I have 3 things I'm considering at the moment. The first is upgrading my temporary 2 GB 1333 RAM and CPU fan. The second is upgrading my video card as I can't play back H.264-encoded 1080i video at 29.97 in Virtual Dub for editing (my system just can't decompress fast enough). The third is replacing my rather old 4- to 6-year-old 500-watt power supply with 7000 to 11,000 total hours of use (the latter case is a calculated estimate).
As to the second case (the first is low priority at the moment), currently, I'm using the GeForce 7600 GT video card, quite dated and seems unable to play back 1080i HD video in Virtual Dub at true speed (it can't decompress H.264 video fast enough). Thus, I'm looking into upgrading it as I otherwise cannot reliably edit such video. I've been searching and doing research and I'm leaning toward the GeForce 550 Ti. About 2 to 4 years down the road, I may get into some mid-range 3D game design (instead of my current 2D). According to this site:
http://forums.atomicmpc.com.au/index.php?showtopic=264
My target video card uses 152 watts of power at peak load which is 12 2/3 amps on the +12V rails (versus 36 watts for 3 amps with my current card). I have 2 hard drives (both SATA and 7200 RPM) as well (watts or amperage unknown). Given I have 44 total amps available on the 2 +12V rails, I should be fine with the 550 Ti.
However, another much more critical component, the power supply, may be a limiting factor and one aspect makes me wonder if I should upgrade it first - it's 4 to 6 years old with about 7000 to 11,000 total hours of use. Some days see only 10 total minutes of use, others get 12 to even 18+ hours in a single day depending on whether or not I'm playing my console games. I don't know what the longevity of power supplies is so I'm wondering if the age and usage are a problem that should be addressed first. I do have 2 hard drives, both of which are SATA 7200 RPM and I may get a 3 TB SATA 6.0 Gb/s hard drive later on down the road (video files are monsters and I have a lot of them). I have 5 criteria for choosing power supplies. The first and most important to me is efficiency. The second is safety features. The third is that it has very low noise. The fourth is that I get a single +12V rail. The fourth is that, obviously, it needs to work with my hardware and provide room for future upgrades. The fifth and least important is that I get a single +12V rail. This is why I'm leaning toward a 750 watt power supply.
To fill in the basics on the items themselves, this is what I have or what I'm considering:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371035 - my current power supply that's about 4 to 6 years old by now
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500193 - the exact card I'm considering getting
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070 - my current processor (not overclocked yet - still need to upgrade fan and memory)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817116011 - the power supply I'm looking into (the fan placement might be a problem with my case though)
As to the second case (the first is low priority at the moment), currently, I'm using the GeForce 7600 GT video card, quite dated and seems unable to play back 1080i HD video in Virtual Dub at true speed (it can't decompress H.264 video fast enough). Thus, I'm looking into upgrading it as I otherwise cannot reliably edit such video. I've been searching and doing research and I'm leaning toward the GeForce 550 Ti. About 2 to 4 years down the road, I may get into some mid-range 3D game design (instead of my current 2D). According to this site:
http://forums.atomicmpc.com.au/index.php?showtopic=264
My target video card uses 152 watts of power at peak load which is 12 2/3 amps on the +12V rails (versus 36 watts for 3 amps with my current card). I have 2 hard drives (both SATA and 7200 RPM) as well (watts or amperage unknown). Given I have 44 total amps available on the 2 +12V rails, I should be fine with the 550 Ti.
However, another much more critical component, the power supply, may be a limiting factor and one aspect makes me wonder if I should upgrade it first - it's 4 to 6 years old with about 7000 to 11,000 total hours of use. Some days see only 10 total minutes of use, others get 12 to even 18+ hours in a single day depending on whether or not I'm playing my console games. I don't know what the longevity of power supplies is so I'm wondering if the age and usage are a problem that should be addressed first. I do have 2 hard drives, both of which are SATA 7200 RPM and I may get a 3 TB SATA 6.0 Gb/s hard drive later on down the road (video files are monsters and I have a lot of them). I have 5 criteria for choosing power supplies. The first and most important to me is efficiency. The second is safety features. The third is that it has very low noise. The fourth is that I get a single +12V rail. The fourth is that, obviously, it needs to work with my hardware and provide room for future upgrades. The fifth and least important is that I get a single +12V rail. This is why I'm leaning toward a 750 watt power supply.
To fill in the basics on the items themselves, this is what I have or what I'm considering:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371035 - my current power supply that's about 4 to 6 years old by now
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500193 - the exact card I'm considering getting
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070 - my current processor (not overclocked yet - still need to upgrade fan and memory)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817116011 - the power supply I'm looking into (the fan placement might be a problem with my case though)