NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

First off, as much as computers get talked about in the BS section, we should have a BS sub forum for computer talk...

The real point of the thread. Its been several years since I built my last computer, and since then 24 pin power has become more "mainstream" than it used to be in the PC world. The motherboard I purchased is a 24 pin powered board, but from what I understand 20+4 will run a 24 pin board just fine, the extra 4 pins are mostly used on server running machines with much more load than your average gaming machine. There aren't nearly as many choices in 24 pin as there are in the 20+4 setup. Would you think I would run into any problems running a quad core AMD 3.0, 8gb DDR2, 1GB GPU (ATI) and single HDD and DVD drive off of 20 pin only? Like I said, choices aren't as plentiful with the 24 pin, though I have already found one I like that is priced well and should do the job at 610W... Anybody have any experience in this?

curly

iTrader: (25)

You should be fine. I purchased a PS that only came with a 20 pin power cable, and I was like, "WTF?" The manual said "stop being a ***** and plug me in." It's worked great for the ~2 years I've had it now.

neogenesis2004

iTrader: (12)

Get a nice corsair/ocz/seasonic psu if you are going to spend the cash on the rest of those parts. The PSU is the one thing I recommend NEVER going cheap on. The rest of the **** in your PC will be old news within a year or two, but a great psu will last you a long time without needing to be upgraded. The 4 pin adapter like you said is for additional power draw. A cpu with 4 cores is more likely to need it.

NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

I on average build a new gaming machine every 3 or 4 years, with an upgrade session mid way through at maybe the 2 year mark. As long as I can get this thing up and running and make it last for 3 or 4 years without it being too outdated, I should be fine. Seeing as I'm going with mostly all new stuff, it should be OK. Though DDR2 is about to be replaced with DDR3 when AMD catches up with Intel on their newest processors. Though the DDR3 Phenom CPU's will still work in the old AM2 sockets, so no need for motherboard, DDR2 ram will still be good enough for the next 4 or 5 years to come, and PCIe 2.0 should stay the standard for a while longer, and even if not, I have room for 2, 1GB GPU's, so Im not worried in that way either. And I may very well upgrade this PSU soon, since I don't like it only being 610W and it only has 2x PCIe 6 pins, I need 4 to go crossfire. Stupid technology changing all of the time, parts after only a year won't work with other newer parts.

Joe Perez

iTrader: (8)

Wow... Am I the only one still perfectly happy with an old unicore 2.4G Northwood CPU? Thought it was pretty **** when I upgraded to 2GB of DDR-333 last year.

I used to be a on the 2 year plan pretty religiously. When I was adding the RAM, it occurred to me- "this machine is nearly 6 years old, and I have absolutely no desire to replace it." I think the last machine I kept for anywhere near this length of time was my C64.

r808

iTrader: (7)

I know what you mean. I am still debating if I should upgrade to USB 2.0 or wait until I can find a PC that already has it on craigslist for like $30. I am a seriously cheap bastard, but I love paying no more than $5 for a game.

NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

The biggest reason Im building this machine is for Operation Flashpoint 2, which is coming out in September, or so they say. Also for Red Faction Guerilla which is coming out in June. Plus my current machine is total ****. My last computer which the one I'm on now replaced would run circles around this one with 4 year old technology running a single core AMD, 2gb DDR and a 256 ATI gpu. Too bad I had some issues with either the mobo or processor, and didn't think it was worth it to fix, so I bought a prebuilt (a mistake I will NOT make again).

I guess I will just go with the 610W. Might be a bit on the low end of the power scale, but as long as I don't go crossfire on the gpu's, and don't overclock much, it should be enough. Newegg reviews gives it 2nd best rated overall psu, with something like 550 reviews, 90% being 5/5. Or for $150 more, I can get the 860W from the same brand, which would be more comforting to me, since I think that psu would be enough for years to come.

9671111

iTrader: (10)

Yes. I feel like my 4 gigs of ram and 3.0G dual core is getting slow.

****. Yes.

y8s

iTrader: (8)

i've got a year old zalman 460 quiet ps NIB at home. still shrink wrapped.

::: Zalman, leading the world of Quiet Computing Solutions :::

good for quiet but maybe not your system.

NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

Have you seen the gameplay? This game should be a system strainer like no other game before it. Nearly 100 square mile island (real island north of Japan) beautifully rendered. 70 weapons, over 50 vehicles, and amazing effects. From the wikipedia, "The game has a draw distance of four kilo meters. Fire, Smoke and dust are simulated based on effects of each weapon. A 2,000 pound bomb will throw up dust which will make it difficult to see for minutes or more. Similarly fires created will burn for some time when set. These effects are part of the simulated nature of this game and contrast with franchises like Call of Duty or Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter where visual effects for explosions last for a second or two". That alone excites to hell out of me.

