Best Video Card and PSU?

[Cesario]

First time poster and glad to be here. I just ordered this comp from Newegg.com and want to use it as a basis for my "ultimate gaming pc". For me that means minimal bottlenecks and max performance, good parts, and economy when able.

Here's my comp

I want to upgrade the PSU immediately and wish to know what PSU would be best based on my needs. I also wish to upgrade the GPU asap. Can you guys give me some ideas?


Thanks alot.

[krocodile]

I want to upgrade the PSU immediately and wish to know what PSU would be best based on my needs. I also wish to upgrade the GPU asap. Can you guys give me some ideas?

I think others might agree here, but right now your CPU is going to be your biggest bottleneck. I guess you can look at it this way, since you are running just a A64 3200+, it won't do you a lot of good to blow a lot of money on a high end GPU. Maybe just get a 7900GT or 7800 and once you upgrade your CPU in the future invest in a higher end DX10 GPU part when they become more widely adopted.

As far as the PSU is concerned. Suggestions for what you should get are going to be based on the what GPU your purchase. If you put into consideration about your CPU bottleneck, and you decide to purchase a GPU like I mentioned above, then I would think 400W to 450W would be enough. But, if you insist on getting a higher end GPU and using it regardless of the bottleneck, than you might need a 500W or higher.

Some things to consider first before you jump the gun

[Cesario]

Thanks for the reply. I was leaning the way you suggested so I'm good to go with everything you said. This is the card I'm going to get. So a decent 450-500 watt PSU along with a couple sticks of high quality ram should do for most gaming.....WOW, F.E.A.R., Oblivion? Would I need to upgrade my cooling system? What about upgrading onboard speakers? Thanks again....

[urbeg]

I'm agreeing with krocodile on this one. You would probably be better getting the 7900GT/7800. Keep your money for when the new DX10 cards come into big play. I have the 7600GT, and it has played all those games you mentioned on high settings without any noticeable lag etc. Really up to yourself at the end of the day depending on how much you want to spend. Hope this helps, Richard.

[Cesario]

Thanks again sir. So the 7950 GT would be overkill and a waste of money? I ask cause it's not a big deal to spend 269.00 on a good card. 600.00 bucks would be another story indeed. LOL! If i did go with a 7950 GT what would be a suitable PSU, and at what price point? Also, could you recommend a solid memory upgrade i/e; brand, amount, compatibility?



Thanks again.

[krocodile]

So the 7950 GT would be overkill and a waste of money? I ask cause it's not a big deal to spend 269.00 on a good card.

I think you'll be good with this card too. I was just making suggestions based on price / performance. If 269 isn't a big deal, I would go for it.

If i did go with a 7950 GT what would be a suitable PSU, and at what price point??

This is going to bring us to the price area again. I am very preference to PC Power & Cooling PSU's. I have had two so far and they have been rock solid. But, PC Power & Cooling is pricier than most. Some people like Antec as a cheaper route, Thermaltake is decent, and so is Enermax. I would start with those manufactures first and find a 450 - 500W in your price range. The nice thing is, you are only running one GPU, so you won't be pulling near the power that a lot of gamers are with SLI or CF.

Also, could you recommend a solid memory upgrade i/e; brand, amount, compatibility

Generally speaking, you cannot go wrong with Corsair memory. Look into some TWINX packaging with CAS2 latency. OCZ makes some good memory also, but I have seen some compatibility problems on occasion. Buffalo has gotten better over time, and if you want not the highest performance, but good reliablity and compatibility, Crucial Ballistix is worth looking to.

How about this. If you want, reply back with a total amount you want to spend during this upgrade. I can then give you some links specifically to parts that I would recommend and not go over your total amount after all is said and done.

Thanks!

[Cesario]

Here's my budget:

200.00 to 300.00 for some solid ram, I figure 2 gigs max but would rather have quality ram at 1gig than cheap ram for 2 gigs. Preferably, it would be the same stuff I'll use for future upgrades to 4gigs.
300.00 for the gpu (7950 gt)
100.00 for the psu (If I can get a good psu for cheaper that would be cool. Maybe put more cash torwards the ram?)
Not sure what to get for great sound. I want to replace the onboard sound and have a couple hundred bucks to go torwards that.


Thanks again krocodile.

[krocodile]

200.00 to 300.00 for some solid ram, I figure 2 gigs max but would rather have quality ram at 1gig than cheap ram for 2 gigs. Preferably, it would be the same stuff I'll use for future upgrades to 4gigs.

