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Since upgrading my 8800 GTX to the GTX 285, my PC has been emitting a high pitched squeal or whine when running intensive 3D applications. Crysis and 3DMark Vantage are the worst, though the issues is almost non-existant in older games (see: Halo). By listening to the PC, it seems that the whine is actually coming from my PSU and not the graphics card (the sound was louder near the PSU than the card) and I'm just wondering if anyone knows what this is? From what I've read via Google it has something to do with "capacitor whine", though that means dick all to me, since I just want to fix it. Should I invest in a new, quality, PSU to see if it is indeed the PSU? Or should I RMA my graphics card?

What would you all recommend for a quality modular PSU? I was looking at the ABS Tagan series for it's bling factor, but from what I've read they also whine under pressure. I also looked into the reviews of the Silverstone PSU that Xet recommended, and it looks like the reviews are split when it comes to mentioning PSU whine.

Willing to spend up to $300 to make this annoying sound go away.

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Originally Posted by Lex1337

Hey 343guiltymc, do you know what kind of MoBo a Dimension E520 has? Also what specs do you have for it? I have the same comp., and I plan on upgrading it aswell but I need more info. than what the dell website tells me.

After doing a little investigating, I found upgrades for our comp.

4GB Ram

700 watt PSU

Intel Core Duo E7400

250 GB HDD

HIS Radeon HD 4870(I'm not sure if it can fit.)

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Why do you need PC2 4200 RAM? The E520 supports PC2 5300 AND 6400.

Maybe he wants really good timings?

Also Freelancer, PSUs are always emitting a high pitched frequency. Under load or due to age, it tends to get louder (as it approaches audible range of humans). A better quality PSU can fix this though. I would swap the PSU, since the GTX285 uses a lot more power than the 8800GTX did. Hearing a whine in a PSU to me is a sign that it is getting old and needs replacing, since system crashes usually follow not to long after you start hearing the whining.

Because on the dell website, it says that the E520 supports DDR2 533 Ram.

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Originally Posted by Lex1337

Because on the dell website, it says that the E520 supports DDR2 533 Ram.

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That PSU is going to work with the Dell motherboard?

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Originally Posted by Warsaw

Also Freelancer, PSUs are always emitting a high pitched frequency. Under load or due to age, it tends to get louder (as it approaches audible range of humans). A better quality PSU can fix this though. I would swap the PSU, since the GTX285 uses a lot more power than the 8800GTX did. Hearing a whine in a PSU to me is a sign that it is getting old and needs replacing, since system crashes usually follow not to long after you start hearing the whining.

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Darn, the PSU is only three years old... I was kinda hoping that the GameXStream wouldn't start going until 5+ years... Oh well... Suggestions for a GREAT quality modular PSU?

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16817153038

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16817814015

That cover it?

Would the 4850 or 9800 GTX plus be able to run under the PSU I posted earlier? I went into the Tigerdirect store and they told me both video cards need a 600 watt power supply, I can't find any PSU at that wattage that would be Dell compatible. Also what are the differences between all the brands that sell the video cards? I've seen a lot of builds that uses the ASUS 4850 but looking at the reviews people seem to get a lot of issues with the card.

You know, as long as you have enough amps on the 12V rail, have a good efficiency rating, and you aren't doing SLi or Crossfire, 450W is enough to cover the 4850 or 9800GTX+.

As for the brand difference, scrutinize the specifications closely. There are often small clock alterations, etc., though the biggest differences are what comes in the box along with the card, i.e. PCIe 6-pin power adapters, drivers, screwdrivers, etc. For ATi, I recommend Sapphire or XFX. For nVidia, I recommend eVGA or XFX. XFX is good because, even though prices are usually higher than the others, they give you a lifetime warranty.

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Originally Posted by Warsaw

You know, as long as you have enough amps on the 12V rail, have a good efficiency rating, and you aren't doing SLi or Crossfire, 450W is enough to cover the 4850 or 9800GTX+.

