New video card & old motherboard

[attilathehun1]

I just bought a GeForce 8800 512mb card from Dell and it's a PCI-E. I have a
stock Dell 8300 mobo bought in 2002. I hvn't replaced the mobo so it's stock.
Do I have to buy a new mobo to use this new card? Ok, here the whole rundown
on the card. It's a GeForce 8800 GT 512 MB DDR3 PCI-E 2.0 Graphics Card. The
motherboard is a Dell Computer Corp. 0M2035, Serial Number CN481113703RF. Bus
Clock 800 Megahertz.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, attilathehun1

 

[Stephen]

You can do one of two things. 1) look at the motherboard where the video card
would normally go and see if it says AGP above or below it. 2) look up the
specs of the motherboard to see if it supports PCI-E. I just looked at the
specs for a demension 8300 and the video on it is AGP.
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim8300/sm/specs.htm

 

[attilathehun1]

Ok, I am almost certain I need a upgrade from my Dell 8300 stock mobo. I just
bought a mobo and CPU from newegg.com. The motherboard is a GIGABYTE
GA-EP35C-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Dynamic Energy Saver Ultra Durable II
Intel Motherboard, item #N82E16813128082. The CPU is an Intel Core 2 Duo
E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400,
item #N82E16819115037.
Those along with the GeForce 8800 GT 512 MB DDR3 PCI-E 2.0 Graphics Card
will do the trick. I'm thinking about buying a nw tower. too.
Thanks,attilathehun1

 

[attilathehun1]

Ok, I just bought another item from newegg.com. A PC case, Thermaltake Armor
Series VA8003BWS Black Full Tower Case w/25CM Fan, item #: N82E16811133021. I
paid about 180 bucks after shipping and handling.
Thanks, attilathehun1

 

[Stephen]

Don't forget to click yes or no next to "Was this post helpful to you?"

 

[attilathehun1]

Ok, I just figured out that I have to buy RAM too. I have alot of RAM, DDR
400-184 pin DDR SD-RAM (PC 3200). This motherboard has 240 pin connectors.
That's another thing. I just bought, last month, 1 GB of DDR 400 184-pin RAM
for my Dell 8300. I see newegg.com has Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin
DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory for $99.99,
after a $100.00 instant savings. There are some other RAM sticks I can buy
for example; Corsair Dominator 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066
(PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory for $172.00 with the $25 dollar
instant savings from newegg. The last option is Patriot Viper 2GB (2 X 1GB)
240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel kit Desktop Memory for
$191.99.
I like the instant savings of $100.00 with the first option of RAM. The PC2
6400.
I can afford to pay more bucks, but I don't want to waste money.
The other thing that has me kinda doubting the Kingston Hyper X is it's
4GBs of RAM where the last option, Patriot Viper PC3 10666 is only 2GBs of
RAM.
What is your opinion?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, attilathehun1

 

[Stephen]

Kingston is usually a good brand, and they normally come with a lifetime
warranty. so i would go with that. You can also check out other vendors
online such as Geeks.com at http://www.geeks.com or Tiger Direct at
http://www.tigerdirect.com. I've had good luck with those companies.

 

[Stephen]

Also, if you just bought RAM and don't need it, you should try to send it
back as well.