In that price range for RAM, I am going to recommend Corsair. Here's some links:
This one is for 1GB total, two 512MB sticks.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145450

This one is for 2GB total, two 1GB sticks, and it comes with a mail in rebate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145575

100.00 for the psu (If I can get a good psu for cheaper that would be cool. Maybe put more cash torwards the ram?)

Since we are keeping the price range low on the PSU side, I'm going to link an Antec and an Enermax that should work just fine. You'll also note I have not listed any Modular power supplies, it's just a personal opinion of mine that Modular is not all it's cracked up to be.
Enermax
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103462

Antec
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371002

Not sure what to get for great sound. I want to replace the onboard sound and have a couple hundred bucks to go torwards that.

For the sake of keeping costs low, I am not a huge fan of the Xfi series from Creative, seen and heard way to many issues with that card and certain PC's. I would just shop Newegg for a SB Audigy 2, you can get them for under 100 dollars now-a-days

[Cesario]

Decided to go with the Antec PSU and the 1gb stick of Corsair ram. Thanks for all of your help krocodile. You've saved me alot of worry and headache about getting the wrong stuff. BTW,is it best to go with one stick of Corsair 1 gb or two sticks of 512mb? I read somewhere that performance is lower when you go with two sticks instead of one.

[krocodile]

BTW,is it best to go with one stick of Corsair 1 gb or two sticks of 512mb? I read somewhere that performance is lower when you go with two sticks instead of one.

Since most newer motherboards use Dual Channel architecture, you are going to get better performance with two sticks. Just make sure each stick is in the appropriate slot designated on the motherboard for Dual Channel (will need to look at your MB manual). When, and if, you move up to 2GB in the future, you will want to replace your two 512MB sticks with two 1GB sticks to keep your performance better.

[Cesario]

Thanks krocodile. I was thinking about picking up a mobo upgrade too. This one is pretty budget friendly and it's SLI certified. Would you say this could serve as my mobo once i decide to go SLI?

[pressmoon]

Folks,

I'm looking for suggestions on a video card and power supply upgrade to go along with my Dell 26" HDTV. I'm not a game player but want the best video playback for DVD movies and HDTV more than anything. But I don't want to waste money on a high-end card if one's not needed as well!

I have a Dell Dimension 9100 with a dual-core CPU, 3 gigs of memory and an ATI x600 video card currently.

What I've seen so far are the following so please feel free to confirm that they're good choices OR give me other suggestions:

Antec True Power Trio 550W P/S or Antec HE 550W P/S (which is best?)

HIS Radeon X1950 XT IceQ3 Turbo / 256MB GDDR3 / PCI Express / Dual DVI / HDTV / VIVO

I'd appreciate it and thanks.

Randy

[Yeah]

Folks,

I'm looking for suggestions on a video card and power supply upgrade to go along with my Dell 26" HDTV. I'm not a game player but want the best video playback for DVD movies and HDTV more than anything. But I don't want to waste money on a high-end card if one's not needed as well!

I have a Dell Dimension 9100 with a dual-core CPU, 3 gigs of memory and an ATI x600 video card currently.

What I've seen so far are the following so please feel free to confirm that they're good choices OR give me other suggestions:

Antec True Power Trio 550W P/S or Antec HE 550W P/S (which is best?)

HIS Radeon X1950 XT IceQ3 Turbo / 256MB GDDR3 / PCI Express / Dual DVI / HDTV / VIVO

I'd appreciate it and thanks.

Randy

Good power supplies = Sparkle - Fortron - PcPower&Cooling - Enermax

[mr_raider]

Ummm.... Maybe you did the math before, but buying a low-end system and gutting it, replacing RAM, GPU and PSU, wouldn't that be more expensive than building from scratch?


To answer your PSU question both are just fine, as Antec makes decent PSUs. the NeoHE 550 has a total output of 42A on the 12V line, as does the TP trio 550. Get the cheaper one.

x1950 is way overkill for a non-gaming system. I would suggest getting an x1300 for a true non-gamer, or x1600/1650 for a light gamer. The ability watch HDTV requires some form of HD source, either Blu-ray HD-DVD disc, cable, satellite or over the air HD broadcast. If the latter is available in your area, I suggest getting and HD TV tuner.

[pressmoon]

Raider,

Thanks for the reply. I don't have a low-end system for a non-gamer. Just upgrading the video card.

So I appreciate the reply about which card and PS to go with.

Randy