As for the brand difference, scrutinize the specifications closely. There are often small clock alterations, etc., though the biggest differences are what comes in the box along with the card, i.e. PCIe 6-pin power adapters, drivers, screwdrivers, etc. For ATi, I recommend Sapphire or XFX. For nVidia, I recommend eVGA or XFX. XFX is good because, even though prices are usually higher than the others, they give you a lifetime warranty.

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35 amps is enough? The 4850/70 don't seem to tell me what amperage it needs, only the wattage.....What if I try to OC it?

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Originally Posted by Warsaw

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16817814015

That cover it?

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How about this instead? I have an 850 Watt PSU right now, so I don't really want to downgrade the wattage. There's no quality difference in the different wattage models to my knowledge...

Also, I love the ABS Tagan BZ series, was really hoping they would work for this.

Yes it will, though even 700W is more than enough to SLi two GTX285s...you are honestly going overkill with 800W. If you are going to do Tri-SLi/Dual GTX295s, then I'd consider something with 800+ watts.

Newegg's Canadian catalog is better than brick-and-mortar stores, yes, but it's pretty darn limited compared to their American one.

Canadians have more choices with NCIX, also at competitive prices. I built my last desktop computer using parts ordered from there.

The PSUs listed were the same ones listed under the American one...:confused:

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Originally Posted by Warsaw

Yes it will, though even 700W is more than enough to SLi two GTX285s...you are honestly going overkill with 800W. If you are going to do Tri-SLi/Dual GTX295s, then I'd consider something with 800+ watts.

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In the future I'll be upgrading my cards again. I plan to get an additional two monitors, so I was going to get another graphics card or two (and a Tri-SLI motherboard, if I do go Tri-SLI) to power those eventually.

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Originally Posted by Freelancer

In the future I'll be upgrading my cards again. I plan to get an additional two monitors, so I was going to get another graphics card or two (and a Tri-SLI motherboard, if I do go Tri-SLI) to power those eventually.

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Overkill much?

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Originally Posted by Mr Buckshot

Newegg's Canadian catalog is better than brick-and-mortar stores, yes, but it's pretty darn limited compared to their American one.

Canadians have more choices with NCIX, also at competitive prices. I built my last desktop computer using parts ordered from there.

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NCIX's prices seem to be higher than Newegg Canada's.

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Originally Posted by 343guiltymc

That PSU is going to work with the Dell motherboard?

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It should.

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Originally Posted by Rook

Overkill much?

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No?

What would you do with 3 monitor with SLI? Run on one screen?

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Originally Posted by InnerGoat

What would you do with 3 monitor with SLI? Run on one screen?

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One card per monitor... I'm pretty sure you can set that up, so that each card is processing for a single monitor. I'm also going to be getting a 40" Samsung 550 series for all the TV and movies that I watch.

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Originally Posted by Freelancer

One card per monitor... I'm pretty sure you can set that up, so that each card is processing for a single monitor.

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Hah, that's funny.

I thought SLi wasn't capable of multi-monitor setups...or did they fix that in a recent driver update?

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Originally Posted by Xetsuei

Hah, that's funny.

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Originally Posted by Warsaw

I thought SLi wasn't capable of multi-monitor setups...or did they fix that in a recent driver update?

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If you can't do it, then the fuck is the point of SLI besides extending your e-peen? It only increases performance at higher resolutions... If you're outputting on multiple monitors, that's obviously a higher resolution than a single monitor.

Edit: Oh, now I see where I was mistaken... You can use three graphics cards and use a single port on each card for each monitor, but they can't be in SLI... I could do 6 displays with three cards actually... However you're right, when SLI is enabled it will only let you output to a single monitor because multi-monitor support isn't currently supported. I'm sure it will be in future drivers though...

Edit Edit: Wait... I just saw a thread on the Nvidia forums where I saw a Tri-SLI setup running three monitors... What gives...

Edit Edit Edit: The Forceware 180.XX+ drivers have SLI Multi-Monitor Spanning supported from what I've read, gawd you guys, you're confusing me.

Edit Edit Edit Edit: Nevermind, all this SLI information is contradictory and retarded... I give give up trying to find a solution online.

