Need help upgrading my system...

T-800 · 13 Sep 2008 at 21:32

Hey guys,

I'm planning on upgrading my ALX, as its getting on a bit now (2-3 years old), and am currently looking to replace the motherboard, CPU and RAM with the following setup, but keep my dual 8800 GTX cards for the time being...

x1 Asus Crosshair II Formula nForce 780a SLI (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard

x1 AMD Phenom X4 Quad Core 9950 2.60GHz Black Edition (Socket AM2) - Retail

x1 Corsair 4GB DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC2-8500C5 TwinX (2x2GB) Supplied with Airflow Fan (TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF)

Just wanted to know if everything listed above would work together OK, and if there's anything I've overlooked, or any additional parts I'd need to purchase, things like that...

If it's of any help, I use my PC for video-editing (Premier Pro & Vegas), graphics work (Photoshop, Lightroom & 3ds), and gaming.

Anything else you wanna know, shoot me a question.

Cheers, guys!

T-800.

Tetras · 13 Sep 2008 at 21:38

Just wanted to know if everything listed above would work together OK

Yes.

Ben M · 13 Sep 2008 at 21:50

Hi, and welcome.

it would go together okay, but why did you pick AMD? Intel are considered (far) superior to AMD at present.

Claimed.

T-800 · 13 Sep 2008 at 22:07

Ben M said:
why did you pick AMD? Intel are considered (far) superior to AMD at present.

I'd read somewhere that you're not able to use SLi on an Intel board...

Tetras · 13 Sep 2008 at 22:49

You can on nvidia chipset boards...

T-800 · 13 Sep 2008 at 23:44

Tetras said:
You can on nvidia chipset boards...

Aha - I wasn't aware.

I've also just noticed that Intel do quad-core processors, too.

********... Just when I thought I'd made up my mind... :rolleyes:

T-800 · 14 Sep 2008 at 00:34

OK, guys... What would be the equivalent setup, but with an Intel chip and board? And could I get a *better* setup for around the £400 mark? Bearing in mind I'd like to keep my dual 8800 GTX cards.

T-800 · 14 Sep 2008 at 06:11

Perhaps a more important question...

Do Intel make a motherboard that supports quad-core as WELL as SLi?

hp7909 · 14 Sep 2008 at 07:15

T-800 said:
Do Intel make a motherboard that supports quad-core as WELL as SLi?

Not yet, just supporting ATI's CrossFire. But next Intel chipset is rumoured to support SLi.

OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-6400C5 800MHz SLI-Ready Edition Low Latency Dual Channel DDR2 (OCZ2N800SR4GK) £49.99
EVGA nForce 780i SLI nForce 780i (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (132-CK-NF78-A1) £154.99
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 LGA775 'Yorkfield' 2.66GHz 12MB-cache (1333FSB) Processor - Retail £184.99
Sub Total : £389.97
Shipping : £8.25
VAT : £69.69
Total : £467.91

Over budget but should last you longer

T-800 · 14 Sep 2008 at 20:26

hp7909 said:
Not yet, just supporting ATI's CrossFire. But next Intel chipset is rumoured to support SLi.

But the EVGA SLi board and Intel Core 2 Quad CPU you mentioned will work OK together, right? I probably need a few things explained to me...

Tetras · 14 Sep 2008 at 20:54

Currently the only chipsets supporting Intel Core 2 Quad CPUs and SLI are made by nVidia.

The eVGA uses nVidia 780i SLI, which supports all the latest Intel CPUs, DDR2 and SLI.

T-800 · 14 Sep 2008 at 21:06

Tetras said:
Currently the only chipsets supporting Intel Core 2 Quad CPUs and SLI are made by nVidia.

The eVGA uses nVidia 780i SLI, which supports all the latest Intel CPUs, DDR2 and SLI.

Aha! Gotcha... My apologies. When I asked "Do Intel make a motherboard that supports quad-core as WELL as SLi?", I meant to ask if there was *a* motherboard that supported quad-core Intel CPUs as well nVIDIA SLi setups.

