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New Build Compatibility + Questions on price ranges

Forum Homebuilt Systems : New System Build - New Build Compatibility + Questions on price ranges

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Culain   10-06-2008 at 01:07:35 PM

Decided recently to upgrade my computer and I'm trying to make this go as smoothly as possible so I'd like to ask the good people here to let me know if they see any compatibility issues, have any recommendations as to "this is much better bang for buck than that" and answer a couple questions.

Here goes. Questions first

Will there be any compatibility issues between a GDDR3 1986Mhz Video card and Corsair DDR2 800 memory?

I'm currently using 32 bit XP, is 64 bit Vista worth picking up? I don't plan on going over 4 gigs of Ram in the foreseeable future.

Is it worth picking up a Blu Ray drive?

Any recommended PSU's?

I'm looking to pick up

Case - Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129021

Motherboard - $219.99 - XFX MB-N780-ISH9 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813141005

Processor - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115017

RAM - CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145184

Hard Drive - Seagate ST3640323AS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148335

Dvd/Blu Ray Drive - LG Black 6X Blu-ray DVD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-ROM SATA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827136133

Video Card - SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102770
or - EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX(G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130339

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

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Chihlidog   10-06-2008 at 03:14:04 PM
- 0 +

Looks really good to me, and I would honestly stick with XP right now for gaming with those specs. I dont think you can go wrong.[#ffc600][/#ffc600]

EDIT: As far as the cards, any room in the budget for an ATI 4870?


Message edited by Chihlidog on 10-06-2008 at 03:15:36 PM
Reply to Chihlidog
poorplay   10-06-2008 at 03:37:12 PM
- 0 +

Will if you don't own a PS3 and have never seen BR videos in RL then I suggest you GET ONE! I haven't watch DVDs ever since BR came out. Seeing that the BR player you listed is only 150, I say go for it if you plan on watching movies.

Reply to poorplay
evongugg   10-06-2008 at 04:06:27 PM
- 0 +

No problem between video card memory and system memory.
With 4 GB of memory you can go either with 32-bit or 64-bit.
4 GB will show as 3.5-3.7 GB on a 32-bit system.
Get a Corsair ~500W PSU:

Top Tier PSU:
http://www.tomswiki.com/page/Tiere [...] ngs?t=anon

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forum [...] p?t=108088

http://www.anandtech.com/casecooli [...] spx?i=3359

http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx

http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1460

Silent PSUs
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article699-page1.html

AMD Certified PSUs (Single+Crossfire):
http://ati.amd.com/online/certifiedpsu/index.html

Certified SLI-Ready Power Supplies
http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone_build_psu.html

Hybrid-Power (Hybrid SLI) power supplies:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/gefor [...] upply.html

------------------------------ Google is your friend and Bob's your uncle
 Reply to evongugg
evongugg   10-06-2008 at 04:07:23 PM
- 0 +

If you go with the 4850:

ATI Radeon HD 4850 System Requirements

450 Watt or greater power supply with 75 Watt 6-pin PCI Express® power connector recommended (550 Watt and two 6-pin connectors for ATI CrossFireX™ technology in dual mode)
Certified power supplies are recommended. Refer to http://ati.amd.com/certifiedPSU for a list of Certified products.

------------------------------ Google is your friend and Bob's your uncle
 Reply to evongugg
Culain   10-07-2008 at 12:05:08 AM
- 0 +

I've already got a Corsair 550W PSU so I'll just stick with that for the present.

I definitely could spring for the 4870, I might want to scrimp a bit on the motherboard if I did so. Would a cheaper motherboard affect my system much?

Reply to Culain
evongugg   10-07-2008 at 01:27:20 PM
- 0 +

It might limit your overclocking options.
There may be less SATA ports.

------------------------------ Google is your friend and Bob's your uncle
 Reply to evongugg
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