Get one really big monitor :haw:.

Tri-SLI is almost pointless, but traditional dual-card SLI actually does give some real benefits. Quad Crossfire is a different story....it tears Crysis apart, and can even run maxxed at 2560x1600.

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Originally Posted by Warsaw

Get one really big monitor :haw:.

Tri-SLI is almost pointless, but traditional dual-card SLI actually does give some real benefits. Quad Crossfire is a different story....it tears Crysis apart, and can even run maxxed at 2560x1600.

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Had a PC at work that was from Gateway, Core i7 920, 9GB RAM, 2xHD 4870's running on a 30" LCD at 2560x1600. It couldn't run on anything higher than Medium settings... I spent half a shift trying to get it working properly, but all the bloatware was bogging the system down to much...

Also, I don't want one really big monitor, it's cheaper to get three 24"'s here than it is to get a 30" (even with my discount at work). Plus, larger monitors GENERALLY have higher response times.

Also, I can run Crysis maxed at 1920x1200 with 2xAA now and get an average of 26 FPS... Yehs!

I said Quad Crossfire. Two HD 4870s are not Quadfire, that's just regular Crossfire; you need two HD4870 X2s or two HD4850 X2s for Quadfire. The only thing capable of beating out two HD 4870 X2s are two GTX295s, and i7 scales better with ATi cards than with nVidia (with nVidia, it bottlenecks).

If you want to SLI / Tri-SLI on 3 monitors then you should look into a TH2go digital. They max out at 3x 1680x1050 at 57Hz I believe.

Otherwise you keep your one strong card, and get a cheap POS to drive the 3rd screen like I do and let SoftTH do the rest.

Anyone know if it's a bad idea to mount a PSU on TOP of the case?

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Originally Posted by Lex1337

Anyone know if it's a bad idea to mount a PSU on TOP of the case?

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As long as it's a self-grounding PSU (most are) then I don't really see any problems... Why?

Hey, guys. Planning on ordering some parts to upgrade the desktop; I'm thinking of a 2gb stick of RAM to bring it up to 3gb and a PCIex16 GPU that runs for under $70CAN. Now, I've looked on the Newegg.ca website and I can see a bunch of graphics cards that are that price or lower, but I really can't tell the difference between them. In addition, I've found several 2gb sticks of RAM, but I also don't really know enough about those to make an informed decision. Also, I have just a 250W peak PSU, so can I get a PCIex16 card in that price range that shouldn't require a new PSU, or should I upgrade that as well? In which case, what's a decently cheap PSU that would do the trick?

To get a better graphics card, you will need a new PSU. 300W is the bare minimum to even start getting decent graphics cards (9600GT comes to mind here).

As for RAM, you want the one with the best reviews, lowest CAS latency, and fastest speed (that your motherboard can support, my guess is 1066). Find the balance between those three.


Some good PSUs (I'm assuming you use standard ATX):

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16817182016

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16817153023

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Originally Posted by Varmint260

Hey, guys. Planning on ordering some parts to upgrade the desktop; I'm thinking of a 2gb stick of RAM to bring it up to 3gb and a PCIex16 GPU that runs for under $70CAN. Now, I've looked on the Newegg.ca website and I can see a bunch of graphics cards that are that price or lower, but I really can't tell the difference between them. In addition, I've found several 2gb sticks of RAM, but I also don't really know enough about those to make an informed decision. Also, I have just a 250W peak PSU, so can I get a PCIex16 card in that price range that shouldn't require a new PSU, or should I upgrade that as well? In which case, what's a decently cheap PSU that would do the trick?

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You're not going to get much for under 70 bucks......Damn you just missed the Newegg deal: http://www.newegg.ca/Special/ShellShocker.aspx

I realize that for under $70 I can't expect much, but remember that I've been using integrated chipsets or PCI cards of similar performance forever. It doesn't take much to impress me. Now, as for PSUs, I don't exactly know what kind of PSU is in my desktop; only that it says peak wattage is 250W. What other information should I get from it before I replace it?

