Thread: thinkin small upgrades

like most i want to be ready for bf3 so i'm pondering a bit more ram and seconed vid card

things i'm wonderin ram can you mix and match differnt brands long as its all DDR3 ?

and vid card i was thinkin crossfire 5770 but i'm only using a 650w psu can i run dual 5770s on 650w ?

You should be able to run dual 5770s on 650w. I recall seeing tests for those cards in Crossfire with total system power consumption less than 400w at full load. Here is one test:

NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 SLI versus ATI Radeon HD 5770 CrossFire - Power Consumption - Legit Reviews

357w at full load... so you should be fine. As for the memory, yes, you can mix brands, but try to get them the same speeds and timings if possible. How much memory do you have already? Can you not get an additional matching set?

4 gigs just the ram i got when i bult this thing was a bit on the pricey end bushkin or somethin like that i think

Originally Posted by moving-target

like most i want to be ready for bf3 so i'm pondering a bit more ram and seconed vid card

things i'm wonderin ram can you mix and match differnt brands long as its all DDR3 ?

and vid card i was thinkin crossfire 5770 but i'm only using a 650w psu can i run dual 5770s on 650w ?

A single 5770 will run it, maybe even well enough (according to their site). And it's true about the PSU. The important thing about the PSU is that is efficient and reliable; anymore it is one of the most expensive components for me because everything is riding on it. If it is a cheap PSU I might question it, but 650 is enough for sure.

As far as the RAM, they say minimum 2, recommend 4, so I would sit there for now. But if you want more, you need to make sure you install dual-channel kits in the right slots to fully maximize the potential of it. Mixing and matching is OK, in pairs, and in certain slots (so like 2 of Brand x in slots A1 and B1, and etc. depending on your mobo). Dropping disparate memory into dual channel slots results in non-dual channel functioning; it is slower.

I usually use all the same sticks.

uh i got 2 more slots to put in ram sticks heh bout all i know i'm gonna see how well i run open beta then go from there i ran alpha fine