Building a new computer....

[Grinder1989 5,000+ posts]

Make sure you get yourself a good, high-quality power supply. Too many computers are throttled by their PS. Especially if you're going to run SLI, although it seems you may have already ditched that idea, which is a good thing.
I also love AMD, and while I'll acknowledge that at the moment Intel is winning the performance race, I think this is mainly only a factor in the overclocking world, which it doesn't seem is a big deal to you.

I think I have a 450 watt

 

[faulkton 5,000+ posts]

word.

Antec has never let me down for a PSU.

 

[Anniku989 10+ year member]

I think I have a 450 watt

Think of wattage in psu's as "max power" on amps, means nothing pretty much.

What brand/series?

How much on the 12v rail/s?

Edit:

Ehh that was a bad example, w/e. Reliability is key with psu's, I've seen a many rigs go down due to shitty deer psu's.

 

[Grinder1989 5,000+ posts]

Think of wattage in psu's as "max power" on amps, means nothing pretty much.

What brand/series?

How much on the 12v rail/s?

Edit:

Ehh that was a bad example, w/e. Reliability is key with psu's, I've seen a many rigs go down due to shitty deer psu's.

no idea and its actually a 400 watt.

 

[Anniku989 10+ year member]

http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showthread.php?t=136602

Read up, thats one of the best(if not the best) psu guides online

 

[Anniku989 10+ year member]

How is ATI's DX10 lacking ? The cut-down HD 2900s are fantastic values (what does Nvidia offer for under $200 that can compete w/ the HD 2900 GT ?) and the HD 2600 series is very power efficient and excellent at decoding video (they **** for gaming, but are great for HTPCs)

They're lacking because they're top of the line card gets anally ***** by the g80gtx.

The 8800gt is what, $40 more than the 2900, and it beats it in every bench ( http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=109078&d=1193135811 ), plus it'll oc nice.

Edit:

lmao, i am gay ^_^

 

[tRidiot 10+ year member]

As mentioned on the PS tutorial page, I would HIGHLY recommend your PSU is a single 12V rail design. Many out there now show 4 12V rails, but they just aren't good enough for a high-end system, IMO.

I have a 550W single-rail Silverstone which is phenomenal. I don't think a 400W anything is going to be solid enough for the kind of system you're talking about here.

I would look for one with a 35A single rail. Also many of the cheaper PSUs get their 'max' power rating by beefing up the 3.3 and 5V rail amperage, which is something you won't likely see any real benefit from in real-world usage.

PC Power & Cooling, Silverstone, Etasis, Zippy and Delta are all great manufacturers.

OCZ Powerstreams are (or were) Topower-built units which have had their fair share of issues. I have seen a great number of serious strong PSUs for sale over on ocforums.com, but I think you've got to have 100 posts as a member to access the For Sale section.

I'd be happy to help you pick out a great, inexpensive PSU to run your new rig if you like. As for the great GPU debate going on, however, I haven't kept up with that the last year or more. MB and CPU are pretty easy to determine, as is RAM.

 

[silvercookie 5,000+ posts]

yea but its true

amd is way faster and more stable at lower speeds than most intels cause intel just blows.

 

[DaveT 10+ year member]

How is ATI's DX10 lacking ? The cut-down HD 2900s are fantastic values (what does Nvidia offer for under $200 that can compete w/ the HD 2900 GT ?) and the HD 2600 series is very power efficient and excellent at decoding video (they **** for gaming, but are great for HTPCs)

The 29XX series of cards have driver issues like none other, my friend picked one up and it blows big time. Some guys it will run fine then he will try to open up a game that his 7800gt ran flawlessly at the same settings and it will bring the 2900 to it's knees.

The 8600 is crap ... There is really no reason to buy the GTS w/ the HD 2900 GT being in the same price bracket (and literally twice as fast) and the GT is priced similarly to the 7900 GS and X1950 Pro, both of which run circles around it, plus it isn't as good for HTPC use as the HD 2600 series.
In other words, GeForce 8600 series = FAIL

I sense an ATI fan boy:crap:

 

[miker 5,000+ posts]

7600 will run new games fine. SLI is iky poo. The 7800's are your problem dude. 7900's are awesome.

