[XZit]

WoooooTTT!
I FINALLY bought updated computer hardware.
For about 5 (hell maybe even 6 years) I was (and still using till newegg ships my stuff) using this:


Amd Athlon (not xp or anything) 1.3Ghz 333 (or less) fsb

60.0Gb hardrive
Ati Radeon 7200 32mb sdram Graphics card (and NOT agp, its a pci graphics card...wow oldschool...lol!)
Misc. motherboard
352mb sdram

I'm honestly quite surprized at how far this computer has taken me.
I can actually play cs source on it! (at like the lowest setting possible).

But WOW when I install some games, holy **** its horrible.

I've bought a few games before--installed them, and OMG its SOOooo laggy---hell thats if the **** even starts up cause the comps so slow. lol!






Anyhow I bought a nice upgrade. This upgrade I structured to get me through another 3-4 or so years without having to worry about upgrading (besides ram maybe). I plan on buying a labtop soon, so I just wanted a nice computer setup that will let me play games at high resolutions, and the ability to overclock the **** out of the cpu and the gpu (and ram to)


Upgrade:

Amd 3200+ 64; venise w/standard heatsink & fan (plan on overclocking to 2.5ghz, then to 2.8ghz-prob after watercooling setup purchased)

Ati Sapphire X800GTO2 256mb pci-e (going to unlock to 16 pipelines, and overclock)

GeIL 2X512mb DDR400 (3200) dual channel of course (may opt. to overclock)

DFI lanParty UT nf4 Ultra-D (bought this with a 1 year warranty--just incase)

and a pack of Artic Silver 5



Quite an upgrade! OMG I cannot wait to be able to game at high resolutions on everything. It will be so sick sense I'm so used to laggy games, and jagged edges and ****. lol

I'm gonna cram it all in my old exsisting case. I need to upgrade the psu asap though.

But as soon as possible I'm gonna get a nice full tower with pleanty of cooling options.






Anyhow a couple questions before I assemble everything:

First and formost--My psu is kinda old in my exsisting case. I think its 250watts, 300watts tops.
Will this power my new stuff? If so--about how long?
Should I NOT put any of the new stuff into the computer until I get a new powersupply? If I put the stuff in the computer with the exsisting powersupply---will there be detrimental effects on the new hardware?

And also--any suggestions for a good case thats $120-$150 (max) with some good cooling in it stock?



Man I can't wait to get playing some games, and producing some nice songs e.t.c. (I do a lot of music production-which is one of the reasons I upgraded my ****)



Now lets just hope newegg ships my stuff soon! lol




peace

[deception``]

Congrats on your upgrade. However, I have some advice for you:

1. The Sapphire X800GTO2 is no longer a good deal at $240. At $199 it was a steal, but the price you paid is way too much. For ~ $60 more, you can easily go with a 7800GT (some of which include COD2 for free) which is much more powerful than the x800GTO2 even when unlocked.

2. Don't expect a good overclock from that GEIL memory. GEIL has been out of the scene for a while, and recently only tried to comeback with the very expensive and hard-to-find GEIL ONE enthusiast memory. Moreover, DFI boards are known to be very picky about ram, so I do not know whether or not you may run into any compatibility isssues.

3. Your current PSU is not enough to power that system. You should purchase a new PSU before you even try to hook everything up - attempt to power a system with such a weak PSU could only result in no boots, instability, or worse. Good suggestions for PSUs would be the Fortron Blue Storm 500W or the OCZ Powerstream 520W.

4. Cases are a matter of personal preference, so it's hard for any one person to recommend. Two cases to look hard at, though, would perhaps be the Lian Li PC-65B Plus (with the 120MM fan in the front so it might not be @ Newegg) and the Coolermaster Centurion 5.

deception``

[rseven]

Talk about raining on someones parade, ouch!
Sadly, your PSU is a problem. (If you've already ordered everthing and could have gotten a better deal that's water over the dam, so just forget about it.) Newegg, BTW, does not have the best deals on PSU's. I would check out ZZF or eWiz as I think you'll do better there. The %00 watt Fortron can be had for $79.50 shipped at ActBuy.com.

