PC upgrading

[neagu]

So i want to upgrade my pc.

Specs:

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-G13M-S2L

Processor: Intel Core 2 duo 8800@2.66GHz

RAM: 4GB

Graphic card: Nvidia Geforce 8800 gt 512mb

Now, I have around 250 euros, and i'd like to upgrade my graphic unit. I've thought about going SLI (buying another 8800 and a new mb) but a pal told me I have to either overclock my cpu to +3 GHz or buy a new one. So i'm not an expert about these things, what would be my best option ?

Thanks.

PS: oh and i need to find something either in belgium (or close to it.) or in romania.

[=HT=Duro]

QUOTE (dirtycopgangsta @ Nov 22 2009, 03:35 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So i want to upgrade my pc.

Specs:

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-G13M-S2L
Processor: Intel Core 2 duo 8800@2.66GHz
RAM: 4GB
Graphic card: Nvidia Geforce 8800 gt 512mb

Now, I have around 250 euros, and i'd like to upgrade my graphic unit. I've thought about going SLI (buying another 8800 and a new mb) but he told me I have to either overclock my cpu to +3 GHz or buy a new one. So i'm not an expert about these things, what would be my best option ?

Thanks.

PS: oh and i need to find something either in belgium (or close to it.) or in romania.[/b]

dont change your cpu, OC it to 3.2 . it will be dont without problem, dont worries. ppl hit 4GHZ 95% of time with the E8400. so the 8800 ... the next upgrade in cpu worl will be a Quad core, but like i said, you got a damn good cpu, dont change it for now

dont go SLI, go with a newer unit. im a Nvidia fan, but the 8800GT is aged. aim a HD5850 or GTX275. you can find some HD4890 at some aggresive price too

[neagu]

I'm considering what you said, but will my motherboard support it ?

[=HT=Duro]

first, i wrote 8800 cause i didnt thinked before writing and i wrote the same number as you lol.. but E8800 dont exist .... the max you can have its a E8600 @ 3.3. so either you have a E8200 @ 2.66 or you dint have write the good cpu.... http://www.cpuid.com and dl cpuz, you will be fix

anyway any C2D cpu can run over 3ghz .. even my old E6300 ( not hte new pentium dual core E6300) @ 1.8 was able to run @ 3Ghz, you only need a good fan, not the shitty stock one

your mobo support what? new graphic card? new cpu??

for the graphic card, no problem, even if its a pci-e 1.0 port, you will not see a big change between this and a new 2.0 pci-e. your cpu will bottleneck you before. even your 8800GT 512mb is a PCI-E 2.0 videocard and it work perfect in your pc

for the cpu, you motherboard, with the latest bios updated, can support all Core2Duo/Core2Quad series. any quad core in Q6000,Q8000,Q9000 series,. you board support 45nm cpu, so no worries about upgrading. after that its Core I7/I5/I3 familly, and you will need another mobo for that.

about the buying a new mobo and a new videocard.... SLI .. ok SLI and CF are needed when you play game under heavy graphic and high resolution. if you game @ 1920*1080 and higher, go SLI ONLY IF YOU GOT A GOOD CARD AT FIRST ... its always better to have one kick ass card than 2 mediums one ... buying a new mobo and a 8800GT used, cause it will be really hard to get a new one first, and a cheap one ... normally around 100$us on ebay ...just to go sli you will put a min of 200$ .. card and mobo ... forget it and buy a better graphic card at same price, or a lil more , who will kick the ass of your 2 X 8800GT in SLI and you will gain time .. no mobo swapping

i build custom pc for ppl since 8 years, and when i put a part in a pc, normally its the best for the $$$ that the customer have put on table. trust me, alot of ppl are happy that i didnt follow what they wanted at begin, to have sli first. dont be fool, SLI and CF is a really good technology, but it depend of alot of things. not everyone need it

[DXR_13KE]

Go for an ATI 5850 instead of going to SLI.