Ethereal_Dragon
Fully Optimized
- Messages
- 3,755
- Location
- USA
OK, so it's time to upgrade my computer again.... It doesn't HAVE to be done, but it's going to happen. The back-story here is that my girl's computer is pretty old, and she is a Sims player, and Sims 2 doesn't run really well on her current setup. I am going to be building a rig for her with mostly spare parts that I have. I have a spare E6750 C2D, a motherboard my buddy is giving me, a new 500 Gig SATA drive, and I will be using the X1950XT and the CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX out of my current setup. The only thing I will need to purchase for her is RAM, which is dirt cheap for 2 Gigs, so no big deal.
That is going to leave me without a PSU for my computer, as well as no GPU!!! Oops. Well, that sounds like as good an excuse as any for an upgrade to ME!
FIRST, I need to figure on a GPU. I am going to be getting an ATI card, not NVIDIA. I am considering something in the 4870 series at the moment. I am not sure if I will go 4870x2, or 2 4870's in Crossfire. The price is NEARLY identical either way. I think the limiting factor will be the cards physical size. Right now, I have an X1950XT, and still has some room between it and my hard drives. The limited research I was able to do just now (at work, MANY sites blocked) tells me that the 4870 cards are not as long as the 4870x2's. Can anyone confirm this for me?
Right now, I am running a 19"LCD, with a CRT that is also 19" I think. I have a 3rd CRT that I would LIKE to hook up which is between 17-19". I LOVE the dual monitor setup, watching a movie on one screen, and doing whatever else on the other.
Here is what I have found:
X1950XT Width: 242mm, Height: 127mm, Depth: 40mm
4870 x2 Width: 281mm, Height: 126mm, Depth: 40mm
4870 Width: 220mm, Height: 100mm, Depth: 33mm
what card OEM's do you guys recommend on ATI cards?
Once I get that all sorted out, I will need to deciede on a new PSU. Will need to support:
Q9550 (or maybe it's a Q9650... I am so tired right now it isn't even funny)...
GA-X38-DQ6
4 x SATA HDD's - 7200 rpm
1 SATA DVD burner
PS2 keyboard
USB mouse
USB webcam
I think thats about it.
Looking for something modular too. And I have no fan hole in the bottle of my case, so a fan would need to be on top (I know, put it in upside down), just not sure what effect it woud have on dual fan PSU, or if it would fit due to fan grille.
That is going to leave me without a PSU for my computer, as well as no GPU!!! Oops. Well, that sounds like as good an excuse as any for an upgrade to ME!
FIRST, I need to figure on a GPU. I am going to be getting an ATI card, not NVIDIA. I am considering something in the 4870 series at the moment. I am not sure if I will go 4870x2, or 2 4870's in Crossfire. The price is NEARLY identical either way. I think the limiting factor will be the cards physical size. Right now, I have an X1950XT, and still has some room between it and my hard drives. The limited research I was able to do just now (at work, MANY sites blocked) tells me that the 4870 cards are not as long as the 4870x2's. Can anyone confirm this for me?
Right now, I am running a 19"LCD, with a CRT that is also 19" I think. I have a 3rd CRT that I would LIKE to hook up which is between 17-19". I LOVE the dual monitor setup, watching a movie on one screen, and doing whatever else on the other.
Here is what I have found:
X1950XT Width: 242mm, Height: 127mm, Depth: 40mm
4870 x2 Width: 281mm, Height: 126mm, Depth: 40mm
4870 Width: 220mm, Height: 100mm, Depth: 33mm
what card OEM's do you guys recommend on ATI cards?
Once I get that all sorted out, I will need to deciede on a new PSU. Will need to support:
Q9550 (or maybe it's a Q9650... I am so tired right now it isn't even funny)...
GA-X38-DQ6
4 x SATA HDD's - 7200 rpm
1 SATA DVD burner
PS2 keyboard
USB mouse
USB webcam
I think thats about it.
Looking for something modular too. And I have no fan hole in the bottle of my case, so a fan would need to be on top (I know, put it in upside down), just not sure what effect it woud have on dual fan PSU, or if it would fit due to fan grille.