Upgrading from a PIII system

D

DR_LaRRY_PEpPeR

n00b
Joined
Oct 7, 2008
Messages
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Hi all,

I was registered here back at the beginning and just re-registered because I remember they deleted the inactive accounts, like mine, a few years ago... Anyway, I hadn't followed hardware for probably more than 5 years, and didn't know many details about today's stuff 6 months ago, but have slowly done some research and tried to absorb things during that time, so now I don't feel too lost anymore. :D Oddly, I hadn't checked forums much, and just figured I'd post at 2cpu.com's forum since I was already registered there :p, but not much activity at all. Checked in here last week, and WOW, lots of good info and people giving advice, etc. Excellent! :)

Well, I'm still using a Win2k system from 8 years ago: MSI 694D, dual PIII ~930MHz, 576MB, Voodoo 5. :eek: Been keeping an eye on prices the last couple months, mostly at Newegg, to get a general idea of what to get. System will be for whatever general use (on 24/7 currently, only restarted for Windows updates), and I'd like to try some games again that I've missed out on (ones like UT3, Crysis, COD4, etc.), but not sure how much gaming there'd be, Web/PHP/MySQL dev/benchmarking, some compiling (PHP so far), HD video playback (thinking QuickTime trailers now, but possibly captured/recorded HD TV too), probably some virtualization, maybe future HD (re)encoding, etc. Here's my possible list, with the lowest prices I've seen while monitoring each item, including any rebate or shipping.

E8400 ($170)
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R ($110)
4GB of ??? ($35-$70)
Some eVGA 9600GT (<= $80)
2x Western Digital 6400AAKS 640GB ($150) [separate, non-RAID]
Antec Earthwatts EA430 430W (~$30)
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro (~$30)
- Reusing old IDE Pioneer DVD-ROM and Sony DVD+/-RW until future Blu-ray upgrade

Would that be a bit faster than what I have now...? ;) Those parts/prices would put me in the $600-$650 range. Trying to keep things low, but could go near $750 -- I'll take any suggestions. :cool: That doesn't include case and OS cost... Just recently figured I should get a new case (can ask about that later), and also realized that I will probably switch to XP while licenses are still sold :eek:, even though it takes away a couple tiny things that 2000 has (but adds more), for more compatibility and longer lifecycle. I tried Vista RTM on this old system almost 2 years ago, and it's certainly sluggish, but I'm sure I don't like it from what I saw, which would be the same on a new system (+Aero)... I'll give SP1 another quick evaluation though I guess. :rolleyes: I thought I might be able to switch to Linux by now, but haven't liked things about the few distros I've tried. :( Also will give OS X a try if I can get it running, but doubt I'll care for the way stuff works there either, LOL. I'm sure I'll wind up with XP, but hopefully things are compatible with Win 2000/XP/Vista/7, Linux, and OS X.

I've been wondering about waiting for a Nehalem-based system with more budget, but it seems a CPU, X58 MB, and 4GB DDR3 will be at least $600-$750, compared to < $350 for those 3 components now...

The system will probably be used for many years again, other than maybe upgrading video card if needed. I had been thinking the E8400 for months, but in the last couple weeks have been all over the place with CPU choices (for budget, performance, longevity, power consumption): E5200, E7200, E8400, Q6600, Q9400, Q9550! :eek: Even the 5200 would be whiplash with what I'm used to. :D But I've really narrowed it to the E8400 and Q9400, since I want 45nm/SSE4/Virtualization Technology, and the Q9550's extra cache doesn't seem to make much difference (like E7x00 vs E8x00) for the price (and possibly not E0 stepping). Frys had the 9400 for $220 last week, but I missed it after seeing it too late and being unsure then of how it compared... Though I had been ignoring quads, I'm thinking the Q9400 is probably the better choice for the future? I could get it for $193 after the "Live Cashback" thing, which I just looked into, LOL, if it works ('course the 8400 would be ~$120).

