Long-Awaited Upgrade! Opinions Needed

[War_God]

Allright, so this is my first post in the TPU forums, even tough I check this site everyday. My regards to everyone

So, after a much-prolongued waiting (about 4 years) I am about to start upgrading my desktop (as seen in the system specs).

Unfortunately, a full upgarde won't be possible. As such, my immediate plans are to upgrade the graphics card and the PSU, besides buying another 1Gb of DDR2.

I'm planning on aquiring an HD5850. That's decided.

Now, on to the PSU. Which of these would you go for?

http://www.nox-xtreme.com/products_u...2&type=0&id=42
180$ (120€)

OR

http://www.corsair.com/products/tx/default.aspx
Corsair TX-750 - 180$



http://www.nox-xtreme.com/products_u...2&type=0&id=52
goes for about 135$ (90€)

OR

http://www.corsair.com/products/tx/default.aspx

Corsair TX-650 - 135$


The thing is, I'm not sure if I buy a PSU capable of Crossfiring in the future, or if I should just go with a single-card configuration

If you could, please, help me decide

I know my CPU and ram will (evidentely) bottleneck my GPU, bue we've got to play with what we have, right? But if you can give me an heads-up on exactly HOW MUCH will it hurt my Crysis framerate?

Thanks in advance

[DonInKansas]

You can never go wrong with a Corsair PSU, but honestly I'd overhaul the mobo/CPU before dropping that kind of loot on a graphics card.

[War_God]

I simply don't have the cash to do it, that's the problem. I would if I could - but I'm putting all my savings and Christmas-gathered money I have already :x


This one is pretty close in specs and performance to the NOX Sonar in my first post:

http://www.modreactor.com/english/Re...SU-Review.html

[AlienIsGOD]

+1 for Corsair either the 650 or 750 are good options.

[War_God]

The advantage the NOX have over the Corsair PSU is that they're modular, and I'd really like to have the least wires possible. With the money I'd pay for the TX-650 I could buy the Sonar - + modular, + hd5850 CF capable.
I'd rather have one of the corsairs, of course. But the NOX seems more cost-effective :x

2 points for the corsair, then xD

And thanks for your quick replies =D

[crazyeyesreaper]

get the corsair and learn to be a ziptie guru

theres a REASON corsair is voted best PSU maker

even if i prefer PC P&C

[MK4512]

Well, if you have a 1920x1080 or bigger, you'll get about a 25%-30% increase in framerate with dual cards (sometimes more), so not really worth it until companies work out scaling issues. Also, the Corsair PSU may be a little much for what you have, I recommend something slightly cheaper like OCZ or Antec. That way you can afford a better CPU

Also, upgrade that CPU ASAP. It's like racing a Ferrari against a Tricycle (Not that big of a difference, but you get my point.) Thats the first thing you should upgrade...

[War_God]

Originally Posted by crazyeyesreaper

get the corsair and learn to be a ziptie guru

theres a REASON corsair is voted best PSU maker

even if i prefer PC P&C

Obviously. I just think those NOX aren't so bad :x I Would prefer to go with a Corsair.
But I suppose modular cables aren't that important.

Originally Posted by MK4512

Well, if you have a 1920x1080 or bigger, you'll get about a 25%-30% increase in framerate with dual cards (sometimes more), so not really worth it until companies work out scaling issues. Also, the Corsair PSU may be a little much for what you have, I recommend something slightly cheaper like OCZ or Antec. That way you can afford a better CPU

Also, upgrade that CPU ASAP. It's like racing a Ferrari against a Tricycle (Not that big of a difference, but you get my point.) Thats the first thing you should upgrade...

Well yeah, I have a 1920x1080, so not so much CPU-limited gaming as GPU-limited. There're not that many problems with GPU scaling these days - most games edge 80-90% faster framerates when a second GPU is added. My concern about going crossfire is if it will really be worth it to acquire another 5850 when the time comes - or if I'll be better off with a 6850 xD
Here in Portugal OCZ is not that much cheaper than Corsair, 600w Stealthxtream goes for 75€. And ANTEC is slightly costier than Corsair in most cases. I'm opting for such "good" PSU's because I intend to overhaul my entire system, in time - so I'll get the best I can.

