Verify for me please

[MRetired]

I wanted to upgrade to Conroe but will have to wait. I decided to upgrade video card to Saphire X1900XT, and replace motherboard with PCI-E for now. Keeping all other components same, and praying to do complete upgrade summer 2007.

Current system:

Athlon64 3400 socket 754
MSI 6702 K8T NEO Motherboard
PC400 / DDR400 512x2 = 1gig memory
Radeon 9800 Pro128 Video AGP
Sata 80GB x 2 in Raid 1
Alienware type case with many fans sound activated lights
500 watt Aspire ATX AS-500W
HP L2335 Monitor DVI connected
Plextor CD burner
DVD Player (cheapo)


This is what I ordered from NewEgg, still have time to cancel so please let me know if I screwed up.

VGA SAPPHIRE X1900XT 256M 100168L R - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$249.99)
CABLE APEVIA(ASPIRE)|CVT2024 R - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$3.99)
MB ABIT NV8 NF4-4X 754 - Retail (Qty=1, Price=$61.99)

Cable is to convert 20 pin to 24 pin power.

What do you think?

 

[MRetired]

Add on question

Will I need to reinstall XP because of replacing Motherboard and video card?

 

[MRetired]

No comments?

 

[jaguarskx]

It would be a good idea to re-install Windows XP since the motherboard drivers will be different. Is it absolutely necessary? No. But it is recommended. A clean install will allow the PC to run better in most cases.

The effects of the video card card is minor. Simply install the old drivers and install the latest ones for the video card.

 

[MRetired]

Basically,

I need the faster vid card now because I bought a 23 inch LCD / HP L2335 monitor and my radeon 9800 pro will only drive it at lowest resolutions, allows games to run okay, but not that great.

Probably will get the power supply, mine is see through apevia 500watt, and clearly has a cracked resistor in it. It seems to be working good voltage is steady at 11.84 volts. any suggestions on replacement? Something that will also run core 2 duo or 4, or whatever might be available in summer 2007 would be nice.

Installing XP again worries me. 2 months ago, I had this "I may have a pirated version" message. I bought my computer from shop that is no long in existance. Hate to buy windows all over again, only to pay for Vista in 2007. Hoping this will not become a problem again, as it did take some effort to remove that nuisance message.

 

[MRetired]

NewEgg is fast, I just checked, and UPS is out for delivery today.

I need help with power supply selection for sure.

 

[Doughbuy]

OCZ GameXStream, TT Toughpower, Enermax Galaxy, PC P&C PSU's, Silverstone Zeus, Corsair CM-HX620, anything around 600W+ should be fine.

I like the GameXStream the best. If you want modular, look at the Corsair. If you want biggest, PC P&C is the best.

 

[MRetired]

On NewEgg.com someone wrote that the gameXstream does not work with x1900xt due to low power. I found the TT Toughpower models and am leaning towards one of those.

Choices are:

1. TT Toughpower 700 watts W0105RU non modular cost $165
2. TT Toughpower 700 watts W0106RU modular cost $150.

At a glance it would seem the W0106RU is the way to go however, the W0105RU is listed on ATI for Crossfire, but the W0106RU is not.
Both are rated at 700 watts. Should I play it safe and go with the non modular for 15 dollars more?

My Motherboard, and Graphic card arrived 10 mins ago. Getting anxious to try them with old Power Supply.

 

[tool_462]

Modular and non-modular won't make a difference if the specs are all the same. I would get the modular and have a clean looking case inside

I also wouldnt worry about using the old PSU for the 3-4 days it will take the egg to get your new one to your doorstep. 500w and 34A on a single 12v rail will drive your rig just fine.

Good luck and enjoy your new graphics!

 

[MRetired]

Installed the Motherboard nice and tidy, and went to connect saphire X1900XT CF only to find out it needs a 6 pin plug, and not a 4 pin power. Label says, it needs 4 pins, but it is a 6. Also I did not realize until after I ordered Video card that I was getting CrossFire version. Instructions say, I need to have 2 of them, and that the MB has to support 2 of them for it to work.

Fortunately I was able to put old system back together, now I really need some help here.

Big Question:

If I get the new power supply, will this video card work with this ABIT NV8 motherboard that only has one PCI-E slot?

Oh i did try to run it without power, but only got to a message that says, I need to connect power. No bios, just need power message, with constant beeping.
I need help, what should I do?

 

[BustedSony]

Installed the Motherboard nice and tidy, and went to connect saphire X1900XT CF only to find out it needs a 6 pin plug, and not a 4 pin power. Label says, it needs 4 pins, but it is a 6. Also I did not realize until after I ordered Video card that I was getting CrossFire version. Instructions say, I need to have 2 of them, and that the MB has to support 2 of them for it to work.

Fortunately I was able to put old system back together, now I really need some help here.

Big Question:

If I get the new power supply, will this video card work with this ABIT NV8 motherboard that only has one PCI-E slot?

