People recommending higher-powered graphics cards alone - the OP implied that the current PSU doesn't have any 6-pin PCI-E power plugs. Anything requiring them is going to require a new PSU as well, cutting into that $200.
Edit: yes, molex-to-PCI-E plugs are an option, but if the power supply didn't offer even one PCI-E plug in the first place, that should be a big red flag from the start. A lot of older PSU's (especially before PCI-E plugs were common), had a large percentage of their output on the 3.3V and 5V rails, which is useless for GPU's.
@OP: That combo doesn't look bad, although the Fatality brand frankly makes me cringe.
Similar setup, although you'd lose the OMGREDLED fan in the process. But aside from the $190 price tag, both items are eligible for $20 MIR, so there might be some more savings to be had there.
A Modest Proposal for MMORPGs: That the means of progression would not be mutually exclusive from the means of enjoyment.
People recommending higher-powered graphics cards alone - the OP implied that the current PSU doesn't have any 6-pin PCI-E power plugs. Anything requiring them is going to require a new PSU as well, cutting into that $200.
Edit: yes, molex-to-PCI-E plugs are an option, but if the power supply didn't offer even one PCI-E plug in the first place, that should be a big red flag from the start. A lot of older PSU's (especially before PCI-E plugs were common), had a large percentage of their output on the 3.3V and 5V rails, which is useless for GPU's.
@OP: That combo doesn't look bad, although the Fatality brand frankly makes me cringe.
Similar setup, although you'd lose the OMGREDLED fan in the process. But aside from the $190 price tag, both items are eligible for $20 MIR, so there might be some more savings to be had there.
Okay the PSU in the combo you linked me has a lower product rating than the Fatal1ty PSU from the combo I posted. But I do prefer to have no LEDs in the comp so thanks for the recommendation.
Are you sure he would need to buy the 600 watt one? Is there a chance it actually wouldn't be a good idea to buy a more powerful PSU? Wouldn't the 550 be a better choice? Is it possible for a PSU to be too much for a system setup and possibly do damage to the setup after upgrades? Or am I mistkan and its the other way around? I wouldn't wanna fry any of the hardware. The PSU needs to power that motherboard I linked, the 5770, 2GB of RAM, a Athlon X3 CPU, and all the other stuff (DVD Drive, Hard Drive, etc). Doesn't have anything else in the comp. Newegg PSU calculator states that the one he currently has (450 watt) is fine, but like you said it doesn't have the PCI-E connect. It does have a 4 pin and I have a extra converter but if you say its a red flag and a bad thing then I will buy a new PSU.
Okay the PSU in the combo you linked me has a lower product rating than the Fatal1ty PSU from the combo I posted. But I do prefer to have no LEDs in the comp so thanks for the recommendation.
Are you sure he would need to buy the 600 watt one? Is there a chance it actually wouldn't be a good idea to buy a more powerful PSU? Wouldn't the 550 be a better choice? Is it possible for a PSU to be too much for a system setup and possibly do damage to the setup after upgrades? Or am I mistkan and its the other way around? I wouldn't wanna fry any of the hardware. The PSU needs to power that motherboard I linked, the 5770, 2GB of RAM, a Athlon X3 CPU, and all the other stuff (DVD Drive, Hard Drive, etc). Doesn't have anything else in the comp. Newegg PSU calculator states that the one he currently has (450 watt) is fine, but like you said it doesn't have the PCI-E connect. It does have a 4 pin and I have a extra converter but if you say its a red flag and a bad thing then I will buy a new PSU.
Firstly, a PSU that's too powerful isn't a problem. The worst that can happen is that the efficiency might be a little bit low (but not by much), since most PSU's are at their best when running at about 50% of their capacity. Computer power supplies only draw/supply as much power as needed, so no worries on that count.
I wouldn't put much stock in the Newegg ratings - honestly, some of the comments you find there are absolutely ridiculous. Both PSU's are manufactured (OCZ just rebrands them) by what would usually be considered second-tier manufacturers - not topline, cream of the crop, but not garbage either, but I would say that the ModXtreme's manufacturer has a little more consistent. You tend to pay more than you think for the "Fatal1ty" branding, and not necessarily for any improvement in the actual product. (And I'm personally of the opinion that Johnathan Wendel would agree to have his brand on a steaming pile of turds if they could somehow be sold to gamers, but that's just me.)
