My First $1k+ Build

phrZe

n00b
Joined
Jul 30, 2005
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The first thing I told myself I was going to buy when I graduated college and found a job was a nice PC. Well that time has finally come. Now, I have already ordered this, so I don't expect to change it(yeah I was too anxious), unless I screwed something up of course.

My case and PSU are the only parts I am trying to re-use. I do have a quick question though. I have a 9800GTX+ that will be sitting around. I want to toss that in with the build to run as a physx card per this thread http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1456964. Would my PSU be able to handle that? Or should I be safe and buy a new PSU? I believe it will be okay from checking PSU calculators. Also, what PCI-E slot do I throw the 9800 into for the Physx?

Side Note: I play a lot of games online. That is what this computer is going to be for. I decided to buy a cooler for the hell of it. I don't plan on OCing right away, but maybe after 6months/1year I plan on it. Most of the parts that I decided to buy were from lurking on these forums and reading what you guys have had to say. Thanks by the way and always love reading these forums.


Monitor - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236049

CPU(i7 920)- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

HDD(WD 1TB Caviar Black) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284

GPU (ATI 5870)- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121345

RAM (6GB G.SKILL) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231225

Mobo (Gigabyte UD5) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128362

PSU (Corsair 650TX) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

Case (Antec 900)- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

Cooler (Cogage True Spirit) - http://www.frozencpu.com/products/9403/cpu-tri-62/Thermalright_CoGage_True_Spirit_4-Heatpipe_Core_i7_CPU_Cooler_Socket_LGA_1156_LGA_1366.html
 
I dont think a 650 watt power supply will cut it for 2 cards. I was going to go for a similar setup next month and would recommend a 750 watt or 850 watt if you can.
 
You'll be fine with the 9800 GTX+. I run the same board/cpu/gpu (+ 2 HDD and a SSD) for Win7 and OSX. The GTX+ uses one 6-pin connector, so you'll be fine on your PSU. I run a 520HX from back in the day. I borrowed another 9800 GTX+ to see if it was worth it to SLI and my rig ran it without a hitch.

I fact, I played MW2 at 1920x1200 without a hitch on the same setup.

BTW, clock it. Its the easiest thing. Just stress it and set to where your HSF can handle it. I can handle 4.0 ghz on a Coolermaster V8 without problems.
 
Yeah I probably will OC it soon, I just haven't read enough into overclocking to feel comfortable doing it, but you have to start somewhere I guess. If I try to run the 9800GTX with the 5870 and it isn't enough power. Will the PSU just cut out on me, or is there a chance it could actually fry something? Also, which slot does the Physx card go into. A 16x/8x/1x?
 
If I try to run the 9800GTX with the 5870 and it isn't enough power. Will the PSU just cut out on me, or is there a chance it could actually fry something? Also, which slot does the Physx card go into. A 16x/8x/1x?

Just put the Physx card in the 8x slot. The PSU will either cut out or fry parts. It's a bit random sometimes. I concur with getting a new PSU if you really want to reuse that 9800GTX+ as a Physx card. I'd recommend nothing less than a 850W PSU with at least 70A on the +12V rail for the HD 5870 + 9800GTX+. Something like the Corsair 850TX would be enough.

Then again, is it really worth it for PhysX to justify an additional $140?
 
IIRC, Nvidia disabled PhysX support for ATI cards, even when using an Nvidia card for that specific task. Worse, I've heard that some of the "workaround" drivers claiming to bring back PhysX support actually contain viruses.

phrZe, I recommend that you research a bit more on the PhysX issues before you consider going that route.
 
Just put the Physx card in the 8x slot. The PSU will either cut out or fry parts. It's a bit random sometimes. I concur with getting a new PSU if you really want to reuse that 9800GTX+ as a Physx card. I'd recommend nothing less than a 850W PSU with at least 70A on the +12V rail for the HD 5870 + 9800GTX+. Something like the Corsair 850TX would be enough.

Then again, is it really worth it for PhysX to justify an additional $140?

That's the thing, I don't think it may be worth the time and money. Plus, like tiraides said it is iffy to get it to work. I probably will just hold off on that until there is something that is more reliable, if there every will be, damn you Nvidia! Thanks guys.
 
If you aren't going to reuse the 9800GTX+, just sell it. There's no sense in keeping it around if you don't have a need for it.
 
Sorry to re-bump this thread. But my build came and got it all together. No problems(besides cutting my hand on the heatsink =)) on first boot YAY!. Anyways I have looked at my temps and they are around 28-40 degrees so I do plan to do some OCing. With the Power Supply being a 650TX, will I be able to OC this with theoretically no problems?
 
No problems on the overclocking... but where's the pictures?

And what are you going to do with the 9800GTX+?
 
No problems on the overclocking... but where's the pictures?

And what are you going to do with the 9800GTX+?
Ha I may take pictures of it later, haven't gotten around to it. I am holding onto the 9800 for now. Still deciding if I should use it for a HTPC in the near future. You seem pretty interested in it, are you looking to buy one?
 
Look at the specs in my sig... do you really believe that I want it?

I recommend selling the 9800GTX+, unless you plan on reusing a lot of old parts for the sole purpose of having an HTPC. IIRC, most of today's AMD-based mATX boards have onboard GPUs that are capable of viewing HD video.
 
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