Oh i did try to run it without power, but only got to a message that says, I need to connect power. No bios, just need power message, with constant beeping.
I need help, what should I do?

You can run a crossfire master card as a single card, no problem. You lose the second monitor output. (I think, unles it works through an adaptor.)

The new power supply will work with any modern motherboard and support the video card. You DO have to connect power to the video card. I'm surprised it's a six pin molex.

 

[MRetired]

Okay that helps, feeling better now.

1. Is there an adapter to get this 6 pin molex to work with my existing 4 pin power?

I guess I will process the power supply order today, just wanted to make sure this motherboard would work in case I needed to do another option before placing my order. Going to need new power supply anyway since this one is showing signs of wear.

 

[MRetired]

Well... I ordered the new power supply today through NewEgg with Artic Silver. My CPU is showing 60 Celcius right now. I just turned it on. When I removed cpu I did not replace the thermal paste, just reassembled back together to get things working again. Hopefully the new power supply will do the trick. It is a shame that Saphire shows 4 pin connection required, then I open it to find 6 pins. Also the instructions are terrible.

 

[MRetired]

The poly bag has a huge sticker to seal it. On the sticker it shows what is needed to connect the video card before you break the seal. It shows 4 pins connector plugging in on the 4 pins of the video card. I waited to break seal open until after I had my Mainboard installed, thinking if mainboard didnt install correctly, no sense in breaking the seal and making the video card unreturnable. I would not have installed mainboard if I knew video card was 6 pins. I thought I saw that image of 4 pins somewhere else as well.

By the way, I removed heatsink and wiped residual thermal paste smooth, now I am reading 40 degrees, 43 degrees after playing Counter Strike Source. Odd thing is my front panel Display is showing 25C constantly, but HDD temp is 27 at start up and now been running for while is at 37C. I think my bios got corrupted when I powered up the new mainboard.

New Power supply is shipped already, should be here today or tomorrow.

 

[MRetired]

About the front panel sensor. How exactly is that sensor supposed to be placed with the CPU? When I removed it orignally, it was held down by tape or appeared to be tape but it fell of when I pulled heat sink, I am not sure where it was attached. Is it supposed to be taped to heat sink, or CPU, and where exactly?

This morning MSI Core Center is reading CPU temp at 55C but in bios it reads 40C, and front panel reads 25C constantly. Front panel sensor is a thin flat thing that was taped on. Not sure how the Bios gets CPU temp or MSI Core Center.

 

[sailer]

I have a Sapphire X1900 XTX and there was a 4 to 6 pin adapter that came with it in the box. I looked yours up to verify that, and the pictures show a 4 to 6 pin adapter as being there. Perhaps that's why the instructions say that you only need a 4 pin, because it adapts to the 6 pin. Check the box and in the bag to see if there's an adapter that you missed seeing. If its not there, contact Newegg and complain. They should allow you to RMA the card for a new one. If that happens, you might ask for the regular X1900 XTX, as it has a faster spec.

 

[MRetired]

Dont I wish there was an adapter, but I just checked and it is not included in box. Perhaps that is a packaging difference between x1900xt and x1900xtx?

I did check and see that I have the 256mb version, but the 512mb xt has the cable.

My order of power supply and other stuff from NewEgg is out for delivery today, thank God.

Not sure what is going on with CPU temp, now both bios and CoreCenter are showing CPU temp as 63C.

Front panel is whacked, it says 25C constantly.

 

[sailer]

Those front panel temp things are notoriously off in their readings. The best place for temp readings is the BIOS, though some mobo's come with sensors that are reasonably accurate.

I double checked the 256 mb version of the X1900 XT and you're right, it doesn't include the adapter cable. Seems dumb to me, unless someone packed a 512 mb version by mistake in your box. At least the adapters don't cost very much.

 

[MRetired]

I got my new power supply, so will be hooking up the new motherboard, power, video card, into my old cpu and memory tonight. Sure wish I knew why the cpu is suddenly hot. Just started it up and its at 56C.

 

[MRetired]

I installed everything, had terrible time with XP. Kept telling me I may have pirated software, then automatic updates would not allow me to upgrade to sp2. Video card needs XP sp2. Anyway, I found a way around this mess, and got everything installed. Now I am surprised 3Dmark 2006 is not that high of score at around 4300, and CPU is the problem it seems.

Prior to install, I did 3mark on old old radeon 9800, and score was only 782 so going with x1900xt is a major improvement. CPU score stayed same at around 870 both before and after the upgrade.

Oh after installing all the drivers for mainboard, cpu temp now displays 40-41C.

Oh well at least im back up and running again.

 

[sailer]

3DMark 2006 is very demanding. With your cpu, you did well. Overclocking the cpu might help a bit. You might try running 3DMark 05 for a comparrison to see how much difference there is in the scores.

Good that the cpu temp is down again.

 

[MRetired]

I just finished playing Counter Strike source, did a video stress test on there and it is giving me 136fps with resolution at 1900x1200, all settings on high.