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new gaming rig question

G

gima

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 21, 2002
Messages
184
i'm going to be building a shuttle in the next few weeks.

I had initially planned on buying a gig of ram for it, which got me

thinking, do i really need a gig of ram? I have a gig in my current

computer, haven't really had anything other than.. The computer

will be used for gaming, with games such as, cs, q3,ut,cod, and

halo, and of course ( doom3 and hl2 when they come out ). So my

question is, should i save $100 bux and just get 512, or spend it

and get the gig.. will it really be used?


ty for any info.
 
Honestly, 1 GB of RAM is overkill. It's always nice to have that free system memory to have at your disposal, but most of the time, Windows doesn't even utilize close to half of it.

You easily could save the $100 for something else and have no performance problems with 512 MB of RAM. Just make sure it isn't crap RAM though. That's never good, no matter the amount. :p

Dark Assassin
 
also, one more thing i had a question about. After much

consideration, i've decided to go with a gainward 5950 ultra

because it is single slot, and it has the molex connector pointing

outwords. I'll be putting a 3.0Cghz chip in the shuttle, in addition

to this video card, one hard drive, one cd rom, and one floppy.

Will the 220 ( or 250w ) psu be alright? This will be the first video

card i've had with a molex power connector on it, i'm currently

using a 4600.

Thanks :|
 
i disagree, for those graphic intensive map intensive games, a gig of ram is pretty much neccessary.
 
Originally posted by Dark Assassin
Honestly, 1 GB of RAM is overkill. It's always nice to have that free system memory to have at your disposal, but most of the time, Windows doesn't even utilize close to half of it.

You easily could save the $100 for something else and have no performance problems with 512 MB of RAM. Just make sure it isn't crap RAM though. That's never good, no matter the amount. :p

Dark Assassin
Click to expand...

I'm getting corsair, low latency ram. ^^
 
You won't run into any timing annoyances then.

Plot:

While there are the select few games that might desire higher amounts of RAM (BF1942), still the bottleneck might ultimately boil down to the graphics card.

A friend of mine has only 512 of Corsair XMS3200-LL RAM with a Radeaon 9700 Pro AIW while I have an identical CPU and motherboard, sporting a Sapphire Atlantis 9500 and 1 GB of Kingston HyperX PC3500.

Halo, BF1942, any of those graphics intensive games run a HELLUVA lot better on his system. When my Powercolor 9700 Pro comes in tomorrow though, it shall be different...

Dark Assassin
 
For most things 512mb will do you fine. I don't want to get off topic or anything but I would suggest getting a 64 Athlon instead, cheaper and just as fast. If you don't know of any Shuttles for it: Shuttle SN85G4
Oh you might want to look at a 9800 series card or wait just a few months to see how the new cards size up.
 
I want to stick with intel, and also nvidia. Anyone got any

info on those powersupplys they put in the shuttles? :/

That's my main concern right now is the power supply being able

to handle what i'm putting in there :{
 
Well then the Gainward would be great, is it the VIVO version? Oh for the PSU just add up your power needs and then add about 5-10%, but yes the PSU should be enough.
 
Originally posted by Dark Assassin
You won't run into any timing annoyances then.

Plot:

While there are the select few games that might desire higher amounts of RAM (BF1942), still the bottleneck might ultimately boil down to the graphics card.

A friend of mine has only 512 of Corsair XMS3200-LL RAM with a Radeaon 9700 Pro AIW while I have an identical CPU and motherboard, sporting a Sapphire Atlantis 9500 and 1 GB of Kingston HyperX PC3500.

Halo, BF1942, any of those graphics intensive games run a HELLUVA lot better on his system. When my Powercolor 9700 Pro comes in tomorrow though, it shall be different...

Dark Assassin
Click to expand...

i'd say you have other problems... my gig of crucial and radeon 8500 handles BF1942 like a pro... on an AMD 1700XP
 
Hmm that's weird I thought this was in the FAQ...Oh well here it is:
Alittle formula for you: 1.25/12*core voltage*current
Easy answer? 1Ghz= 6A, 3Ghz=10A

What should I look for in a Power Supply?
"First off, you'll want to make sure the 5V line is at least 20Amps. If the line is lower or has fluctuating current (you might see 20A+-5%) it will cause instability when the system is under full load. My recommendation is to make sure the 5V is very high, I like to go with 30A as a minimum. The same applies to the 12V line, which I like to stick around 18-20A. You'll want to be aware of those +-x% numbers as that can mean allot. If the Power Supply can't sustain the power you'll get random reboots and other such occurrences. Basically check to make sure the 5v+3v output to be greater than 180W."-AMD builders guide
Click to expand...

Might be helpful links:
http://www.firingsquad.com/guides/power_supply/
http://forums.amdmb.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=1692404#post1692404
http://forums.amdmb.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=154105

Someone should make a sticky about PSUs;)
 
I vote for 1gig of memory. helps if you also do any photoediting.
 
I also vote for 1 gig, as XP can use up to 256 on its own.... And as far the the PSU is conserned, I wouldn't get anything under 350w. You may think getting a bigger PSU is going to waste electricity, but it doesn't, it uses as much as it needs and sometimes when those needs get higher, like when you're doing anything intensive, you're going to want the extra power, to mainly increase your system stability. And don't get the cheapest PSU you can find either, make sure its a respectable company with good cooling and a good reputation.
 
Originally posted by Gima
I want to stick with intel, and also nvidia.
Click to expand...

Umm, I have to ask why. Fanboyism isn't going to get you the best computer for your money. ATI is better than nVidia at this point, and it's a toss-up between Intel/AMD in the processer market IMO.

