So, basically, its that time of year again. When Santa is driving his elves like he's a white man in the 1800's, when it snows in Texas (in the panhandle, anyways), and when my fps is so low Powerpoint looks high-end.

I'm lookin to upgrade in a month or so, but I've run into a problem of sorts. Needing a new PSU would set me back waiting for another paycheck, and though I plan to get a new one anyways, I was hoping it wouldn't be until later. My projected system is as follows:

Intel Core2 Duo e8400
ECS P45T-A
DDR2 800 (1gb x 2)
1 DVD drive/1 CD-RW Drive
320gb SATAII (Yes, FNG, its WD)
Creative Audigy 4
The mighty Sapphire Radeon 4870 w/ sexy paintjob
And 2 120mm case fans (One on a 12v rail, another on the mobo) and also an 80mm fan out of a PSU AFRICAN AMERICAN onto a 12v rail.

The PSU is an xClio Goodpower 500W.
12v1: 16A
12v2: 17A
12v Combined: Not Listed/Cant be found anywheres in the universe known as google.

The PSU is the one part of a PC that I don't know too much about(that s**t's confusing), but you could go ahead and buy your projected PC if you have enough. If the PSU doesn't work, you could always throw in your old video card until you get a new PSU(unless it's an AGP). Annoying, but it's your choice.

If it was me, I would just wait the extra 1 or 2 weeks it takes to get another paycheck and get a new PSU right away.

I'd go a little higher on the psu

you have 12*16=192w
and 12*17=204w

Expect your system to draw ~420watts at load. Depending on how efficient the psu is you'll really be pusing it. I'd look into something like this instead:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139002

What about http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817341002 $50 less, and I know first thought is quality, but everything OCZ seems to touch they get right.

If I'm going to buy a new PSU before building, might as well start looking at ones to run 4870's in Crossfire. That puts my PSU total wattage somewheres in the 700-800 range?

I'd recommend replacing the power supply asap. If the power supply had 2x 6 pin PCIE power connectors built in, it should work, otherwise, be very very careful.

If you need adapters to plug the card in, don't try it.

What if the adapters came with my PSU? Its as if they want me to do it...

The one i posted would handle SLI.

I wouldn't go with two 4870's though. If you are set on the 4870 then get the 4870x2 if that is what you want. You can buy 2 gtx 260s for the price of one 4870x2 though---and that would be the stronger choice.

IMO if you want to go above the performance of a 260 216 or single 4870 then the best option is to get 2 gtx 260s Yellow_Flash_Colorz_PDT_11

And the one I posted wouldn't?

Money is a major factor. I wouldn't buy a second one until much later down the road. And the x2's just seem like too much performance was sacrificed to squeeze two 4870's onto one pcb. Looks like Crossfire > x2's, correct me if I'm wrong.

On one last note: F*CK nvidia. Radeon's tend to get higher averages on the games I play.

2 gtx 260s will outperform pretty much everything--except 2 gtx 280s.

4870s in crossfire and the 4870x2 perform pretty much the same(edge is given to the x2 most of the time though)---cheaper to go with the 4870x2 though and it only takes up one slot that way(so you don't need a crossfire board).

As i said though: If you want multiple GPUs you should get 2 gtx 260s though. There is no comparison.

Oh and the PSU i posted is much better. It is modular and built by seasonic. Spend the extra money on it---it is worth it.

here's the psu I'm going to get 850 watts modular

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817371009

ive haven't found a bad review on it anywhere on the net so far plus its a buck fifty plus u can get the antec 1200 case for only a hundred bucks if u get the combo soon

You don't need an 850w PSU for anything---short of tri sli or 4870x2 crossfireX.

Go with the one i posted---seasonic makes some of the best PSUs built.

on the two gt260's, now correct me if i'm wrong, N1cky would need to buy a MB that has a NVidea NBridge to run SLI, and the MB he posted obviously does not have that, so he would have to choose a new MB just to allow the sli of the 260's... that said, the MB with the nvidea nbridges run a bit more expensive than his chosen MB, the 780i is around $100+ more

personally, I have had a few NVidea cards and a few ATI cards... ATI beats the s**t out of them in ease of use(for some reason I love CCC), and compatability, do note that my problems with NVidea were a few years back

the video card is a personal choice, ATI is better for all around applications(photoshop, flash, CAD, AutoDesk, SolidWorks, all ran better for me on the ATI cards), and usually is a better price to performance... NVidea, I'll admit, wins in the gaming division

so in the end its all up to N1cky because it's his money and I don't feel like paying for his s**t just to prove a point... Yellow_Flash_Colorz_PDT_08

again ur not thinking down the road there fighter ur thinking about now and not wat could be

Is the date on this thread correct?

Someone tell me that this post was made in 2004 and Corpse is F*CKIN' with me.

I'm a tech consultant, and build computers all the time. In fact 90% of what i build is for gaming.

I'm looking ahead far enough trust me. You won't need an 850W psu anytime soon. ATI cards eat up power and you'd be hard pressed to make a setup that would use that much power even with them.

This will get him into SLI for cheap, and it is a great board:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131232

The best single card solution right now is the 4870x2, but with the money you save by getting 2 gtx260s you can get the SLI board and seriously outperform it.

Pretty nice looking board, I didn't even know that they had 750i's...
I must be a bit behind, I just kinda stop paying attention to new tech when I just get done building/updating a rig...
I don't doubt that the two 260's beat out the ATI cards with gaming, but that seems to be all that the Nvidea's cards go for... If you want to do some other work on the computer(graphic design and whatnot), Nvidea is hard pressed to beat ATI in that aspect...

Even so, it's still up to N1cky

If I'm ganna spend the money for a 260, why not just go for a 280? Past experience tells me to get the best versions available for a series, else I'll end up regretting it later.

Except now my total has jumped to $930. I dont have time as the moment of this post to search benchmarks, but is the performance of the 280 vs 4870 worth the extra $100?

EDIT: PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817341018
GPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130365

IMO no. It is better, but whether it is worth $100 is up to you.

The 260 216 is pretty much even with the 4870. You can get the old 260s for much cheaper though, and run them SLI(as i think that is the best for the money).