Computer Specs and Queries

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yoongkc

New Member
Hey guys,

I am a newbie in this forum and I intend to assemble a PC soon. Hope to get everyone's advices too!

I would like to assemble a PC which is capable and efficient enough to last me for long, and below is the few parts I have in mind. Please feedback accordingly if possible. Would really appreciate your help!

ATX Casing
CM Centurion 5 with side window (Silver)

Processor + MBoard
XFX nVidia 780i SLi 3-Way SLi + Quad 9300

RAM
Kingston PC26400 HyperX CL4(2 X 2GB)

Graphic Card
XFX 9800GX2 1GB HDMI (600M)

Hard Disk
Seagate 500GB 32MB (5 Yrs)
Western D Raptor 150GB 10Krpm 16MB

DVD Drive
Samsung S203B 20x DvD+-RW(DL/RAM) SATA

Power Supply
Antec TruePower Trio 550W 5 Yrs


The few alternatives I have in mind is changing the motherboard to X48-DQ6 so I read its spec and a few reviews and realised that the board is more power efficient.

3 more queries in mind, 1 related to motherboard, 1 related to graphic card and 1 more regarding power usage.

1) Motherboard
Is nVidia's board better than Gigabyte's? They both offer slightly different but good boards. Have been using Gigabyte's. Feel comfortable, but then it doesn't include nVidia's motherboard. So thinking of trying XFX, which offers nVidia motherboard.

2) Graphic card
Does it matter which brand of graphic card I choose for performance and reliability? Coz most of the cards have the GF9800 or GX9800 code on it and I presume they all uses the GeForce graphic card.

3) Power supply
How is the calculation for power usage done? If I buy a 550W power supply, does it mean that my power usage will always be 550W or only if I fully load my PC and used up all the power supply cables? This query has been very headache as I checked with many sales person, but answers are not consistent.

Seriously, hope to hear some advices and answers. Thanks a lot in advance!
 
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oscaryu1

VIP Member
1) nVidia is just the CHIPSET. Gigabyte is just the MANUFACTURER that USES nVidia's chipset. The manufacturer of that motherboard is XFX.

2) Go with XFX of EVGA for best warranty/customer support...

3) The PSU can supply how many number of amps/watts it can. Overload = restart or crash. Get a bigger PSU. OCZ 700W.
 
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yoongkc

New Member
Sorry, what I meant in Question 1 was that I hoping to use a motherboard with nVidia chipset, and some of the boards that offers that are MSI and XFX and Asus. So considering whether to change to XFX for a try or not.

Anyway, thanks for your reply. But on my query for power supply, I think I am still pretty unclear. Let's say I were to get a 750W PSU and I didn't fully load my PC. Will the power usage/consumption be at 750W or this value refers to the maximum power usage/consumption I can go?
 
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oscaryu1

VIP Member
I'd go for XFX out of them. MSI is ok too, and Asus is great, but they have their share of problems. (MSI... not really. Asus = ram compatibility)

It referes to the maximum you can withdraw from it.
 
cohen

cohen

New Member
easiest way of doing it is posting what you think would be best for him...

a few questions:
1. - Main use of computer??
2. - What OS???

*going to bed* read post in morning :p
 
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yoongkc

New Member
Thanks for all the advices so far.

Anyway, my usage is more for daily usage plus some good gaming performance. Had been using computer which doesn't support good graphics and resolution, so thinking of getting a real good one this time round. Will be doing video and photo editing too.

OS is Vista (Home premium).

Will different motherboards differ in performance for different areas? And also, I have been hearing good reviews about XFX's, but not so much about Gigabyte's. Anyone has any good comparisons of the 2 boards?

Just to share with everyone, what I read from Gigabyte's site on its board, I realised they are more practical in terms of what they provide and in terms of power consumption. Tests results have shown that their board save about 15% to 20% more power than others. And also, their board provides more ready-installed USB slots (8 i think). But the thing it doesn't have is nVidia chipset, which I presumed is good and reliable. Correct me if I'm wrong on any facts.

Thanks a million!
 
Timo

Timo

New Member
XFX makes good motherboards, perhaps the FSB wall is a bit lower but really; a 475 wall (probably higher then that anyways somehwere around 490 if you try enough) is high enough... 7.5*475 = 3.55Ghz
 
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yoongkc

New Member
Given that the PSU can supply up to a certain amount of power, and since all the power outlet has to be same for every plug, i.e., the plug to every harddisk and dvd drive should be the same, am I right to say that a 550W PSU has more cables than a 450W PSU?

If not, then where do the extra power comes from to support the additional 100W?
 
Timo

Timo

New Member
Well, not specifically.

Watt = Amperage times volts (A*V=Watts)

So to deliver more watts you only have to put more amps over a certain wire (or a higher voltage, but that is out of the question with a computer :p except with overclocking which is done in the bios and on the mobo etc.).

In general a higher wattage PSU means it has more +12 volt rails seeing those are the driving forces behind your Graphic card(s) and hard disk(s) (and more if you want/will). But they only add more +12V rails so that each individual rail can deliver a good voltage with those amps. Because if you have one +12V rail that runs like 60amps and +12V the voltage will most likely drop a bit when you start using a lot of those amps (although good PSU's won't do this, but they cost a fortune).
 
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yoongkc

New Member
So am I right to say that the PSU will supply the voltage accordingly? As in, if the whole system needs 400W, it will just supply 400W, and if the system requires 500W, it will increase it's output power accordingly?

If so, what actually controls the output of the system? The rails will probably needs some "conditions" to determine the supply voltage right?
 
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oscaryu1

VIP Member
yoongkc said:
So am I right to say that the PSU will supply the voltage accordingly? As in, if the whole system needs 400W, it will just supply 400W, and if the system requires 500W, it will increase it's output power accordingly?

If so, what actually controls the output of the system? The rails will probably needs some "conditions" to determine the supply voltage right?
Click to expand...

Yes.

All you need to know is whether you have enough power. The motherboard will do the rest ;)
 
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