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Originally Posted by Freelancer

As long as it's a self-grounding PSU (most are) then I don't really see any problems... Why?

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Because I want to know if I can just mount a PSU on top of my Slimline instead of buying a new case. Then get the best low profile GPU out.

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Originally Posted by Varmint260

I realize that for under $70 I can't expect much, but remember that I've been using integrated chipsets or PCI cards of similar performance forever. It doesn't take much to impress me. Now, as for PSUs, I don't exactly know what kind of PSU is in my desktop; only that it says peak wattage is 250W. What other information should I get from it before I replace it?

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Definably get a new PSU, there is practically nothing right now that would run on a 250 W power supply. Are you using a slimline desktop?

Nah, it's a full-size. And remember how I said it doesn't take much to impress me? It's running Vista on 1gb of ram, a single-core processor (though a decently nice one) and integrated graphics, and it runs HaloPC at 1024x768 and full graphical settings. To most of you, this is totally and completely laughable, and it really is. However, since 2001 I've been running a computer that at best, would chug while running HaloPC at 640x480, and that was with XP running. So, it doesn't take much to impress me.

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Originally Posted by Varmint260

Nah, it's a full-size. And remember how I said it doesn't take much to impress me? It's running Vista on 1gb of ram, a single-core processor (though a decently nice one) and integrated graphics, and it runs HaloPC at 1024x768 and full graphical settings. To most of you, this is totally and completely laughable, and it really is. However, since 2001 I've been running a computer that at best, would chug while running HaloPC at 640x480, and that was with XP running. So, it doesn't take much to impress me.

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What vendor did you buy it from?

The computer itself originally came from the Source. A family member bought it, but now they don't need it. Now, it says it's running PC2-6400 RAM. Does that mean the RAM I get for it has to be PC2-6400, or can I get any old RAM assuming I remove the PC2-6400 RAM that's in it already?

It means you can run any DDR2 type RAM up to and including PC-6400. Don't know if your motherboard will accept faster RAM without a BIOS flash. And if your case is full size, that means you can use standard ATX-type power supplies. As for a good card for $70, might want to consider raising that to $100. There are some seriously good cards for just under $100.

For $70, the best you can do are:

ATiHD4670
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814140095

ATi HD3850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102794

nVidia GeForce 9600GT (Open Box)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16814127382R

He's asking for a card for under 70 dollars CAN, the cheapest card he could get is a 4650. Honestly, that's not much of a "upgrade".

Oops? I forgot to switch Newegg over to Canadian.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814102805
Probably the best thing you can get at that price range.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129058

Good case? Yes? No?

What PSU will fit in this and will work with a min-itx board?

What are the dimensions for a reference radeon 4850? I don't know if the gap between the PCI-E slot, the fan shroud and the hard drive bay is enough to one.

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Originally Posted by Lex1337

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129058

Good case? Yes? No?

What PSU will fit in this and will work with a min-itx board?

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Good case, yes. A standard ATX PSU will work with it no problem. As for the motherboard, check to see how many pins are on the main power connector, and then get a PSU that fits that requirement (any 20+4 pin is normally enough to fit). I don't know that a Mini-ITX motherboard can be secured inside that case though, I think it's too small.

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Originally Posted by Warsaw

Good case, yes. A standard ATX PSU will work with it no problem. As for the motherboard, check to see how many pins are on the main power connector, and then get a PSU that fits that requirement (any 20+4 pin is normally enough to fit). I don't know that a Mini-ITX motherboard can be secured inside that case though, I think it's too small.

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I need a PSU that has a small 24 Pin. The specs say a Mini_ITX MoBo will fit. I hope it does.

I'll just get this with this.

Whats the best GPU I can get with that Wattage?

With 700W? You can use either a GeForce GTX295 or a Radeon HD4870 X2, which are the two best cards on the market, period. Basically, with 700W you can use any card you so desire, as long as it fits in your motherboard. I don't like that PSU though, seems a little on the cheap side to me. Don't skimp on power supplies, because that can bite you in the ass later.

