Help me in suggesting chipset and graphics card

[maniac007]

hiya guys. am not a much knower of all the hardware..
i have core2duo 2.20 Ghz with 3gb ddr2 ram, gigabyte 945 chipset, 512 mb graphicscard nvidia geforce 8400gs and 250 gb sata hdd.

i have to run softwares like maya, 3ds max and photoshop with a little bit of gaming and playing hd movies.

my budget is not much and there is no remarkable difference between i3 and i5 other than boost tech. so i've decided to go for i550 or i560 processor.
now the problem is with the chipset, i know these processors have inbuilt graphics but what would that mean? will i be able to install my graphics card in that? or there is no need?

also is it possible to install ddr2 ram on the new chipset? or i'll have to buy ddr3.?

do the new chipsets come with sound card, my earlier chipset have inbuilt sound card.

am confused a lot plz help..!!

 

[Emperus]

1. Those CPU's have built in graphics which is much like the onboard graphics available on many motherboards.. Its basically usefull only for folks who use their PC for office work.. You surely can install your own video card provided the motherboard has the appropriate slot for it and your PSU has enough power to run the card.. Rest assured, the inbuilt graphics chip in the CPU's wont interfere with your graphich card..

2. RAM support depends on the motherboard.. However, most of the newer motherboard(s) feature DDR3 RAM slots and thus you wont be able to use DDR2 RAM..

3. Yes.. The integrated sound chip is present on every motherboard..

 

[maniac007]

1. Those CPU's have built in graphics which is much like the onboard graphics available on many motherboards.. Its basically usefull only for folks who use their PC for office work.. You surely can install your own video card provided the motherboard has the appropriate slot for it and your PSU has enough power to run the card.. Rest assured, the inbuilt graphics chip in the CPU's wont interfere with your graphich card..

2. RAM support depends on the motherboard.. However, most of the newer motherboard(s) feature DDR3 RAM slots and thus you wont be able to use DDR2 RAM..

3. Yes.. The integrated sound chip is present on every motherboard..

ohk thnx buddy.. just one more thing, is the integrated soundchip good or i may have to install it sEparately may be creative sound blaster or somthing coz am having creative 5.1 72rms speakers.

 

[Emperus]

It all depends on your listening and audio hardware (speakers etc.).. Personally, i prefer to use a discrete audio card over the onboard sound chip.. My verdict would always be that, if you can afford one then surely get it..

 

[maniac007]

Best answer selected by maniac007.

 

[maniac007]

It all depends on your listening and audio hardware (speakers etc.).. Personally, i prefer to use a discrete audio card over the onboard sound chip.. My verdict would always be that, if you can afford one then surely get it..

thnx buddy