450W sounds quite reasonable for your system (allowing for a decent amount of headroom). My only concern is that older power supplies (before PCI-E power plugs were common) often don't make as much of that total power at 12 volts, which is what the graphics card needs. That's why I was curious if you had access to the label on the side of the PSU - the details should be printed there.
A Modest Proposal for MMORPGs: That the means of progression would not be mutually exclusive from the means of enjoyment.
Okay the PSU in the combo you linked me has a lower product rating than the Fatal1ty PSU from the combo I posted. But I do prefer to have no LEDs in the comp so thanks for the recommendation.
Are you sure he would need to buy the 600 watt one? Is there a chance it actually wouldn't be a good idea to buy a more powerful PSU? Wouldn't the 550 be a better choice? Is it possible for a PSU to be too much for a system setup and possibly do damage to the setup after upgrades? Or am I mistkan and its the other way around? I wouldn't wanna fry any of the hardware. The PSU needs to power that motherboard I linked, the 5770, 2GB of RAM, a Athlon X3 CPU, and all the other stuff (DVD Drive, Hard Drive, etc). Doesn't have anything else in the comp. Newegg PSU calculator states that the one he currently has (450 watt) is fine, but like you said it doesn't have the PCI-E connect. It does have a 4 pin and I have a extra converter but if you say its a red flag and a bad thing then I will buy a new PSU.
Firstly, a PSU that's too powerful isn't a problem. The worst that can happen is that the efficiency might be a little bit low (but not by much), since most PSU's are at their best when running at about 50% of their capacity. Computer power supplies only draw/supply as much power as needed, so no worries on that count.
I wouldn't put much stock in the Newegg ratings - honestly, some of the comments you find there are absolutely ridiculous. Both PSU's are manufactured (OCZ just rebrands them) by what would usually be considered second-tier manufacturers - not topline, cream of the crop, but not garbage either, but I would say that the ModXtreme's manufacturer has a little more consistent. You tend to pay more than you think for the "Fatal1ty" branding, and not necessarily for any improvement in the actual product. (And I'm personally of the opinion that Johnathan Wendel would agree to have his brand on a steaming pile of turds if they could somehow be sold to gamers, but that's just me.)
450W sounds quite reasonable for your system (allowing for a decent amount of headroom). My only concern is that older power supplies (before PCI-E power plugs were common) often don't make as much of that total power at 12 volts, which is what the graphics card needs. That's why I was curious if you had access to the label on the side of the PSU - the details should be printed there.
Yeah I posted it earlier in the thread I think. Dunno if you missed it.
""Okay I can't get you a picture of the PSU but here is the info that is on the label.
first row is +5V, +3.3V, +12V
second row is 30A, 25A, 25A
Im not sure what any of that means but I hope it helps.""
I missed that part, my apologies. That's exactly what I was interested in.
Based on that, 25 amps on the 12V rail means only 300 Watts out of the total 450W can actually be supplied at 12V, which isn't a good sign. Bottom-line - I'm sure some people know "a guy" who's got something like that working "great", but I definitely wouldn't recommend it myself. That ModXtream PSU in the combo I listed can do about 500W on just its 12V, which is far more comfortable margin to power the system with.
A Modest Proposal for MMORPGs: That the means of progression would not be mutually exclusive from the means of enjoyment.
I missed that part, my apologies. That's exactly what I was interested in.
Based on that, 25 amps on the 12V rail means only 300 Watts out of the total 450W can actually be supplied at 12V, which isn't a good sign. Bottom-line - I'm sure some people know "a guy" who's got something like that working "great", but I definitely wouldn't recommend it myself. That ModXtream PSU in the combo I listed can do about 500W on just its 12V, which is far more comfortable margin to power the system with.
Alright we're gonna switch to the combo you linked me. Thanks for the info.
Comments
People recommending higher-powered graphics cards alone - the OP implied that the current PSU doesn't have any 6-pin PCI-E power plugs. Anything requiring them is going to require a new PSU as well, cutting into that $200.
Edit: yes, molex-to-PCI-E plugs are an option, but if the power supply didn't offer even one PCI-E plug in the first place, that should be a big red flag from the start. A lot of older PSU's (especially before PCI-E plugs were common), had a large percentage of their output on the 3.3V and 5V rails, which is useless for GPU's.
@OP: That combo doesn't look bad, although the Fatality brand frankly makes me cringe.
This combo might be an option for you:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.450372
Similar setup, although you'd lose the OMGREDLED fan in the process. But aside from the $190 price tag, both items are eligible for $20 MIR, so there might be some more savings to be had there.
A Modest Proposal for MMORPGs:
That the means of progression would not be mutually exclusive from the means of enjoyment.
Okay the PSU in the combo you linked me has a lower product rating than the Fatal1ty PSU from the combo I posted. But I do prefer to have no LEDs in the comp so thanks for the recommendation.
Also this is a link to his motherboard.
http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/content.php?S_ID=370
Are you sure he would need to buy the 600 watt one? Is there a chance it actually wouldn't be a good idea to buy a more powerful PSU? Wouldn't the 550 be a better choice? Is it possible for a PSU to be too much for a system setup and possibly do damage to the setup after upgrades? Or am I mistkan and its the other way around? I wouldn't wanna fry any of the hardware. The PSU needs to power that motherboard I linked, the 5770, 2GB of RAM, a Athlon X3 CPU, and all the other stuff (DVD Drive, Hard Drive, etc). Doesn't have anything else in the comp. Newegg PSU calculator states that the one he currently has (450 watt) is fine, but like you said it doesn't have the PCI-E connect. It does have a 4 pin and I have a extra converter but if you say its a red flag and a bad thing then I will buy a new PSU.
Firstly, a PSU that's too powerful isn't a problem. The worst that can happen is that the efficiency might be a little bit low (but not by much), since most PSU's are at their best when running at about 50% of their capacity. Computer power supplies only draw/supply as much power as needed, so no worries on that count.
I wouldn't put much stock in the Newegg ratings - honestly, some of the comments you find there are absolutely ridiculous. Both PSU's are manufactured (OCZ just rebrands them) by what would usually be considered second-tier manufacturers - not topline, cream of the crop, but not garbage either, but I would say that the ModXtreme's manufacturer has a little more consistent. You tend to pay more than you think for the "Fatal1ty" branding, and not necessarily for any improvement in the actual product. (And I'm personally of the opinion that Johnathan Wendel would agree to have his brand on a steaming pile of turds if they could somehow be sold to gamers, but that's just me.)
450W sounds quite reasonable for your system (allowing for a decent amount of headroom). My only concern is that older power supplies (before PCI-E power plugs were common) often don't make as much of that total power at 12 volts, which is what the graphics card needs. That's why I was curious if you had access to the label on the side of the PSU - the details should be printed there.
A Modest Proposal for MMORPGs:
That the means of progression would not be mutually exclusive from the means of enjoyment.
Yeah I posted it earlier in the thread I think. Dunno if you missed it.
""Okay I can't get you a picture of the PSU but here is the info that is on the label.
first row is +5V, +3.3V, +12V
second row is 30A, 25A, 25A
Im not sure what any of that means but I hope it helps.""
I missed that part, my apologies. That's exactly what I was interested in.
Based on that, 25 amps on the 12V rail means only 300 Watts out of the total 450W can actually be supplied at 12V, which isn't a good sign. Bottom-line - I'm sure some people know "a guy" who's got something like that working "great", but I definitely wouldn't recommend it myself. That ModXtream PSU in the combo I listed can do about 500W on just its 12V, which is far more comfortable margin to power the system with.
A Modest Proposal for MMORPGs:
That the means of progression would not be mutually exclusive from the means of enjoyment.
Alright we're gonna switch to the combo you linked me. Thanks for the info.