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New Graphics Card
TifaLockhart:
Any reason particularly to getting the Corsair 650W? Last i check the price was on the steep side and anything between 550w to 600w could go somewhere between 50 to 100 bucks cheaper depending on the brand.
equivocal:
If I understand correctly, you are looking to upgrade your gfx card and psu while keeping everything else. From personal experience, I think there are several things that you might want to take note:
1) The cpu case that HP provides is not proprietary: simply put, there are no weird mountings, fittings etc. Most importantly, check that the new PSU you want to buy can fit. I faced this problem when I tried to change the PSU on my mum's pre-packaged Dell PC.
2) Still on size issues, make sure that you measure the dimensions of your new graphics card that you want to get. New cards are HUGE compared to the 9500GS so make sure that everything will actually fit into the HP case (see point 5 below).
3) Make sure the stock fans that come with your case is sufficient ventilation for your upgraded hardware; newer cards run much hotter.
4) I suggest you go for the 460GTX. Judging by http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/charts/2010-gaming-graphics-charts-high-quality/3DMark06-v1.1.0,2484.html, the 460 and the 5850 are quite close in performance. At the resolution that you're running your games in, you shouldn't really notice a big difference in fps rates. Regardless, imo all the cards that you've shortlisted pair well with your CPU, any higher and your CPU will be bottlenecked, if it won't be already.
5) My second suggestion is in order to avoid these issues, get a new well ventilated PC case and port all your components over (or get someone else if you're not confident). This will ensure everything fits, is well ventilated and has a longer lifespan.
Hope this helps :)
datora:
.
--- Quote from: rostheferret on October 06, 2010, 01:02:20 PM ---For the PSU, get a corsair. 650W should be plenty powerful enough.
--- End quote ---
+1
There should be no need to exceed 650W for your system. Corsair is rock solid, but you don't have to go with the brand name; they just happen to put out very good gaming gear, so it'll run quiet and efficient and cool. A large PS that has a low efficiency rating can chew up a bit of electricity, thus running hotter (& more expensive).
Antec, Thermaltake, OCZ all good. I have a Cooler Master I'm quite happy with, but it's "only" a 550 watt and I don't push a juiced up video card with it ... however, it does push 5 hard drives without problem,and sometimes two or three USB drives. I'm pretty sure a 550 would handle your needs, but not 100% certain. If I were you I'd look pretty hard for a 600 or 650, whichever turns up at a good deal first. A 700 won't kill you if a good special falls in your lap. You have to estimate the juice your entire system uses (likely under 500W) and then buy something with at least an additional 20% capacity; 30% better, 50% big overkill unless you plan more upgrades.
Anyway, best bet is to check out the offerings at newegg and visit twice a day. They discount power supplies about five times a week. Just got to have an idea ahead of time what you want & then jump on it when it shows up. Probably you can get what you need for ~$65, maybe even $50.
currently "featured" deals:
- http://www.newegg.com/Store/Category.aspx?Category=32
These look like solid deals right now:
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341017
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
I'd spend the $70 instead of $50 & get the 650 Corsair, but that's me. I'm pushing a bunch of hard drives & would feel more comfortable with the extra juice. That leaves ~$300 budget for your card, which is substantial.
Put the term "promo code" in the search box ... it will take you to their full page of specials, which changes every two days or so. Check every day, sometimes they run a 24-hour special with mad deals. Might also find a video card for your needs at something like 50% off.
Current page, not sure if it changes or if the URL remains static:
- http://promotions.newegg.com/NEemail/latest/index-landing.aspx?Tpk=promo%20code
rostheferret:
--- Quote from: TifaLockhart on October 06, 2010, 01:42:43 PM ---Any reason particularly to getting the Corsair 650W? Last i check the price was on the steep side and anything between 550w to 600w could go somewhere between 50 to 100 bucks cheaper depending on the brand.
--- End quote ---
Reliability. Part of it is the brand name admittedly, but do you want to mess around with unreliable brands when an overload could fry a far more expensive component? You could get a 550w which would save some money, but its only a little less and would mean upgrading later could need another PSU. Tbh, this PSU is going to last longer than any other component in your PC.
Xtras:
If you don't want to mess around with the PSU though, for a 350W PSU one of the cards I found to be a really good balance was the Radeon 4770. More performance power than the Nvidia 9800GT, and its 40nm core allows it to operate off of just 75W. I don't think it can max out games and there may be a better fit for your system, but I've got the Q6600 and the Radeon 4770 on 350W and it is running just fine. The card barely even needs the 6pin connector. Just a recommendation.
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