[kayson]

PSU is like the heart of your system. You can have a grade A CPU and vid card, but if you PSU can't take it, the system will die. Definitely upgrade your psu before you put in the new parts. It will be worth the wait. I like the 520w powerstream.

[buckbadly]

First off, nice lookin system..your gonna have some fun with that. Secondly, I second what has already been posted, the psu will prolly not even power the vid card, let alone everything else. PSUs' are not that bad priced so just grab ya one from the egg, I recommend Fortron, but I'm just partial to em cause I'm runnin one, and I am very happy with it

[AZNBoiOnFIYA]

talk about getting the most out of your computer. congrats on the new setup. youre going to love that gto2

[XZit]

Ya--got it.
I'll DEFINTLY be buying a new psu ASAP.

Any recomendations on min wattage needed?
400watt I take it?



Should I not even risk hooking up anything yet till I get a new psu? Probally not eh?
Ya-I shouldn't.


Naw-I didn't opt for the 7800 becuase it was out of my budget range for now. I don't have an infinite supply of money lol

I'm satisfiyed with my gpu purchase. I don't need the best of the best.
As long as I can play games at high resolutions, I'll be happy.
Plus I'm an ati guy.
BUT this isn't a nvidia vs. ati thread. So plz--noone start!! Otherwise I'll be deleting the thread! lol!





Anyhow--regarding the ram.
It was the best deal I could find on ram that was 2x512mb, with included heatsink. Upon reading some reviews on the ram on newegg.com severel people really enjoy the ram, and have overclocked it easy.
If I run into problems once I start overclocking--I'll replace the ram, or just buy 2 more 2X512mb sticks. But I don't find it nessacry to return the geil ram--unless of course its doa.






Anyhow--I'm just glad, its quite the upgrade for me. Damn I can't wait to see what its like to play games at high resolutions...I'm so used to the choppy picklated images.

I think on 3dmark 2003 with the current system I have I scored a 1000...thats WEAK! lol




pz

[AZNBoiOnFIYA]

im surprised you could even run mark03 on that system. on the psu recommendation, i would get over 400w just because you wouldnt need to swap it out in the future.

[XZit]

Originally Posted by AZNBoiOnFIYA

im surprised you could even run mark03 on that system. on the psu recommendation, i would get over 400w just because you wouldnt need to swap it out in the future.

lol ya.
I was surprized I could even run it to. But omg its sooo slow.
I mean--hell, I'm surprized I can play cs: source! lol
Like I said--its gonna be crazy when I get it all up and running, its gonna be just nuts--I can already see it. I'll be amazed at the games cause I'm so used to that chunky crap=and now its gonna be all smooth and nice looking.

A few of my fav games to play:
Orginal day of defeat (the source version imo kinda sucks)
Cs: source
Dawn of war and the expansion
Homeworld 2
Unreal tournament series
quake series

And I haven't played it yet--but I'll be buying it asap once I get the system up and running:
F.E.A.R.


Ya-I'm gonna try to find an ok case with a 500watt psu or so included in it.
But if its cheaper the other way around-then I'll do that.
But I won't be buying a case from online-I'll be getting the psu/case at a local store nearby me that sells cases and psus for cheap.




pz

[AZNBoiOnFIYA]

some of the included psu's from cases usually arent too good. i would go and buy a separate one. its just more assurance that your new system wont fry just because of a crappy psu.

[Soichiro]

If you're going to be overclocking AT ALL you do not want a PSU that is included with a case. Just buy the 520W OCZ Powerstream or 500W Fortron Blue Storm separately.

[XZit]

Will it be roughly the same cost if I buy a psu and a case separately?


pz

[AZNBoiOnFIYA]

it depends on the case and psu. it probably will be more expensive than just getting a case w/ the psu included, but think of how much money youre going to have to spend if a cheapo psu fries all your hardware. better safe than sorry

[rseven]

People blow a lot of money on things they don't need. This, on the other hand, will be money well spent.

[ckj]

Powersupplies that come from a case are poor quality and generally should not be trusted. Get the fortron 500w bluestorm, it's very solid and will let you OC quite well.