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Guys, and update on the upgrade in progress. After endless trawling about the internet, and thanks to the advice of some forum members, I have parted with my hard-earned cash and ordered all the parts for my upgrade. I have decided on the following bits:
1. Asus A8N SLI Deluxe nForce4 PCI-Express Mobo
2. Leadtek WinFast PX6600GT-TDH SLI GFX card
3. Athlon 64 3500+ Winchester
4. 1GB (2x512MB pair) dual-channel Corsair Value PC3200 DDR SDRAM
5. Alpine 7105H LCD Aluminium case with 400W PSU
It's cost me £80 more than my budget of £500 but I reckon I should have a system that will be future-proof for the next 18 months - 2 years. My decisions were based on:
1. The S939 Mobo is well expandable, with 4 PCIX slots and 3 PCI slots, and will be able to take Ath64 FX chips once they get cheaper. It is massively clockable too, with a multi-function BIOS and lots of protection to stop me blowing it all up. PCIX is the future as well, as I think the card makers will focus on PCI at the expense of AGP.
2. This seems to be the fastest 6600 card, and it's price is on a par with the others. The SLI compliance gives me a possible cheaper upgrade option if SLI takes off.
The only things worrying me are the memory - I've gone cheaper to keep the overall cost down, because I really don't think the RAM speed will hold my system back. All the Corsair stuff is clockable too, so I can push it a bit without risking alot of money.
Question: Given the above system, running with 2 HDDs and two cooing fans, but no other PCI cards, do you reckon the 400W PSU will suffice. I used the power calculator below:
http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/
and it came up with 303W, so I am hoping the 400W will do.
The bits should arrive throughout next week, so I will update once construction is complete!
Cheers!
1. Asus A8N SLI Deluxe nForce4 PCI-Express Mobo
2. Leadtek WinFast PX6600GT-TDH SLI GFX card
3. Athlon 64 3500+ Winchester
4. 1GB (2x512MB pair) dual-channel Corsair Value PC3200 DDR SDRAM
5. Alpine 7105H LCD Aluminium case with 400W PSU
It's cost me £80 more than my budget of £500 but I reckon I should have a system that will be future-proof for the next 18 months - 2 years. My decisions were based on:
1. The S939 Mobo is well expandable, with 4 PCIX slots and 3 PCI slots, and will be able to take Ath64 FX chips once they get cheaper. It is massively clockable too, with a multi-function BIOS and lots of protection to stop me blowing it all up. PCIX is the future as well, as I think the card makers will focus on PCI at the expense of AGP.
2. This seems to be the fastest 6600 card, and it's price is on a par with the others. The SLI compliance gives me a possible cheaper upgrade option if SLI takes off.
The only things worrying me are the memory - I've gone cheaper to keep the overall cost down, because I really don't think the RAM speed will hold my system back. All the Corsair stuff is clockable too, so I can push it a bit without risking alot of money.
Question: Given the above system, running with 2 HDDs and two cooing fans, but no other PCI cards, do you reckon the 400W PSU will suffice. I used the power calculator below:
http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/
and it came up with 303W, so I am hoping the 400W will do.
The bits should arrive throughout next week, so I will update once construction is complete!
Cheers!
One thing I did notice in 3D Mark is the false info it is giving me. For instance the Socket designation is incorrect. Reporting it as SK754 instead of 939. Weird..
Benchmarking can be fun, but I usually use something basic like Fraps or (if included, like in UT) a games own benchmarker and go by framerates during actual gameplay with different settings turned on or off. It's mostly to stop myself losing sleep if I find someone with a less powerful rig, but a 3D mark that's 1 better than mine
.