Ilpav

I just bought a whole new setup for my PC.

Right now I have:

Pentium 4 2.6 GHz

ASRock GE Pro-M2 Motherboard

Radeon 2600 Pro 512 MB AGP

Kingston 1.5 GB DDR333 PC2700 RAM


What I'm upgrading to:

Intel Core 2 Duo E7300 Wolfdale 2.66GHz LGA 775

ASUS P5Q SE PLUS LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

Radeon HD 4670 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card

Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

All for $461 (shipping and tax included).

Is all that good for the price?

And I am currently trying to run Assassin's Creed on my current setup and it's pretty laggy (on lowest settings).

Will the new setup make Assassin's Creed and other new games run smoothly?

I'm also dying to get my hands on GTA IV for the PC! Will my new setup be able to run it properly?

Thanks.

bimm3rcc

461 bucks for so MUCH??? where do you get your supplies man. I paid like 1,2k$ for a slighty worse pc.

Buy it.! u will be able to run all games with that.
If you want you can clock the dual core but only if you are too horny for speed. Make sure u get xp :)

Ilpav

I got it all from newegg.ca, but I didn't get a whole new PC; I just got these parts to replace the older parts in my current PC, so I will have to install them myself.

It's still basically a whole new PC, minus a case, hard drive, DVD drive, power supply, and sound card.

So, if I got all those parts, it would be a whole new PC.

You got your PC for $1200 because it was it was brand new and everything was installed already.

In my case I'm just replacing old parts in my PC with those new ones.

koala

Nice build. You'll have no problems running modern games like Assassin's Creed and GTA4 on high settings.

If it's within your budget, you might want to look at the HD4870, either 512mb or 1024mb versions (the 1024mb is only needed if you play at very high resolutions, otherwise they're about the same speed). The faster DGGR5 RAM and higher number of stream processors means it will perform better and be more future-proof than any other currently available card.

There are several models of the P5Q motherboard. Some cheaper ones have less features but are just as fast as the more feature-laden expensive models. You might be able to save some money without losing performance if you shop around and compare models.

What PSU will you be using?

Ilpav

I don't know the manufacturer of my current PSU, but here's a picture of the rating sticker:

http://pic.phyrefile.com/a/an/anonym...8/IMG_0535.jpg

(removed embedded picture because it was too big)

I had it for 2 years and I didn't have any problems with it. Will it power my setup OK (it has a pretty high wattage rating)?

It's fan is pretty loud though, so if you say it isn't good enough, it'll just be an excuse to get a quieter one.

Edit: Sorry about the picture size, I though all forums re-size them automatically.

Also, the PSU might be from NorthQ (looked up the model number and one from NorthQ came up with the same model #, but it isn't the same.)

koala

PCIE graphics cards need a minimum of 26A/+12V. Your PSU has 27A, but the power output from all PSUs decreases over time, so I would go for a new one.

Seasonic 650W (58A/+12V over 4 lines) - $120
Corsair 650W (52A/+12V) - $90 (after $20 rebate)
OCZ StealthXStream 700W (58A/+12V over 4 lines) - $70 (after $25 rebate, includes free laser gaming mouse)

Ilpav

I'm from Canada so I'm using newegg.ca.

Anyway,

Since I need a bit more power, I found these:

Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU 500W ATX 12V 2.0 Power Supply - $71

Rosewill RP550V2-D-SL 550W ATX12V v2.01 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply - $71


Antec EA650 650W ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - $83

Broadway Com Corp P4-OKIA600-BLACK 600W ATX Power Supply - $36

hec ACE-580UB 580W ATX12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Power Supply - $71

Can you please look at all of them and their specs and tell me which ones are ok? Also, I would like to know if the brands are good.

I'm looking for the best value here (I'm also pretty brand-conscious) and the Antec 650W looks like the best value because it's a good price, and I heard Antec is a good brand.

Thanks.

koala

Of the ones you've listed, the Antec 650W is the best and will work well with your system. Don't bother with anything from Rosewill or Broadway.

From the Canadian newegg.....
Seasonic 650W - $122
Corsair 650W - $110 (after $20 rebate)
OCZ StealthXStream 700W - $87 (after $25 rebate)

Ilpav

Will that OCZ you posted be worth the extra money over the Antec?