For video cards, I was considering the 9600GSO (~$50) until I saw the GT's performance for a bit more. (I missed Frys $60 AR SSC deal on the GT too, but Amazon has the SC version for $80.) Now I've also started to wonder about the 9800GT, and could get one (eVGA too) for $90 after Live Cashback. I'm still using a 19" CRT, and I was playing UT '99 last at 10x7, so you have an idea of what I'm used to. :p Since I'm not sure about how much gaming, power consumption is a concern for 2D desktop use, etc. I don't know if there's much difference between those 3 however (at idle) from what I can remember of reviews...

So, 9600GSO vs 9600GT vs 9800GT, what's a good choice for me? Other options? What about as far as letting me run new games in the future (at whatever "acceptable" settings) before feeling a need to upgrade?

What about the 430W PSU? I'm sure it's fine for now, but should it be more? Could get the the 650W Earthwatts for ~$55 after Live Cashback...

Well, I think that's about all for now, hope this wasn't too long! BTW, I mentioned just looking into the 30% Live Cashback through eBay -- does it really work, and pretty easy? I've never done anything on there, LOL, but it seems simple enough to use Buy.com's eBay Store for CPU, hard drives, maybe video card or PSU. Another Store has the mobo (~$100 w/ Live), but I wonder if its "New" condition/quality is OK compared to an e-tailer like Newegg?

Thanks for advice or suggestions about anything. :)
 
Wow, long read. I'll try to cover as much as possible:

Please don't include after-rebate prices. Rebates are not guaranteed since they can be rejected, lost or outright ignored even if one fills them out correctly. Count/include after rebate prices when you finally recieve that rebate check. Until then, use the price that you have to pay upfront.

Anyway, PSU wise, the EA430W will be enough for that system. However, for future upgrades and such, I recommend the Earthwatts EA650 if you can get it for ~$55 after live cashback. Though do note that the EA650 can be had for only $65 if the Live Cashback doesn't pan out:
Antec Earthwatts 650W PSU - $65

For a 19" monitor, the 9600GT is a good choice for most current games. But the 9800GT is roughly 10% or so faster than the 9600GT so that should last you a little bit longer. Though if you have room in your budget after all the important parts are taken care of, then I recommend getting the faster HD4850:
Sapphire 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB PCI-E Video Card - $160

Considering how long you waited before doing this upgrade (eeks) I recommend that you get a quad-core CPU. Future apps will take advantage of quad-cores CPUs. In addition, a quad-core would help out a lot when it comes to multi-tasking. As for which quad-core CPU you should get, I recommend getting the Q6600. The Q9400 is $80 more than the Q6600 but is only 7% faster on average and uses only a bit less power than the Q6600. IMO, that $80 is not well spent. However, if you have a Microcenter nearby, I highly highly recommend getting the Q9450 for $60 more than the Q6600:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 CPU - $250 (In store only)

But if there's no Microcenter nearby, then the Q6600 is a good choice.

OS wise, if you want to be able to use ALL 4GB of RAM, you will need a 64bit OS. Vista Home Premium 64bit has slightly better compatibility than XP Professional 64bit and can be had for a significantly lower price:
Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit SP1 OEM - $80

If you're a college student, go to http://www.microsoft.com/student/discounts/theultimatesteal-us/default.aspx. Put your mouse over "Additional Products". You'll see Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade w/SP1 for $65. You don't need a previous Windows OS install to use the upgrade disc.

So I recommend going with Vista rather than XP.

HSF wise, I recommend getting this better quality and cooling HSF:
Xigmatek HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle HSF - $35 & Retention Bracket - $7

RAM wise, I recommend this:
G.Skill F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM - $60
 
Thanks for the reply Danny, I've been reading many of your posts the last week or so. :D

Just been looking up stuff more, and don't have time to reply to each thing you said right now, but was wondering what the opinion is about this Corsair RAM? Newegg has it bundled with the eVGA 9800GT, and after the MIR it seems a good price. (I know what you said and mean about the rebates, but I don't have much of a problem with them... :)) Just wondering if the RAM is acceptable, should be avoided, or anything? I don't think there's much difference with timings of 5-5-5-15/18 (also on your G.Skill), and 4-4-4-12, right? Before seeing this combo, I was wondering about the DDR2-1000 G.Skill in case of getting the Q9400 (yeah, still leaning towards that over the 6600) with its 8x multiplier in case of overclocking past 400MHz FSB/RAM... How high would that Corsair go? Would I then change timings to 6-6-6... etc. if needed? BTW, I don't plan to OC right away (other than maybe to test :cool:) since it'll be plenty fast, just wondering for the future. :)