So, I have an old Dell Optiplex GX 240, and I wanted to know what kind of upgrades I can do to it.

Mostly the gfx card, which is a ATI Rage 128 Ultra, and can't even play Halo :/

Slap some upgrades for it on me, but i'm not rich so...

E: So far the only thing I did was take out the floppy drive and add another (80 gig) HDD that I had lying around.

Is your RAGE a PCI or AGP model?

GeForce 9400GT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814187057

GeForce 8500GT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814187059

Radeon HD2400 Pro
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131082

Personally, I'd go with the 8500GT. It is about equal with a GeForce 7800 GT in power. All of the ones I listed are PCI. I don't know what AGP bus you have (if any), and if it is less than 4x, you are out of luck unless you want to search eBay.

I think it actually has both an AGP and PCI slot. I don't know a lot about computers, so how would I tell which is which and how many x it has?

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Originally Posted by ThePlague

So, I have an old Dell Optiplex GX 240, and I wanted to know what kind of upgrades I can do to it.

Mostly the gfx card, which is a ATI Rage 128 Ultra, and can't even play Halo :/

Slap some upgrades for it on me, but i'm not rich so...

E: So far the only thing I did was take out the floppy drive and add another (80 gig) HDD that I had lying around.

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ATI rage 128 ultra is AGP 4x I believe...Or at least that's what a wiki search told me.

I have a RAGE Pro 128 All-In-Wonder, and it's PCI. That's why I asked him whether or not his is PCI or AGP. You can find good AGP 4x/8x cards on the market, but finding something that is 1x or 2x is getting hard to do.

Updated all prices and replaced deactivated items. Going to do a complete rebuild of all the rigs at the start of next month.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814161259
Is this card's cooler adequate to keep the card cool? I don't want it to give me high temps like the reference ones.

You can fix the reference issue by modifying the fan settings...a simple Google search will tell you that.

But yes, the cooler is sufficient. Technically, they are all sufficient. :downs:

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Originally Posted by Warsaw

You can fix the reference issue by modifying the fan settings...a simple Google search will tell you that.

But yes, the cooler is sufficient. Technically, they are all sufficient. :downs:

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What? A quick google search told me the cards still get pretty high temps even with the fan fix.

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Originally Posted by 343guiltymc

What? A quick google search told me the cards still get pretty high temps even with the fan fix.

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The card is meant to, and can handle the high temps. It's not a problem.

Alright, I learned that my PC has AGP 4x for it, and I was wondering what card I should get. I can't spend too much on it, but I want to be able to atleast run newer games (idc if I can run Crysis). My price range is about $80 or less. I know absolutely nothing when it comes to this stuff, so if someone can point me in the right direction of what to get, it'd be a great help.

$79.99 Sapphire HD3650 512MB

What would happen to be the specs on your computer right now? That can affect what your performance will be on newer games a ton.

E:
Specs:
ATI Rage 128 Gfx card
Intel Pentium 4 CPU 1.80 GHZ
512 mb of 32x64m pc133-333-520 RAM (two 256 mb sticks)
Ubuntu 8.10 Operating System
100 gb of HD space (one 20 gig HD and another 80 gig)

And that's all I could get :/

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Originally Posted by ThePlague

E:
Specs:
ATI Rage 128 Gfx card
Intel Pentium 4 CPU 1.80 GHZ
512 mb of 32x64m pc133-333-520 RAM (two 256 mb sticks)
Ubuntu 8.10 Operating System
100 gb of HD space (one 20 gig HD and another 80 gig)

And that's all I could get :/

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Urh, get a new PC altogether. That's barely adequate for simple tasks, let alone playing games.

Yeah, because I totally didn't think of that at all.

If I had the money for a new PC, I would've already had one.

Your system is so bottlenecked that even a graphics upgrade will only afford you a limited amount of manoeuvring room with regard to what games you can run at decent settings. PC133 RAM? Pentium 4 1.8GHz? Damn boi, that junk is old. I was going to suggest an HD3850, but that would be too much wasted power, so I'm gonna agree with Xet's suggestion.

