computer geeks, i need your help

Discussion in 'General' started by thegodfather420, Jul 27, 2008.

  1. hey gc. i was hoping i could enlist some of you stoner computer wizzes to lend me a hand. im sure theres plenty of you out there, tokers come from all walks of life.

    ok i just bought an xfx 8800gt graphics card. i go to put into my computer and realize i only have a 300 watt psu. this card requires a minimum 500 watt psu. now i dont want to fry out my comp or my current psu so i need a new one.

    i have no experience when it comes to power supplies so im hoping someone could help. im not sure what kind i need. if it even makes a difference, im pretty much clueless. iv browsed the web and cant find out much about it so far.

    anyways my specs are as follows.

    computer: hp pavilion a1610n
    processor: amd athalon 64 x2 4200+
    memory: x2 512 MB sticks and x2 1024 MB sticks so 3 GB total
    onboard graphics: nvidia geforce 6150 LE
    motherboard: ASUS NODUSM3
    Hard drive: 1 x250 GB - Standard - Serial ATA - 7200 rpm
     
  2. i reccomend a geforce 7600gt. Its just as good and its geforce so you know its quality, yet it runs on 300 watt psus. Or you could always buy a 500 watt psu.
     
  3. but how do i know that it will work with my system? does it matter??? and what the hell is a 12v rail. iv read this a million times and nothing to explain it.
     
  4. actually the 8800 is a pretty good improvement on the 7600. anything lower in the 8 series is just about the same as the 7600.

    its been a while since i installed a new card in my comp and man this thing is huge. the last one i got was geforce 5500 like 2 years ago and it was half the size of this thing. it almost across the whole case.
     
  5. anyone else have any help for me?
     
  6. Ok I build and upgrade computers for a living. So I'll make things simple on you. First off your mother board is a little out dated but it will surffice. I would recommend at some point upgrading your board. Here are the specs on the board you currently have.
    http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&cc=us&docname=c00757531&dlc=en#
    Your board Has a PCI-e slot opposed to standard PCI or AGP ports. PCI-e offers the best communication speed between your board and your card at current. AGP is becoming obsolete Any way.lol. You should Be ok with just about any 24 pin ATX Ultra power supply.. But make sure it has a PCI-e Line on it or it will be useless.Giving Your current system I would go ahead and upgrade to a 750 watt supply so that if or when you upgrade anything else your power supply will be ready. IF youll give me a price range I would gladly find a few for you to pick from and give you links to them to cut the guess work out for you..
     
  7. See here. the problem with this one is it does not have a pci-e plug on it.. this would be a money lost buy.
     
  8. Ok, some motherboards draw its power from the standard 20 or 24 pin connector that goes to the board, The newer boards have a secondary 4 pin connector that supplies power directly to the Processor to make sure it's voltage and amperage can be better controlled and kept more steady under board load. 1 12v rail is all you need. If you had a MB that supported 2-4 processors that used this independent power feed you would in turn need 2-4 12v power rails. Amperage is the most important thing on these lines. Some people have been known to wire 2 rails together to achieve a higher amperage to their processor at a lower cost. This is doable only if they share the same ground but in the long run ill advised. It's sometimes cheaper to buy a pwr supply with 2 rails and low amps and wire them together than to buy one with 1 rail rated at a higher amp. Hope this was informative.
     
  9. thank you. that was very informative. i know my motherboard is outdated, lol. i figured that because i only have one pcie slot and the rest pci. i guess thats what i get for cheaping out on the comp. i plan on getting a new motherboard but i have no idea when that will happen. i want to eventually run dual video cards but il need that extra pcie slot for that. iv upgraded the memory, the video card, and now the power supply. not much left till i have a whole new computer in a crappy hp case.

    i would love it if you could tell me some good psu's to buy. im looking for cheap as i just spent the majority of my cash on this card. but i know cheap does not equal quality. im hoping to not got over 100, or near it really. 75-80 hopefully will be my limit. or cheaper if possible. if not im gunna have to wait a lil longer for it i guess.

    i was thinking of getting some new fans to cool everything down but not sure if its necessary. the card i bought has a pretty huge heat sink that covers the card, and a fan to go with it.
     
  10. make sure your hp case is standard when installing that new motherboard or make sure it doesen't have any weird plates holding the motherboard , my friends dell had some weird case and the motherboard didn't fit so if anything get a new ATX case
     
  11. Sure thing. I just woke up but give me some time and I'll send you a few links to some. I'll find you the best price I can, I'm good a that since it's a part of my business. http://www.freewebs.com/topfcomputers/ . I'll set you up easily under $100 for sure.
     
  12. OK ive found you 2 options. One for $42 for shipping and all and one for $62 shipping and all. The one for 42 is you minimal needs. It would do what your wanting it to and allow for some minor upgrades later. The one for 62 is an excellent choice for power supplies. I use this same brand for my dual pcu computer. Here is the link for the 42 one http://cgi.ebay.com/POWORK-680-Watt...ryZ44949QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
    It will do the job. Here s the other one for 62 http://cgi.ebay.com/Rocketfish-700-...ryZ44949QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
    I personally recommend this one. But either will do just fine the choice is yours..
     
  13. is rocketfish a reputable brand??? also should i be concerned that its open box. i mean i dont want to buy a power supply that might take a crap on me within a year. i looked on newegg and tigerdirect.com and couldnt find rocketfish on there to compair prices and read reviews.
     
  14. ok just found this. not entirly sure what there talking about but it didnt sound too good. but what do i know. lol

    http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1195127

    edit: ok ive been reading up on that psu and havent really seen much positive info on it. also i found that its a bestbuy product, and that makes me nervous. so far my quest for a good low budget psu aint going so well. lol

    sorry, i dont mean to sound like im questioning your expertise or anything. im just anal about researching the products i buy. i like to know what im getting myself into. buyers remorse is one of the worst feelings when u dont have alot of cash.

    i really appreciate your help. im completely lost on this subject. oh and i checked out your site, you build some pretty sick looking custom cases my friend. i liked that yellow one alot. and the one with the blue rails on the front that lit up. sick man.
     
  15. ok i see ur looking at the more exspensive one so i'd guess ur wanting to go with the higher watt supply. no worries like i said this is what i do for a living. i had already contacted the seller and he asures it's functionality. it was opened for testing so he would know he wasnt selling junk. but no worries i'll find u some other options since i preffer my customers sort of speak be confident in my choices. we'll weed this out and find you somehing you'll be happy with. i'll get back to you shortly with some different links. just hang in there.
     
  16. 0k first off i've done a bunch of searches on newegg and other sites. you wont get the supply you need for under 100 anywhere but ebay. so here's some other links on better known brands. take ur pick do your studies and let me know what u think. if no on all no worries i'll stick with you and help out till we find u one.
    http://cgi.ebay.com/PowerUp-Black-8...ryZ44949QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
    http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Ultra-LSP-7...ryZ44949QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
    http://cgi.ebay.com/Viotek-700W-P4-...ryZ44949QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
    again if you dont find what ur looking for with ur resach theres plenty more to look into just let me know. the first 2 are about top of the line price wise. if you want to step up ur price limit then i can get you into the top of the line.
     

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