Will it work together?

[computer]

Will these components work together?

GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard

The gigabyte website says it works with phenom 2 x4 and phenom 2 x3 processors, but I am assuming it also works with the phenom 2 x2 550 and the site has not been updated. Can anyone confirm this?

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103680 (finally down to $102!)

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail

Here are the parts I would like to reuse (each a couple years or so old), but I am unsure whether they are compatible or not.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822144414
eVGA Geforce 7800 GT CO PCI Express 256MB GDDR3 Video Card


And few more final questions:

1. This will be much faster than a Pentium 4 660 3.6ghz (and hopefully run cooler!) with 1GB ram, correct (especially in daily tasks and boot up)? Age of Empires 3 runs slow (with low graphics), and I cannot imagine it is due to the video card since my Geforce 7400 Go with a core duo can run it just fine, so I am hoping a new processor would do the trick in this desktop.

2. I have never used an AMD processor so I would like to make sure nothing is different from Intel (i.e. all programs etc are still compatible). Is this correct?

3. Is there anything better for this price on the intel side of things?

4. Will I have to completely reinstall windows on my HDD since I am changing out the motherboard and processor?

That's all I can think of for now.

Thanks in advance for any help!


edit: I forgot to mention, I will not be overclocking. Thanks!

 

[Dangman]

1) Boot up time is mostly dependent on the HDD. You can have the highest end CPU out there and it'll still be slower than a P4 setup if combined with a slow ass hard drive. So might want to think about replacing the HDD if the CPU, mobo and RAM upgrade doesn't provide the boost you need. With that said, Yes that Phenom II CPU will utterly rape the shit out of a Pentium 3Ghz in intensive apps.
2) Yes that is correct
3) Not really
4) Yes.

Oh ditch the Corsair 550VX. Too expensive since you can get the larger Corsair 650TX for the same price:
$100 - Corsair 650TX 650W PSU

But the BFG LS-550 will be more than enough for your planned upgrades:
$69 - BFG Tech LS-550 550W PSU

The 7800GT will still work well with that setup.

 

[tiraides]

First, please answer the questions listed in the "Asking for Build Help?" sticky. I'll try to answer some of your questions and concerns, but we need more information from you.

The Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P may work with the Phenom II X2 550 right out of the box, but it may need a BIOS update beforehand -- and you may not be able to update the BIOS while using that particular processor. Considering how "new" the PII X2 550 is to the market, I don't know whether or not the boards that are released from the manufacturer can natively support the processor.

While everything "fits," the problem that I see is that you'll gain no performance benefit from using DDR3 RAM. Specifically, the current Phenom II line-up don't benefit performance-wise from using DDR3 RAM compared to DDR2 RAM. Go with the following combination instead:

$162 - AMD Phenom II X2 550 & Asus M4A78 Plus combo deal
$45 - OCZ Gold 2x2GB DDR2 800 dual-channel kit

Which monitor/resolution are you using? While you are correct in saying that the 7800GT would be enough for Age of Empires 3, a new video card, like the HD4830, would easily outperform it, and it won't cost you an arm or a leg.

Along those same lines, if you could afford to, I also recommend a new hard drive as well. Some of today's hard drives can outperform the last-gen Raptors (and are only 10% slower than the newer VelociRaptors). A new HDD would easily outperform your current HDD.

 

[computer]

1) Boot up time is mostly dependent on the HDD. You can have the highest end CPU out there and it'll still be slower than a P4 setup if combined with a slow ass hard drive. So might want to think about replacing the HDD if the CPU, mobo and RAM upgrade doesn't provide the boost you need. With that said, Yes that Phenom II CPU will utterly rape the shit out of a Pentium 3Ghz in intensive apps.
2) Yes that is correct
3) Not really
4) Yes.

Oh ditch the Corsair 550VX. Too expensive since you can get the larger Corsair 650TX for the same price:
$100 - Corsair 650TX 650W PSU

But the BFG LS-550 will be more than enough for your planned upgrades:
$69 - BFG Tech LS-550 550W PSU

The 7800GT will still work well with that setup.

Thanks for the feedback. The reason I have the 550W added right now is the $10 coupon code and the 30 MIR. If I do not order before it ends I will most likely go the BFG ls-550 route.

First, please answer the questions listed in the "Asking for Build Help?" sticky. I'll try to answer some of your questions and concerns, but we need more information from you.

The Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P may work with the Phenom II X2 550 right out of the box, but it may need a BIOS update beforehand -- and you may not be able to update the BIOS while using that particular processor. Considering how "new" the PII X2 550 is to the market, I don't know whether or not the boards that are released from the manufacturer can natively support the processor.

While everything "fits," the problem that I see is that you'll gain no performance benefit from using DDR3 RAM. Specifically, the current Phenom II line-up don't benefit performance-wise from using DDR3 RAM compared to DDR2 RAM. Go with the following combination instead:

$162 - AMD Phenom II X2 550 & Asus M4A78 Plus combo deal
$45 - OCZ Gold 2x2GB DDR2 800 dual-channel kit

Which monitor/resolution are you using? While you are correct in saying that the 7800GT would be enough for Age of Empires 3, a new video card, like the HD4830, would easily outperform it, and it won't cost you an arm or a leg.

Along those same lines, if you could afford to, I also recommend a new hard drive as well. Some of today's hard drives can outperform the last-gen Raptors (and are only 10% slower than the newer VelociRaptors). A new HDD would easily outperform your current HDD.

I am currently using a CRT monitor at 800x600. Unfortunately I cannot fit another video card into the budget right now, but I am upgrading the PSU to prepare for one in the (near?) future.

The reason I went with the AM3 + DDR3 ram is not for increased performance (now), but due to the fact it will be the most upgradeable (i.e. if I want to drop in a phenom 2 quad core or other future processors).

I will do some research (read: google search) to find out how to update the bios in case it is needed. Thanks for the info!