PCI-e 2.0 to go or not to go?

[Kalgren]

Bday is coming up in February so I have time to find a good deal on a 8800gt.
been reading for 2 weeks and still can't come up with definitive answers to my questions. I keep finding half way answers that only bring up more questions and more forum hunting.
So please excuse my questions and don't think I haven't looked, it might be that I just don't understand the answers that were given.

My question is am I required to move up to pci-e 2.0 for an 8800gt or possibly better GPU?
If so then I would need to get a q38 chipset?
I can expect that I will pay around $200.00 for a q38 mobo of any quality?

I am leaning toward ASUS this time around though I have no issue with buying MSI, Gigabyte, etc.
Stability > Performance > Value > Power Consumption.

I might OC up to 15% though not likely any higher, this with a Core 2 Duo. I haven't picked the processor yet but I think that should be the easy part after I find the right mobo.

I mainly play WOW though I will be playing other games. used to be hardcore FPS person and might get back into that action after this upgrade.

currently running an AMD 3200 x2, EVGA (jetway) mobo, 7800gt. I expect I will see some good strength behind a new computer upgrade.
Also I am NOT interested in SLI or Xfire, I don't care if the board has it or not I will not do it.
Did SLI and it doesn't support my dual monitors. Seen enough issues with Xfire and I don't need the headaches of trying to Xfire when I can just go buy a new GPU that will blow away my Xfire or SLI.

Oh and I have a brand new yet to be broken in Anted p182 case, and an OCZ 600 Watt PS (might have to get a different PS if the power cords won't reach though I am enough of an electrician to get that stuff extended if so inclined)

 

[SpaceBall]

Kalgren,

I just did the same thing as you, upgraded to a 8800GT from a 7800GT.

My question is am I required to move up to pci-e 2.0 for an 8800gt or possibly better GPU?

Nope, 8800GT is backwards compatible with PCIe 1.0. Go out and buy the card RIGHT NOW.

If so then I would need to get a q38 chipset?

If you're going to buy, I would wait just a bit longer and hold out for the x48 chipset if you're switching to Intel.

I can expect that I will pay around $200.00 for a q38 mobo of any quality?

I think that sounds about right for price.


So, I mainly play wow and with the upgrade to the 8800GT from 7800GT I noticed that some of the effects (such as the glowing crystals in Marshall's Refuge) actually glow better. They look brighter. I know this is a very qualitative comment, however it was one of the first things I noticed. Obviously with that 7800GT you were already pushing around 40-60 FPS, and this will not change very much in the big cities. The improvement in graphics from the 7800GT to the 8800GT cannot be realized in WoW. Where I did realize a vast improvement is in Call of Duty 4 and Crysis. Although Crysis still cripples my system on "ultra crazy holy crap" settings, I can max out COD4 settings with no stuttering of the frame rate at all. I can also tweak Crysis to a happy medium of performance/quality that I wasn't able to achive with the 7800GT. It also feels nice being Directx 10 compliant.

So the bottom line answer to your question is, you can buy the Video Card now, and upgrade the rest later. The 8800GT will plug right in place of your 7800GT, and you will notice a difference if you get back into your FPS games.

Hope this helps,

-Darren

 

[Kalgren]

Thanks Darren, those answers do help a lot. When is the x48 projected to hit the market?