Char Ell Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 So I'm looking at the Enermax MODU82+ 625W as the power supply I want to get in conjunction with my new graphics card. - I would probably be fine with a 500 W PSU but I want to have some room to grow if I need to without having to get a new PSU. - Trying to get peak efficiency while gaming. Not as critical when doing non-CPU intensive tasks like web browsing where the system won't be generating as much heat. Concerns: - Exhaust fan on the top of the PSU. My current PSU has two exhaust fans, one in the interior side of the PSU pushing air from inside the case into the PSU and the other on the back of the PSU pushing the air outside of the case. My case has an exhaust fan on the top as well but I'd prefer having the PSU push the air outside the case rather than inside the case and let my case exhaust fans pull the PSU-generated heat out. - Modular cabling. I like the idea of only using the cables I need and not having to tie up the non-used cables and leave them inside the case. Don't know if there are any issues with modular cabling's longevity though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChAiNz.2da Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Concerns: - Exhaust fan on the top of the PSU. My current PSU has two exhaust fans, one in the interior side of the PSU pushing air from inside the case into the PSU and the other on the back of the PSU pushing the air outside of the case. My case has an exhaust fan on the top as well but I'd prefer having the PSU push the air outside the case rather than inside the case and let my case exhaust fans pull the PSU-generated heat out. I wouldn't worry too much to be honest. What the design of this fan does (by drawing air in and pushing it down) is cause a circular airflow inside your case. You want to keep the air, and more importantly, dust, moving and the psu generates a "jet stream" if you will of forced air. Although the fan is on top of the case, it will actually point down when you mount it (notice the off corner screw is on the bottom of the psu casing) Same as how my psu is pictured. Drawing air in the psu from the back, then pushing it out/down cools the psu, generates the 'jet stream' and allows your case fans to complete the cycle. It's along the same system as when ppl mount front case fans. Those should always be mounted to bring air "IN" not push air out - Modular cabling. I like the idea of only using the cables I need and not having to tie up the non-used cables and leave them inside the case. Don't know if there are any issues with modular cabling's longevity though.I swear by modular cabling since while its convenient to use only the cables you want.. it's also more streamlining to let air flow freely without too much breaking up (see jet stream above). The cabling is actually far sturdier than most people think and it's often flexible enough to zip-tie etc to your hearts' desire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Char Ell Posted September 8, 2008 Share Posted September 8, 2008 The 80 mm fan on my current Cooler Master Mini Aquagate is locking up on me. I checked and Cooler Master doesn't sell the Mini Aquagates anymore so I interpret that as meaning it's time to find a different CPU cooler for my system. I'm looking for recommendations for an effective air-cooled solution for my socket LGA 775 mobo but not wanting to invest a lot of money into it since I plan on upgrading to a Bloomfield CPU next summer/fall. So I guess a good value cooler sums it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingerhs Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 i'm guessing that you have a Core 2, right?? if you don't have it overclocked, these will do just fine: Thermaltake CL-P0378 - $22.99 @ Newegg Cooler Master Dream 4 - $9.99 @ Newegg (this one very closely resembles the stock coolers that ship with the Core 2 processors) if you do have it overclocked, well, you shouldn't have much to worry about since your sticking with Intel. most coolers that work for the 775 socket work just fine since Intel didn't mess with the mounting method for the coolers. that is, of course, assuming that you'll be taking parts out of your current rig for the new one. if not, then i would go with the Cooler Master i picked out earlier. its cheap, and it will do the job. happy shopping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 It would depend on how much room is in your case, but right now this Xigmatek direct-touch heatpipe cooler is on sale for $12.99 after rebate at GougeEgg, and looks like a great deal as long as you don't mind mail-in rebates. If you don't like the push-pins you'll have to get the bolt-through mounting bracket, though. These direct-touch heatpipe Xigmateks have the performance of the high-end (>$50.00) coolers and are quite a bit cheaper. They offer monster overclocking headroom if you're into that kind of thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Char Ell Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 stinger and Q, Thanks for the advice. As for my CPU it's a Pentium 4 660 running at a factory clocked 3.6 GHz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negative