That 9800GT I linked seems like a good card... It also looks to be the one I was looking at on Buy.com and their eBay store (SKU & Part #). Newegg says it's the new 55nm version, which should be better, and also the HDMI out w/ audio stuff (unless they all support audio over HDMI if you supply the DVI->HDMI converter). Finally, can I easily run the second output (on whatever card) to the nearby HDTV as a second "monitor" just for playing an occasional 1080p movie trailer, etc.?

Thanks!
 
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Even without the MIR, the Corsair RAM and eVGA 9800GT NewEgg bundle is a good deal. You won't need faster RAM for overclocking the Q6600, and DDR2 benefits more from speed than it does timings. (Outside of synthetic benchmarks, you won't notice the difference between CL4 and CL5 memory.)
 
Corsair and G.Skill are both fine. And yes, you want the 1000 for higher bus speeds than 400 which would be your goal with the 9400. Altho, as aforementioned, the 6600 should hold out very well. Yes, you can change the timings as needed.

Hmm... I'm fairly sure HDMI w/ audio is on all cards above the 8800 or 9800 for Nvidia and 4850 for ATI. Maybe not. And yes, I believe using your HDTV as a second monitor is quite easy and readily available for use with any cards within the above parameters.
 
You seem to be into encoding and such, so quad core would definitely be the way to go. Also, capturing HD content is a whole other endeavor. Not sure about the artic cooler, but I have good things about the xigmatek cooler that seems to put up quite a fight against the T.R.U.E. for less.
 
Danny Bui said:
Wow, long read. I'll try to cover as much as possible:

Please don't include after-rebate prices. Rebates are not guaranteed since they can be rejected, lost or outright ignored even if one fills them out correctly. Count/include after rebate prices when you finally recieve that rebate check. Until then, use the price that you have to pay upfront.

Anyway, PSU wise, the EA430W will be enough for that system. However, for future upgrades and such, I recommend the Earthwatts EA650 if you can get it for ~$55 after live cashback. Though do note that the EA650 can be had for only $65 if the Live Cashback doesn't pan out:
Antec Earthwatts 650W PSU - $65

For a 19" monitor, the 9600GT is a good choice for most current games. But the 9800GT is roughly 10% or so faster than the 9600GT so that should last you a little bit longer. Though if you have room in your budget after all the important parts are taken care of, then I recommend getting the faster HD4850:
Sapphire 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB PCI-E Video Card - $160

Considering how long you waited before doing this upgrade (eeks) I recommend that you get a quad-core CPU. Future apps will take advantage of quad-cores CPUs. In addition, a quad-core would help out a lot when it comes to multi-tasking. As for which quad-core CPU you should get, I recommend getting the Q6600. The Q9400 is $80 more than the Q6600 but is only 7% faster on average and uses only a bit less power than the Q6600. IMO, that $80 is not well spent. However, if you have a Microcenter nearby, I highly highly recommend getting the Q9450 for $60 more than the Q6600:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 CPU - $250 (In store only)

But if there's no Microcenter nearby, then the Q6600 is a good choice.

OS wise, if you want to be able to use ALL 4GB of RAM, you will need a 64bit OS. Vista Home Premium 64bit has slightly better compatibility than XP Professional 64bit and can be had for a significantly lower price:
Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit SP1 OEM - $80

If you're a college student, go to http://www.microsoft.com/student/discounts/theultimatesteal-us/default.aspx. Put your mouse over "Additional Products". You'll see Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade w/SP1 for $65. You don't need a previous Windows OS install to use the upgrade disc.

So I recommend going with Vista rather than XP.

HSF wise, I recommend getting this better quality and cooling HSF:
Xigmatek HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle HSF - $35 & Retention Bracket - $7

RAM wise, I recommend this:
G.Skill F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM - $60
Click to expand...

