What motherboard do I have?

[Muddbutt]

currently im at work, and im doing a bit of research on my computer as to what exactly i have and what i can/should upgrade. im VERY new to this with limited knowledge and im trying to teach myself the ins and outs to say. this is the machine i got back at the end of december, but i cannot for the life of me figure out what motherboard i have, id like to see what my options are for upgrades.

iBUYPOWER Gamer Power 595D3 Gaming PC - AMD FX-4100 3.6GHz, 8GB DDR3, 1TB HDD, AMD Radeon HD 6770, DVDRW, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
(http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...813&CatId=1887)

please help me out and put me in the right direction, also if possible reccomended upgrades so far i can tell i need a sound card, im looking at the ASUS Xonar DS/DX however im not too sure what the difference between the two are. in general, price is a bit of an option, but if its worth it i can always save and wait for a sale.

generally i watch movies/tv, listen to music, play WoW, D3 (when released), and looking into other games would like advise on what i can expect out of what i have.

thanks to all for all your help

[chaud]

Use HWinfo on the actual computer to see. Sound cards are generally a waste of money unless you have an expensive sound system. Your first upgrade would be a new GPU, then a new CPU/motherboard/RAM. That computer was not a great buy unless it was very cheap.

[Muddbutt]

i got it for about $950 after taxes CDN funds. i thought it was decent.... i wouldnt mind getting a decent sound system for it, i pretty much have the PC, a basic keyboard/mouse and a little stereo system (basic 2 speakers with a control unit cd/radio/aux input), and my 17" monitor. unfortunately you have to start somewhere.....
what should i look for in terms of a new GPU?

[chaud]

What other games are you going to play? What resolution do you play at? If all you want to do is play WoW/D3, a 7850 should be able to max it at a higher resolution for an expansion or two. Unless your onboard sound is awful you likely would be better off spending your money on a new monitor.

[Muddbutt]

oh, cant forget about GW2 . also im not sure what other games really, i do have a PS3 but i mainly have single player/offline games for it. not overly a shooter fan, more so cause im just bad at it. sure add on SC2 to the list, just need to pick it up. i probally will get the next CoD though. as for a monitor, im thinking of getting something like a 32" 1080p TV and just plug into that, currently i have a 2" CRT in my room, so that upgrade would be well used. would it be alot of work to get my system liquid cooled? i saw that D3 custom unit and it was amazing, wouldnt mind something similar myself :P

[Angella]

currently im at work, and im doing a bit of research on my computer as to what exactly i have and what i can/should upgrade. im VERY new to this with limited knowledge and im trying to teach myself the ins and outs to say. this is the machine i got back at the end of december, but i cannot for the life of me figure out what motherboard i have, id like to see what my options are for upgrades.

iBUYPOWER Gamer Power 595D3 Gaming PC - AMD FX-4100 3.6GHz, 8GB DDR3, 1TB HDD, AMD Radeon HD 6770, DVDRW, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
(http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...813&CatId=1887)

please help me out and put me in the right direction, also if possible reccomended upgrades so far i can tell i need a sound card, im looking at the ASUS Xonar DS/DX however im not too sure what the difference between the two are. in general, price is a bit of an option, but if its worth it i can always save and wait for a sale.

generally i watch movies/tv, listen to music, play WoW, D3 (when released), and looking into other games would like advise on what i can expect out of what i have.

thanks to all for all your help

Its not a bad system. First thing I'd do though is get a steady-state drive. If you need a lot of space for music/movies I'd just install a second drive and use the one you have for deep storage and the SSD for gaming.

You would have been better off with an i7 and not an AMD processor. Now that you have it though I'd like to know what kind of cooling system you have for the CPU. Hopefully mid-good grade liquid cooling. If not that would be high on the list. Otherwise you might consider getting a different CPU, but that can be expensive.

Next go for an upgraded power supply. 600 watts is low-end and particularly low end for AMD chips. You'll want 1k+.

Next thing I'd check is if you can do dual graphics cards. 1GB graphics is pretty tame these days. If you can double up that would be my next big upgrade. You will want to make sure your motherboard is compatible for this first. If its not upgrade the motherboard next. Also the graphics cards you use must be exactly the same.

If you do a lot of things at once you might want to go 8GB/8GB memory sticks instead of the 4/4 you're using now. Surprising they don't have 4 memory ports. You should check what your motherboard allows for memory sticks before purchasing. Should say somewhere in computer hardware settings.

I know you were asking where to find motherboard options. You should be able to open the system up, find the motherboard type, and then check what it can do online. If not I'd call ibuypower and ask them. Hopefully you saved your receipt and can tell them what the motherboard is.

[Muddbutt]

oh, and as for resolution, i believe my computer is set to 1440 x 900, wouldnt mind it to be higher but thats what my monitor allows me to use.

---------- Post added 2012-04-10 at 02:38 AM ----------

Its not a bad system. First thing I'd do though is get a steady-state drive. If you need a lot of space for music/movies I'd just install a second drive and use the one you have for deep storage and the SSD for gaming.

You would have been better off with an i7 and not an AMD processor. Now that you have it though I'd like to know what kind of cooling system you have for the CPU. Hopefully mid-good grade liquid cooling. If not that would be high on the list. Otherwise you might consider getting a different CPU, but that can be expensive.