Yes, I do understand what you mean :x That's my greatest concern about this upgrade. But i'm counting on the fact that games are more GPU limited than CPU. Still - I've seen the type of bottlenecking a bad CPU can do :x

[crazyeyesreaper]

dont be a fool buy a GOOD PSU once and u wont have to buy components twice.

PCP&C Corsair SilverStone are the three brands i tend to trust most in giving me a solid PSU altho the enermax revolution series i think are damn nice PSU as well

[War_God]

Yes. But i've also built two systems for friends, and I've used NOX Urano 600w for both of them - they were in tight budgets, just like me. Neither they nor I can say a thing against any of those Nox. I don't think NOX are that bad. Corsair are better, yes. But price/performance? I'm not so sure...

My only experience with other-brand PSU's is trough reviews :x

[crazyeyesreaper]

if u can get them at the right price Corsair PCP&C and a silverstone will last that and yes most PSU will last just fine but i tend to go out of my way to get the better build quality because i dont have the time to rma a bunch of parts that may fry if a PSU goes and ive never heard of Nox psu so for me there up there with codegen or however its spelt and there PSUs are junk but then again could be location im here in the states your in portugal

[MK4512]

Originally Posted by War_God

Obviously. I just think those NOX aren't so bad :x I Would prefer to go with a Corsair.
But I suppose modular cables aren't that important.



Well yeah, I have a 1920x1080, so not so much CPU-limited gaming as GPU-limited. There're not that many problems with GPU scaling these days - most games edge 80-90% faster framerates when a second GPU is added. My concern about going crossfire is if it will really be worth it to acquire another 5850 when the time comes - or if I'll be better off with a 6850 xD
Here in Portugal OCZ is not that much cheaper than Corsair, 600w Stealthxtream goes for 75€. And ANTEC is slightly costier than Corsair in most cases. I'm opting for such "good" PSU's because I intend to overhaul my entire system, in time - so I'll get the best I can.

Yes, I do understand what you mean :x That's my greatest concern about this upgrade. But i'm counting on the fact that games are more GPU limited than CPU. Still - I've seen the type of bottlenecking a bad CPU can do :x

Hmmm, 80%?

Looking at these past reviews...
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/H...ssFire/27.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/A...ssFire/27.html

Doesn't seem to likely...

[dr emulator (madmax)]

you've not mentioned the tx range of corsair which have modular cables, but that luxury comes at a premium, not sure how much more it would be in $,
but you can't really skimp on power i did with a cheap powerpack on mine and all i got was the glorious blue screen of death, strangely not on every game just a few, now i have a hx corsair 650watt and it's sound so i'd say a corsair 750w or 850w as i can see from one of the mods here who has got a pair of hd5850's with a 750watt (although i would be tempted to go a little higher than 750 to be on the safe side )

[kurosagi01]

i would try go all around, what i would do is get an AM2+ motherboard so you can use your DDR2 rams still,an AMD Athlon II X2 or X3 CPU, corsair 450W and grab yourself a 5750 or 5770, that way you would have balance of power.

Getting a 5850 for your rig will get a big bottleneck in my opinion.

[War_God]

Originally Posted by MK4512

Hmmm, 80%?

Looking at these past reviews...
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/H...ssFire/27.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/A...ssFire/27.html

Doesn't seem to likely...

This is from another site, depicting the advantage of crossfire and sli systems VS single card configurations. (not sure if I can post it, but here goes...)



Most are around the 80% performance boost.

Originally Posted by dr emulator (madmax)

you've not mentioned the tx range of corsair which have modular cables, but that luxury comes at a premium, not sure how much more it would be in $,
but you can't really skimp on power i did with a cheap powerpack on mine and all i got was the glorious blue screen of death, strangely not on every game just a few, now i have a hx corsair 650watt and it's sound so i'd say a corsair 750w or 850w as i can see from one of the mods here who has got a pair of hd5850's with a 750watt (although i would be tempted to go a little higher than 750 to be on the safe side )

The HX 650 would be greatly overpriced: 130€ (200$!!!) against the 130$ on the 780w NOX, which is also modular.

