Upgrading PC - some advice please

[adam1516]

Hi chaps,

I am currently upgrading my custom built PC.

This is the kit I have -

geforce 8800gts
intel core 2 duo e8400 @3ghz
motherboard - abit IP35 pro
power pack - cooler master 650w
ram - 2gb corsair

I want to get a better graphics card - and the ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB caught my eye.

Questions - is this card compatible with the motherboard and power pack, and will it work with win7 64 bit?

I know this card has an HDMI slot - presumably I would be able to connect directly to TV to play films from the PC?

Also, is the core 2 duo powerful enough to get the most out of it and extra ram?

I would appreciate any advice. Thanks.

 

[MiNxYyY]

The motherboard will be fine and so will windows 7 E8400 @ 3ghz?????? overclock it

 

[raralis]

A 5770 will give you quite a boost and it should work on your mobo & psu just fine.

Things you might want to consider as well:

Get 2 more gigs of Ram. It'll help.

Overclock the cpu to 3.6 atleast, 3.8 -4.0 with a decent cooler. I'm sure it's begging you to overclock it by now.

 

[MiNxYyY]

Honestly, i dont know if i have seen an E8400 not reach 3.6/3.8 and thats without even pushing it

 

[adam1516]

thanks for the advice guys.

Just one more question - how do I overclock the e8400?

 

[MiNxYyY]

If you go into your BIOS you can OC it

most E8400 will do 3.4 on stock setttings

Try settings your FSB to 450 and multiplier to 8

 

[adam1516]

hi guys - tried to overclock the way you suggested -

went into BIOS, changed to user defined settings, changed to 450 x 8 (3600), pressed
f10 to save, then - PC restarts and I get a long beeping noise and no start up.

Is there anything I have missed? It doesn't seem to be saving the new settings.

 

[MiNxYyY]

hmm, get a programme called CPU-z and Coretemp

Then we can proceed further

 

[adam1516]

ok I've downloaded those two programmes - now what?

 

[MiNxYyY]

ok in coretemp, it should say your VID, just above the temps.

What is it? and what are your temps?

 

[adam1516]

VID = 1.1500V

temps = core 0 = 37c
core 1 = 37c

 

[MiNxYyY]

ok thats good, any chance you can post a pic of your cpu-z?

 

[adam1516]

lol I would if I knew how to! tell me what you need to know.

 

[MiNxYyY]

core voltage, FSB

 

[adam1516]

core voltage - 1.140V
core speed - 2671.8mhz
multiplier - 8
bus speed - 334mhz
rated FSB - 1336mhz

 

[varkanoid]

try 1.3v as core voltage and 445mhz as FSB. You need to find speed of your RAM and make sure the BIOS setting for RAM speed matches.

ideally this should now be in the overclocking forum.