Power Supply

[Rommel]

I've just purchased a new HP system which is as follows:

1 Gig memory
P4 3.06 GHz processor

In one week's time, I will be purchasing either a Radeon X850 or 6800GT, depending on my financial status. I'm aware that these cards have higher power demands, so I'll also be upgrading that. Will a 400 watt PSU be adaquate for one or both of these cards? If not, then what?

Thanks in advance.

[lil_jimmy_norton]

Re: Power Supply

This should be in hardware.

What is the +12v rating on the PSU?

[Rommel]

Re: Power Supply

I don't have the PC yet either, won't be ready until Friday.

[Rommel]

Re: Power Supply

Now people are saying both those cards are crap... ffs, WHAT CARD IS THE BEST FOR THIS SYSTEM?!

[Umi.Ryuuzaki]

Re: Power Supply

Either card is fine. People that say "its not" are smoking crack and have too much money in the wallet.

What PSU you are looking that and what budget?

[amstyle]

Re: Power Supply

HP does not want you moding your machine. There is very little space inside the case. I have an HP also and my case is open with a 500w psu on the outside. It's gonna be messy, but it will work!

[Mr. ADHD]

Re: Power Supply

I have the ATI X800 and by the looks of the manual, it appears to be a generic, it says 350 watts with 12 v. You might have to plug an extension chord (not your moms) into the card.

I don't know about the GT but the X850 should overperform.

I've just purchased a new HP system which is as follows:

1 Gig memory
P4 3.06 GHz processor

In one week's time, I will be purchasing either a Radeon X850 or 6800GT, depending on my financial status. I'm aware that these cards have higher power demands, so I'll also be upgrading that. Will a 400 watt PSU be adaquate for one or both of these cards? If not, then what?

Thanks in advance.

[Shamus]

Re: Power Supply

Neither of those cards are huge power drains like the Ultra series. I would imagine your PSU will be fine. If you elect to replace it, look for a PSU with a minimum of 20 amps on the +12V power rail.

[lcplsickoll]

Re: Power Supply

Now people are saying both those cards are crap... ffs, WHAT CARD IS THE BEST FOR THIS SYSTEM?!

Anyone that tells you that is an ignorant moron. You've chosen two fine lines of video cards that will give you good results. The most important thing is making sure you have enough continuous amperage from the PSU to ensure stability. Depending on how many other peripherals are attached to that system anything over 22-24A on 12v should do.

[Rommel]

Re: Power Supply

Ok, I've gone ahead and ordered the X850. Based on the specs I posted, what kind of performance can I expect from this system?

[Noni]

Re: Power Supply

Rommel whoa whoa whoa,

Should of got the 6800GT, you would have been able to play some of the newer games coming out next year. X850 has not got SHADER MODEL 3, but it is still i good card.

I would say around 40-50 fps with some stuttering (no 2GB ram) on all high.

[Rommel]

Re: Power Supply

This is the thing I hate. One person says get this card, another one says get that one, and yet another one says why the hell did you get that? It's not to late too change the order, I have until tomorrow, but I'd like to hear everyone's opinion on that. Additionally, there are two 6800 cards available in my area. There's the GeForce 6800 Ultra, and the GeFore 6800 GT Overclocked. So, if I switch cards, which of those two should I go with?

And what the hell, 40-50 fps?! I shelled out a lot of money for this system for the sole purpose of no longer having to tolorate crappy frame rates. What can be done to improve it? More memory?

[Shamus]

Re: Power Supply

You will get as many opinions about video cards as there are members. Your first choices are great and close in performance. The ATI X850 is slightly faster than the 6800GT. The ATI X800XL is also intended to compete against the 6800GT and performs on par but at a better price point.

To me, the sweet spot considering price/performance is the ATI X800XL.

I don't even know if you have an AGP based system or a PCI-E based system. Regardless, instead of taking others word for it, explore for yourself by starting with this:

VGA Charts VII: AGP Update Summer 2005

http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20050705/index.html

[Rommel]

Re: Power Supply

Well according to that site the X850 is generally one of if not the best performer at max quality (with no AA/AF, but that doesn't matter). If I get it brought up to 2 gigs of memory, will that improve the framerate?

[Shamus]

Re: Power Supply

According to the throngs of members here, it appears that 2GB of RAM smooths out game play but I haven't tried it yet. My game play is smooth to me with 1GB of Corsair XML3200XL and a 9700 Pro.

Perhaps I will be swayed when I try it but, because of my motherboard, I will have to lower my RAM from DDR400 to DDR333 so I am not so sure of the actual performance gain. Yet...