Next go for an upgraded power supply. 600 watts is low-end and particularly low end for AMD chips. You'll want 1k+.

Next thing I'd check is if you can do dual graphics cards. 1GB graphics is pretty tame these days. If you can double up that would be my next big upgrade. You will want to make sure your motherboard is compatible for this first. If its not upgrade the motherboard next. Also the graphics cards you use must be exactly the same.

If you do a lot of things at once you might want to go 8GB/8GB memory sticks instead of the 4/4 you're using now. Surprising they don't have 4 memory ports. You should check what your motherboard allows for memory sticks before purchasing. Should say somewhere in computer hardware settings.

I know you were asking where to find motherboard options. You should be able to open the system up, find the motherboard type, and then check what it can do online. If not I'd call ibuypower and ask them. Hopefully you saved your receipt and can tell them what the motherboard is.

i was actually looking at getting myself a SSD, maybe something like 128GB should suffice. as far as i know from here (at work) it fan cooled, im thinking of getting 2 8gb memory sticks actually, but ill have to see what i have exactly and what i can use. as for power supply, on newegg should i look in the 1-1.1k range, or try my luck with the 1.1-1.7k range? and what should i be looking for specifically?

again, thanks a BUNCH for your help

[chaud]

Water cooling is a waste of money with that CPU. Unless that PSU is a junky generic it should suffice. If not, a decent 750W unit is plenty. SLI/Crossfire has driver issues and microstuttering, just buy one card.

As far as monitor, I would get an actual monitor and get rid of the CRTs. A TV just isn't the same as a decent 24" monitor.

[Muddbutt]

i do intend on getting rid of the CRT, when i get a replacement, would a 24" monitor work for PS3 as well? currently we dont have cable (i dont think we intend to either, netflix ftw).

[Deleted]

i do intend on getting rid of the CRT, when i get a replacement, would a 24" monitor work for PS3 as well? currently we dont have cable (i dont think we intend to either, netflix ftw).

As long as the monitor has HDMI input, it works. Using my monitor with PS3 too.

[chaud]

Yup, it should work fine with the HDMI port. You could even go with a 27" if you wanted, depending on how much you want to spend.

[Uggorthaholy]

Water cooling is a waste of money with that CPU. Unless that PSU is a junky generic it should suffice. If not, a decent 750W unit is plenty. SLI/Crossfire has driver issues and microstuttering, just buy one card.

As far as monitor, I would get an actual monitor and get rid of the CRTs. A TV just isn't the same as a decent 24" monitor.

Agreed, but I cap myself at 23" 1080p monitors. Can get a really nice one for like $130.00. Grab a 7850 as recommended by Chaud and you'll be good to go.

[Muddbutt]

so my current shopping list includes;
7850 GPU
1k+ Watt PSU
120 GB SSD
2TB HDD (when needed, not nessessairly now, but a my 1TB fills)
24"-27" Monitor (depending on price range)

im also looking at new keyboard/mouse/speaker system. i have a few ideas in mind
Keyboard: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16823175012
Mouse: http://steelseries.com/products/game...ablo-iii-mouse
Speakers: no idea, still looking.

in general i wouldnt mind having a keyboard that functions well with backlit keys if possible red or a changable color would be cool - working nights im often playing, well, all night as for mouse, i just like the D3 mouse there, will do research on how well it preforms, id like to go with a black mouse with any lighting effects to be red

edit: im looking for monitors with 2 hdmi ports (one for PC and one for PS3) and im having almost no luck, any tips?

---------- Post added 2012-04-10 at 09:46 AM ----------

i got it! my motherboard is....
M68MT-S2

[chaud]

PSU is just a giant waste of money. You can do 7850 x 2 with a 750W PSU without any issue. 1k is enough for 3 or 4 GPUs.

[Angella]

PSU is just a giant waste of money. You can do 7850 x 2 with a 750W PSU without any issue. 1k is enough for 3 or 4 GPUs.

Even with an AMD chip? It is my understanding that AMD uses about x4 the power and generates roughly that much more heat than an intel chip. I have an AMD chip (kicking myself) and my comp will shut down without the liquid cooling and definitely needs more power than the 650 PSU for high-intensity gaming. Just what I've seen on power usage/heat generation with my system. Would appreciate being enlightened though if I am wrong.

[gegalfo]

Even with an AMD chip? It is my understanding that AMD uses about x4 the power and generates roughly that much more heat than an intel chip. I have an AMD chip (kicking myself) and my comp will shut down without the liquid cooling and definitely needs more power than the 650 PSU for high-intensity gaming. Just what I've seen on power usage/heat generation with my system. Would appreciate being enlightened though if I am wrong.

there is probably something wrong with your chip then

[chaud]

Yes, even AMD. There is no way you are using more than 650W, no way it uses 4x power and produces 4x heat. It wouldn't function if that were the case as we are already outputting a ton of heat on a small surface area.

[Muddbutt]

ok, so ill put the PSU on hold unless i need it, what would make me "need" to get a bigger PSU?

[chaud]

If that one is junk and can't actually do 650W, or if you buy a dual GPU setup.

[Muddbutt]

so if i were to run 2 monitors at once, would i need a 2nd GPU? im thinking of using both my monitors when i get a new 24" so ill have the 24" and a 17". or should my 6770 be fine with 2 monitors?