Hardware information : Anyone with Knowledge on computer hardware?(graphics cards)

[Santrega]

I have a few questions.

Here are the specs for my motherboard:
http://support.gateway.com/s/MOTHERBD/Intel2/106007/106007sp26.shtml

Here is the actual computer I bought at best buy 3 years ago:
http://support.gateway.com/s/PC/R/GMModels/6153/6153sp2.shtml

This is the graphics card I upgraded to back then(GeForce 7600GS):
http://www.nvidia.com/page/geforce_7600.html

I bought this computer in 06, before PCI Express 2.0 came out... but, I've read that PCI Express 2.0 cards are backwards compatible with 1.1 motherboards on wiki, heres the quote:


new PCIe 2.0 graphics cards are compatible with PCIe 1.1 motherboards, meaning that they will run on them using the available bandwidth of PCI Express 1.1.

1) If I upgraded to a 2.0 card, that has to run using the 1.1 bandwidth, will it be a significant upgrade still and be worth the money, or will it just be a waste of my money?


2) I want to keep how much money i spend to a minimum, but I also want to improve my system. So, do you think it would be just a waste of money to try and improve this system, to its max, or should I just build/Buy a new one sometime in the next year?

[screw_ball69]

I'd almost recommend building/buying a new one, although you could buy a new video card and some more ram and what not then eventually transfer that over when you decide to buy a new one.

[PhanttoM]

I also think you should wait.
You'll almost certainly need a new power supply anyway - It's quite common that graphics cards need 2x 6-pin connectors - newer ones need 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin.
+ They require power supplies with anything from 450-700+ watts.

For comparison - With a Core2Duo 3.0 GHz, I have a 9800 GTX+ on a PCIe 1.0 motherboard, and can for example run Crysis at max details on 'lower' resolutions like 1280x800 and still have it more than playable)
Ram aren't really an issue when you have 2 GB - I don't have a single game that actually uses more than 2 GB.

[screw_ball69]

Wow, I managed to overlook the power supply part, good catch.

as for ram, you can practically get it from vending machines now A days, you may as well go for a full 4 gbs+ so things run smoothly when there is stuff in the background.