A few questions before I get a new computer

[Tirrock]

I'm planning getting a new computer fairly soon when some prices drop, but there's a few things that I'm confused about. My current computer is Dell. I don't hate them, but not being able to upgrade very much is something I don't like.

First, how useful is SLI / Crossfire? Just having two x16 PCI-E slots makes the price shoot up on motherboards. If this is something that will only be used seriously several years down the road (if ever), I'd rather save myself the money on a second video card and the more expensive motherboard.

Second, how many watts would I need on my power supply? It'd have to run a light and the usual; a few fans, a video card (or two if SLI/Crossfire is good), a hard drive or two, DVD R/W, DVD-ROM. I tried seeing what my current computer uses, but I couldn't find any information on it. I'd rather not make the mistake of getting too little power and having the computer restart all the time.

Newer motherboards can hold 4 sticks of RAM. From what I've gathered, you need to matching RAM (memory size/brand). I don't know if that's right or not, though. My question is, can I have two 512MB sticks and two 1GB sticks?

What does a 64bit OS do for me? I seem to remember something about certain processors only working right with a 64bit OS. The only one I've seen so far is Win XP Pro. If it is true that some processors work to their full potential with a 64bit OS, would Intel's core duo E6400 (2.13GHz, two processors) be one?

This one is sort of a matter of opinion, but what do people think about Sapphire's X1950Pro 512MB video card?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814102075
The price looks pretty good for it's power. I'm not dead-set on either ATi or Geforce, so if there's a a video card with a huge boost in power for $50 more, I'd be interested. I can't tell if it's missing anything either. ATi's X1300 series is missing "vertex and pixel shader support", despite being newer than my Radeon 9600XT (which does have it).

I just want a video card that I'm sure will handle games well even two or three years from now without costing me $400. On that note, I've heard about direct X 10 video cards coming out. Would DX10 not work on older video cards? I can't even remember the last time I've upgraded direct X from a version other than 9.0.

One more question. Has anybody heard of MagicMicro (http://www.magicmicro.com)? Their selection on parts is decent, they actually give the name/specs of the parts in the computer, they don't install a bunch of annoying programs when you get a computer, their computers come with warranties, and they don't charge an arm and a leg for building it. The price of the build I was looking at was pretty comparable with newegg's prices. Unless people have heard bad things about them, I think I'll order through them.

It seems I had more questions than I thought I did. Sorry for the "halp - computer building newb" thread. D:

[Zigma]

SLI: Good
Crossfire: Decent, SLI has more support.

watts: I'd recommend 550 to be on the safe side if you're going to run a sli

ram: no, you're thinking rdram. it can be diferent brand although some don't like each other. Yes, you can have 2 512s and 2 1gigs

64bit OS: nothing for you, don't worry about it.

video card; decent card, if you're going vista, just get a dx10 card. If you're going to stay with xp, add a few more bucks and get a geforce 7950.

dx: DX10 is backwards compatible with Dx9. You should be fine but again, this depends on what OS you're going to be running. winxp does not support dx10. basically, if you're gonna be running vista, get a dx10 card. games will look and run better.


magicmicro: dunno.

[Sigi]

better yet, on the powersupply... get a reputable brand. No-name can be a nasty round of Russian Roulette. I'd honestly go 550-600. The more power you have, the better on a big system like you're planning

[Isiolia]

First, how useful is SLI / Crossfire? Just having two x16 PCI-E slots makes the price shoot up on motherboards. If this is something that will only be used seriously several years down the road (if ever), I'd rather save myself the money on a second video card and the more expensive motherboard.

IMO, not very. It's great if you have a ton of cash and want to plop two high end cards in to surpass what's available as a single card solution at the time.
If not, two midrange cards don't necessarily even perform as well as one high end card. Nor will they necessarily cost less, not to mention pull less power or produce less heat...

It's of limited use as a future expansion as well. The GPU market tends to move fast enough that unless you plan to turn around and buy a new card next month or something, chances are you'll get the same, or more, power for less cash in a single card.

I'd look at other features on the motherboard though. I have an SLI board, though I don't use SLI. However, it's just something that's on a lot of the higher end boards. I wouldn't write off a mobo just due to SLI, look at the other features on it as well.

Second, how many watts would I need on my power supply? It'd have to run a light and the usual; a few fans, a video card (or two if SLI/Crossfire is good), a hard drive or two, DVD R/W, DVD-ROM. I tried seeing what my current computer uses, but I couldn't find any information on it. I'd rather not make the mistake of getting too little power and having the computer restart all the time.

Most likely look for something in the 550-600 watt range. As suggested above, buy a good make/model as well.

Newer motherboards can hold 4 sticks of RAM. From what I've gathered, you need to matching RAM (memory size/brand). I don't know if that's right or not, though. My question is, can I have two 512MB sticks and two 1GB sticks?

Yes and no. You need to match pairs if you want to have Dual Channel capabilities enabled. Otherwise you should be able to use whatever.
I've seen some manufacturers recommend that for Dual Channel use, all four slots should have the same size modules...but that may vary.

What does a 64bit OS do for me? I seem to remember something about certain processors only working right with a 64bit OS. The only one I've seen so far is Win XP Pro. If it is true that some processors work to their full potential with a 64bit OS, would Intel's core duo E6400 (2.13GHz, two processors) be one?

Basically, it allows your computer to actually do things in 64-bit. Primarily this means you can access larger amounts of RAM (more than 4GB). Actually, Windows has problems with even 4GB of RAM.
XP has a 64 bit version, Vista is 64 bit for all versions. Both have a fair number of incompatibilities though.

While you can't use 64-bit hardware to it's full potential without a 64-bit OS, the bigger question will be whether or not it's potential you'd miss. Frankly, it probably isn't. Unless of course you're doing research computing on your gaming machine...

This one is sort of a matter of opinion, but what do people think about Sapphire's X1950Pro 512MB video card?

Couldn't say much, as I haven't used one. They tend to be a good brand for ATI based cards though.

I just want a video card that I'm sure will handle games well even two or three years from now without costing me $400. On that note, I've heard about direct X 10 video cards coming out. Would DX10 not work on older video cards? I can't even remember the last time I've upgraded direct X from a version other than 9.0.

DX10 is still quite new. It's only in Windows Vista. An older card won't fully support it, no. When the time comes that DX10 games are coming out, you'll probably want to upgrade.
However, DX10 games in any sort of quantity are still a bit off on the horizon.
It kinda just remains to be seen if you'll need a DX10 card in a couple years or not. However, it's certainly a good reason to not break the bank on a card *now*.

I haven't heard of magicmicro, but they do seem to just build you a system with your choice of parts. I'd say that as long as you're able to actually get the parts you want it's probably not a bad way to go.

[Vertabreaker]

I'll give you my view point on SLI since I just built one.

It's all about what you're going to be using the PC for. If you're going to be doing 3d programming/rendering/etc SLI is not the way to go. If you're going to be playing graphics intensive games, SLI is the way to go. I've read alot of articles complaining about the Crossfire setups. Now I've never had one so I can't comment on them. But what I can tell you is this:

Power supply, get at LEAST a 650W if you go SLi. Some say 550W, but trust me, you'll want a 650 or higher especially if you're going to have multiple HDDs or multiple DVD/CD drives.

If you don't need/care about DX10 yet, don't bother getting a DX10 card. They're super expensive. You'll probably spend close to 1k$ in video cards alone(if you get 2 for SLI). Personally I went with 2 Evga 7950GT KO cards. They come factory overclocked and can be overclocked even more. They're 512MB a piece giving you 1GB total of GPU Memory if you put them in SLi mode.

You can get a very good SLi mobo for around $150. ASUS makes some very nice ones that are on the cheap end as well as other companys.

Something else to remember when building, is that if you go SLi, you're not going to have alot of room to add other cards in if you want like a physics card, or other PCI cards. The two video cards will most likely cover all of your PCI slots except 1 usually.

In the big picture, it's all what you're expecting to do with your new PC. The only time I go into SLi mode is for games like F.E.A.R., BF, etc. Other then those, I'm running in standard mode. You can run these games with 1 GPU, it's totally possible, SLi just makes it more frosty.

As far as the RAM goes, it's been pretty much covered. You have to have matching pairs. My advice, just get all of the same. Don't mix and match.

If you just want a good gaming PC without going over the top PC wise, I wouldn't recommend going with an SLi rig. My rig in the end ran about $2000. If you want something that can handle todays games and last a while without going over the top, grab a nVidia 7950GT. Price range is usually under $300 with the average price being about $250.00. It's a 512MB card and you can overclock the piss out of it if you desire.

Sorry if everything is all over the place, hope I could give you a little insight into SLi. GL with the new machine.

