Questions on a couple of things...

[shadow187]

I have this prebuilt. Its motherboard comes with a PCI-Ex16. It has a 250W PSU with 12v@15A, E1400 (2x2ghz Celeron CPU [JUNK!]). Mobo is socket 775.

Questions.

Will the PCI-E (1.0) x16 bottleneck higher-end cards such as the 4850?

Can I fit processors such as the E8400 and the Q9550 (It's a bad prebuild, so I'm a bit wary..)?

As the case is smaller in size, is thick, and has 50/50 ventilation, what kind of cooling should I get?

I was told I could get a 4650 and an E5300 (gpu/cpu) without needing a PSU upgrade. But with an upgrade...yeah. The thing is, if a 1.0 PCI-E slot will bottleneck a higher-end graphics card, then there wouldn't be any reason to get another PSU.

Thanks!
Steve.

 

[EXT64]

You would definitely need a bigger PSU for a 4850.

Obviously, the chips you list are 775. However, the replacement chip must be supported by the BIOS. The only way to check that is through the manufacturer website or by contacting them.

PCI-E 1.0 16x will not bottleneck a 4850.

 

[shadow187]

I should be able to flash the BIOS with an update, though I'm sure the other CPUs like the E5300 will be supported.

I'm planning on either:

Buy E5300CPU + 4650
Buy 4850+PSU and get a CPU (E8400?) later.

 

[jyjjy]

We would need to know the model of your motherboard. If you don't know you can use this program to find out;
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

 

[shadow187]

I'm not exactly on the computer right now..I'm 270mi away to be exact. I'll be able to tell you tomorrow though (Sunday).

 

[shadow187]

Found it on google, noobs. (Kidding..)
MCP73VT-PM

 

[jyjjy]

Probably best to get a new PSU. An HD4650 is the best I'd put in a 250w system and it's ok for 1024x768 but that's about it.
Don't worry about the PCI-E port, it should be fine for any card you might be considering.

 

[shadow187]

What about processor though? I'd rather get away with upgrading the processor without anything drastic like flashing the BIOS. After doing some research, I found that this is compatible with all C2D procesors...is this likely to be true?

Using an 18'' monitor, I'm gaming at 1280x1024. Will a 4850 max Tf2/Cs:S? (16xAA/AF/Vhigh settings?)

Lastly, I have a small 15'' monitor (LCD). Is it possible to browse the internet and game at the same time? And will that slow my game down by a noticeable amount?

 

[obsidian86]

yes it does support core 2 and a 4850 will be fine for that resolution and you might still have to flash bios to support newer cpu's

 

[shadow187]

What about the dual-monitor setup? Can I game and stalk TH at the same time?

 

[obsidian86]

at that res it shouldn be a problem with 2 minitors

 

[shadow187]

Would a 4850 be bottlenecked by the E1400? I won't be buying a processor as soon as I get the card, and I plan on getting the card first.

 

[obsidian86]

yeah it will but not too badly

 

[jyjjy]

A processor upgrade is a good idea for more reasons than just gaming. Ordinarily I would say an E5200 and overclock it but I don't think your bios allows for such. For a few dollars more there's the slightly faster E5300 which is probably your best choice;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116074
or for $13 more you can get a E6300 with .2 more ghz;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116091
but that's a price increase of 18.6% for a speed increase of 7.7% so I probably wouldn't bother but it's your call.