Originally Posted by kurosagi01

i would try go all around, what i would do is get an AM2+ motherboard so you can use your DDR2 rams still,an AMD Athlon II X2 or X3 CPU, corsair 450W and grab yourself a 5750 or 5770, that way you would have balance of power.

Getting a 5850 for your rig will get a big bottleneck in my opinion.

I'm counting on buying in the nest 4 months a gigabyte-ga-ma790xt-ud4p or (of I'm lucky) an asus crosshair III formula, paired with a phenom 2 X2 550 (for core unlocking, luckily xD) and 2x2 gb G-skill trident 2000MHz. So, i'm just counting on the future :x and I want Really good stuff for this rig, so that I don't have to upgrade again in a hurry and can play at 1920x1080. Thus the 5850.

I COULD wait - watch the prices on the 5850 drop, maybe even get a 5870, and buy the entire rig at once, but honestly, I'm tired of waiting for being able to upgrade. I want to game. And I want it Now xD

[CJCerny]

Seems like a mistake to buy a 5850 to go with a Pentium 4. The 5850 is going to be seriously boound up at the CPU and you'll be unable to tap a good portion of its horsepower. If it were me, I would buy something like a 4670HD or a 9600GT or maybe even a low power 9800GT and keep your power supply and just keep saving to buy a new everything. The leap from the 7300GS to the 4670HD is huge and I don't suspect that a 5850 is going to be able to crank out a lot more frames than a 4670HD because of your CPU.

[War_God]

Originally Posted by CJCerny

Seems like a mistake to buy a 5850 to go with a Pentium 4. The 5850 is going to be seriously boound up at the CPU and you'll be unable to tap a good portion of its horsepower. If it were me, I would buy something like a 4670HD or a 9600GT or maybe even a low power 9800GT and keep your power supply and just keep saving to buy a new everything. The leap from the 7300GS to the 4670HD is huge and I don't suspect that a 5850 is going to be able to crank out a lot more frames than a 4670HD because of your CPU.

Nah :x I'd rather not buy anything at all and just wait than to spend money in a card I wouldn't keep for long Maybe I Will have to wait, but I'd really like to know - roughly - how much of a bottleneck would my good ol' pentium be at 1280x1024 and 1920x1080. If anyone had one of them pentiums serving as cup bases, and could put it to the test, I'd Really apreciate it

Besides, at 1920x1080, I think the bottlenecking wouldn't be half that bad :x (heres hoping...)

[kurosagi01]

no it be really bad, a single core just won't do anything good for gaming now.
If you want get the 5850 then i would save up until you can buy the card,PSU and a motherboard+CPU.
(off-topic)
You don't want pull a u2konline on us =p

[War_God]

Originally Posted by kurosagi01

no it be really bad, a single core just won't do anything good for gaming now.
If you want get the 5850 then i would save up until you can buy the card,PSU and a motherboard+CPU.
(off-topic)
You don't want pull a u2konline on us =p

I'm NOT happy at all to see that, and those are the images that have been mowing my nerves down. But, the settings ARE at medium quality, with no AA or AF, so, they're just pushing the CPU. Besides, I believe my pentium would stack up agains that celeron E1600 on stock settings - and mine's O'Ced.

Hey, It has 1 physical and 1 theoretical core

I don't know. I really didn't want to wait. I really want to play Shift and Crysis on my LCD... But I'll probably have to wait, for now. with 300€ I can buy the hardware bits I've stated above, the mobo, the phenom 2 and the rams. But I'd have to wait for at least 3 more months. And even then...

off-topic:
(sorry, I didn't undestand that u2konline line xD LOL what did you mean by that?)

