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Advice needed

M

mrmagoo_83

2[H]4U
Joined
Aug 8, 2002
Messages
3,068
So it looks like shortly after ordering two 23" LCDs, my system is, well, lets just say its now unhealthy and a bit outdated, plus it turns out the cheap little X1300 or whatever video card wouldn't support the resolution for the LCDs anyway.

Currently running:
Asrock 4CoreDual-VSTA
ATI X1300 PCIE Card (Dual DVIs)
2GB Corsair DDR2
LGA775 Xeon 2.4GHz processor


What I cant figure out, since I have not been up on the details the past few years, obvious by the current items in my rig; is where to go from here? I have very little cash since purchasing the two LCDs, ok not very little, but the old lady is on me about it, so I have to fly under the radar.

I need to upgrade to a new motherboard that will support a new video card that will allow me to run both LCDs at 1080p resolutions, whether that involves keeping my current processor or not is yet to be determined. All of this needs to happen for as little as possible, under $150.

System usage is mostly regular stuff, I fell out of the PC gaming market when my system fell behind, and now play the Xbox360 more anyway. I want to be able to watch BluRay movies, rip and store my movies. The only real games I still even play a little of are like Legos, and the older C&C games, not real graphic intense there.

So can someone give me some ideas on where to go, I dont even know how todays processors compare to my current one.
 
The problem is this board runs the PCIE slot at 4x, therefore, just about any decent card will not run in it. The Asrock website has a list of GPUs, and none of them are very new.
 
What PSU do you have?

Most video cards will run in slower speed PCI-E slots. They have to: it's all part of the PCI-E specifications. But as you know, you still will get slower performance than with a PCI-E x16 slot.
 
Not a bad idea hossdaddy. At least you'll have a faster CPU over the single core Xeon 2.4ghz. Plus, the Radeon HD 4200 should come out a tad faster or about the same performance as the X1300 video card you have now. No need to purchase a video card when you can try the onboard GPU. You can also run the 2 x displays with the onboard video.
 
1. My Xeon is dual core (Its basically an E6600, but labeled Xeon, dont remember why)
2. Explain how to run two videos with onboard video, I was under the impression you could only run one of the connections. I would rather run both digital signals, not one HDMI/DVI & a VGA, that would cause a difference in the image quality on the monitors right?
3. I currently have a 500W Ultra PSU.
4. That combo isn't too bad, I think Frys has a deal for that same CPU today with an MSI board, or BioStar, not as good as the Gigbyte.
 
Whoops, sorry on cpu part. You can run 2 x displays with the DVI and VGA ports on the mobo.

Actually, all you need is a video card upgrade then. Something like what It_shiro just listed or even a Radeon HD 4550, 4650 would do.
 
Ok, was just worried about a new card running in this old board. Frys has a Geforce 210 for $20 I think, would that work?
 
That's a good deal. Man.. I wish we had a Frys in Hawaii. I wouldn't say the onboard GPU is slow. That Radeon HD 3300 graphics is actually faster than the Radeon HD 4200 graphics due to its higher core clock of 700Mhz vs 500Mhz on the 4200. So, I'm not surprised if that onboard HD 3300 graphics is faster than your old Radeon X1300 video card.
 
Shoot, sure wish Frys had this M4A785-M on sale too, NewEgg has it for $69.99, but the same processor is $89.99. I'm not a big BioStar fan, but $89.99 (if I get the rebate back) is still better than $89 + $69.

What about a video card, any suggestions? Both my LCDs are HDMI input only. I do not care about audio via HDMI, I just want to be able to run both monitors at the same resolution with the same picture quality, so I didnt know if HDMI w/ Adapter was the same thing. Or if a card with two DVI connectors would be useable, just get DVI to HDMI adapters.

I am so out of tune these days, I cant believe I fell this far out of the loop.
 
It's easy to fall out of the loop when it comes to technology. When I get caught up on other things, I don't come on Hardforum for a while and need to catch up on things. But, coming on here does motivate me to stay on top of things. Also, other people knowledge help reduce the amount of reading hehe.

The lcds you have only have an HDMI input? It must have a VGA port. But, I guess you may not want to run 1 of the displays with an analog connection. But, if that combo deal is $109 upfront, you still have some cash left to get a cheap video card.

Any of the Radeon HD 3000/4000 series can playback full 1080P.
 
mrmagoo_83 said:
Why do I need the power supply, its only 380W, my current one is 500W.
Click to expand...
The Antec can actually provide 380W of power cleanly and safely in pretty hot conditions whereas that Ultra 500W PSU you have can barely provide 350W of power cleanly and safely under cooler conditions.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
So this power supply will be enough to run this system, with a number of HDDs, DVDRW or BluRay Reader, Fans, etc.? I always assumed I need to go up to like 600W or something.
 
mrmagoo_83 said:
So this power supply will be enough to run this system, with a number of HDDs, DVDRW or BluRay Reader, Fans, etc.? I always assumed I need to go up to like 600W or something.
Click to expand...