It's an old like 04 Dell Optiplex GX240 so...yeah. I just wanted to know what I could get out of it. Right now I use my laptop for gaming, and it's a Dell Latutide D600 which is also from 04. I wanted to see if I could make a gaming desktop, but from what you guys have said, I guess it's not worth it.

Two years ago you could've gotten away with it. Today, it's just not going to cut it. My own system is on the edge of the minimum system requirements for games of today.

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Originally Posted by Warsaw

Two years ago you could've gotten away with it. Today, it's just not going to cut it. My own system is on the edge of the minimum system requirements for games of today.

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Atleast I can play HL2 games on my laptop, and that's about the best I can do.

I'll try to get money to build a decent PC.

Hey what do you think of these two builds, the first is a small budget, and the second is a slightly better for a bigger budget. Thanks :)

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/M...spx?ID=6262249
https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/M...spx?ID=6265889

Hint: Don't use any kind of Pentium CPU.

Hint: Its for a low budgeted person, where as I don't want to use a Dual Core. Just work with me here :P

AMD's 64 series single core is still better than the Pentiums, and probably always will be.

Why is the 9800 GT preferred for the low end build? I thought the 4830 was cheaper and faster.

Planning on upgrading. Need advice.

Case

MoBo

3gb that came with original slimline.

PSU

GPU

20 pin to mini 24 pin

Will these fit in that case? Are any of these parts good? Any recommended parts I should get for this upgrade?

Sounds like you are building a whole new PC, why stick with HP's shitty mobo?

Basically, but I'm going to buy the parts slowly. I'll update the MoBo aswell but I'm still looking for the right one.

EDIT: I also need to know what parts to buy first to last.

In order:

1. PSU
2. Case
3. Mobo
4. GPU

HP uses woefully underpowered PSUs in their systems...

Lex1337, how much money do you plan to spend on this total? If you get a new mobo, you're going to need a new cpu, and probably new ram (and you REALLY need a new mobo).

Also, instead of getting the PSU you have selected I highly recommend either

$69.99() PC Power & Cooling 610W

or

$74.99() Corsair 650W

Also the eVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 is $20 more than the GPU you have selected, but better.

Though for that price, I think it would be more prudent to go with a Radeon HD4870. Same power, lower price point. While the Core 216 is an improvement, I have a hard time recommending it over the 4870 since the two are so close in performance levels. The HD4870 wins me over by being available for as low as $145 for the 512MB model (and you don't really need more unless you intend to play at resolutions higher than 1920x1200).

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3408

More powerful, uses less power.

E: People if you have a problem on a product I have recommended instead of posting it and cluttering the thread with tons of pages of "X is better than X" just discuss it with me in a PM. Thanks.

Probably at 500$ 550$ tops. I'm not trying to go higher than that.

I'm afraid on buying a new MoBo since I'm buying the parts slowly. And since I'm doing that, I'd have to buy this. And I wouldn't want that money to go to waste.

I found a way to counter this by buying the case, psu, and MoBo at the same time, but I am having problems finding out what Ram am I using.

Thanks for the help.

EDIT: Seems like the best case to upgrade with is the Antec NineHundred Two.

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Originally Posted by Lex1337

Probably at 500$ 550$ tops. I'm not trying to go higher than that.

I'm afraid on buying a new MoBo since I'm buying the parts slowly. And since I'm doing that, I'd have to buy this. And I wouldn't want that money to go to waste.

I found a way to counter this by buying the case, psu, and MoBo at the same time, but I am having problems finding out what Ram am I using.

Thanks for the help.

EDIT: Seems like the best case to upgrade with is the Antec NineHundred Two.

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It's just not going to work. You HAVE to get a new motherboard. That old AMD dual core won't do you shit, and will bottleneck the hell out of the GTX 260. Don't bother with the Antec NineHundred Two, it's not worth it.

I'm planning on buying the parts in the following order.
-Case,PSU,20pin to mini24pin
-MoBo,Ram
-CPU,GPU

Sounds good? If so which parts do you recommend.

