Will This Work?

[Phate]

I know i know the forum is flooded with these threads, but i have problems trusting myself, so i figured id ask you guys, the all knowing gurus of computers!

Im trying to upgrade my computer for the 2nd time (in anticipation for WAR), and im going to spend about $800, ive got all the parts picked out, all i need to know is: A.) will everything work together? im pretty sure i picked out all the slots right, but a double-check would help B.) Will there be space? i know the ram is pretty tall, but i dont have anything even overhanging it, so plenty of room there, im more worried about the video cards. C.) Will i need a larger power supply? im running a 500W FSP PSU, will that be enough considering im only powering one HDD and 2 CD/DVD drives?) and D.) Any other tweaks you can see? am i spending too much on something? should i be going a different way?

And without further ado, here are the parts ive picked out:

ASUS M3N-HD HDMI AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA nForce 750a SLI HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
EVGA 640-P2-N824-AR GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail x2 (SLI'd)
OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2RPR10664GK - Retail
AMD Phenom 8750 Toliman 2.4GHz Socket AM2+ 95W Triple-Core Processor Model HD8750WCJ3BGH - OEM

obviously the other parts i already have, those are just the ones im upgrading.

 

[wafflehammer]

that video card is horrible..i recommend the 4850

 

[Phate]

so the 8800GTS is bad? and is this 4850 an ATI card? because ive heard that NVIDIA is better performance wise then the ATI...

also, i read that SLI isnt all that amazing when your using low resolutions (my monitors top is 1280x1024), so should i just stick to 1 card then?

and also, if your reccomending a 4850, could you possibly provide a link of a specific card?

Thanks,
Phate

 

[meat_helmet]

so the 8800GTS is bad? and is this 4850 an ATI card? because ive heard that NVIDIA is better performance wise then the ATI...

also, i read that SLI isnt all that amazing when your using low resolutions (my monitors top is 1280x1024), so should i just stick to 1 card then?

and also, if your reccomending a 4850, could you possibly provide a link of a specific card?

Thanks,
Phate

Its not that its a bad card, its just that it is quite old now. 18 months ago it was good, now its beaten by midrange cars.

The 4850 is a very good card and will beat the pants off the GTS 640:

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

I suggest you look around for some video card reviews and comparisons to get a better understanding of which cars are good/bad, old/new. Try Anandtech or Toms Hardware.

Oh and yeh at that resolution do not bother with SLI or crossfire, you will not need it.

 

[dhgunit]

http://www.techist.com/forums/f76/graphics-card-rankings-139202/

 

[Phate]

all right, i cave, radeon does look better, i lose some video ram, but eh, its ranked higher, and i trust that X.X

question though: will the 4850 work with my currently selected mobo? or do i need to go back to the drawing board here

 

[Phate]

all right wait... if im not doing SLI (which seems the best choice atm), should i still be getting this mobo? it seems that i could cut costs by getting a mobo that DOESNT neccesarily have sli-ready setup....

 

[alehkcis]

well that will really be up to you, if you buy a mobo with crossfire or sli capabilities, in the future incase you want to upgrade your computer you can also save money because you will only buy a GPU ,but like they all said if your only gaming at that resolution, you will not benefit that much from sli or crossfire.

 

[Phate]

all right.

so my current mobo (the one in the original post) will work with the 4850?

 

[baron5]

yes, but my suggestion ditch the amd rig and go with a p45 and a e8400, same price range and will walk all over that amd. Or if your a fanboy get sumthin like this instead

Newegg.com - BIOSTAR TFORCE TA790GX3 A2+ AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

other wise go intel and get these
ASUS p5q mobo
e8400 cpu
same ram
HIS/visiontek 4850