I second that RAM Kit. I have 2 kits of that in my desktop and it works flawlessly.
 
Also, now that Ihaveworms mentioned it, 8GB of RAM is probably best if you're going to do encoding and virtualization and such. And get Vista 64 fo sho.
 
A lot of people didn't like Vista RTM for a good reason.. ;)

Now, with Vista 64 bit and 4+ GB of ram, Vista is hands down better than XP imo. You can make Vista look just like XP if you'd like, but performance, security and features Vista is just plain awesome.

I highly reccomend 8GB minimum of ram since you mention HD encoding and ripping as well as possible virtualization. Also, if your budget allows the 4850 is a pretty awesome card with a lot of potential to hang on into the future.

Great motherboard choice, Q6600 would compliment it well. With the Q6600 and possible encoding/virtualization I really believe you should focus on a 550+ PSU and not a 430..
 
Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't the added SSE4.1 instructions to Yorkfield cut down on encoding time?
 
Since you're in this for the long haul I'd also suggest a quad-core and even spending a little above the sweet spot to get another year or two out of the system.

That said, I'd also suggest you think about upgrading in about 2-3 years instead of longer. You can buy at the sweet spot every few years and keep much more current than a PIII. :eek: You've missed several generations of P4, the whole Athlon64 & X2 thing, Phenoms, and first couple of generations of Core2Duos. I mention this because you talked about gaming and some other semi-intensive apps. Spend the ~$650 now and then about 2 years either go for a new video card or cpu/ram/mobo combo - then in another year do the other. Leapfrogging like this will put you only 3 years or so max. down instead of 8.

I can't fathom a PIII system these days, wow!

And if your budget allows - I'd highly suggest getting a new LCD monitor, your eyes will thank you. I'm guessing your monitor is about 8 years old too and getting fuzzy. Even a 19" one if you don't feel like spending more on a 20-24" one will be a hugh improvement.
 
Ihaveworms said:
Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't the added SSE4.1 instructions to Yorkfield cut down on encoding time?
Click to expand...

Yes, but it provides a minor 10% increase in speed or some such negligible number. :D

Personally, I would rather overclock.
 
Appreciate all the replies! :D

It looks like I should switch to the new EP45-UD3P mobo instead of the DS3R. :cool: And I guess I'll get the 9800GT/Corsair RAM combo if there's not a reason to avoid that RAM.

Is the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro acceptable, for performance/quietness, as an inexpensive HSF if I can get it for about half the price of the Xigmatek? Just something better than Intel's retail HSF's. It looks like you are using one Danny...? :) I'm not going for an extreme overclock, and a Q9400 will run cooler than the Q6600 anyway.

Other than the price difference, I definitely prefer the Q9400. And, as far as the difference SSE4 can make, in case I'm using an app that supports it (more should in the future if they can benefit), I saw this AnandTech QX6850 vs QX9650 DivX comparison: over twice as fast. :eek: Even SSE2 has a surprising improvement there...

Just to verify about about the PSU, the 430W Earthwatts would be plenty for this system if I were to use it? I wouldn't be adding any more power draw to it, other than what a new video card might take in the future. Would a budget/moderate GPU, say 2 years from now, need a lot more power, as I guess today's high-end cards do? Or, I'm thinking efficiency improvements would keep them in line with today's 9800GT? :confused:


Finally, about a case, I wonder if there are some I haven't seen that I might like (under $100, assuming no PSU; not exotic looking, etc.). I've looked at the popular Antec and Cooler Master cases that are referenced here, but scanning though Newegg a couple weeks ago, I found the Rosewill R5604-TBK/R5604-BK. Any opinions here about it? I like that the ports and buttons are at the top, the price, and that the drives are behind a door, I guess -- seems kind of inconvenient, but drives are rarely used, and more importantly, my old drives are beige color, which probably doesn't look very good on the door-less cases! :eek:

Thanks again. Oh, and yeah, instead of mentioning my crazy-old PIII system, I should have just said I've never had a computer before! :p
 
Ehhh... To be on the safe side, I would get the EA650 as Danny suggested. 430 is kinda... small nowadays. You would be pushing it. PSU's are NOT 100% efficient and are NOT 100% stable if you push their wattage. It's much safer to have alot of overhead room rather than skimp and deal with occasional blackout issues due to lack of power. Even Corsairs, which are known for some of the most efficient PSU's, run at 80% efficiency. So the 1000W PSU I have actually has a limit of 800W. The general safe limit for power draws is to run the normal load at 50%. So even if your normal load is at say... 350W, it's MUCH better to grab a 650W-750W PSU.
 