Wow, that 902 looks even worse than the 900 series...

Hey! I have a contact at The Source here in town that gets power supplies in bulk (450W dual-fans, 500W single-fan, and 550W single-fan setups). He's selling the 450W and 500W supplies for $40CAN, and the 550W for $45CAN. Any specs I should look up on the box to make sure they're actually worth buying, like the capacity of the rails, and all that? Sorry, can't remember the brand name off hand.

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Originally Posted by Varmint260

Hey! I have a contact at The Source here in town that gets power supplies in bulk (450W dual-fans, 500W single-fan, and 550W single-fan setups). He's selling the 450W and 500W supplies for $40CAN, and the 550W for $45CAN. Any specs I should look up on the box to make sure they're actually worth buying, like the capacity of the rails, and all that? Sorry, can't remember the brand name off hand.

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Look at how amps there are on the combined 12V rail(s), some PSU have more than 1.

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Originally Posted by Lex1337

I'm planning on buying the parts in the following order.
-Case,PSU,20pin to mini24pin
-MoBo,Ram
-CPU,GPU

Sounds good? If so which parts do you recommend.

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What are you planning to get? And why are you getting that 20pin to mini24pin adapter? I don't see the use for it.

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Originally Posted by Xetsuei

What are you planning to get? And why are you getting that 20pin to mini24pin adapter? I don't see the use for it.

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Just a lot better parts that will last a while until it's time to upgrade again. I'm getting that adapter so I don't have to buy everything at once.

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Originally Posted by 343guiltymc

Look at how amps there are on the combined 12V rail(s), some PSU have more than 1.

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Sounds good. What's a reasonable amperage?

15 or better. Preferably, you want something in the neighborhood of 18-26.

What's the best GPU a Pentium 4 3.0 CPU can handle? What would be the best PSU wattage for that card?

Ick...a P4...

Going by the high end graphics of that era (GeForce 7800GTX/7900GTX), I'd say the best you can do with that bottleneck is a GeForce 9600GT or a GeForce 9800GT (which are similar in price and performance, though the latter is more powerful). After that, you are really maxing out on the CPU. I wouldn't recommend Crysis with it, as I have the AMD equivalent to that CPU, and it's on the bare minimum requirements for the game.

Oh ok, I just sold the MoBo for the pentium 4 anyways.

My dads friend just recently opened up a computer shop and once it's open I can get anything for free. I hope he has good things.

PSU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005

Video card - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125256

Mobo - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128358

CPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115131

RAM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227298

Hard drive - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136073

Optical drive - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827136152

CPU cooler - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835233003

Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811146025

Card reader - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820223073

$929 before rebates, and $799 after. Is this a good rig? Anything in there which could be better?

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Originally Posted by Lex1337

My dads friend just recently opened up a computer shop and once it's open I can get anything for free.

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I'll bet that you won't get anything except shitty cheap stuff for free. It costs money to run a business, and if your dads friend is giving shit away for free he's a horrible businessman.

Unless he's rich.

I'm thinking of getting this. My computer recently dropped dead, and the suspect is the PSU. The old one was 750W running a Q6600, 3 HDDs,, 2 sticks ram, 1 dvd burner, many many fans, 8800GTX.

Anything over 600 watts would be more then enough for that.

Is there any difference between the GTS 250 and 9800 GTX+? I've noticed the GTS 250 is priced higher than most of the 9800 GTX+, even the the 512 MB models.

55nm die-shrink, 1GB DDR3 is the standard for it (though there are 512MB models, 1GB is the official standard), and that's about it. It's also shorter...and consumes less power. Performance is just ever so slightly better, but yes, it is pretty much the same card.

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Originally Posted by Warsaw

55nm die-shrink, 1GB DDR3 is the standard for it (though there are 512MB models, 1GB is the official standard), and that's about it. It's also shorter...and consumes less power. Performance is just ever so slightly better, but yes, it is pretty much the same card.

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Also uses much less power! Only 1 pci/e power input instead of two on the original 9800GTX+!:eng101: