got some tech questions

[calla]

a couple of questions:

i bought this gigabyte video card (Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GV-NX88T256HV1 GeForce 8800GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics)

and for about 3 weeks it was performing ok, the only video intestive game i played was tf2. the other day i bought cod4 and tried to run it on my pc. the game kept crashing. then the pc wouldnt boot. i think the gfx card burned out b/c i took out the card and i was able to boot my pc.

the card has a 30 day rma plicy from newegg so i'll be sending it back. anyone have experience with gigabyte gfx cards, and when i get the replacement, what can i do to prevent the card from burning out again?

(running an amd 3200 cpu on a asus a8n-e mobo with 2gigs of ram)

also i'm looking into upgrading my cpu so i was looking at the asus m2n 560 sli with an amd 4200 cpu.

how much of a boost is that from my 3200 and am i better off getting ddr2 800 ram or can i just keep my ddr 400 chips?

if i want to go for a sli set up how many watts should my power supply have, 600w enough?
do the two gfx cards have to be the exact same models?
if the two cards have different amounts of ram on them what happens? (eg a 256 mb model + 512 mb model)?

these are the parts i'm looking at, how does it look?:
Newegg.com - XION Dazl XON-503 Black with Blue LED Light Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
Newegg.com - ASUS M2N-SLI AM2 NVIDIA nForce 560 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards
Newegg.com - Rosewill Stallion Series Dual Ball Bearing Fan RD600N-2DC-SL-SLV ATX V2.2/SSI, EPS 12V 600W Active PFC Power Supply-SLI Ready, Auto Switching/90-264V UL, FCC, Chormed - Power Supplies
Newegg.com - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Brisbane 2.2GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor - CPUs / Processors
Newegg.com - MASSCOOL 5C12B3 50mm Ball CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

sound card, optical drives and hard drives i'm just planning to recycle since they're working fine. with the m2n mobo, can i still run ide hard drives?
thanks in advance.

 

[pillar]

well 1st off im wantin 2 get an 8800 vid card, but gotta wait til i get a job so i can save nuff $$ from it 2 upgrade, so i cant say ne thing on the vid card that u have. also the amd 4200 cpu is very cheap, so if u want a decent cpu that will barely run tf2, then yes the amd 4200 will work, otherwise, if ur willing to spend a lil more $$, then get [link=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103212]this amd cpu[/link] (if i were to go 4 an amd cpu, either that or the 6000 is what i would go 4). also the difference between the ddr to ddr2 memory would be a major boost (also you can find more info on difference [link=http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/167]here[/link] & 1 of the best things i love about ddr2 memory is that its so inexpensive that you can get like 2-4gb sticks for bout the same amount that u paid 4 1-2gb sticks like what 1-2 years ago). i cant comment on the sli setup since i dont have that myself, but i believe that its best to get the same cards on both slots. also it does look like the mobo has 2 ide slots, but its best to try n get away from ide hd asap, esp since ide technology is becomin a thing of the past. some stores r selling both ide & sata versions of the same drive 4 the same price (the only ones who r dumb enuff not get the sata versions r customers who either dont know the technology or technology experts who dont tell the customers the info they need or if their mobos can only use ide hard drives).

 

[Doobs]

if i want to go for a sli set up how many watts should my power supply have, 600w enough?
do the two gfx cards have to be the exact same models?
if the two cards have different amounts of ram on them what happens? (eg a 256 mb model + 512 mb model)?

I'm too lazy to read all of this thread but I looked through some of it and decided to answer this for you. Oh, and I spent 30 minutes listening to music and watching t.v. while I was posting this, just to let you know.

#1)

...Minimum 450 Watt for SLI mode system.
(Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 24 Amp Amps.)
An available 6 pin PCI-E power connector [for each card]...

Basically, if you have the connectors for it and you don't have 8 hard drives, you're probably fine. Just double check to make sure you're not running like 14A combined throughout all of the 12V rails - though very unlikely - on your power supply (possibly 1-4 12V rails, probably not more with a 600W). You can check by either looking up your power supply on Newegg or wherever you bought it from, or just open up your case and look at the sticker on the side.

#2/3) As of right now, nVidia has NOT released hybrid SLi drivers (and as far as I know they're not near ready), so you should get the same model for it to work (the same exact one).

 

[/dev/null]

Just picked up a PC Power and Cooling 750W PS for my machine (mini review/notes [link=http://edgegamers.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?74252]here[/link] ) $159 at the egg. All sorts of power connectors, including a pair of the funky new 6+2 "8-pin" connectors. Note the size of the thing.

Best bet for minimal problems is to get matching cards - ie. same clock speed, chipset, etc. Were it me, I would probably try to get the same brand as well. Way back, I heard that it does work to mis match cards, but will perform at the lowest common denominator. Have not confirmed that and it might have been custom drivers.

 

[MrQ]

Watch out on those AMD upgrades. No matter what you are running gfx wise both the 4200 AND your original 3200 will become choke points for the gfx because they cannot process fast enough or well enough to keep up. I suggest going with something a little more powerful...like an Intel Core2 Duo! (yeah I know I am biased

 

[calla]

heh, thanks for all the replies. i would go with intel chips, but they're a bit too pricey for me. i ended up going for a amd 5000 chip and i switched my 8800gt for a 9600 gt.


when i was playing tf2 on my old system, i was getting like 50-60 fps when i wasn't fighting, but as soon as all the shots started firing, my fps dropped to like 15-20 =/

hopefully when my new stuff gets here, i'll be able to play in at least 30.

do the nvidia cards require 750w? i won't be running a sli set up for now so my 550w seems decent enough for now.

 

[Thatguy]

550 should be fine for either one or two 9600's. No need to worry there

 

[pillar]

i personally cant wait til i get this job @ our local airport so that i can upgrade my vid card (only had this 1 for a few months now) & get a dual-core cpu (very much needed for future gamin)

 

[calla]

nm got it

 

[JohnnyOnTheSpot]

First you'll want to try to Uninstall and Reinstall drivers, making sure they're the most recent you'll need both your Sound Card drivers and MoBo drivers.