Sun Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Just to drop in here, my favorite PC modding magazine swears by the ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro, at $24.99 it's great value, amazingly quiet and it can keep even a heavily overclocked C2D cool It's a legend amongst the C2D overclockers! So it should be more than adequate for a P4, even though they run notoriously hot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChAiNz.2da Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Just to drop in here, my favorite PC modding magazine swears by the ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro, at $24.99 it's great value, amazingly quiet and it can keep even a heavily overclocked C2D cool It's a legend amongst the C2D overclockers! So it should be more than adequate for a P4, even though they run notoriously hot Yeah, this thing is looking better and better every time I see it. Wouldn't mind getting one myself as I'm liking the direct touch, copper base and directional fan (up/down/front/back as opposed to 'out' ). Not exactly 'hardware' but can anyone suggest a nice ceramique based paste? I know the silver based cools a little better.. but ceramique is comparable and won't short my board should any drip. I usually use Arctic Silver's but if anyone knows of/has better experience with a different compund.. any feedback is greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingerhs Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 ^^^^ out of luck here, man. the only thing i use is Arctic Silver. and if you're worried about drips, just remember: more does not equal better with thermal grease/paste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A_Dead_Jedi Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 Hey, right now I'm using a Pentium D 920 2.8ghz, and I was looking toward a cheap upgrade, possibly to one of the Phenom quad-cores. Does anyone have any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingerhs Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 its always a matter of how much you'll be willing to spend. its possible that you could be able to pick up a Core2 for your current system, but i don't think you'll find any available (and determining compatibility could be a nightmare as well). of course, that means a new motherboard, and that opens up a whole new can of worms. before you can really even think processor, you're going to have think about what hardware you can reuse with the new board such as the hard drive(s), disc drives, PSU, RAM, and video card (if you have one). just keep in mind that some of that hardware isn't going to transfer well or at all. if you have an AGP-based video card, then you'll have to think about a new video card as well. you'll also want to check what kind of RAM is currently installed on your system. if you have DDR, you're out of luck since all boards from the past couple of years use either DDR2 or DDR3 RAM. you'll also have to keep in mind that it will invalidate your copy of Windows installed on your current hard drive which means that you'll have to at least uninstall Windows on that hard drive. you'll have to reinstall it and then activate it somehow depending on what version you have. anyways, just keep these things in mind for the moment. since you'll probably have to upgrade the motherboard, you'll probably want to start thinking about just getting a new system entirely. again, though, its all going to come down to how much you're willing to spend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Char Ell Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 OK. So I want to build a PC for both folding and HTPC use. - want to go with an AMD quad-core CPU - want to use the SMP client - want it to be as power-efficient as possible within economic reason (it will be folding when it's not doing recording or playback so I realize this won't be a low power setup) - HD playback/recording capability is a nice to have but not required - I was also thinking of possibly using a Linux OS - and of course I want to spend as little as possible, hopefully less than USD$500 Recommendations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrotoy7 Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 a low power folder/htpc is entirely possible on a shuttle I have similar plans to yourself and am looking at the SN78SH7 getting a barebone is cheaper. Add your own GPU, HD, RAM and CPU... The only problem with this setup is if you have a dual slot card, you are limited to using a usb tuner for htpc functionality. If youre not planning on using this with a dual slot card, you could go for a cheaper variant. Of course, you could ditch the card altogether and use the onboard nv8200 for htpc purposes. You could likely use it for folding as well as integrated 8200 is cuda enabled There are many linux htpc variants. These sre chiefly used by 3 types: *advanced setups, arch linux severs etc *people who like the advanced tinkering *people who hate MS Feel free to have a squiz around the Linux area at the htpc site I contribute at. I have a cataclysmic personality clash with the guy who presides over this area, so you wont see much of me in there Lots of great info though... Alternately, you could get a ps3..games, folds, bluray