, till i can spare for a decent piece. I've heard to stick away from SHAW, but the SHAW Elite 680 is $19. You think it'll get me by a few weeks?
(promised the gf a day out at a crap time)

 

[StellariuS]

born and raised how'd you know?

Yeah I'll let my 300w work hard for its last few weeks. Corsair VX450 will most likely be its replacement then, its quicker for me just to go down the road to MSY then buy offline, unless its massively cheaper. I'd pay a few extra $ to have it now lol

 

[StellariuS]

ah we get jipped with the crap product lol

I'll pay the extra $30 for a bit better quality and grab the corsair. But i also want to get a quieter one. I do a bit of music recording on my PC and a humming machine isn't really helpful.
and thanks heaps for your help man

 

[StellariuS]

ha! glad I'm not gonna get sucked into that one

how would you compare the 1GB 5570 to the 9800gt? or would you just not at all

 

[StellariuS]

5670 it is then. The 5750 would be nice but I'm not after the best (not that it is), just something to let the greedy GTA IV play on, as well as improve borderlands.

will i have to get the right DDR, or will any DDR be compatible?

 

[StellariuS]

That about settles it then.

*Radeon 5670 because its cooler, quieter, more power efficient and performs practically equal to a 9800gt.
*upgrade PSU because 300w is weak for what i need.
*make sure i get PCI 2.0

thanks heaps for this dude