So I'd *definitely* be better off with an Intel CPU over AMD?

What happened to AMD, anyway? I thought they were leading the race not so long ago...

T-800 · 14 Sep 2008 at 23:10

Just a thought, but what about getting a more "future proof" motherboard, then getting around 4GB of the "cheaper" DDR3 RAM (instead of 4GB of higher-end DDR2 RAM), and a low-end Intel Core 2 Quad CPU? I can always upgrade the RAM and CPU at a later date...

MOBO: Asus Striker II Extreme nForce 790i Ultra SLi (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard - £239.99
RAM: Corsair 4GB DDR3 DHX 1333C9DHX Twin3X (2x2GB) (TW3X4G1333C9DHX) - £99.99
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail - £112.99
Subtotal: £452.97
Shipping: £8.25
VAT: £80.71
Total: £541.93

It's a tad more expensive, but if it sets me up for the future, then at least it's justifiable.

hp7909 · 15 Sep 2008 at 04:38

7-series NVIDIA boards not very good. In fact only the EVGA branded one seems to have no/less issues.

Best Intel boards are one's baring their P35 or P45 chipset. But since you want SLi, have no choice but to go NVIDIA.

DDR3 still needs a bit more time to mature (say next year), especially in regards to current crop of mobos supporting it.

What happened to AMD? Well, Intel Core microarchitecture is what: A complete revamp of Intel processors (read more here)

T-800 · 15 Sep 2008 at 05:12

hp7909 said:
What happened to AMD? Well, Intel Core microarchitecture is what: A complete revamp of Intel processors (read more here)

Many thanks for the link!

hp7909 said:
7-series NVIDIA boards not very good. In fact only the EVGA branded one seems to have no/less issues.

What are the known issues with 7-Series nVidia boards?

hp7909 said:
DDR3 still needs a bit more time to mature (say next year), especially in regards to current crop of mobos supporting it.

When you say DDR3 still needs a bit more time to mature, do you mean it would be unwise to go for a DDR3 setup at the moment? Or simply that there will be better DDR3 modules available in the near future for the motherboards of today?

T-800 · 15 Sep 2008 at 15:30

Bumpity-bump. (Hope this isn't frowned upon!)

T-800 · 15 Sep 2008 at 22:13

Anyone?

shaffaaf27 · 16 Sep 2008 at 03:39

your DDR3 spec looks fine.

but just my opinion, sell your GTXs, and get 2 4870s with an x34 mobo and DDR2 RAM

hp7909 · 16 Sep 2008 at 04:53

T-800 said:
What are the known issues with 7-Series nVidia boards?

Stability/corruption issues just search around to find out more.

DDR3 is more to do with the current crop of mobos. By the time its mainstream better (mobo) chipsets & prices should have reduced drastically.

T-800 · 16 Sep 2008 at 05:59

shaffaaf27 said:
your DDR3 spec looks fine.

Excellent. How's the choice of processor? I'm currently running a 2.80GHz AMD Athlon 64 FX Dual Core CPU...

shaffaaf27 said:
but just my opinion, sell your GTXs, and get 2 4870s with an x34 mobo and DDR2 RAM

I've been looking at ATi's current lineup, and although impressive, I'm quite happy with my 8800 GTX cards for the time being.

hp7909 said:
Stability/corruption issues just search around to find out more.

I did a quick Google search and read a few extensive reviews on the Asus Striker II Extreme, none of which spoke of any stability / corruption issues with this particular model... Maybe it's the one that got away?

hp7909 said:
DDR3 is more to do with the current crop of mobos. By the time its mainstream better (mobo) chipsets & prices should have reduced drastically.

Do you mean to say that any DDR3 motherboard I go with now, I'm likely going to want to exchange for one of the more "stable" DDR3 motherboards available in the near future?

Cheers, guys. You're helping me fill a lot of the gaps in my mind.