Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
Guest Coneman

Budget Upgrade

Recommended Posts

Guest vas_yan

Wow Jaap thanks for the detailed explanation...It sure answers a few things. I also like the way you quoted the anticipated increase in fps if i install my Audigy. One of my pet peeves is that people often claim do this or that and you will see a 10 or 20 frame increase. Starting from where? From 10,20 or 30, or whatever? :-mad Anyway, i would have switched the Audigy over sooner, but I was kind of hoping to maintain my old system as a media pc, which without the sound card it has no chance to do...If I ever had one complaint about the K7S5A it was that the inbuilt audio was c@#p...By the way...Todd disappeared. Could it be because his new m/b arrived already?Kind regards,

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest baksteen33

Hi Vassilis, you're welcome. I'm curious to learn what happens once you've done the soundcard exchange. Even more important and something I just thought about -yeeek!- I forgot to mention the power supply!! Todd might need a new PSU for where he's coming from?!? So, bummer, maybe a dent in the budget? Todd, if you read this, please verify the PSU spec for the 12V lead ASAP. It should read ca. 17-18A. Less than that might be criticle as it depends a little bit on the rest of the components too. At least your 9500pro isn't drawing too much power. Please note components may be endangered if running underpowered. I'm very sorry to not have thought about it earlier. I'll send an email and PM to try to reach you ASAP in case you don't read this. Good luck and kind regards Jaap

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest Coneman

Hi Guys,I'm still here :-) Jaap,Thanks for the call. That was above and beyond the call of duty. No sweat though since the joy toys won't be here until next week sometime. I did try to find what you were referencing on the PSU but no luck. Is it on the case itself? I did find some specs on a similar unit. It's an Enlight 350W, not 360. Here's what it said:Type: ATXMaximum Power: 350WInput Voltage: 115/ 220-230V ACInput Frequency Range: 50-60HzInput Current: 8/4AOutput: +3.3V@28A, +5V@30A, +12V@18A, -5V@0.3A, -12V@0.8A, +5VSB@2AApprovals: FCC, cUL, TUV, SEMKO, NEMKO, FIMKO, DEMKOModel#: EN-5602620Item#: N82E16817103609Bear in mind mine's a 360W. And the ATI 9500 IS drawing power from the PSU. So not real sure mine has enough poop for the new stuff. If I need to get another one, no problem. I'd rather be safe than sorry.Talk soon,ToddPS- Jaap, did you call from Switzerland??? :-eek If so send me the bill!! Seriously.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest baksteen33

Hi Todd, it was nice talking to you. I felt really silly for not having mentioned such an important detail straight away. And please don't worry about my telco bill. My pleasure and I finally saw your homepage. AIM, AMD recommends 22A on the 12V string. However, i.e. Shuttle barebones only have 18A. So, if your PSU isn't one of those 'el cheapos' (I'm not familiar with EnLight), you could be fine with the 18A (and as long as you don't upgrade i.e. your display adapter to 'high consumers'). The 350 or 360W could be a typo? If the system isn't stable or crashes after certain period, the first thing you should indeed check is your PSU. You will not necessarily need a higher wattage, because many PSU manufacturers have raised their 12V lead's capacity adapting to modern CPUs. Please also note, the reference is the data on the sticker of the PSU and not that of the manual. Nevertheless, I agree with better safe than sorry! The mounting of the board and your new CPU is fairly simple and I admit I also had wet hands when doing it for the first time! The best is to do it outside of the case on a flat surface. The amount of paste should be very small (ca. 2 small matchstick heads worth of paste). One you've tightened the screws, you could unscrew them again, remove the cooler (twist it) and check whether there's not too much or too little paste. Nothing can go wrong as the CPU-heatspreader protects the core. FYI, I have a piece of tape on the top of my screwdriver to count the rotations. I did so to ensure the same pressure has been applied on both sides. Aka one twist on the left, one on the right, half a twist on the left, half a twist on the right, etc. until you're done. Important; make sure you touch an earthed object before proceeding (i.e. heater, watertubes) and maybe even do it barefoot? Specially before touching your RAM modules. Mount the CPU before you plug in the RAM. BTW, once you've unpowered your old system and pulled the power cord, push the main power button on the front of the case. This helps to unload the remaining static on the board. Sometimes, you'll see the CPU-cooler move a little bit by doing so. Finally, once the CPU and RAM are in place, mount everything into the case, connect all the necessary wires and boot the system. Upon the first boot you'll have to enter the bios to adjust a few settings. I would also recommend a fresh OS install. If you have a friendly neighbor or a friend who's done such things before, it's obviously nice to these kind of things together with somebody else. If you have further questions, please feel free and I would be glad to make another phone call if necessary. I wish you a lot of fun and succes with the challenge and your new engine, good luck and kind regards Jaap PS, once you're system is up and running, perhaps leave it on for 24 hours or a little bit longer (ideally running FS!). This will ensure two things, the stability and that the CPU-paste gets burnt-in.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest Coneman