You will most likely need new HDD's. You could buy a brand new 7600 for 75$... Get a GOOD PSU!

 

[DaveT 10+ year member]

As mentioned on the PS tutorial page, I would HIGHLY recommend your PSU is a single 12V rail design. Many out there now show 4 12V rails, but they just aren't good enough for a high-end system, IMO.
I have a 550W single-rail Silverstone which is phenomenal. I don't think a 400W anything is going to be solid enough for the kind of system you're talking about here.

I would look for one with a 35A single rail. Also many of the cheaper PSUs get their 'max' power rating by beefing up the 3.3 and 5V rail amperage, which is something you won't likely see any real benefit from in real-world usage.

PC Power & Cooling, Silverstone, Etasis, Zippy and Delta are all great manufacturers.

OCZ Powerstreams are (or were) Topower-built units which have had their fair share of issues. I have seen a great number of serious strong PSUs for sale over on ocforums.com, but I think you've got to have 100 posts as a member to access the For Sale section.

I'd be happy to help you pick out a great, inexpensive PSU to run your new rig if you like. As for the great GPU debate going on, however, I haven't kept up with that the last year or more. MB and CPU are pretty easy to determine, as is RAM.

Actually OCZ units have been using forton source and are very solid power supplies for the money. Also OCZ bought out PC Power and cooling.

 

[DaveT 10+ year member]

I own a GeForce 8800 GTS 640 MB ...
ATI's drivers have improved significantly over the past several months //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

They still haven't fixed the issues, trust me I talk to my friend every week about it. The 8800GTS is a solid performer I was going to pick one up but decided to get rid of my rig.

 

[DaveT 10+ year member]

The 7600 GT can't even handle Need For Speed at max settings ...

Agreed they have there legs chopped off. I hate budget cards with half the pipes disabled.

 

[Anniku989 10+ year member]

yea but its trueamd is way faster and more stable at lower speeds than most intels cause intel just blows.

Think before you type

The 8800 GT isn't even available yet ...
Everyone knows that Nvidia is winning in high-end cards, but that doesn't mean ATI's line-up sucks. The HD 2900 Pro and HD 2900 GT are both very competitive (the HD 2900 GT is lined-up against the 8600 GTS, which is no contest) and the HD 2600 series is good for HTPC (not good for gaming).

Prove me wrong ...

Alright, good point. The 8800 still rules, prove me wrong

The 29XX series of cards have driver issues like none other, my friend picked one up and it blows big time. Some guys it will run fine then he will try to open up a game that his 7800gt ran flawlessly at the same settings and it will bring the 2900 to it's knees.

I sense an ATI fan boy:crap:

Ditto

7600 will run new games fine. SLI is iky poo. The 7800's are your problem dude. 7900's are awesome.
You will most likely need new HDD's. You could buy a brand new 7600 for 75$... Get a GOOD PSU!

The 7800's are obviously my problem, and thats what I implied.

7600 is a good minor photoshop/gaming card at low res/detail

7600's will not run new games fine (unless you like watching slideshows)

Not sure what hard disk's he has, but exactly why does he need new ones?

 

[miker 5,000+ posts]

Quote:

Originally Posted by miker View Post

7600 will run new games fine. SLI is iky poo. The 7800's are your problem dude. 7900's are awesome.

You will most likely need new HDD's. You could buy a brand new 7600 for 75$... Get a GOOD PSU!

The 7800's are obviously my problem, and thats what I implied.

7600 is a good minor photoshop/gaming card at low res/detail

7600's will not run new games fine (unless you like watching slideshows)

Not sure what hard disk's he has, but exactly why does he need new ones?

I could play any game at max settings with SLI 7600's...

New processor= new HDD.