Will my older motherboard support super modern hardware...

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spock0149

New Member
Newb on this forum saying hi to all. :)

So, I want to upgrade my computer big-time so I can enjoy the many awesome games out there that I have been drooling over for some time now (farcry 2 comes to mind).

However, not being overly wise, I'm afraid I'll order a bunch of stuff from tiger direct and then discover that perhaps are not compatible or something stupid like that:

Here are the things I plan to leave alone:

Motherboard: P4M80-M7 Biostar
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 3.06 GHz
OS: XP
HD: 110Gb

Here are the things I'm thinking of buying:

Memory:

Either:

i)Corsair Value Select 1024MB PC3200 DDR 400MHz Memory

or ii) Corsair Dual Channel TWINX 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (2 x 2048MB)

Graphics Card:

XFX GeForce 9800 GT - 512MB GDDR3, PCI Express 2.0, (2) Dual Link DVI, HDTV, VGA Support

Will I be ok???? Will my motherboard support this??

Thanks to any and all advice.
 
Mitch?

Mitch?

banned
The 1gb of PC3200 ram will work, but you'll have to find a videocard using the AGP interface, and the card you have uses PCI-E (aka PCIE, PCI Express, etc)
 
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spock0149

New Member
Cool, thanks Mr. Johanssen.

I didn't know about the AGP/PCI distinction so thanks for that.

Whats wrong with the memory 4Gb memory stick? I'd like at least 2Gb.
How did you know it wouldn't work, and what should I look for?

Thanks again.
 
Mitch?

Mitch?

banned
The 4gb is DDR2 (or DDR2, PC2, etc)
It supports dual channel, and alot higher frequencies, and the pin layout is different - your motherboard can't handle it and it won't fit anyway.

I'd look for DDR400 or PC3200 (same thing, different rating systems). Your motherboard will only support 2gb anyway, so if you want (i don't know how much RAM you have now) just buy 2 sticks of 1gb, or just add it to your current stick (i'd suggest the latter if you have a 512mb or higher stick already in)
 
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spock0149

New Member
Hmmm. Ok. So much to learn to understand computers these days.

Thanks for the advice....I'm starting to think it might be better to get a whole new motherboard processor as my main motivations are to build a system to play some of the new games.

Not sure my system will cut it - even if I max out the possible upgrades.
 
Mitch?

Mitch?

banned
Yeah, your best bet is a mid range gaming system, it'll run you like $500 for a decent one.
 
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spock0149

New Member
...yes, $500 is about what I am starting to realize.

My dual core laptop works great for all my work related stuff, but I was planning on jazzing up my desktop to become an awesome games machine.

Now the question becomes a little tougher because $500 is the price of a PS3...hmmmm.
 
Shlouski

Shlouski

VIP Member
yeah, but the PC is like 2 consoles, a PC and a xbox 360. Most of the game out on the xbox u can play on the pc, with better graphics, with a xbox controller and on your tv. Also if u r into your strategie games, it means u dont have 2 use the lame controller. But of course u wont b able to play any ps3 games, its just a question of how much u like the games on the ps3.
 
Bodaggit23

Bodaggit23

Active Member
I personally wouldn't waste any money on that old tech.

I built a dual core AMD system with 2GB of RAM for my kids
for under $250.00.
 
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spock0149

New Member
yea, thats the biiiig problem I see with consoles...the lack of the mouse for fps. You really cannot play them properly, which is why I'm 98% going to upgrade.

:good:
 
Euklid

Euklid

Member
Your older computer probably won't have enough PSU for that graphic
card. The 9800 requires 425W of power JUST for the GPU, then you
need some Watts for CPU, fans, USB ports, hard-drive, and DVD.

I just purchased 9800GTX OC+ and Intel Quad Q6600, and I bought the
600W PSU. And I think it might be still too little power.
 
Dazzeerr

Dazzeerr

New Member
Definitely need a new motherboard if you plan to be creating a gaming machine, and may i recommend the same board as mine? :)

Asus EP43-DS3L, nice low price, decent overclocking, can get everything recent on it :) apart from the i7 stuff, obviously.
 
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