I had a Freezer 7 pro on my Q9300 system and it was definately better than the stock heatsink. I only changed it because it started getting a bit to warm when I started overclocking. So if you plan to run stock speeds it should work very well for you.
 
DR_LaRRY_PEpPeR said:
Finally, about a case, I wonder if there are some I haven't seen that I might like (under $100, assuming no PSU; not exotic looking, etc.). I've looked at the popular Antec and Cooler Master cases that are referenced here, but scanning though Newegg a couple weeks ago, I found the Rosewill R5604-TBK/R5604-BK. Any opinions here about it? I like that the ports and buttons are at the top, the price, and that the drives are behind a door, I guess -- seems kind of inconvenient, but drives are rarely used, and more importantly, my old drives are beige color, which probably doesn't look very good on the door-less cases! :eek:
Click to expand...

The case really doesn't matter. If you care for its appearance or appeal, then I'd go with a bigger name. Rosewille is Neweggs house brand and although they work for the most part, they defiantly lack quality in comparison to big brands. I for one don't care for the case, but this is totally up to you. Just don't expect that rosewille to last long.
If you want higher qaulity, maybe this would work? or this?
Or although dosn't meet all your requirements-- I have this one very sturdy case.
 
I've hated Rosewill ever since their wireless card, for some odd reason or another, would not run games without any lag. It would download and buffer online videos just fine, but during games, it was lag central. And this was from the get-go. So I settled for a Netgear wireless card, and although it would lag SOMEtimes, it was definitely WAAAAY better than the crappy Rosewill crap.

If you want the future potential of overclocking without changing out your case, I highly suggest the 690 and just stick with it.
 
If you plan on overclocking your processor, get a different CPU cooler. The Xigmatek HDT-S1283 (with retention bracket) is a good choice, but there's also the Tuniq Tower 120, the Zerotherm Nirvana, and the OCZ Vendetta 2.

Unless you're taking advantage of the Q9550/Q9300 bundle deal, you don't have to swap out the EP45-DS3R for the EP45-UD3P. (Actually, take advantage of the Q9550 bundle deal.)
 
Hi again guys,

I've had all the stuff except a power supply ;) (question below!) since the end of last week. I didn't do anything as far as a case yet since I'm just not sure, and may just use my old, big generic tower first, and maybe put a front ports thing and/or card reader in a bay... @Sob Rogue, yeah forgot, the CM Mystique is one I had seen and was interested in, but like I said, will wait for now! :confused: Here's the other parts (CPU and hard drives from mwave's eBay store, rest from Newegg) -- I think I did pretty good. :)

Q9400 - $199.98 (269.99 + 10.99 S/H - 81 Cashback)
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P - $111.22 (136.99 - 2 Price Adj. after 3 days - 3.77 Cashback - 20 MIR)
4GB Corsair XMS + eVGA 9800GT
* $112.75 (189.98 - 22 Combo - 5.23 Cashback - 25 MIR - 25 MIR)
2x Western Digital 6400AAKS 640GB - $117.05 (145.80 + 14.99 S/H - 43.74 Cashback)
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro - $26.25 (26.99 - 0.74 Cashback)
-----
Total: $567.25

BTW, also got a Dell Outlet Inspiron 1525 laptop (15"/Black/T8100/3GB/250GB/Webcam) for $564.48 (629 - 20% off + 61.28 S/H+Tax) to replace the old Celeron 800Mhz :eek: from 9-10-2001. :eek: Not Centrino 2, Intel GMA X4500, etc., but...

