Really Need HELP! (In middle of build!)

[zandre88]

Okay I do have one more quick question as far as returning to Newegg goes. I have decided I want to just return my GTS 450 Video Card because it will not work properly with my HD5870 without some hacks and even with those apparently most people say that it actually hurts performance in some ways. So I have decided if anything I will just go ahead and crossfire two HD5870s hopefully will be doing that around Christmas. But anyways to my question...

I obviously made sure to keep everything that came with my GTS 450 such as manual, accessories, and DVD that came along with it. It is all neatly put back into its original packaging and I would like to return it. It is under the Newegg Standard Return Policy which states it can be returned within 60 days for a replacement or a refund. However I couldn't quite figure out if I could just return something because I decided not to use it or only if their is something wrong with the device. So can I just talk to the Newegg rep and tell them I just decided to not use it and would like to return it for a refund even though I did open it but that was about it. Is that alright? Will they take it back and give me a refund? Or should I just play dumb and say that the video card was not working/broken and I would just like to return it for a refund? So I don't want to tell a little white lie if I don't have to but if they will not just take a return because I don't want to use it anymore or if it has to be not working/broken to be returned for a refund.

Thanks in advance...

 

[zandre88]

Hey Everyone!

Just wanted to give a good news update about my new/first build. Well after a ton of trial and error, problems with my SSD, problems getting it to turn on in the first place, then problems with my HDD I finally have think I have it all good to go. I got my new HDD today that I ordered from Best Buy because of the great deal I found on it. Went ahead and installed it real fast, formatted it, and sure enough it worked perfectly. I am copying anything I want over to it and have tons of space for all my music and other multimedia files so that I can keep my SSD clean and mainly just have the OS, programs, and games on it. So I am finally feeling pretty good about the build. I definitely think I got in a little over my head with that SSD and it being in its infancy as far as the technology goes. It is very fast but I don't think after the reviews I've seen and read is really that much faster than the SATA types. At least you probably won't notice that big of a difference. I personally only have experience with the RevoDrive so I don't have anything to compare it to but the install process was a bit of a pain in the ***. But now that I finally have it going and working right it is nice and working fairly well and definitely is way faster than I've ever had before. Love SSD! Anyways I do have a couple of questions about future additions or mods I'm thinking about...

So I went ahead and got the one aftermarket CPU fan that was suggested to me obviously because I have heard the stock ones are pretty terrible. But I was wondering if with that fan that I have if it would be possible to overclock my CPU at all safely? If it would be risking frying my CPU I'll just stay on the safe side and not OC it until I get a better cooler. But I was just wondering what you all think. Here is the link to my current CPU fan... Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Intel Core i7 compatible Hyper N 520 RR-920-N520-GP 92mm Sleeve CPU Cooler

Next, I wanted to ask about what I am planning on doing video card wise. I am considering going ahead and getting a second HD5870 for Christmas and run it crossfire with my current one. After doing a little reading it says that to crossfire two of them it requires a minimum of 600watts and I currently have a 650watt PSU. Now obviously I know that is more than 600w and what not but would it be fine to run the two of them? I just worry because of all the other things that the PSU has to power other than just the video cards and I'm probably wrong but leaves only 50watts to do all that. I'd really prefer to have to get a new PSU just to crossfire the two cards but if I have to I guess I would but obviously since the PSU I have is basically brand new and I've gotten rid of the box and what not so I can't return it that I'd like to make it last for a little while. So what do you all think?

Well I feel like I had another question that I wanted to ask but it seems to be eluding me at the moment for some reason. Hopefully I will remember it sometime soon and can just edit this post. But yeah if anyone could just weigh in about those two questions it'd be appreciated.

Thank you all again for all the help with this build. Had it not been for this forum and a couple of members that really helped me out I think I would have just given up but now I've got this thing running really well and am really happy with it.

 

[patonb]

What psu is it...... Odds are your sstem is only drawing 500ish watts, so it'll be fine.

Overclocking works on any cooler, you can just get better safer overclocks with cooler temps, ie a good cooler.

Go slow and keep temps safe.

 

[redfish]

Just for clarification,the manufscturer factors in the other components in a system to calculate the minimum wattage. At least, it should.

 

[zandre88]

What psu is it...... Odds are your sstem is only drawing 500ish watts, so it'll be fine.

Overclocking works on any cooler, you can just get better safer overclocks with cooler temps, ie a good cooler.

Go slow and keep temps safe.

This is the PSU I have at the moment.

Newegg.com - XFX P1-650X-CAG9 650W ATX12V 2.2 / ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

It is the same company that made my video card actually. I already checked and it has four 6-pin power cords which is exactly how many I need for my two video cards to power them. I just need to make sure I can run both of them since the minimum wattage it needs to power two of them is 600w. I know it sounds like a stupid question since I have a 650w power supply anyways but just want to make sure before I order the video card. I'll probably be doing that in the next couple of weeks.

I know that overclocking can work with any cooler. What I was asking was whether or not I could do it safely with the current CPU cooler I have. I assume with that cooler I probably can but not very much. Also how am I able to check the temperature of my CPU?

Thanks again for the help..

 

[patonb]

See theres more than just Watts, Amps are important too... you got 52A which is good.

Yes, you can safely oc on your cooler... you just won't get far on it, as temp will limit you, as you said. I'm not sure on safe temps for your chip sorry.

Hwmonitor ius a good general system monitor : CPUID - System & hardware benchmark, monitoring, reporting

 

[zandre88]

See theres more than just Watts, Amps are important too... you got 52A which is good.

Yes, you can safely oc on your cooler... you just won't get far on it, as temp will limit you, as you said. I'm not sure on safe temps for your chip sorry.

Hwmonitor ius a good general system monitor : CPUID - System & hardware benchmark, monitoring, reporting

Cool. Thank you for the reply. Well then I am going to go ahead and order that other video card here in the new future. Looking forward to do that. Then I think other than maybe a new drive or something I am set with it for a little while. But I'm sure I will get an itch to want to change something here soon again. I think for now until I do a lot more research on it and what not I'm not going OC my CPU. It's plenty fast as is so.

 

[redfish]

If you're fine as is, I agree, don't overclock. It's just more uneccessary work. If you ever decide to, though, we're all the resource that you need. Keep in mind that GPU overclocking can be just as (or more) productive as CPU overclocking (it's also easier IMO).