Power Supply, Mobos and Cards

[Neopopulas]

Hi there. I'm not sure if this counts as 'high performance' but, well, pretty much anything would be for me at this point.

Recently i have desired to update my computer to new cards, now i don't have much to spend so i'm aiming for mid-range cards. However, there are a few things i need to know.

I have had my eye on this card here Its within my price-range, its GDDR3 (which i hear is the place to be) and its SLI ready. This is because in the future i might by a second, identical card, instead of shelling out $300 for a new, better card (i'm not sure if this is the best idea or not but its an idea).

My problem so far is this. I'm not sure if my Mobo is SLI capable, and i'm not sure how to check either, i might have the box still, but i'm not sure.

A secondary, but less pressing issue is my power supply. I know that many newer cards need more power, and i'm not sure what mine is (probably about 400-450W), and the only way to check is to dig it out of my machine, as far as i know, and i was wondering if there is an easier way, or if i should just get the screwdriver now.

So, to recap, i would love some advice on;

1. Is this card any good, and should i aim to get SLI - if i can - or should i just go for a newer, better card sometime in the future. If the card isnt great, or its just rubbish, is there a better, similar card?
2. How is the best, and easiest way to find out if my mobo is SLI capable, because those things are expensive.
3. Best way to find out power supply without pulling it out of the machine (all it says on the back is 240V)

Thank you all

[Trotter]

If your computer is a pre-built, give us the make and model of it. If it is not a pre-built, we'll go a different route, namely using CPU-z and opening up the side panel and looking at the sticker on the side of the PSU.

Oh, and an 8600 is decent, but not worth putting in SLI by any means. Let us know what your budget is and we'll point you to the best bang for your buck.

[Peter.Cort]

Originally Posted by Neopopulas

1. Is this card any good, and should i aim to get SLI - if i can - or should i just go for a newer, better card sometime in the future. If the card isnt great, or its just rubbish, is there a better, similar card?
2. How is the best, and easiest way to find out if my mobo is SLI capable, because those things are expensive.
3. Best way to find out power supply without pulling it out of the machine (all it says on the back is 240V)

Thank you all

k. starting from the top, there are 2 main questions that need to be answered first off.

1. what is your budget
2. what are you looking to play in terms of games, and on what size monitor.

guess that was 3.. anywho, onto the other stuff.

if that is your price range, then the card is good, but gets obliterated by the 8800/9600/9800 series cards.

also you're gonna have to pop out the PSU and take a pic of the sticker that has all the info on it so we can see what it has for amps and wattage on it to see if you'd need a new psu.

as far as yoru mobo goes, download CPU-z (just do a google search for it) and go to the chipset/mobo tab and take a ss and uplaod that and we'll be able to see if it's a sli chipset or not..

and as far as the sli option goes, the rule of thumb with multi gpu systems, is its always better to ahve one better card then 2 worse cards.

hope that answers some of your questions, and feel free to keep asking them.

**** you trotter....


also, Welcome to Tech-Forums!!!!!!!

[Neopopulas]

First of all, thanks for the help guys!

Second of all, it looks like my PSU is worth 450W which i think might be pushing it for some cards. (pic just in case)

Either way, i downloaded and ran the program and checked the mainboard tab, and i got this Screenshot Time

As for budget, i'm not really able to throw around as much cash as i'd like, and probably have to limit myself to about $100-$150. I can probably push to $200 if the jump will be a significant improvement, which it just might be. Quick checks on places like pricewatch.com show 8600 cards at about $80 in some places, but the step up to 8800 is at least $100 more.

Essentially, i havent upgraded my card since i bought my 6800 years ago, and pretty much all the games nowadays want far more than that, what has truely prompted my sudden upgrade desire is the upcoming release of Age of Conan, which does run (open beta style) on my machine, just not very well at all. Their minimum requirements say 7900. The 7900, on pricewatch is actually more than the 8600 (for good reason, no doubt.)

So, to conclude. I guess my price limit is about $200, and i'm aiming for the best card for that price, that i can actually run (SLI or not, but knowing i can run SLI will probably be useful in the future, so long as i can figure out the best time to actually choose SLI over a just plain upgraded card)

Thanks again!

[gurusan]

1) Your mobo does not support SLI

2) Your Power supply is very weak. (16A on +12v Rail)

If you have a 200 MAX budget I suggest you get a new power supply as well as a 3d card.

How about this:
Newegg.com - Antec earthwatts EA430 ATX12V v2.0 430W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TUV, CE, CB, C-tick, CCC - Power Supplies
45 after rebate

Newegg.com - CHAINTECH GSE96GT GeForce 9600GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
120 after rebate

or, if you want a little more power:
Newegg.com - ZOTAC ZT-88TES3P-FSP GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
155 after rebate


Also what's the rest of your setup? (CPU, RAM)

[Neopopulas]

Yeah, i always worried about my power supply.

The 8800GT is the one i always wanted and its not too expensive, i might have to grab that. For the rest of my specs we're looking at;

Intel Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz (nothing really special there)
2GB Ram (about the same, but..)
Windows XP (i hear XP doesn't really benefit from anything over 2GB RAM).

In the end, i'll probably need a new mobo eventually, that way i could at least push for - eventually - twin 8800GTs. Since in the end i would have a new power supply and card(s) anyway. New mobo(/processor) and RAM isn't far off i suppose, but thats moving into a whole new realm.

[Sora]

For a PSU look at the reputible budget brands such as Xclio, Fortron, Rosewill(RP series) and some coolermaster ones.

You can pick up a powerful PC that can handle an overclocked quad core and 8800gt for 60 bucks hint: (the RP550) and it's rock solid.

[Neopopulas]

If i were to aim to get a good computer setup, what would the suggestions be?

Obviously i'll want a high Duo or hopefully a Quad core processor, but what about things like motherboard, cards and RAM?

I would need a mobo that is SLI capable, and what cards are best in SLI setups? What about quad-SLI setups? Are they worth it or are they too expensive for what they give?

[vernong1992]

Quad-SLI is crap

go with a good Quad-Core, because its more future oriented

If you want a good Intel SLI board, check out the 750i FTW with either dual 8800gt's or 9600gt's

[Prototype]

Originally Posted by vernong1992

Quad-SLI is crap

go with a good Quad-Core, because its more future oriented

If you want a good Intel SLI board, check out the 750i FTW with either dual 8800gt's or 9600gt's

yea go with that

just get 4GB (2x2GB) or 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 800 is fast and can be overclocked to DDR2 1066