[Tirrock]

Since I don't need a DX10 card yet, I think I'll go with the 7950GT and upgrade when it's needed. As far as SLI or not, I think I'll see if there's a decent SLI motherboard that doesn't cost an extra $75.

Thanks for the advice on all the questions I had.

[Calina]

my old comp recently died think i fried the motherboard lol

would i be able to take out the 2x250ram sticks and put them in my new comp with has 2x512 atm?

[SephYuyX]

my old comp recently died think i fried the motherboard lol

would i be able to take out the 2x250ram sticks and put them in my new comp with has 2x512 atm?

Depends if the mobo supports whatever speed ram you have.

[Calina]

my old comp recently died think i fried the motherboard lol

would i be able to take out the 2x250ram sticks and put them in my new comp with has 2x512 atm?

Depends if the mobo supports whatever speed ram you have.

should i just try and plug them in and see what happens or will that be bad for my new comp if there not compatible?

[SephYuyX]

my old comp recently died think i fried the motherboard lol

would i be able to take out the 2x250ram sticks and put them in my new comp with has 2x512 atm?

Depends if the mobo supports whatever speed ram you have.

should i just try and plug them in and see what happens or will that be bad for my new comp if there not compatible?

Ehhh.. usually the worst that happens is that your computer will beep at you madly, rarely will it actually screw something up.. but there is a chance if it doesnt beep and it's still incompatible, that it could screw something up.

[Zigma]

my old comp recently died think i fried the motherboard lol

would i be able to take out the 2x250ram sticks and put them in my new comp with has 2x512 atm?

yes it would work but if one ram is faster than the other, both are going to be running at the speed of the slowest.

If you have 2x512 2100 and 2x512 3200, the 3200 is going to be running at 2100, but you'll notice the diff of 1gb or ram.

[Calina]

well just tried putting them in and no luck they dident fit

[Calina]

just ganna buy ram found what i need online

i got 1 question thow when i buy them do they come in sets of 2 or just 1 stick?

from what i understood about about ram you needed to have them in pairs is that true or not?

[SephYuyX]

just ganna buy ram found what i need online

i got 1 question thow when i buy them do they come in sets of 2 or just 1 stick?

from what i understood about about ram you needed to have them in pairs is that true or not?

No, if anything usually you can just use singles, but it just depends on how old your computer is.

Depending on your mobo, it may require to have 2 of the same mb and speed, and some ram will only work if you have 2. It just depends on what you have.

Go to kingston.com, put in the model of your computer/mother board and it will tell you what you need.

[Calina]

MODULES MAY BE INSTALLED ONE AT A TIME; however, they must be added in like pairs to take advantage of Dual Channel Mode.

does that mean i can just get single strips of ram and if so should i get 1x1gig or 2x512?

witch would be faster?

this is what i have now 512MB DDR2-667 Modulex2

either wanna get 1 1GB DDR2-667 Module or 2 more of the 512MB DDR2-667 witch would be best?

or does it only matter what it adds up to overall not weather or not i have gig sticks or 512 sticks?

[SephYuyX]

DDR2 are 64-bit wide. When you install two of them under dual channel mode you double the number of bits that is transferred per clock cycle, making it 128 bits. If you install one, its basiclly going at 533MHz with 4,264 MB/s, when you install two in dual mode that rate doubles to 8,528 MB/s, but knocks the speed down to 266MHz, however it acts like its working at 1,066MHz.

In short, youre better off with dual channel mode. I assume two 512 your looking at totals to be more expensive than the one 1024? Youre basiclly getting a bit more for your money, but at a bit under 10% improvment.

[Calina]

DDR2 are 64-bit wide. When you install two of them under dual channel mode you double the number of bits that is transferred per clock cycle, making it 128 bits. If you install one, its basiclly going at 533MHz with 4,264 MB/s, when you install two in dual mode that rate doubles to 8,528 MB/s, but knocks the speed down to 266MHz, however it acts like its working at 1,066MHz.

In short, youre better off with dual channel mode. I assume two 512 your looking at totals to be more expensive than the one 1024? Youre basiclly getting a bit more for your money, but at a bit under 10% improvment.

the 512 are 55$ and the 1024 is 98.99$

guess ill go with 2 512 maybe 2 1024 depending how much cash i acculy have right now thz for the help^^

[Shuemue]

If your board supports dual channel RAM, it's definitely worth the extra few bucks for a matched pair.