Upgrading...lots of questions

[DarkAzure]

Hi there, I just joined and am currently running:
An HP taken out of the case (just using its mobo I believe)and put into a custom case.
64-bit Windows Vista Home premium(which I am upgrading to Windows 7
8gb ram
AMD Phenom 9850 Quad-Core Processor 2.50 GHz
NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX/9800 GTX+
550w Power supply from best buy, something spider i think...lol
I think I may be missing something but if I am please dont just ask "What about your ___? Please tell me how to find the information =).

I am looking to upgrade to an i7 "something" which I am almost sure would require a new motherboard, I dont know what kind of motherboard I have, couldnt figure out where to find that information.


So in short
I need a new motherboard, to fit a sexy new i7 of some sort in it, also the motherboard needs room for 2 video cards, which makes me think if I have that and the new processor I am going to need a new power supply, well what wattage?

I mainly use this computer for MMO's and photo shop. I am going to get a external hard drive to back up what i want then wipe this computer completely and install windows 7(again, not sure which one is right for me) Also, if someone could tell me how to find out what kind of ram I am using, do I need to buy another kind? I heard Win7 makes much better use of 8-12GB than Vista? Is this true?

sorry for all the questions

Please respond either here. Thank you so much!

 

[Fat.Clown]

for i7
first you'd have to decide if you want the more powerful and expensive socket 1366
or the cheaper and less powerful socket 1156

you will also need to buy new DDR3 RAM

I am not sure if I am interpreting this correctly, you currently have 2 video cards? or are you going to purchase another 9800GTX/9800GTX+

download and run CPUID and it will show you the RAM you are using in the memory tab

I am 99% sure it's DDR2 though ;P

 

[DarkAzure]

Okay I will research the difference between 1366 and 1156, new ram, check.(whats a solid number, if I am use to running on 8gb on my current rig? I currently have just one video card, but would like to be able to put the one I have(and am upgrading) in now, and later when I can afford it, put two of the higher level ones in, does that make sense?


EDIT

Will be going with a 1366, just took two forum look overs to figure that out.

 

[Fat.Clown]

normally I would say 6GB for LGA 1366 and 4 for LGA 1156

unless you multi task a lot 4 GB is probably all you need

you can always buy another kit of RAM if you feel 4 (or 6) is not sufficient for you.

okay, so you would like to use 2 high performance video cards in the future

don't know how high level are we talking about... but you might also need a more powerful power supply unit if the video card is at like the top of the hierarchy.

 

[DarkAzure]

So it looks like my choices are

Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail

5x Winner of Customer Choice Award - Processors - Desktops
Series: Core i7
QPI: 4.8GT/s
L2 Cache: 4 x 256KB
L3 Cache: 8MB
Manufacturing Tech: 45 nm
64 bit Support: Yes
Hyper-Threading Support: Yes
Virtualization Technology Support: Yes

$288.99


OR


Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601950 - Retail

Processors Type: Desktop
Series: Core i7
QPI: 4.8GT/s
L2 Cache: 4 x 256KB
L3 Cache: 8MB
Manufacturing Tech: 45 nm
64 bit Support: Yes
Hyper-Threading Support: Yes
$569.99

Obviously I would like the cheaper one, for two reasons, the obvious, price. The second, which will last me longer before I have to upgrade, I read some where that i9's(which I didnt even know about will be on the 1366. Is this true? Or just some random lie I read?

 

[Fat.Clown]

just get the i7 920.

double the price for 10% more performance is not worth it

i9 will be on socket 1366 is true

 

[DarkAzure]

Im thinking two gtx 285's or something similar, so quite a bit of money spent on them, when I do that I am almost positive i will need a new power supply, but how about for either of the above posted processors?

 

[DarkAzure]

Ok done, 920. Now a mobo that supports it, has lots of room(atleast for two video cards and enough ram slots of course).

 

[Fat.Clown]

if you are getting 2 GTX 285's
you will definitely need a more powerful power supply unit

but with just a CPU upgrade, 550W is plenty

 

[DarkAzure]

Sorry for asking all these questions, but I really do appreciate the help, I can go on new egg and search some of this stuff, but I dont know what half of it means, I just now need the big mobo.