Don't buy something just because of the name that's on the box.

Also, definitely get a gig of ram if you plan to do any gaming.
 
I have used both ATI and AMD.. Most of my friends have AMD/ATI

setups. I actually bought an ATI card a few months ago, it was a

9800pro, computer acted up, and started doing weird things after

the card was installed. ( yes i did a clean format ) Put my 4600

back in, and it was fine. I know people say a lot has changed

since the 9800p's were released, however i still hear about

random problems with ATI cards that i don't like. As for AMD vs

INTEL, I just personally like INTEL, I don't really understand why

that has to be a problem or an issue here. I honestly don't see

how you can say ATI is better than nvidia, they both have top

notch cards on the market, both about the same specs, producing

the same fps, and results in current games, you may like ATI more

than nVidia, however that doesn't mean you must jump someones

ass when they say they like nvidia.


Poiquiop

Shuttle provides it's own powersupply, and to the best of my

knowledge, there aren't any aftermarket manufactures of shuttle

powersupplys. The new ones are the 250W SilentX, I've talked

with a friend of mine who has a 3ghz, with a 5900u hooked up,

and his only came with the 200w powersupply. He hasn't had any

problems with it yet, and it's been almost 8 months.

Anyway, thanks for the replies
 
You DO realize that Shuttle XPC's only come with 200-250 Watt PSU's because they only utilize one PCI, one AGP, one optical drive, and ond hard drive, right? That's plenty of power for that low of power consumption.

I'd still say skip out on the other 512 MB unless you really plan on making this an intensive use PC. Use it on IEE394 cables or something. Those are fun for LAN transfers.

Dark Assassin
 
Why would wanna risk those high priced components on a cheap PSU??? Can you even buy 220W PSU anymore?? Those were suffient in the pentium 33 megahertz to 233 days. You can damage your components if you blow your psu or for just not having enough suffient power.

I would get anything from 350W to 550W. Get something decent cuz in the PSU market the difference in money is easily justifyable especially when your running those high priced components.

I have been using Antecs with ease and confidence. I currently own the tru 480W and tru 300W for my athlon XP system the 480 tru has main mobo wire connector meshed up and has 2 fan only connectors as well one ore 2 sata connectors.

As far as memory, stick with the 512. The extra money isn't justifyable for the small amount of performance gain that you will most likely won't see if you run at 1024X768.

Also why shuttle mobo?? There is nothing wrong with Asus,Abit,Gigabyte or MSI. You could probably find a better mobo for a difference of about 20 bucks.

Hope this helps and Good luck!
 
OOps didn't pay attention and thought you were using a regular tower case and not a XPC. Sorry! If there is a choice between 220 or 250 definatly 250.
 
Originally posted by Jigster2383
Why would wanna risk those high priced components on a cheap PSU??? Can you even buy 220W PSU anymore?? Those were suffient in the pentium 33 megahertz to 233 days. You can damage your components if you blow your psu or for just not having enough suffient power.

I would get anything from 350W to 550W. Get something decent cuz in the PSU market the difference in money is easily justifyable especially when your running those high priced components.

I have been using Antecs with ease and confidence. I currently own the tru 480W and tru 300W for my athlon XP system the 480 tru has main mobo wire connector meshed up and has 2 fan only connectors as well one ore 2 sata connectors.

As far as memory, stick with the 512. The extra money isn't justifyable for the small amount of performance gain that you will most likely won't see if you run at 1024X768.

Also why shuttle mobo?? There is nothing wrong with Asus,Abit,Gigabyte or MSI. You could probably find a better mobo for a difference of about 20 bucks.

Hope this helps and Good luck!
Click to expand...

the thing with shuttle, is the PSU's are limited... can't get 350 (and if you can now, that's probably the max..), and shuttle's are tiny, which makes them perfect for carrying around to lan's.

that's the thing though, if you wanna make a shuttle, you can't make it your main rig. gotta make it a lan only rig, like the guy said above, they utilize 1 harddrive, 1 optical, 1pci, and 1agp. all you need for games, nothing near what you'd want in a main rig.

they are also utilized for home theatres, which they also work perfect for with that limited capability -- given that you have it networked to a server somewhere else in your residence.
 
It won't be my main rig, i have the one in sig currently. I didn't

Itt'l only be used for gaming... irc and crap like that. I have a full

tower case, with 2 cdroms, and 2 hd's and it's kinda heavy plus

way to big to lug around to lans. I want to make this shuttle

pretty top of the line, so I don't need to upgrade it for some time.

All it's going to have in it is; cdrom, floppy, soundcard, and vid card

I might even take the floppy out after i get the bios updated, and

windows installed, seeing how i'll have the two networked.
 
I vote for the 1gb of ram, once you use 1gb its hard to use anything less. I also have a 2.8c @ 3.4ghz, a 120gb wd se hdd, lite on dvd cdrw combo drive, slot fan, and an aiw 9800 pro and I don't have any power issues as of yet on my SB61G2. Planning on getting an audigy 2 card because the ac97 onboard is crappy.
 
Don't worry yourself about the powersupply. The one supplied will run everything you can stick in there w/o any problems. I had an AMS p4 system for Quakecon last year and it only had a 200w. I had all this stuff in it: Radeon 9700 pro, P4 2.4ghz, 40gb ATA133, DVD-ROM, fdd, and a 7.1 soundcard. I assure you, you will be fine. The boards inside limit the power you can consume by having only enough fan heads for what is pre-installed, only 2 expansions slots (1 for agp, 1 for pci), one IDE connector with a small 2 headed connector for one optical and one HDD, and one floppy connector.
 
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