And for both systems, picked up 2 Windows XP Home Upgrade copies on eBay for $87.50 after 30% Cashback. Again, prefer to stick with XP for now -- maybe move to Windows 7 when it's out after seeing what it's like instead of getting Vista at this time. :p


Now about the power supply once more, since I need that :D, Newegg now has the Earthwatts 500W for $40 and 430W for $35 (promo code). Looking at the specs again recently, I see that they are both (and the 380W for that matter, it seems) rated for 17A on the +12v rails (actually one 34A, I know, from reviews), but yet the 500W is spec'd for CrossFire/SLI, simply because it has the second PCI-E connector...? So the 430W should be enough (e.g. the same?) for any single card I'd use (not high end) since it has the same +12v rating? Kinda confusing... :rolleyes: Just curious if they're actually equivalent for video cards or if there's a "hidden" factor that makes a real difference!

Thanks in advance. :)
 
The EA500 (aka, the Earthwatts 500W PSU) has more power on the 12V rail than the EA430. (The 12V figures are wrong for the EA430; it has, at most, 360W running through the 12V rail, while the EA500 has 408W through its 12V rail. Divide by 12, and the EA500 has more power than the EA430 -- 34A vs. 30A.)

While EA430 is enough for your build, NewEgg also has the EA500 for $40 shipped, so I suggest jumping on that deal. It's only $5 more, but either one would cost less than their retail (B&M) price.

Unless I'm mistaken, the upgrade copies of XP Home won't work the same way as the Vista upgrade copies. You'll need an older OS (95, 98, 2000, ME) to work with as well.
 
OK, so the specs are wrong then, thanks! :) I guess I'll pick up the EA500 shortly then if it actually has a bit more power available. Since it also has an 8-pin mobo connector, is that what should be used instead of the 4-pin -- or I guess maybe it makes no difference on my board? :p

Yep, you're right that the Vista Upgrade trick doesn't work with XP, but I do have a full unused copy of 98 that I can give it, as well as my full 2000 copy, which I didn't think was valid for Home, but the installer did list that as an option when I checked. :D I guess the difference is that it can't do an upgrade to XP Home, in place, from within 2000, which I'd never consider anyway, unlike Pro...
 
Check the connectors, as the 8-pin ATX connector should either have an adapter for 4-pin connectors or the ability to split into two 4-pin connectors. (Newer video cards also require the use of an 8-pin connection, but those should already be labeled for PCI Express.)
 
Back again with a couple questions. :) I put the system together on the floor first (on mobo box) over the weekend finally, and have only checked things out a bit so far -- but at least all the parts seem to have worked right away, assuming I don't find a problem with something I haven't checked yet (like audio).

I only got the EA430 PSU ($35), as a couple hours after I last posted when Newegg had the EA500 for $40, it was "sold out"... :rolleyes: But I checked this new stuff with the Kill-A-Watt meter, and it's only using 93W at idle :cool: (~140-ish with full CPU load; haven't loaded the 9800GT with 3D), compared to the current PIII tower at 137W (with 3 case fans and a couple USB devices).

Anyway, main question is about the hard drives: There's a 1MB difference in capacity (610,480.3MB vs 610,479.3). First noticed the LBA count was different when running Hitachi's Drive Feature Tool to disable AAM which lowered the access time to 12.1ms from 16.1. The smaller drive has a little less average read speed in HD Tach too -- 95MB/s vs 99. Both drives are the same model (-75A7B0 after model #) and show the same firmware version. Is this normal and the drives are fine, or is it something to be concerned about, get replaced, etc.?

Second, the drives feel pretty toasty, stacked in open air, though I'm not sure if I've felt my old drives to compare (Hitachi T7K250s). By toasty, I mean almost uncomfortable to leave my hand on the one side at least, after 5-10 seconds. Not getting burned :p, but very warm -- near the level of the hottest area I've felt under the 9800GT (at whatever speed its fan runs by default). Both feel the same temperature, so I guess it's normal, but I was a bit surprised (don't really have a comparison though).

