Help With PC/MOBO + CPU Compatibility Check

[midnitefiend]

Been out of the upgrading game for a while and need help. Lend a rusty tech a hand!

I have a stock Gateway dx4831-01e. Kindly do not tell me to buy another PC or question why I'm upgrading. It's what I have and what I'm going with. I want to max it out for gaming.

Specs from Gateway here: http://support.gateway.com/s/desktop/2009/gateway/dx/dx4831/DX4831sp2.shtml#sup_2

Chipset is a Intel® H57 Express chipset which google tells me supports these processors:

http://www.cpu-upgrade.com/mb-Intel_(chipsets)/H57_Express.html

Cross referencing that with what NewEgg has in stock and with Tom's CPU benchmarks, I'm electing to go with an i7-870 found here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115213

I would appreciate it if someone could confirm if that CPU is compatible with that desktop's motherboard

Just nervous about spending all this money and ordering something that's not compatible.

For extra credit, could someone recommend:

An NVIDIA video card compatible with that board (no SLI). Budget ~$300. Any PCI-E 2.0 x16 would work, right?

An acceptable power supply for that CPU/Vid card. Not sure what wattage I need nowadays. 750? Budget, not sure.

A good fan to replace the stock fan. Budget, not sure.

Thank you in advance!

Ray

 

[compulsivebuilder]

Dealing with the easy one first - I suggest you consult the monthly Tom's Hardware Guide to Graphics cards to find a suitable graphics card for your upgraded machine. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-performance-radeon-geforce,2997.html

Once you know the video card you can determine the size of power supply you need. I suspect it will be lower than 750W.

I can neither confirm nor deny the compatibility of the i7 870 with that motherboard, but I don't see any reason why it would be a problem. You may well want to use a non-standard CPU cooler, but you will have to assess which coolers will fit into the machine.

If you have room, I would suggest considering a Noctua cooler - they make excellent coolers that run fairly quietly. One site that has some excellent reviews of CPU coolers is http://www.silentpcreview.com - they have reviewed most of the Noctua coolers (and a great many others as well.

 

[crate]

Just for your information:
Your Gateway already has a respectable CPU. What it lacks is a Graphics Card.

If you want to spend your money to get a better gaming machine, then use them on a GPU from the list that CompulsiveBuilder refer to.