Questions about getting a new mobo and ram.

[D@nny]

Must mobos do come with a intergrated sound card and video card right? But usually not ram. I currently have ddr 2700 3200 ram. Probaly some of the new amd athlon 64 bit dual processor mobos have to take a special kind of ram? So If I upgrade my mobo and then CPU I will have to buy new ram right?
I was thinking of instead of just upgrading this computer but then I thought to buy a new one. But it would be cheaper just to buy it all off newegg right? I know i'd have to upgrade my agp 6800 gs which has been really great to PCI X16 . I can afford that after selling all my other video cards . But for a mobo will I be able to plug in the 2 stick 2700 ram and the 1 one stick 3200 512 mb ram? Also I heard AMD is going to go down once intel conroe mobos come out. But If there like 300+ I doubt im going to buy them anyway. I want to try to buy an update asus motherboard that comes with a cpu but im not sure which one to choose and if I'll have to buy all new ram cards . Also i'll need a case because probaly the motherboards alone will destroy my 295.4 watt psu. All cases come with a cpu right?
My current specs are a 295.4 watt psu in a sony vaio case.
2 sticks ddr 2700 256 mb ram
512 mg ddr 3200 ram
nvidia 6800 gs agp (oc'd to 385 mhz)
Intel Northwood 2.8 gHZ
oem sound card Sound blaster audigy [b800] no driver upgrades for it.
my bios is real old too I contacted e-support and there supposed to help me upgrade my oem bios version 5.12.....
I want to buy a new mobo/cpu but if I need a new case/power supply then i'd like to kno if i should buy it all of newegg or buy a packaged computer.

 

[Rik]

You should NEVER mix different speed ram.

 

[D@nny]

why is that?

 

[Rik]

Search this forum for memmory mixing and you will see, it causes system instabilities.

 

[0009]

first off, dont mix and match any ram, for example if your motherboard required [DDR400 aka PC3200] that is the only ram you should use, motherboards only take one type of ram. amd isnt special when it comes to ram. amd is a processor aka cpu, if you mean amd compatible motherboards its the same thing, they can take the same kind of ram that intels take, depending on the motherboard.

motherboards do come with onboard audio, but most dont come with onboard video, you could use your video card in a different mobo with a pci x16 slot. it should be fine.

 

[Rik]

Good advice from 0009 there. I'd just like to add, once you have decided what motherboard to get, go to www.crucial.com and use their database to find what ram is compatible with the new mobo. I don't suggest you buy from them as their prices are a little on the high side.
Ive looked up ram for several different mobo's that i had manuals for on crucial, so far their database has been 100% accurate for me, even with some really old mobo's.

 

[D@nny]

first off, dont mix and match any ram, for example if your motherboard required [DDR400 aka PC3200] that is the only ram you should use, motherboards only take one type of ram.QUOTE]

Not my motherboard on Sony Vaio's website for system specs it says comptabile with ddr 2700 , 3200 ram. Something very close to that. So the devolpers do say motherboards can take diffrent speeds of ram. As long as their close to each other. example (333mhz and 400 mhz). Anything above 3200 would not work in my machine said by Sony Vaio system specs as listed above and Circuit City.

 

[N3051M]

there is no set-in-stone rule of not mixing ram.. its just advised to have two matched/identical ram to ensure optimum system working.. but that doesn't mean that two different types wont work, just a disclaimer of:
- mixed speed may not let you boot past post, or if your mobo is kind enough, slow the system down to the slowest ram or the lowest/common setting..
- same applies to mixed types and size(s)