Upgrading... Any Suggestions?

[LeCastor]

Ok..

So i have a 430Watt Thermaltake Power Supply,
And its running a ECS Motherboard, an AMD 3700+ San Diego Core processor, 1 GB Of RAM, 1 DVD Drive, 1 CD RW Drive, 2 Hard drives, a Sound Card, and an XFX 7900 GS 600/1600...

Im thinking of Upgrading To this..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128321

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103751

Should i get a Bigger Power supply.. Or will my 430 Watt handle it..? also ill be upping the RAM to 2 Gigs.

Thanks in advance.

 

[enforcerfx]

You'll need DDR2 ram for it to be compatible with the AM2 motherboard.

And your PSU will not hold up, at least not for long. Your PSU now is actually under the recommended amperage for a 7900GS. Here is a cheap, and very efficient alternative for a new PSU.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817104954


Good luck.

 

[LeCastor]

Yeah I knew I would have to get DDR2 Ram. I already have some Picked out.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145015


But..I DIDN'T know the PSU was under the recommended amperage for my gpu.... I was positive the specs page said 400w.. Ouch. no wonder my whole computer locks up when i run F.E.A.R. at my Native resolution of 1680 x 1050 for too long...

So the power supply just needs to be upped to 450 and i should be good?

 

[Giraffe]

But..I DIDN'T know the PSU was under the recommended amperage for my gpu.... I was positive the specs page said 400w.. Ouch. no wonder my whole computer locks up when i run F.E.A.R. at my Native resolution of 1680 x 1050 for too long...

So the power supply just needs to be upped to 450 and i should be good?

It is not the Wattage that is important, It is the Amps on the +12V rails, read the PSU 101 sticky for more info

Your current PSU will probably be ok, but it is not a very good PSU, and will have a good chance of failing when under too much stress

 

[LeCastor]

I just looked at my power supply and the 12v rail is 18A whatever that means. :?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowImage.aspx?Image=17-153-023-09.jpg%2c17-153-023-01.jpg%2c17-153-023-02.jpg%2c17-153-023-03.jpg%2c17-153-023-04.jpg%2c17-153-023-05.jpg%2c17-153-023-07.jpg%2c17-153-023-10.jpg&CurImage=17-153-023-03.jpg&Depa=0&Description=Thermaltake+TR2+W0070RUC+ATX+430W+Power+Supply+115%2f230+V+-+Retail

 

[purdueguy]

Motherboard: The nForce 4 board is outdated. For 10 bucks more, this XFX nForce 590 SLI is a bargain.

Memory: Make sure to get DDR2 800 otherwise you will not be using the AM2 to its potential.

Video Card: If you plan on getting a better video card wait for the HD2900XT to come out.

PSU: You definitely need a better power supply. If you want to "future proof" your system for awhile, you will need a PSU with a minimum of 30A across the 12V rails and 650W. Some PSU's have 1 rail that can handle a high amp load while others have mutilple rails with a lower amp load.

Get the best that you can afford and one that is >80% efficient as energy savings over a couple of years will end up paying for the PSU compared to buying a cheap PSU that is only around 70% efficient.

This Antec True Power Trio should be a good baseline for you to work from. For 75 bucks, it's a pretty good deal.

The specs don't allow me to calculate a minimum Amp supplied by the 12V rails though I tend to believe 28A is probably minimum. This is a below what I recommended above, but for the price, it's not that bad of a deal.

Here's a few more choices: Thermaltake, FSP Group, and another FSP Group.

 

[LeCastor]

Ok... thanks... the cool thing about the XFX motherboard is the cables are green. Coincedentally so are the neon lights in my case

Well... ill definitely go with the XFX board. and probably the Antec power supply.. im also gonna grab some artic silver for the processor. yep.

ill end up grabbing two video cards for SLi probably next year. maybe longer haha but ill definitely drop back by here for any help i require

Thanks for everything.