[kurosagi01]

u2konline is this guy who likes asking for some advice&opinion and then ever takes it,he also likes posting how good his single core is with a low end card and the fact he will NEVER use a gfx card that requires a power connector.

There is a chance you might perform same as standard clock E1600,but that CPU is a entry level to duo core.

You are probably looking close or do better than the sempron 140 with your CPU, remember the E1600 is a duo core@ 2.2GHZ,and since theirs 2 cores it be running at 4.4GHZ in total.

Edit:
If you can push your budget to 350 euro i would grab AM2+ motherboard+ AMD Athlon II X3 425,2GB ram 667,ATI Radeon HD 5770 and a corsair 550W, you will notice a huge improvement if you go with that instead of just getting 5850+ a psu

[brandonwh64]

Looks like the GTX 285 slied is FASTER than the ATI 5870 crossfired? am i wrong?

[War_God]

Originally Posted by kurosagi01

u2konline is this guy who likes asking for some advice&opinion and then ever takes it,he also likes posting how good his single core is with a low end card and the fact he will NEVER use a gfx card that requires a power connector.

There is a chance you might perform same as standard clock E1600,but that CPU is a entry level to duo core.

You are probably looking close or do better than the sempron 140 with your CPU, remember the E1600 is a duo core@ 2.2GHZ,and since theirs 2 cores it be running at 4.4GHZ in total.

Edit:
If you can push your budget to 350 euro i would grab AM2+ motherboard+ AMD Athlon II X3 425,2GB ram 667,ATI Radeon HD 5770 and a corsair 550W, you will notice a huge improvement if you go with that instead of just getting 5850+ a psu

LOL be at peace, i'm not pulling anything of sorts xD I Want to get rid of my pentium --' xD and I want to use a card that requires 2 power connectors

Yes, but mine is a "dual-core" of sorts (come on, dream) too :P 3.8 x 2 makes almost 8Ghz of netburst wonder xD

LOL ara you kidding? I wish xD here's the pricing:
Phenom 2 X2 550 - 100€
gigabyte ga-ma-790xt-ud4p - 100€
2x2Gb gskill trident 2000 - 100€
power supply (one of the above) - 100€
5850 - 230€

Total desired rig cost: 630€

I could spend less on the PSU, but I think I want to have the ability to go to CF if I ever see fit to :x
I don't want to buy a 50€ mobo and a 50€ processor :x and the prices in Europe are, unfortunately, Very over the edge.

Make no mistake, those Are good advices. But if I'll spend money, I want more than just the "mainstream" If we have to dream, dream high, right?

[War_God]

Originally Posted by brandonwh64

Looks like the GTX 285 slied is FASTER than the ATI 5870 crossfired? am i wrong?

http://www.xbitlabs.com/images/video...vs_sli_big.png

This is just the percentage relative to the crossfire or sli growth on those given games, not performance figures. 5870's frames grow 80% with the addition of a secon card, 285's grow 70%, and so on.

[kurosagi01]

you know high price and good product line isn't always mean better, the athlon II X3 425 processor is actually really good,its so good its almost as good as the phenom II X3 720 Black Edition now that is a big shock isn't it? consider they have like maybe 40euro difference or something.
heres the benchmarks of games from the 425:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/A...X3_425/10.html
As you can see it actually came close to the 710(lower version of 720 lol) but i can bet you it is as good as the 720 and its cheaper.
Best bang of the buck triple core CPU you can buy.
SLI/Crossfire isn't always all that you don't really need it if your only going use it for gaming.

[musek]

Originally Posted by War_God

Phenom 2 X2 550 - 100€
gigabyte ga-ma-790xt-ud4p - 100€
2x2Gb gskill trident 2000 - 100€
power supply (one of the above) - 100€
5850 - 230€

Well... Maybe it's just me, but I would buy an Athlon II X3 435, which is a 2.9GHz Triple-Core. IMO far more better option than Phenom 2 X2 550. And even in Europe - you can get it a little cheaper.

I won't say a word about the motherboard and memory as they are really decent.

But please - do not save money on your PSU! Get Corsair and be happy.