and pvr functionality with playtv addon. mtfbwya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Char Ell Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 I've considered the PS3 but haven't researched it a great deal. It doesn't seem like PlayTV has made it to the U.S.A. and even if it has I'm not so sure I want to risk getting locked into a Sony proprietary system. I looked at the SN78SH7 but it doesn't support AM3 processors and I really wanted to get a Phenom II. Also I would much prefer to get a system with NVIDIA 9300 onboard graphics. Only problem seems to be that there aren't any motherboards out there that support AM3 processors and NVIDIA 9300. Maybe I should just wait to see what Shuttle comes out with later in the year since they're the only ones who seem able/willing to support AMD and NVIDIA on the same motherboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrotoy7 Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 ....Only problem seems to be that there aren't any motherboards out there that support AM3 processors and NVIDIA 9300... Maybe I should just wait...... lolz. I dont think there's any other course of action if those are your requirements Char! Give it to the end of the year mtfbwya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Char Ell Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 Well, not requirements exactly but yes, as I continued doing more research that is kind of where I ended up with. I decided I wanted a 45 nm processor and it seems like the Phenom II's are the only AMD processor that meets that. Of course I could always go with Core 2 Quad but I did want to try an AMD processor in this setup. I think I could be happy with an AMD Phenom II x3 720. I've read a few accounts of people saying they've been able to unlock the 4th processor on these but I'm good with this CPU even if I can't unlock the 4th core. I'm curious what your thoughts as to the onboard graphics solution would you go with for an HTPC setup right now. My initial thought is that NVIDIA 9300/9400 is one of the best onboard solutions out there for this and a significant step up from the 8200. Maybe I've missed seeing a better solution in the onboard graphics arena. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 If you want more than 2 cores, the PII X3 is simply the best value out there right now. As far as onboard graphics go, the AMD 790 is the most powerful, but since you're a Folder, Nvidia may be a better option for you. Don't expect stellar gaming performance from either one of them, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Char Ell Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 I definitely like the price point on the Phenom II X3's. Don't plan on playing any games on this system. The only reason I want to go with NVIDIA 9300 is because it seems to consume significantly less electricity than the 790 GX according to this Anandtech report. Otherwise the two seem to be comparable in overall performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astrotoy7 Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 I definitely like the price point on the Phenom II X3's. Don't plan on playing any games on this system. The only reason I want to go with NVIDIA 9300 is because it seems to consume significantly less electricity than the 790 GX according to this Anandtech report. Otherwise the two seem to be comparable in overall performance. Low power AM2 folder with onboard nv GPU... cant beat this atm: - Socket AM2 HTT 3000 MHz AMD® Opteron™ with HyperTransport Technology - AMD Phenom, Athlon 64 FX, Athlon 64 X2, Athlon 64 (CPU ≤ 65W) - NVIDIA GeForce 8200 mGPU (MCP78S) single chipset supports DirectX 10 / PureVideo HD - 1 * 240-pin DIMM Sockets for unbuffered Dual DDR2 800 SDRAM up to 2 GB - Support 4 * SATA-2 Devices with RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5 Functions - Realtek ALC883 8-Channel Azalia HD Audio CODEC - Advanced 3-Phase PWM Design W / OC-CON Capacitors - Support 1080i / 1080p / HDCP / Blu-Ray HD DVD playback - Dual Gigabit LAN / Dual Display / Dual Core Supported - 1 * 32-bit PCI Slots - 2 * Ultra DMA 133 / 100 / 66 IDE Devices Supported - 1 * VGA / 1 * DVI / HDMI 1.3 Ready / SPDIF out http://www.jetwaycomputer.com/NC62K.html put in in a lovely mimi-itx case by http://www.aywun.com and you're all set There are mini-itx boards touting 9300, but intel flavour only atm(they also have pcie x16!) mtfbwya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Achilles Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 On the surface, it seems like a no-brainer, but I've been burned enough times to know to ask first. Do I need to worry about compatibility with slightly older games like SW:KotOR - TSL or Morrowind? Should I spend the $20 extra and get the EVGA GTS 250 SC instead? Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChAiNz.2da Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 On the surface, it seems like a no-brainer, but I've been burned enough times to know to ask first. Do I need to worry about compatibility with slightly older games like SW:KotOR - TSL or Morrowind? Should I spend the $20 extra and get the EVGA GTS 250 SC instead? Thanks in advance! Just make sure you have the proper PSU for it.. I'm having a hell of a time with my 280 Check those amps and make sure you have the proper connectors. Looks like the 250 only requires a 6pin (not the dreaded 8pin) so as long as you have the amps I'd say you won't have any problems. Are you using XP or Vista? (32 or 64 bit). Alot of users don't seem to have 'much' problems getting older games to work in Vista... but 64 bit is a different story. (again, I've learned the hard way... hehehe) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 On the surface, it seems like a no-brainer, but I've been burned enough times to know to ask first. Do I need to worry about compatibility with slightly older games like SW:KotOR - TSL or Morrowind? It shouldn't have any compatibility problems that your 8600GTS didn't. Should I spend the $20 extra and get the EVGA GTS 250 SC instead? Thanks in advance! I don't know why you would want to do that. The GTS 250 is nothing but a re-badged 9800GTX. Yes, it would appear that Nvidia has taken a page from the George Lucas turd-polishing handbook (8800GTS 512 to 9800GTX to GTS 250). There are minor hardware changes between them, but all three are essentially the same card. BTW: don't you have a 30" monitor? Wouldn't you want something a little more capable of running games at native res? How much were you willing to spend on that 9800GTX/GTS 250? There is a huge price war going on between ATI and Nvidia right now, and you should be able to pick up something a lot better like a GTX 260 or 275 (if you must have Nvidia -with notable exceptions, the real bargains have all been ATI cards) for not much more green. A card like that would provide a lot more horsepower to feed your monster monitor. To give you a ballpark figure, the most recent killer deals have been an XFX GTX 260 (216-shader) for $155.00 and an MSI HD 4890 for $183.00. With prices that low, the 9800GTX/GTS 250 has ceased to be any kind of a bargain unless you can find one for ~$100.00. Oh, and please take ChAiNz's advice and check your PSU's +12V amperage and connections and tell us what you've got. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Achilles Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 It shouldn't have any compatibility problems that your 8600GTS didn't. Great news. Thanks! I don't know why you would want to do that. The GTS 250 is nothing but a re-badged 9800GTX. Yes, it would appear that Nvidia has taken a page from the George Lucas turd-polishing handbook (8800GTS 512 to 9800GTX to GTS 250). There are minor hardware changes between them, but all three are essentially the same card.I'll take your word for it re: GPU, but the RAM increase is dramatic (8600 = 256, 9800 = 512, GTS 250 = 1GB). That's really the motivation behind my sudden desire to shop.. BTW: don't you have a 30" monitor? Wouldn't you want something a little more capable of running games at native res?Meh. I'm pretty happy with 1280x800 (or 1440x900). How much were you willing to spend on that 9800GTX/GTS 250?140 vs 160 respectively. I'm not unhappy with the card I have now, but it wouldn't hurt my feeling to run NWN2 with a few more bells and whistles either. Oh, and please take ChAiNz's advice and check your PSU's +12V amperage and connections and tell us what you've got.Will do when I get home. Thanks again, guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Great news. Thanks! Compatibility would be the same for cards with the newer GT200 GPU as well. The architecture is very much the same as the older G92; there's just a lot more of it. I'll take your word for it re: GPU, but the RAM increase is dramatic (8600 = 256, 9800 = 512, GTS 250 = 1GB). That's really the motivation behind my sudden desire to shop.. It's been argued that the G92 (the GPU on a 9800GTX/GTS 250) lacks the power to take advantage of that extra VRAM except in very specific situations, and that it's mostly a marketing gimmick (think 6200 256MB, if you remember that fiasco). I'll admit that I'm not 100% sure about it, myself, but it certainly wouldn't be the first time that either Nvidia or ATI has stuck a ton of memory on a less-capable card as a selling point. Meh. I'm pretty happy with 1280x800 (or 1440x900). A GTX 260 would reliably allow you to play most modern games at 1920x1200, and older ones at your monitor's native 2560x1600. Ask Astro about KotOR2 at 1600p. From what he tells me, it's awesome. 140 vs 160 respectively. I'm not unhappy with the card I have now, but it wouldn't hurt my feeling to run NWN2 with a few more bells and whistles either. In that price range, I would definitely recommend the GTX 260, because it is a significant improvement over a 9800GTX/GTS 250. Just take a look at the number of stream processors (shaders) in their respective GPUs: 216 vs. 128. The GTS 250 would have to be sub-$125.00 to be worth buying, IMO. It's basically all going to come down to your power supply and how much juice it puts out. You might have to get a new one for either card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Achilles Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 POWER · Silent X 400W(PFC) Power Supply Unit · Input 100-240V AC ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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