Started building tonight. Still gotta wait till next paycheck for the gpu and psu, along with 64 bit Vista. Using AMD's top of the line processor, the Phenom II 940 Black Edition, 4GB of G.Skill DDR2 800, on an Asus M4A79 mobo (also top of the line from the AMD side) which will also accept the new AM3 processors while running cheaper DDR2 800, which wouldn't be as good as the 1066. Also have a WD 640GB HDD and a Samsung DVD-RW combo drive. Should be a fun little setup, until its outdated in 6 months and I'm wanting something else.

And yes I know its not an Intel i7, and my wire routing is ugly, but at least they are laying in the floor out of the way. SATA is so much nicer than big *** IDE ribbon cables and Molex power cables.

jbresee

I've got to go with Neogensis on this one.

You want the extra power that the 24 pins provide. Did you mention the graphics card you are using on this guy?

I had huge issues with the power supply not being compatible with the graphics card. It was a pretty widely discussed issue.

Jim

NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

Its a ATI 4870 1GB, made by Sapphire. Pretty power hungry card, probably the biggest draw on the computer. Like most new high powered gpu's, it takes 2, 6 pin plugs. I may even run crossfire in the near future if I get the itch. I was planning on probably going 24 pin, but was just curious about the 20 vs 24 pin topic, and wanted to keep options open. The psu I'm getting is the PC Power & Cooling 860W unit. Like the brand, and the 610W unit is second best overall in Newegg ratings. This one only has 10 reviews, but is still a 5/5 score. $240 is more than I wanted to spend, but psu is not a place to cheap out, especially with a system like this.

jbresee

That is a solid PSU. I like their stuff, and the wattage rating is there. I'm surprised it isn't 24 pin at that price point... I figured everyone was moving to that standard.

The GPU power draw has really gotten out of hand. And with all that power comes the need for massive heat dissipation from the case.

BTW, I went with RAID drives (striped) SATA drives for the main drive. It was a huge PITA to set up, and I really don't think the performance benefit was worth it.

Cheers!

NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

It is 24 pin configuration. I hope I have the heat handled. The case has an 80mm front fan, a 120mm rear fan, and the entire front of the case is wire mesh, so it should be easy breathing. The memory has nice large built in heatsinks and should put off some heat. Also have a 120mm case fan that goes in a slot under the GPU, and may put another 80mm on the front of the case above my DVD drive (since its all open mesh). Then the processor will be getting an Arctic Cooling heatsink with 92mm fan, even though the OEM heatsink and fan looks pretty good, but its only $30, so why not:
Newegg.com - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

If I still run hot, I don't know what I will do.

NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

Got this bitch running, and wow its awsome compared to my old system (last one I built). Been playing Crysis in 1920x1200 all maxed out setting 0xAA, DX10 and I'm running smooth at around 25-30fps average, lows of upper 10's, which is rare. Playing Crysis well was my goal for this machine. So I'd say I pass.

-Asus M4A79 mobo
-AMD Phenom II 940 OC 3.4Ghz
-G.Skill DDR2 4GB (2x2GB) OC'ed @ 4-4-4-12-18 2T
-Sapphire HD 4870 Toxic Edition OC'ed 820 core and 4200 ram (1050x4)
-PC Power & Cooling 860W PSU
-2x Western Digital 640GB
-1x Western Digital Velociraptor 300GB 10,000rpm
-Cheap Cooler Master Centurion 5 mid tower case with extra 120mm intake fan

I plan on 4GB more of ram and a second 4870 GPU soon, along with a better heatsink and fan to overclock the processor a little more, to 3.5-3.6 and keep stock voltage. Or a tiny bump in voltage and go for 3.8

deliverator

iTrader: (14)

If you're building a system for a game that comes out in september, why not wait until september to build it?

The parts you're buying today will cost 20-30% less.

Saml01

iTrader: (9)

Because there is no point in waiting, you can spend your whole life waiting like that. Buy it and enjoy it, when september rolls around the computer will still easily take on the game with ease.

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On a side note, dont bother with the crossfire. 90% of games wont utilize the second core, and most will have stability issues. You are better of selling off the first card and picking up something better.

NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

I have a freind like that. Hese been waiting on the latest and greatest parts for his build... and hese been talking about it for probably 3 or 4 years now 3 days after I bought my processor, which was AMD's top of the line, it was outdated by a new AM3 socket processor with a slightly higher frequency... for like $20 more. Oh well.

If it handles Crysis as is, it will surely be able to handle Operation Flashpoint 2 with a second GPU and a slightly better overclock.

Saml01

iTrader: (9)

Which will require DD3 I think and that makes your whole build another 200 bucks more expensive on average for maybe 10% more performance.

Have you seen comparos of the I7 to Q6600? Its like 10 - 15%, its pitiful, the price difference between the two makes it not worth it at all.

Mach929

iTrader: (3)

i'm with ya on this one, i haven't built anything up to date in a long time. I've been taking handmedowns for my systems. I used to be into games and always had a computer that could play all the new games, but when college hit i had no money or time. Now i've got an xbox360 and that does me just fine when i need to shoot some germans