• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Cheapish upgrade, advice needed

B

Bläkki

n00b
Joined
Jan 30, 2007
Messages
12
Hey all,

I'm upgrading my current PC (A64 3000+, 6800GT) on a shoestring budget and I'd welcome some advice, especially on the video card.

I've already scrounged up, bought or plan on reusing the following:
Asrock 775DUAL-VSTA
2GB Mushkin XP2-6400
320GB Seagate 7200.10
Also I plan on reusing my old optical drive, case, monitor and other peripherals, which leaves the processor, video card and power supply. I have about 250€ left to buy those and so far I've thought of the following combinations:
Celeron ("Conroe-L") 420 + Sapphire X1950 Pro + Antec EarthWatts 380W = 240€ incl. delivery
Pentium E2140 + Sapphire X1950 Pro + Antec EarthWatts 380W = 275€ incl. delivery
Celeron ("Conroe-L") 420 + XFX 7900 GS + Antec EarthWatts 380W = 220€ incl. delivery
Pentium E2140 + XFX 7900 GS + Antec EarthWatts 380W = 255€ incl. delivery

Theres also the HD 2600 Pro and GeForce 8600 GT that could be had for a few euros less than the 7900 GS and X1950 Pro, however several reviews have concluded that the older DX9 cards are faster.

I'm not sure if I should sacrifice GPU over CPU, I do game a bit (older games mostly though, EVE Online and the like), but mainly I spend my time on the PC doing the basic things (text editing, music etc.).

Is the Celeron a bottleneck for the 7900 GS and especially for the X1950 Pro and would it be worth spending 30€ more and going dualcore, are there any benefits to it right now?
I'm pretty sure the Antec 380W PSU would be enough for everything, but could someone assure me over this? Also for 10€ more I could upgrade the PSU to a Seasonic S12-II-380W, would this be a better choice over the Antec?

Thanks in advance. :)
 
You seem to have do some thorough research here. The number two row details the best path to take for a budget gamer.

Pentium E2140 + Sapphire X1950 Pro + Antec EarthWatts 380W = 275€ incl. delivery
Click to expand...


Some have hit 2.7 with their E2410, while this does not make up for the cache reduction, it does help offset it.

Based on specifications and reviews of the Earthwatt line, I would stick with the Antec you cited (versus the Seasonic).
Earthwatt 380
Good Luck.
 
setscrew said:
Thirty plus amperes is all that is recommended for the 1950 Pro. The person is on a budget and does not need a 750 watt monster.
Click to expand...

...friends don't let friends buy Antec PSUs (that may fail and take their system with them after 3-6 months).

You can get a 500watt Xclio Goodpower (well reviewed at www.jonnyguru.com) for around $50 USD. There's also some Enhance unit in about the same price/wattage range with higher efficiency. Both would make better choices than the Earthwatts, by far.
 
Thanks for the replies so far.

Unfortunately I couldn't find XClio or Enchance PSU's on sale in Europe/Germany, so I'm stuck choosing from Antec, Seasonic S12-II-380 or be quiet! Straight Power 380W, which I believe is manufactured by Topower. I've had terrible luck with Topower PSU's and would rather stay as far away as possible from them...

There are a few other brands such as Xilence, COBA and Sharkoon, which I've never heard of, that offer 400W PSU's at or under 50€. I'm guessing these are worse than the Antec. :)

Perhaps I should consider "downgrading" to the 7900 GS if a 380W PSU is not sufficient for the X1950 Pro?
 
I switched shops and ordered the MSI Radeon X1950 Pro (T2D256E with the better cooler, I hope), Seasonic S12-II-380 and Pentium E2140. It ended up costing the same as with the Sapphire card and Antec PSU.

Thanks again for the help, it was much appreciated.
 
Nice.

FWIW, I believe the Antec Earthwatts line is based on Seasonic models, just a bit lower quality (but not as lower quality as the NeoHE's were).
 
Antec is kind of skeptical....their psu's are occasionally good (trio line?) but other than that theyre a bunch of MEH....
 
Cat1yst said:
Antec is kind of skeptical....their psu's are occasionally good (trio line?) but other than that theyre a bunch of MEH....
Click to expand...

So, as far as I know (and I don't know much), their Trio and Earthwatts lines are ok. The rest, bleh. NeoHE's were based off of Seasonics, but were of much lesser quality. SmartPowers were based off of CWT models, and used fuhjyyu caps. Those low grade caps mixed with Antec's subpar cooling (smartfans) combined for a lethal combination. Pre-Smartfan era, I think they were OK. I have several that are known to have fuhjyyu caps but are still running strong, after years of service. Then I have two that I had to RMA, both SP2.0's. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong here.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top