Choose which of these is a better gaming rig, please.

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Denithor

Diamond Member
Apr 11, 2004
6,300
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Honestly the biggest problem today is that OEM PSUs have hardly any extra connectors. They specify them with only the connectors expected for a "standard" build of this machine setup. I recently worked on two Inspiron 620 and a Vostro 260 (same machines, different names). All three had 1x 4-pin motherboard, 1x 24-pin motherboard and 2x 2 SATA power connectors. And that's it. With a DVD-RW, an HDD and an SSD installed, there was a single SATA connector free that could have been converted to a 6-pin for a GPU, and it was located up near the DVD so would have been a pain without an extra long converter cable.
 

DAPUNISHER

Super Moderator CPU Forum Mod and Elite Member
Super Moderator
Aug 22, 2001
28,274
19,920
146
Honestly the biggest problem today is that OEM PSUs have hardly any extra connectors. They specify them with only the connectors expected for a "standard" build of this machine setup. I recently worked on two Inspiron 620 and a Vostro 260 (same machines, different names). All three had 1x 4-pin motherboard, 1x 24-pin motherboard and 2x 2 SATA power connectors. And that's it. With a DVD-RW, an HDD and an SSD installed, there was a single SATA connector free that could have been converted to a 6-pin for a GPU, and it was located up near the DVD so would have been a pain without an extra long converter cable.
Given that config, I would replace the optical with a slim external. with a vid card upgrade, even getting the hdd into an external enclosure would be good. Take that extra heat production out of the case, and power usage off the PSU. Yes, it is more desktop clutter and wires to manage. But the slim can probably be in a drawer when unused, and the hdd put vertical to minimize footprint. I help clients understand they need to compromise sometimes when they are cheaping out.
 

Denithor

Diamond Member
Apr 11, 2004
6,300
23
81
In two of the systems they weren't upgrading beyond SSD so the existing PSU + connectors were adequate. In the third, I was also putting in an HD 7850 (two 6-pin plugs required). So I swapped out the OEM PSU for a higher wattage Corsair. Had to cut out the HDD cage to make room for the GPU. Worked like a charm once everything done. So easy to convert an OEM quad-based system into a gaming machine (this whole thing cost about $300 in parts with an i5 3340 and 8GB DDR3).
 

DAPUNISHER

Super Moderator CPU Forum Mod and Elite Member
Super Moderator
Aug 22, 2001
28,274
19,920
146
In two of the systems they weren't upgrading beyond SSD so the existing PSU + connectors were adequate. In the third, I was also putting in an HD 7850 (two 6-pin plugs required). So I swapped out the OEM PSU for a higher wattage Corsair. Had to cut out the HDD cage to make room for the GPU. Worked like a charm once everything done. So easy to convert an OEM quad-based system into a gaming machine (this whole thing cost about $300 in parts with an i5 3340 and 8GB DDR3).

820.jpeg
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,226
9,990
126
^^what is said above

From experience I have put a 9500 Pro (old school from 2002?) in a gateway with a 200 watt PS. People said I'd blow a cap or damage the motherboard. It worked fine for 4 years. I also put an 850XT in a old Dell, people said the same thing and to tho day it works fine. OEM power supplies seem to be more powerful & robust than what they get credit for.

I had one of these (unsure which brand, might have been HIS, actually, but memory is fuzzy):
Sapphire Radeon 9250 128-bit 128MB video card
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102444
14-102-444-02.jpg


I remember when those were "the hotness", especially with the 128-bit memory. Trying to remember whether I replaced my 850Pro AGP with that one, or vice-versa. I guess the 850Pro would have been the newer card? I remember having to upgrade my PSU when I dropped the 850Pro in, because whenever I fired up a 3D game, my HDDs spun down. (Not enough juice!)

Edit: HotHardware review:
http://hothardware.com/reviews/ati-radeon-9250
These were really nice cards, back in the day. Good GDI, DirectX, and video features. Along with the composite / S-video output, for watching DVDs on a CRT!
 
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