New GPUs - What Motherboard?

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Starsky303

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Hi all,

I'm seriously thinking about (well, I'm going to) buying a new motherboard and get the new 8800 card soon-ish. Thing is, doing this will mean I'll have to change my RAM and maybe even my processor but I really don't want to change my processor. I've currently got an Athlon 64 FX-55 (939 pin) and I don't want to change it just yet because it's still a kickass chip. I need to change my motherboard because it only supports 8x PCI-E and you need to have 16x for the new GPUs. Also means changing my RAM which is a pain as I've got 4x DDR sticks.

Would it make much of a difference if I just buy a motherboard which supports 16x PCI-E socket 939 or are those gonna be dated? Do I really need to change my chip? What motherboard would be the best for the new GPUs and socket 939?

Nforce 6 motherboards only support dual/quad chips, am I missing out by sticking to a 939 board?

Any advice would be greatly appriciated!
Cheers!

Athlon 64 FX-55
Asus A8N SLI Deluxe
300GB HD - Maxtor
2x Geforce 7800GTs
2x TWIN2048 3200C2PT
Audigy 2 ZS
 
Are you looking at getting two 8800 cards for SLI????

If you are only getting one card, your board does support the full x16 rates. It is only if you are in an SLI setup that it drops you to dual x8 rates.

No need to get a new motherboard yet. You wouldn't notice much of a performance increase (especially in gaming) if you upgraded at this point. Of course this is all a matter of opinion. You and I have very similar systems, and I am VERY satisfied with my frame rates and graphic quality while gaming. I am looking at another year or so on this system before I upgrade.
 
Yeah DonNagual... Im ganna wait till Crysis and other high-end games like that to come out befor I even think of buying a 8800... I got a 7900GT and it gives me amazing FPS in Oblivion with high graphics and all but since Crysis will need some really nice GPUs I'll end up having to change ='(

If I was you Starsky I would switch to a new mobo with LGA 775 to get duo core and one with 2 x16 PCI-e ( to SLi / Crossfire if you want ) slots because if you're ganna be running a 8800 you'll need better performance from your system so your computer doesnt crap out when you're playing high-end games
 
But even an 8800GTX doesn't even use the full 4GB/s bandwidth of X8 PCI-E, not to mention X16 so the performance wouldn't be that much better even if both the cards were running on X16... and why the HELL would anyone need DUAL 8800GTXs???? I mean just one of em can run oblivion max settings with HDR and 16X AF at 30FPS even in the great forest test (or according to Tom's Hardware it can anyway).
 
Thanks for the info guys. I'm also waiting till next year till I get one of these badboy cards. DX10 games haven't even come out yet (have they?) and that's all I'll really be upgrading for, and the fact that the Physx chip is included (I knew it would be eventually, waste of money and case space buying it alone) and the fact that they simply rock. I was more concerned with my Athlon chip and not being able to buy a Nforce 6 motherboard as they only support socket 940. Is my chip still a good one? How does it fair up against the dual cores out there?
 
Starsky303 said:
Is my chip still a good one? How does it fair up against the dual cores out there?

For what applications? Gaming? Your cpu is still an EXCELLENT cpu. Nothing to worry about in the gaming world. The new C2D cpus are faster, but in gaming, the GPU does most of the work anyways. Your cpu is fast enough to keep up with any demand a game can put on it, and I doubt you would even notice a performance increase if you upgraded.

On the other hand if you are a multitasker, you'd probably feel the difference in going to a dual core CPU.
 
Nice one. I'd thought as much. Although I do a shedload of designing on photoshop, my PC's predominantly used for gaming. Thanks again!
 
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