questions concerning upgrading

[ivory]

So I am thinking of upgrading my current computer and have been wondering some questions that may seem dumb to you but it is my first real upgrade so:

1) Do I need exactly the right watts for my PC from the CPU
2) Can SSD's have compatibility problems with other components
3) If a RAM slot is DDR3 does that mean any RAM that is DDR3 will work
4) Should I have 2 graphics cards for multi screen or 1 display port enabled graphics card
5) CPU wise is the AMD FX8350 Black Edition 8 Core Processor a good choice?

 

[xbizzaroz]

is this already a custom computer or is it a name brand pc? its a little difficult to upgrade certain parts. it really depends on the make and model. but upgrading RAM is fine regardless what pc you have. same goes for hard drives but for a SSD it depends on what your motherboard's SATA is. (SATA 2 or SATA 3) a SSD on SATA 2 will only go at speeds of SATA 2 so you won't see much change in performance there.

 

[Turb0Yoda]

So I am thinking of upgrading my current computer and have been wondering some questions that may seem dumb to you but it is my first real upgrade so:

1) Do I need exactly the right watts for my PC from the CPU
2) Can SSD's have compatibility problems with other components
3) If a RAM slot is DDR3 does that mean any RAM that is DDR3 will work
4) Should I have 2 graphics cards for multi screen or 1 display port enabled graphics card
5) CPU wise is the AMD FX8350 Black Edition 8 Core Processor a good choice?

is this already a custom computer or is it a name brand pc? its a little difficult to upgrade certain parts. it really depends on the make and model. but upgrading RAM is fine regardless what pc you have. same goes for hard drives but for a SSD it depends on what your motherboard's SATA is. (SATA 2 or SATA 3) a SSD on SATA 2 will only go at speeds of SATA 2 so you won't see much change in performance there.

Yes, we will need to know if this is from a OEM like HP or Dell, or if it is custom. OEMS usually make sure that it is very hard to replace parts. This is obviously a money-making technique, forcing you to buy a new computer for them. I will answer the question in order now.

1) Do I need exactly the right watts for my PC from the CPU
You don't need exactly the right watts, but more, at minimun a 50 watt buffer room. So if a computer is slated at 300 watts, better to go with 350 or 400 watts.
2) Can SSD's have compatibility problems with other components
No, as it performs as a regular hard drive.
3) If a RAM slot is DDR3 does that mean any RAM that is DDR3 will work
Yes, However, DDR2 RAM won't work with DDR3, and visa versa. None of the DDRx RAMS are backwards compatible.
4) Should I have 2 graphics cards for multi screen or 1 display port enabled graphics card
technically it is better to have 2 gpu's instead of one, however, there isn't much support for a crossfired/SLI configuration. If the budget allows, go for two, and you can disable one whenever problems arise with two.
5) CPU wise is the AMD FX-8350 Black Edition 8 Core Processor a good choice?
That is a good processor. It is a AM3+ socket, so make sure the mobo can support it. Some Mobo's need a Bios update to use the fx-series processors. You can get this from the mobo-manufacturer site, put it on a USB, and follow the instructions given.