need help picking a card

J

jd10013

Member
bigfellla said:
That is the easiest computer to work on ever.

You have already removed the PSU, now remove the graphics card. Get rid of case dust, install the new PSU, then install the graphics card. Install drivers. Done.
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I've actually haven't removed it. the picture on page one was just one I pulled of the internet, ebay I think. but will that 500w cause problems down the road if I want to upgrade the card again? I'd hate to have to buy another PSU in 12 months if I decided to upgrade again.
 
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Okedokey

Okedokey

Well-Known Member
jd10013 said:
I've actually haven't removed it. the picture on page one was just one I pulled of the internet, ebay I think. but will that 500w cause problems down the road if I want to upgrade the card again? I'd hate to have to buy another PSU in 12 months if I decided to upgrade again.
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No, that PSU will likely cover off any card you may want to use in the medium future unless you want to use 2 cards in SLi or CF, but then you would need a new motherboard. You could go the 600W version if you want. But for god's sake, don't pay $85 for someone to put a card and psu in. That is a 5 - 10 minute job.
 
J

jd10013

Member
if you guys say 500 is enough, then I'm going to go with that. you guys defiantly know your stuff. so I assume it would go:

turn off computer
unplug power cable
unplug connections in case
remove screws holding PSU in place
remove PSU
put new PSU in
replace screws
connect power to parts in case
plug in
turn on.

Missing anything? and sorry if this all sounds elementary to you guys, I've always been primarily a go to the store and buy, or pay someone to do kind of person when it comes to electronics. the only time I ever play around with them is when I want to tinker with and old one I have laying around. I usually don't mess with my primary PC for fear of messing it up.

oh, and thanks both of you, you've been an enormous help. I'd much rather learn how to do this stuff myself then keep paying people to.
 
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johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Thats it in a nutshell. Just make sure you touch any metal part of your case before digging around inside so you will discharge any static electricity. Do not stand on carpet while doing this.
 
Okedokey

Okedokey

Well-Known Member
Yes and remove the graphics card driver prior to everything, shut down, do what you said above but also slot in the new graphics card while you're there.
 
J

jd10013

Member
ok, one last question. if the 500w PSU could, because of it's quality, handle cards with 600w requirements, how far could I safely push the 600w PSU?
 
Okedokey

Okedokey

Well-Known Member
wolfeking said:
You can run just about any single chip graphics card on it. But it is 2 amps below the GTX480 recommended.
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Yes, but he would be stupid to buy an inefficient version of the 580 now wouldn't he. And all the latest cards use less power (single gpus anyway).
 
wolfeking

wolfeking

banned
true, and it is not a version of the 580. Even you, well especially you, should know that. It is a 570 minus some refinements, and it is a perfectly fine card. And I would love to see you get a 570 or 580 for $200 USD. You won't do it. You can't match the performance for the price.
 
Okedokey

Okedokey

Well-Known Member
wolfeking said:
true, and it is not a version of the 580. Even you, well especially you, should know that. It is a 570 minus some refinements, and it is a perfectly fine card. And I would love to see you get a 570 or 580 for $200 USD. You won't do it. You can't match the performance for the price.
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But that is not what we're talking about. Even a 680 doesn't use the power that a 480 requires. So worrying about what a 480 power draw will be (and we're talking about 24W here), is not even useful.

Even if the OP wants 680 it would be fine on the 600W Corsair.
 
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wolfeking

wolfeking

banned
Did I not say that in the OP. Most single chip cards will run fine. There are ones that need more but I seriously think that you could run on less as I am running a OCd 2600k and 480 in the dead minimum (600 watt OCZ with 504 on the 12 volt rails, for a total of 42 amps) and have never run into a power issue that was not BIOS volt regulation issues.
 
J

jd10013

Member
just finished ordering the 600W PSU and suggested video card. one thing I noticed though, the card is PCI-e 2.0. all the documentation from dell list the slot as just PCI-e x16. is that going to slow the card down?
 
wolfeking

wolfeking

banned
What card did you order? And If it is PCIe 1.1 x16 you will be fine, but it will run about 1/2 speed, like running it in a PCIe 2.0 x8 port (very common for CFx and SLI). If you have PCIe 1.0 x16 then you are SOL dude.
 
wolfeking

wolfeking

banned
If you say so. But everything I have seen in class and on here says that it is only backwards compatible to version 1.1.
 
StrangleHold

StrangleHold

Moderator
Staff member
wolfeking said:
If you say so. But everything I have seen in class and on here says that it is only backwards compatible to version 1.1.
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Where on here, show me a link.

Q: Is PCIe 2.0 backward compatible with PCIe 1.1 and 1.0?
A: Yes. The PCIe Base 2.0 specification supports both the 2.5GT/s and 5GT/s signaling technologies. A device designed to the PCIe Base 2.0 specification may support 2.5GT/s, 5GT/s or both. However, a device designed to operate specifically at 5GT/s must also support 2.5GT/s signaling. The PCIe Base specification covers chip-to-chip topologies on the system board. For I/O extensibility across PCIe connectors, the Card Electromechanical (CEM) and ExpressModule™ specifications will also need to be updated, but this work will not impact mechanical compatibility of the slots, cards or modules

http://www.pcisig.com/news_room/faqs/pcie2.0_faq/
 
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J

jd10013

Member
wolfeking said:
What card did you order? And If it is PCIe 1.1 x16 you will be fine, but it will run about 1/2 speed, like running it in a PCIe 2.0 x8 port (very common for CFx and SLI). If you have PCIe 1.0 x16 then you are SOL dude.
Click to expand...

radeon 6870

what I'm not 100% sure of is if the PCI-e slot is 2.0 or not. anyway, guess I can always cancel the order. no way it's shipped already
 
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