Edit: I also found a 600W version of that same OCZ for only $60 (after $35 rebate). Should I get it?

koala

There's only a $5 difference and they're both very similar with Active PFC, 20+4 connector, PCIE connectors, over 80% efficient, etc.

Antec used to be one of the top names for PSUs, but have been overtaken by Seasonic, Corsair, Thermaltake (Toughpower) and OCZ. Having said that, if you're going for the cheapest one between the Antec 650W and the OCZ 700W, the Antec will be fine for your single graphics card system with enough headroom for future upgrades.

If you plan on adding an extra graphics card (Crossfire) in the future, then it would be cost-effective to go for a more expensive Seasonic 750W or higher now rather than have to replace your choice of 650/700W to cover the extra power requirements.

EDIT: Yeah, go for the 600W OCZ. It doesn't give you as much headroom for future upgrades, but it will power your system.

Ilpav

I just found this:

OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI 700W ATX12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply

It's $126 before $35 rebate, so that's $91 PLUS it comes with free shipping that ends today.

Can you please look over its specs and compare them to the 600 W one?

Thanks.

koala

As far as I can tell, the OCZ GameXStream 600W and 700W are the same except for the higher watts. Same connectors, amps, features, etc.

Ilpav

The final decision is down to these two:

OCZ StealthXStream OCZ600SXS 600W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready Active PFC Power Supply - $90 (including tax and shipping, after $35 rebate)

OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI 700W ATX12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - $108 (including tax, free shipping that ends today, and $35 rebate)

Can you please check the specs on both and compare them?

Is it worth the extra $18 to get the GameXStream 700W over the StealthXstreme 600W?

Thanks.

koala

If it was my choice, I'd go for the 700W for the extra power available for any future upgrades and to offset the decrease in power output over the next couple of years.

If you want to save some money, the 600W will power your new specs listed in post #1, but may need to be upgraded if you add any more hardware (an extra graphics card, for example).

To confirm this, enter your full system specs (including case fans, USB devices, etc) into this power calculator and set Capacitor Aging to 25%. Click the Calculate button, then add 30% to the total to allow for PSU inefficiency.

Ilpav

Ok, I did that test for the new equipment and It got 260 W.

Ilpav

Also, what about my sound card? Will my current one fit the new motherboard?

I looked through my system specs and all I can get for identifying it is "SiS 7020 Audio Device".

Will it still be ok to for my new system?

Thanks.

grimx133

The onboard sound on the new motherboard will, almost certainly, be fine. The last few years have seen significant improvement in onboard sound, only if you are some sort of audiophile will you be able to tell a difference. Your old sound card will go into a PCI slot if it's a separate card. There are a few PCI-E x 1 cards out now, but few and quite expensive. Try the onboard and if you aren't happy with it, get a new one, or try your old one.
The 260 watts you're getting in a power calculator probably isn't including things like capacitor aging, effiency, and such. Should always add 40% to what a calculator gives you, and that's at a minimum. It is much better to run a psu at about 60-80 percent of it's capacity, it will run quieter, provide power that is more stable, and last longer. The 700 watt OCZ GameXStream is a decent unit, and it does give you some upgrade overhead, though not enough for a top of the line video card, it would power up to about one HD4850.

Ilpav

Oh, the new motherboard will come with it's own sound card? I didn't know that; I thought I had to use my current one.

About the PSU again: I found a new website with some cheaper prices.

I found the same OCZ 600W StealthXstreme ($67 after $20 rebate), but I also found a 600W ModXstreme ($76 after $20 rebate).

Out of all these OCZ models (Stealth, Game, and Mod), Game is the best, right (since it's more expensive)?

Well, at this website I found a 600W GameXstreme for only $71 (after $30 rebate).

Would I be an idiot not to buy the 600W GameXstreme?

Thanks.

wintersnow

So how much is your memory, I have got to know a good deal on the Crucial 4GB (2GBx2) PC2-6400 DDR2 Dual Channel Memory Kit for $20. That's quite nice price.

Ilpav

I got mine for the same as that ($55) but without a rebate.

Anyways, I finally bought that OCZ GameXstreme 600W for $78 (including tax, shipping, and $30 rebate).

Did I get a good deal?