I noticed the BIOS had AHCI disabled, and I just assumed it was better, but then after searching, there seems to be a lot of debate about it, so I wasn't sure whether to use it or stick with IDE. I tried installing both ways, and saw no difference in HD Tach, and in my old 2002 version of Sandra, the Drive Index was slightly worse with AHCI: few hundred points around 73,000. I guess I'll use IDE mode if it won't cause any problems now or in the future, and AHCI adds 5+ seconds to boot time detecting the drives. Oh, interesting that I observed 1 Watt less power usage in AHCI mode however. :)

Finally, about the eVGA 9800GT... (It didn't come with the advertised HDMI adapter, but that seems to be the case for all the Newegg reviewers. Sounds like eVGA will easily send one if you contact them.) Newegg had it labeled as "55nm edition" until about 10 days ago, which I was skeptical about after the other wrong stuff, and I'm sure it's actually 65nm still. Will any program (GPU-Z...? :confused:) accurately check that aspect of the chip? I guess it's not a big deal that changes anything (is it??), but thinking I'd be getting the new silicon was a factor for me, as far as power consumption, overclocking, temp., etc. Can't remember what I read, but I hope this still has the dual HD stream (future Blu-ray playback) Purevideo decoding thing. I had also thought that the HybridPower feature (not for Intel boards, I know) was only on 55nm, but maybe it's missing too for people who could use it... Well, I'll send them a complaint about their wrong advertising :mad:, but there's probably nothing they'll do, even within 30 days.

Thanks! :D
 
DR_LaRRY_PEpPeR said:
Hi all,


So, 9600GSO vs 9600GT vs 9800GT, what's a good choice for me? Other options? What about as far as letting me run new games in the future (at whatever "acceptable" settings) before feeling a need to upgrade?

What about the 430W PSU? I'm sure it's fine for now, but should it be more? Could get the the 650W Earthwatts for ~$55 after Live Cashback...

Well, I think that's about all for now, hope this wasn't too long! BTW, I mentioned just looking into the 30% Live Cashback through eBay -- does it really work, and pretty easy? I've never done anything on there, LOL, but it seems simple enough to use Buy.com's eBay Store for CPU, hard drives, maybe video card or PSU. Another Store has the mobo (~$100 w/ Live), but I wonder if its "New" condition/quality is OK compared to an e-tailer like Newegg?

Thanks for advice or suggestions about anything. :)
Click to expand...

Regarding the GSO vs. GT question. This is a tricky one and one that I was seriously confused about. The 9600GSO at least last time I looked comes with 96 stream processors on a 192bit bus. The 9600GT variant has 64 stream processors on a 256bit bus. What that tells me is for higher resolutions the GT would be the faster better overall performing card, but for lower resolutions with shader intense games the GSO would be the better bet due to the extra shaders that model processes. The 9800GT is the same as the 9600GT but with more shader processors (can't recall number exactly) and slightly higher clocked shaderMhz speed, but with all the OC GT models out there the speeds are more or less moot for that reason alone. I decided to buy the GT model over the GSO because I bought a 22 inch LCD and knew I would be gaming in higher resolutions. So really you have to decide that as well. If I'm way off here someone please correct me....
 
1) Normal
2) Use Speedfan to monitor the temperatures. Most drives are rated to run at 50C to 55C.
3) GPU-Z should check that aspect pretty well. Nvidia's Purevideo chip is on all of the 9800 series. Hybridpower is also on the 9800GT.

Oh and take Kill-A-Watt readings with a grain of salt since the EA430 has AFPC.. Here's why:
[Basic Power Supply Info]
Paul_Johnson said:
Yes and a quick search would turn up this topic a million times over. Here is the recap:

1) APFC can fool Kill-A-Watts into giving you abnormally low readings (some times giving better than 100% efficiency)

2) Power supplies derate with temperature anywhere from 2w/c above a nominal rated at value to 10w/c.

3) Kill-A-Watt's and most power meters sample too slowly to catch transient loads (the Transient load from our tests is 117w and is COMPLETELY missed by Kill-A-Watts).

4) Power supplies last longer if you stay in the 40% to 60% range of their output.

5) power supplies are quieter if you stay in the 40% to 60% range of their output.

6) Power supplies are cooler if you stay in the 40% to 60% range of their output.

The power meters in UPS software are just as bad. You have to spend some change before you get anywhere near an accurate power meter when your PSU has APFC.
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