Hi Jaap,Many thanks for the detailed explanations. Of course I'm saving this thread for future reference ;-) I was able to get at the PSU sticker and it was similar to the specs above:Output: +3.3V@28A, +5V@30A, +12V@17A, -5V@0.3A, -12V@0.8A, +5VSB@2ASo it looks like it's running 17A on the 12V? (I know nothing about electrical things). If that's the case I think I'm due for a new one? Any suggestions? I've read Antec and Thermaltake are pretty good.Sorry, I forgot to give you the website addy. Glad you found it. Feel free to email anytime.Take care,Todd

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest vas_yan

Todd, I have an Antec TruePower at 430. It has never given me problems, plus it can do this cool trick (####...I think I sound like a l33t) whereby you connect your case fans to some special molex connectors on the PSU and it regulates the fans' rpm according to temperature! And the PSU fans too...so its relatively quiet.P.S. Let's start our own forum old chaps...I've never seen such a secluded thread before. Not to mention transatlantic calls... That's what I call camaraderie! Hip hip, hurrah etc...Take care friends,

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest baksteen33

Hi guys, this has been a great thread and it was nice to grab the opportunity and 'abuse' those ocean cables or satellite links. I'ld like to put it like this; our hobby unites us whether we are black, white, green, purple or yellow. The thread about Tom's visit to Turkey in the main FS-forum is a great example how our hobby breaks down barriers. As Rob Young mentioned it in the same thread, the only thing we miss are more misses..! Hehe What I appreciate most, is the high cultural level (IMHO) and that things rarely go and -even more- hardly ever remain ugly. Besides, I'm a shite aircraft or scenery designer, so my part can be to share my limited knowledge about systems as well as I can. Everybody can play their part. Back on the subject, although I have one Thermaltake PSU, I wouldn't include it on my list of quality products (and I could be terribly mistaken). OTOH, my list does include i.e. Antec, Enermax or my favourite, Be Quiet. Since 17A on the 12V lead is almost 25% under AMD's recommendation, I wouldn't dare to say 'Yes, that will be ok.' Therefore, and maybe for your peace in mind Todd, I think it would be a good idea to purchase a new PSU (sorry for bustin' the budget!). AIM, most 360W or larger models will nowadays have enough juice on the 12V lead, so anything 'quality' from 360-430W will be a very fine choice. More than that isn't, because higher PSU-ratings cause more warmth in the case than necssary. Another thing which just popped into mind, your CPU-cooler might not be a screw-type and could have a retention mechanism. Nevertheless, the paste check will still be similar. Gentlemen, again, this has been very pleasant experience and I hope Todd returns next week raving about his new setup. In case of troubles, I'm looking forward to hear the rant! Hehe Cheers, good luck and kind regards Jaap PS, Vassilis, how surprised were you to learn that H E L L is a 'bad' word?!? Stop that rude language, will ya! Hehe 'l33t' <-- this was probably rude too!! Hehe. A couple of years ago, we were sailing the Greek isles in late automn (Kea, Paros, Antiparos, etc). All of us aboard liked reading newspapers and that was really tough, because they'ld only have foreign papers during the season. So there we were -in sheer dispair- buying Greek newspapers and trying to make up the news..! Letter by letter. We had a great time and felt pretty succesful being almost ignorant foreigners. The folks at the newsstands l

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest Coneman

Hi Gents,I couldn't agree more Jaap and Vassilis. This for me is a shining example of just how wonderful the internet can be. Without it I would probably be sitting in a corner babbling to myself with eyes glazed over still trying to figure out what to upgrade to. But with your help the components are on the way and I have a clear direction for the PSU. But god forbid that we need our own forum! I've taken enough of your time already.No worries about the budget Jaap. I had a good "buffer" built-in for just such contingencies. And I will go for a decent PSU. I'm not too worried about the build, it's the BIOS settings that get me a little spooked. So don't be surprised if you see me back here, hat in hand, seeking more advice.So a salute to you both, you guys are the greatest. If you are ever in my area, shame on you if you don't give me a yell. And I will do likewise.Best wishes,Todd

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

  • Tom Allensworth,
    Founder of AVSIM Online


  • Flight Simulation's Premier Resource!

    AVSIM is a free service to the flight simulation community. AVSIM is staffed completely by volunteers and all funds donated to AVSIM go directly back to supporting the community. Your donation here helps to pay our bandwidth costs, emergency funding, and other general costs that crop up from time to time. Thank you for your support!

    Click here for more information and to see all donations year to date.
×
×
  • Create New...