Which will be the bottleneck?

[Mustko]

Greetings from a beginner.

I am planning to purchuase a new graphic card, Radeon HD 4830 512 Mb. But before I do, I would like to know if my other parts are slowing down my PC. So which of the following is the bottleneck? And how badly it holds back the other parts?

- Intel E2140 overclocked (hopefully) to 2.6-2.8 GHz
- ASRock 4CoreDual-Sata2
- Asus Radeon HD4830 512 Mb

Motherboard has PCI-E slot with 4x speed. How much does that affect to performance?

I am very thankful for replys.

 

[daft]

if the x116 slot only has 4x speed, your gpu will be bottlenecked by a great deal
if need be, i would try upgrading your motherboard as well. though it would help if you gave more information on your system

 

[mactronix]

Totally wrong im afraid daft,
The x4 Pcie slot wont make a noticable differance. Nvidia cards dont like it but the ATI cards use the bandwidth so effectivly that it dosent make a noticable differance. What the main thing to worry about is if the Motherboard will support the card. They needed a bios updare to be compatable with the 38** series from ATI. To be honest im not sure about the 4 series.
The place to go for info on what will and wont work on this MoBo is here
http://forum.micromart.co.uk/Topic173777-19-1.aspx
What those guys dont know about it isnt worth knowing.

Mactronix

 

[Mustko]

Thanks for the note Mactronix. That didn't even cross in my mind. I just checked and it says in the VGA support card list that HD4830 is supported. Though its in BIOS v2.10 so I have to update it, but that shouldn't be a problem.

So you think my parts work quite fine together? The whole list is here:

- Intel E2140 overclocked (hopefully) to 2.6-2.8 GHz
- ASRock 4CoreDual-Sata2
- Asus Radeon HD4830 512 Mb
- Kingston 1024MB 667MHZ DDR2 NON-ECC DIMM
- Nexus NX-3500 (350W) (soon, atm. it's Channel Well 300W)
- Western Digital Caviar Se 160GB 7200 SATA II 160Gb
- Creative SB Live! Value

I will get an additional 1 Gb of memory. Should it be some other model than the one I have already?

 

[mactronix]

I would use a branded 450 Watt PSU, especially when overclocking its important to know the PSU will supply the power you want/need.
The extra Ram is needed really so its good your getting it. Time was it would have been nice to have 2GB but as i said now its more of a need than a want.
The only other thing that sticks out is the CPU could be a 5200 but if its overclocking on a budget that you are after then the 2140 would be ok if some what slower than the 5200 would be.
The main thing though is get a decent PSU

Mactronix

 

[Mustko]

Damn. I already order that Nexus. Is it that essential? I'm not going to e2140's limits which are - what I've read - some 3 GHz. For some reason I thought it was more about the quality of the PSU than the power.

I actually thought of e5200 but it adds 70e-30e(from selling e2140)=40 euros to the budget. Is it that much more capable?

 

[mactronix]

I just checked that Nexus and if its this one you dont stand a chance running that GPU on it never mind OCing the CPU

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article131-page1.html

That PSU has a single rail at 16Amps not enough power by a long way.
If you can link me to a site thats relevant to you even if you wont buy on line and give me a budget i can maybe make a recomendation.
If its a budget thing then no the 5200 isnt esential or even that much 40e better just thought i would mention it thats all it would usually OC higher more easily and of course would benefit from the extra cache but the E2140 is a fine budget chip that will/should OC to where you want it no problem.

Mactronix

 

[Mustko]

Yes, that's the one. In that case I should cancel the order. But I was able to OC my e2140 with my current system. But it went only to 2.1 GHz. Hopefully new PSU will improve that.

If you wanted me to link a site where I'm most likely going to buy the parts then here it is: http://www.verkkokauppa.com/ It's in Finnish but I'll help. Click the little red button that says "Superhaku!". It's below another red button. Then

Hakusanat: [nothing]
Tuotekategoriat: Komponentit
Alakategoriat: Virtalähteet
Alakategoriat: ATX
Alakategoriat: Kaikki tuotteet
Tuotemerkit: Kaikki tuotemerkit (20) [these are the brands]

Hintahaarukka: 40-65 [this is the price]
Tuotteiden saatavuus: Kaikki

Then click the green button that says "Hae tuotteet". You should get a list of available PSUs between 40e and 65e. If you could do this I'd just have to admire your efforts.

Anyway, I really appreciate your help, Mactronix.

 

[Snuffles]

SilverStone Strider ST50F 500W and http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=sleeving+kit+for+PSU&btnG=Search&meta=

It would be my choice of the bunch.

 

[mactronix]

I have looked at those PSU's and i would recommend the Chieftec 450 Product code 25619.
It has the same power as the strider Snuffles suggested but is cheaper.
One of my favourite review sites had until late last year used a chieftec 430 for their test bed so i know its reliable, if its good enough for the professionals its good enough for me

As for your Overclock on your old system i would assume that even though it was lower in Watts terms that your old PSU was actualy better than the Nexus.

There are other PSU's listed like the Antec ones 450/500 and the Corsair 400 would at a push power the system, it is single rail and only has i Pcie cable, its possible you may need two at a later date. The best for value and reliability is in my opinion the Chieftec.

Mactronix

 

[Mustko]

I'll look into that Chieftec. Unfortunately there seems to be no reviews about this particular model, and I want silence. Can I presume this model with a 14 cm fan is quiet? My current PSU is the loudest thing in my PC, and I demand change.

Thanks a million, Mactronix.

 

[invisik]

Something like this would work as well.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008

 

[Mustko]

There. I just ordered Chieftec APS-450S 450W, ASUS Radeon HD4830 512MB and Xigmatek HDT-S1283 -cooler. Now I hope the high cooler fits in my case.

And thanks again Mactronix for your advice. I believe I would have been little disappointed with a NX-3500.

 

[mactronix]

No worries enjoy your system.

Mactronix