Upgrade to what?

Zaxbys

My friend showed me this... Watcha think?

Newegg.com - EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX(G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

And what size PSU will I need to run a higher end graphics card?

kris23

600w should run that card fine...

but you will need more RAM and a Quad Core to comfortably use that card, it is essentially as powerful as an 8800GTX

Zaxbys

Why cant 2Gb of RAM and a 2.4 Dual Core Processor handle it?

kris23

every game that stresses the 9800GTX is heavily multithreaded, so they need large amounts of RAM (4GB recommended) and a Quad Core.

anything else is simply unbalanced and not worth as much in terms of pure performance.


while a Dual-Core will work, unless its OCed VERY heavily, its pointless.... budget processors werent meant to handle high clocks 24/7 the fact the heatspreader isnt soldered to the chip proves it. try playing a game like Crysis with a Dual, it wot run so good unless you have a Quad.

on the bright side, with a Quad, you wont need to OC to surpass anyone and you wont need a big cooler.

kris23

building a balanced system with a 9800GTX is not within the realm of possibility with 700 bucks.

the recommended core components already went past 700:

Newegg.com - EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX(G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
Newegg.com - A-DATA Vitesta 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
Newegg.com - MSI P35 Neo2-FR LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - CPUs / Processors

Zaxbys

What would be my BEST bet for a graphics card then if price doesnt matter and I wanted to use the Gigabyte motehr board and E2220 and 2Gb of RAM?

kris23

8800GT, and i recommend just getting rid of the 2GB of RAM, it doesnt cut it anymore in the level of gaming you can do with the 8800GT

Zaxbys

Say I went with 4Gb of RAM...and the same mobo and processor.. does that open me up to anything better? Such as a 8800GTS? Sorry for havign so many questions...

kris23

Newegg.com - EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
Newegg.com - A-DATA Vitesta 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
Newegg.com - MSI P35 Neo2-FR LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
Newegg.com - Intel Pentium E2220 Allendale 2.4GHz 1MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - CPUs / Processors

those are good components and run pretty well.

kris23

the Quad core has enough power to feed all GPUs today at stock, and when OCed, can feed multiple GPU cards like the 3870x2 or 9800GX2 or two of them.

RAM is the next biggest thing to look at.

if you went with the above Quad setup, its alot more futureproof

Dual-Core became obsolete when Quad Core came out, so everyones flocking there. i plan to sell my e6550 soon as well and maybe get a 45nm Quad.

Zaxbys

How does that EVGA compare to this.
Newegg.com - PALiT NE/880TSXT302 GeForce 8800GT SONIC 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

or this

Newegg.com - XFX PVT88PUHD4 GeForce 8800GT XXX 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

And would two of these RAM packs work?
Newegg.com - OCZ Gold Series 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

kris23

if you were seriously gonna spend as much as the Palit card costs, just get an 8800GTS, less balanced and maybe a bit of bottleneck but its a better buy..

the XFX card is garbage tiny amount of RAM wont play nay REAL game above 1280x1024....

refer to the above post about GPUs, the second most important thing is VRAM amount 512mb is the best amount for the G92 core, 1GB is redundant and reviews show no performance increase.

the 4GB sticks are MUCH faster than those OCZ gold sticks..... waste of money, OCZ is a good company but the heatspreader is worth more than the chips on those sticks, one ADATA set can destroy 2 of those and gives you more upgrade room for 8Gb in the future.

Zaxbys

Is that motherboard SLI able?

And how well with the graphics card you recommended perform in crysis?

kris23

its faster than my OCed 3870, so i say playable on HIGH, thats what i use.

its not SLI capable though, but there are no boards that are that good and stable at that price.....

you can probably get a 750i board but say good bye to your dreams of OCing your CPU to beat your friend..... Nvidia boards suck at OCing

Zaxbys

So basically that card can play any game on the market right now at fairly good settings?

And would it not be worth goign with a EVGA 8800 GTS with all the components you described price aside?

kris23

8800GTS is a minor step up from the 8800GT, noticeable, but then again not really....

it definitely is powerful enough to turn choppy gameplay to comfortable gameplay.

a real stepup is the 9800GTX as it is clocked much higher and has more stream processors, but the CPU may bottleneck it.

just stick to the 8800GT for now and if you get more money later, use EVGA's ingenious step-up plan and get a faster card within 90 days.....

the 9900 series should be out by then and most likely will include a GT card so thats a good idea to go with.

Zaxbys

So perhaps waiting to build a system might be my best approch any way?

kris23

its your choice.... prices wont fluctuate too much, but i highly recommend getting more money and getting a Quad system

Zaxbys

You make alot of sense but now I am at a loss for what to do haha.

Would a 500Watt PSU run the 8800GT?

kris23

yup but the quality of the unit is more of a concern than the power rating, if you go with a poor unit, you may kill the system if its too much strain...... its really a pathetic way to lose such an expensive system.... seen it alot of times....

NEVER trust Antec, or any other cheapo brand

Zaxbys

Ok Thanks for the heads up!

Can you please exxplain what the EVGA "step up" plan is?

kris23

ill explain the basics of it but if you want to know the details PM CDsDontBurn and ask him. he's EVGA support staff even though he dont look it....

at least i think he still is.... either way, he knows all the details about it so just ask him.

basically, you register your product with the 30 days after you purcchased the card and have access to their warranty, (advanced RMA, support, step-up plan etc.)

and if you want to step up to a card, you simply fill out a little form, pay the price difference between the cards and ship your old card to them, then they'll send you the new card.

sure it leaves you rig-less for a few days but you get a faster card for your trouble.

Zaxbys

Thats awsome. So I should go with the 8800GT you showed me over any of the overclocked versions of the same card or the AKIMBO Versions?

kris23

it doesnt matter, the more expensive the card, the less you pay later, the akimbo has better cooling but make sure you have quality parts for everything else before you splurge on a card. spend the money on a good PSU before you stick it to a bigger card.....

Zaxbys

Prices aside and with a good PSU is it worth it to go for the card with tthe better cooling?

kris23

depending on the Akimbo you chose, id go with the 8800GTS 512 KO, its the same price
and probably just as fast or faster and could be OCed more.

Zaxbys

Newegg.com - EVGA 512-P3-N845-AR GeForce 8800GTS (G92) KO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Is this the one you are talking about?