Will my motherboard take it?

[Viatrophy]

Hi all,

I plan on upgrading my computers graphic card in the coming months but have no idea at all if my motherboard will be able to take a new one.

Some specs of my computer which will help -
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 @ 3GHZ
RAM - 2GB
OS - Windows Vista premium 64bit
PSU - 650W
MOBO - Asus P5K

Im currently running a 8600GT 512MB which I picked up almost a year ago, and its time for a replacement.
My question is will my rig be able to support a 9800GTX?
I was looking at this one
http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/6170273/BFG-GeForce-9800-GTX+-OC-512MB-PCI-Express-2-0-x16-Graphics-Card/Product.html

Any help would be great, thanks. :)

[Buck-O]

You should have no problem getting that 9800GTX to run on that board at all. THe only area where i might be concerned is your PSU. At 650watt it SHOULD be enough. But depending on what other components you have in your computer (Multiple HDD"s, fans, etc.) it may be stressed if its a budget unit. If its a good quality PSU (like an Antec), it should be fine.

You wont get the added speed benefits of PCIe 2.0...but, there will be no compatibility issue as PCIe 2.0 is backwards compatible with PCIe1.0, and infact i have an 8800GT (512) currently running in my old nForce 4 SLI board without issue. And that card shares the same G92 core with the 9800 GTX (just a couple fewer pipelines and shader pipes). So you should be perfectly good to go.

[Viatrophy]

Thanks for the help, its much appreciated.
One of my main concerns with the upgrade was the PSU, in all honesty I have no idea what brand PSU it is due to the side of the case is blocking the label on it.

I currently only have one HDD so that shouldn't be a problem.
I have this case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811103014 and just using stock fans with it.

[Buck-O]

Haha, like you would need more then stock cooling on that beast.

You could pop the side panels off on either side and have full view of the PSU no problem. I mean, youre goign to have to do that to put the new card in anyway.

With just the one HDD though, you should be alright. If you where going to go SLI i might be a little worried. But i think you should be able to jsut plug and play without issue.

[Viatrophy]

I've just quickly popped off the side panel and discovered its a Corsair 650W, is that good? :p

I'm fine when it comes to cpu & gpu's but I can never figure out the rest. haha.

Like I said earlier, thanks a lot for the help.

[Nakashige H2O]

they make ok power supplies the only brand i wont buy again is hiper

[H2O sobe]

Actually... Corsair power supplies are of some of the BEST quality you will find ;) The Corsair psus are made by either ChannelWell or Seasonic OEM. The 650TX is a Seasonic OEM, meaning.... You cant really get much better than that.. Other than an Antec TruePower.

And btw, as far as power supply size.... The 650 from Corsair is MORE than enough for that card. When it comes to power supplies it is NOT, I repeat, is NOT more about the size that it will work.. It's about quality. There are some Antec Earthwatts 300watt PSUs that will draw better power current than a lot of 500watts on the market by other brands. Assuming of course you don't get a Delta build, and get a Seasonic OEM.

[Nakashige H2O]

sobe what about the pc power and cooling ones

[H2O sobe]

They were bought out by OCZ Technologies. Not a bad brand at all, but for spending a little more cash you could just grab either a Seasonic M12, Corsair, etc.

The Pc Power and Cooling aren't bad, however, throughout the years, you can notice the changes in serial numbers matching that of different companies from ChannelWell Technologies, to Seasonic, and now OCZ. Not bad at all, I just think you can do better for nearly the same price to a little more.

And just if you are wondering, my recommended list of power supplies:
Corsair
Seasonic
FSP Group(Fortron)
PC Power & Cooling
Antec


Not listed in any specific order

[Buck-O]

What Sobe said.

With one exception, the FSP/Fortron PSU's. Ive seen some of those have some issue under load. There is one run of serieals that has a really bad 5v rail and would cause hard locks regularly. Seemed to be mostly an issue on Itnel boards however.

Antec TruePowers have been in my last 3 systems, and i dont see that changing any time soon.