Yes that PSU will be enough. Manufacturers generally inflate the power requirements of a piece of hardware as a CYA measure against the multitude of crappy and low quality PSUs that many people tend to use and buy (i.e the Ultra 500W).
 
Danny Bui said:
Yes that PSU will be enough. Manufacturers generally inflate the power requirements of a piece of hardware as a CYA measure against the multitude of crappy and low quality PSUs that many people tend to use and buy (i.e the Ultra 500W).
Click to expand...

+1 to Danny's post
 
Will my current Ultra 500W unit sustain the system for a few weeks or a month or two? I am already strapped as it is, and am trying to keep costs down for right now.
 
mrmagoo_83 said:
Will my current Ultra 500W unit sustain the system for a few weeks or a month or two? I am already strapped as it is, and am trying to keep costs down for right now.
Click to expand...

Depends on long you've had the PSU
Depends on how cold you can keep the PSU
Depends on what exactly you're gonna power with the PSU
 
I have had the PSU around 3 years or so.
The side panel is off my case, sitting next to a leaky window, but I'm in Texas, so pick your poison. There is a 90mm exhaust fan just above the PSU.
What I am looking at using:
(1) PATA DVDRW (will upgrade to serial sooner or later)
(1) PATA HDD
(3 or 4) SATA HDD
Athlon II 440 Rana (95W) (Probably stock cooler for now)
ASUS M4A785-M motherboard
HIS H467QS1GH Radeon HD 4670 video card maybe
plus 3 fans



Let me ask another question. The ASUS M4A785-M motherboard has hybrid crossfirex; if I use that with my X300 or whatever this video card is; will that boost the output enough
 
mrmagoo_83 said:
I have had the PSU around 3 years or so.
The side panel is off my case, sitting next to a leaky window, but I'm in Texas, so pick your poison. There is a 90mm exhaust fan just above the PSU.
What I am looking at using:
(1) PATA DVDRW (will upgrade to serial sooner or later)
(1) PATA HDD
(3 or 4) SATA HDD
Athlon II 440 Rana (95W) (Probably stock cooler for now)
ASUS M4A785-M motherboard
HIS H467QS1GH Radeon HD 4670 video card maybe
plus 3 fans
Click to expand...

Ehhhh, doable but pretty damn close.

mrmagoo_83 said:
Let me ask another question. The ASUS M4A785-M motherboard has hybrid crossfirex; if I use that with my X300 or whatever this video card is; will that boost the output enough
Click to expand...

Hybrid Crossfire only works with ATI's HD 2400 and HD 3400 series video cards. It will not work with the X300 or X1300 cards.
 
Right right. Dang, what to do what to do. Just over my budget limit, and Frys was out of their combo, which I'm not too sad on cause that MSI board gave me concerns.

Guess I have to wait till tomorrow to see what happens.
 
Some what good news finally came back to me from Asrock, they say they have tested the board with a PowerColor 4670 512MB PCIE card, and even sent me the required BIOS in the mail. So I am going to just order the card today and hope it works, and then order the rest in the next month or so.

Thanks for all the help.
 
Finally getting a chance to post an update. I upgraded the BIOS to the one provided by Asrock; and installed the new 4670. And it worked! So no new upgrade, just needed the new video card like many of you said. It plays HD very well, watched Van Helsing and District 9 in 1080p and they look awesome, no slow down at all.

And the two LCDs look great, I'm sure they are not as great as some others, but for $80/ea, and upgrading from defunct CRTs, they look great.
 
Ok, now I am starting to get upset with this card. It says it will do 1920x1200, the LCDs will do 1920x1200; but after I installed the ATI drivers I no longer have that resolution option, I only have 1920x1080. Grrr, anyone know what I need to do? I have the option when connected via VGA, but it went away when I went to HDMI.
 
whats the model of the LCD's & whats there native res. I haven't heard of the native changing based on connection, but I suppose its possible especially since the 1080p native resolution is 1920x1080. Most monitors though I think would do one or the other, not both based on the widescreen ratio. 16:9 is HD (1920x1080) & 16:10 is wuxga (1920x1200)..
 
They are Hannspree HF237s. They will do 1920x1200, they did it on VGA, and will still do it on VGA. When I plug in HDMI, and CCC gives me choices, and I choose the highest setting which is 1920x1080 I get a boarder around the screen. I then have to use CCC to stretch/extend the screen to fill the entire monitor.
 
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