memory type

[carl]

hey
if i get RAM that is DDR2 will a graphics card with GDDR3 work on the same motherboard.  for example, i have a motherboard that had 8gigs of DDR2 RAM and i want to put a graphics card with GDDR3. or does it not matter, or does the GDDR3 have nothing to do with the RAM, or do i need GDDR3 RAM to work with the card.  all i know is there is DDR2 RAM and GDDR3 RAM so i don't know.  thanks for any help. 

[Ediseye]

RAM that is associated with the motherboard has nothing to do with RAM that is on the graphics card. Video cards can have even GDDR5, which can be found on ATI cards, and NVIDIA cards, at the current moment, just go up to GDDR3.

So to answer your question, yes, a graphics card with GDDR3 will work if you have DDR2.

The main thing you need to worry about is if you have a AGP or PCI-E slot, which as far as I know, you have a PCI-E slot. The next thing that brings questioning is if you have enough power to run the card. This is determined by how much your system uses, WITH the graphics card, and how much total watts your power supply can supply. Though running a power supply at 100% load all the time isn't a good idea.

[carl]

ok, thanks that makes things a lot more easier.  i am looking to build a new pc.  i am planning on putting the card in PCI 2.0 x16 (whatever that means) which is in the motherboard i want.  now i know the motherboard has that PCI which has 2 slots in it.  but the motherboard has 3 other PCI places and has 2 slots in it but all the other cards (sound, network, etc.) all have three slots.  here it would be best to take a look. 






see notice how the motherboard has PCI connections with 2 slots and the card has three slots.  what kind of PCI connections is that and will it work in the motherboard?

thanks sooooo much for your help. 

[Filla]

How much did that cost you?

[=TH= Batman]

get a PCI-E

[carl]

How much did that cost you?

well i havent bought anything yet i need to make sure its all compatible first.  but the MOBO is like 110 bucks and that is like and 80 bucks intel network card.  all togather the computer is coming up to anywhere to 1200 to 1500 bucks. 

get a PCI-E

what in the world does that mean.  is that what the things on the motherboard are?

[Ediseye]

Filla, it's a ASUS P5Q SE/R

The blue slot is the PCE-Express slot 2.0 x16. You only have one of them, which means you can only have one graphics card. Also, with whatever graphics card that you're looking at, don't worry if it doesn't say 2.0 or not on it. x16 and 2.0 x16 PCI-E slots are interchangeable. you won't see any performance increase in a 2.0 x16 slot, unless you're having a multi-GPU card pretty much.

The large white slots are are regular PCI slots. They fit network cards, add-on cards, SOME sound cards, etc. The network card you posted will work with one of the white slot, a PCI slot. But one question. Why would you get a PCI ethernet card when the motherboard comes with a ethernet port installed?

Also, you didn't ask this, but the smaller white slots are PCI-E x1 slots. They can be used for sound cards mainly, as well as a different array of other add-on cards.

By the way,t he reason Batman says go PICI-E is because it is the new AGP. AGP is the old standard, which only allows so much information to pass through it. PCI-E x16 and PCI-E 2.0 x16 are the new standards for graphics cards. All new motherboards have them instead of a AGP slot.

[carl]

ok so if an add on card has 3 slots in it it will work with the 2 slot white PCI things?

and i want a network card because wouldn't it be faster than the standard on board one?  or do you think they are pretty much the same?

that brings up a question, there is already a sound chip on board, should i buy a sound card for better sound or should i just use the on board one?  or will they sync or something like that. 

thanks for all the help everyone! 

ps. Ediseye did you get my PM about my graphics card overclocking?

[Ediseye]

Yes, a 3 slot PCI board is just to enable better compatibility. For older motherboards that has three slots instead of two. So yes, it'll work.

And no, the add-on ethernet card will not be any faster. You'll be getting the same speed from the one that is built into the ASUS.

For a sound card, I'd stay with the on-board sound. A add-on card will not really give you any better quality, unless you're going through a surround sound setup, such as a 5.1 or a 7.1 setup. If you're not though and are using a 2.1 setup or your headset most of the time, the integrated sound will be perfect for you; it's 24-bit as well. You won't notice any difference in sound quality.

Yes, I did get your PM. I added you on Xfire. I was actually waiting for you to Xfire me, lol.

[BFM_saes]

Big warning:

DO NOT get a PCIe v1.0 graphics card for that motherboard.

The P5Q series doesn't properly - if at all - support PCIe 1.0 graphics cards.

I've learned of this thanks to the research I've done recently about various boards in the P5Q series.

--
Edited to make a bit more sense.

[Ediseye]

Big warning:

DO NOT get a PCIe v1.0 card for that motherboard.

The P5Q series doesn't properly - if at all - support PCIe 1.0 graphics cards.

I've learned of this thanks to the research I've done recently about various boards in the P5Q series.

Are you talking about PCI-E x16 or PCI-E x1?

[BFM_saes]

x16.

[Ediseye]

x16.

Shouldn't be any different. x16 and 2.0 x16 are both the same size, just faster bandwidths within both the motherboard and the graphics card. Plus they're both backwards compatible, so I don't see how a P5Q motherboard wouldn't fit them. Especially with that ASUS series getting such high or ratings.

Any chance it was just the graphics card you were trying?

[carl]

ok so,
i guess i will be staying with the on board network interface and sound interface.  i plan to buy a high quality headset so it can deliver superior sound because all i plan on using is my headset all the time.  so i have the motherboard, graphics card, network interface, and sound interface, all sorted out. 

time for processor selection.  in mind i have an Intel core 2 duo wolfdale processor rated at 3.0ghz and able to overclock to about 4ghz.  i selected this one because its multi core, and i don't need an i7, or a quad core because i only plan on playing games such as halo CE, halo 1, halo2, command and conquer 3, call of duty 4, and eve online.  and with 8gigs of ram to complement and a nice graphics it should go nicely with the processor, and its only like 170 bucks, but since i don't need a network card or sound card i think i might spend a little more and go for the i7, quad, or core 2 extreme but depends on the cost.  anyway, the socket type says LGA755 and the motherboard says it takes core 2 duos, with LGA755.  is there any other thing i need to check for compatibility or is that all sorted out.  thanks for all the help guys. 

[BFM_saes]

Shouldn't be any different. x16 and 2.0 x16 are both the same size, just faster bandwidths within both the motherboard and the graphics card. Plus they're both backwards compatible, so I don't see how a P5Q motherboard wouldn't fit them. Especially with that ASUS series getting such high or ratings.

Any chance it was just the graphics card you were trying?

It's nothing to do with it physically fitting, but to do with hardware support on the board.

I bought a HD4870 (which doesn't want to work either >_<). I know this [that the P5Qs have issues with PCI-e 1.0 graphics cards) from research, not personal experience.

Here's a post with someone else who's read the same thing:
http://www.techspot.com/vb/post685538-1.html

And some quotes from Newegg:

For the P5Q Pro:

almost changed my mind about building my own pcs in the future. I have to RMA the video card once and the motherboard too. Untill I found out that this exact line of MOBO has a problem with PCIe 1.1 video cards.

This board apparently does NOT like PCI-e 1.0 cards. My 8800GT had no issues, but older cards might.

1) Asus advertised that the board supports pci-e 1.1, it doesn't. If you don't have a pci-e 2.0 gpu, YOU WILL NOT GET IT TO POST WITH VIDEO.

For the P5Q Deluxe:

I've been battling with this board for sometime now. First, I had to upgrade my video card from a 8600gt to a ati 4850 in order to have video. There is limited to no PCI-E 1.1 support. Check around the net, other have had issues.