HOT DEAL - ATI RADEON X800 PLATINUM @229.00

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hbsalesinc

Member
Jul 17, 2005
80
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Ok, well I received the ATI card today AND the MSI card at the same time....

Which one do I keep? hmmm...

Is either one better than the other?
 

pxc

Platinum Member
May 2, 2002
2,001
0
0
Originally posted by: TrojanAaron
I'm even more worried about my Dell's 250w power supply!
If that's a 4550, 4600 or 400SC, that "250W" PSU is actually 345W max continuous. Read the label on it. Dell rates the PSUs very conservatively.

I'm really worried about the cheap "300W max" PSU in my HP SR1010Z. The x800XT PE only uses 20-25W more than the 6600GT I have in it now, so maybe i'll luck out.
 

TrojanAaron

Senior member
Sep 19, 2002
293
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0
Yea... I'm running my "250w" supply on a Dimensions 4550. But granted that I'm running dual opticals drives and dual 7200RPM hard drives, SB Live, 4 occupied USB ports... I'll be pushing the edge of that supply.

Anyone else here plan on installing this beast of a card into a Dell 4XXX series?
 

xiaobao12

Senior member
Oct 9, 2004
283
0
0
Originally posted by: TrojanAaron
Yea... I'm running my "250w" supply on a Dimensions 4550. But granted that I'm running dual opticals drives and dual 7200RPM hard drives, SB Live, 4 occupied USB ports... I'll be pushing the edge of that supply.

Anyone else here plan on installing this beast of a card into a Dell 4XXX series?

trojan, i got a similar setup. dell 4600 - 2 optical drives and dual 7200RPM HDs. audigy plat pro and USB.

i'm still using the stock PSU but i have a superflower 550 that i think i should put in...but i heard they are noisy so does anybody think its a bad idea to see if the x800 runs fine on the stock PSU or might that permanantly damage some hardware?

 

cuttergallery

Member
Feb 26, 2003
98
0
0
You have to watch out w/ underpowered PSU's....I had a Cooler Master Real Power 450 that got great reviews, looked cool, cost over $100, and thought had plenty of power for my current system. However, I had to RMA two bad video cards back to BFG before I figured out that my 12V rail didn't have enough headroom & was actually damaging them....Only 18A. I switched to a PC P&C 470W unit w/ 24A & now my system is running great! Even my 3DMark03 score went up 1000 pts!!

My advice is to always check the peak power of the 12V rail(s)...Very important for power hungry video cards. Get at least 24A!
 

xiaobao12

Senior member
Oct 9, 2004
283
0
0
cutter,

i got 22A on my 12V rail...is that alright? i was told in another thread that 18+ is fine with this beast card.

so what exactly happens when hardware is underpowered? how is it damaged?
 

cuttergallery

Member
Feb 26, 2003
98
0
0
With my first card I experienced random shutdowns, then garbled BIOS screen during startup. During games...Artifacts leading to crashes. My replacement card appeared to work OK fro a couple of weeks, then one evening after a couple of hrs of Chronicles of Riddick, my monitors started blinking. When I attempted to reboot, I got beeps from my MB signaling video card failure!! Would not boot after that. The BFG tech suggested my PSU could be the cause...I was reluctant to believe him. I thought I had a very good quality PSU. However, I did some research & learned about the 12V rail issue.

I suppose 22A should be OK...I'm not an expert though.
 

TrojanAaron

Senior member
Sep 19, 2002
293
0
0
Originally posted by: xiaobao12
Originally posted by: TrojanAaron
Yea... I'm running my "250w" supply on a Dimensions 4550. But granted that I'm running dual opticals drives and dual 7200RPM hard drives, SB Live, 4 occupied USB ports... I'll be pushing the edge of that supply.

Anyone else here plan on installing this beast of a card into a Dell 4XXX series?

trojan, i got a similar setup. dell 4600 - 2 optical drives and dual 7200RPM HDs. audigy plat pro and USB.

i'm still using the stock PSU but i have a superflower 550 that i think i should put in...but i heard they are noisy so does anybody think its a bad idea to see if the x800 runs fine on the stock PSU or might that permanantly damage some hardware?

When I run BF2 on my eVGA 6800, sometimes it just crashes completely and the game quits on its own... maybe power supply issue? If I can't even run BF2 on a 6800 (non GT/Ultra), I'm pretty sure I'll be having problems on an X800XT PE

Where did you get your Superflower 550 and how much was it? Is it directly swappable with the proprietary PSUs that Dell uses in their Dimensions systems?



 

bob4432

Lifer
Sep 6, 2003
11,727
46
91
Originally posted by: Budarow
Originally posted by: Slacker101
Originally posted by: TheFamilyMan
Just received mine. In white box with discs, power cables, and card. The card is an X800XT PE and not the X850XT like we hoped.

The card is brand new...I would say never installed and I would doubt the fan has ever been run. I have the advantage of working in a place where I can look at the AGP connectors under magnification and it appears the card hasn't been installed...

Anyhoo, X800XT PE for about 60% the going price...I'll take it :)


We were hoping the core would be a X850 core. ATI did it with the later model 9800 Pro's, put a 9800 XT core in the 9800 Pro. You have to remove the HSF and see what the number is on the core. Technically it voids the warranty.

Wouldn't SiSandra indicate the graphics core (an older version of SiSandra worked for my 9800 Pro with respect to the R350 and R360 cores)?

sisoft reported my 9800pro as a r350 but when i opened it up it was a r360, so maybe it gets the info from the card firmware...
 

pxc

Platinum Member
May 2, 2002
2,001
0
0
Originally posted by: TrojanAaron
Yea... I'm running my "250w" supply on a Dimensions 4550. But granted that I'm running dual opticals drives and dual 7200RPM hard drives, SB Live, 4 occupied USB ports... I'll be pushing the edge of that supply.
That's not too much. In my Dell 400SC (same "250W" PSU as the 4550), I had a P4 3GHz, 3 hard drives, RAID controller, 6800 GT @ Ultra speed, 2 burners, Audigy 2 ZS, 1GB, floppy and a Firewire card. Every single slot and bay was filled in the case, except the PCI slot next to the video card (NV Silencer 5 on 6800GT). :p
 

cuttergallery

Member
Feb 26, 2003
98
0
0

Originally posted by: TrojanAaron
Yea... I'm running my "250w" supply on a Dimensions 4550. But granted that I'm running dual opticals drives and dual 7200RPM hard drives, SB Live, 4 occupied USB ports... I'll be pushing the edge of that supply.

Anyone else here plan on installing this beast of a card into a Dell 4XXX series?

trojan, i got a similar setup. dell 4600 - 2 optical drives and dual 7200RPM HDs. audigy plat pro and USB.

i'm still using the stock PSU but i have a superflower 550 that i think i should put in...but i heard they are noisy so does anybody think its a bad idea to see if the x800 runs fine on the stock PSU or might that permanantly damage some hardware?

[/quote]

When I run BF2 on my eVGA 6800, sometimes it just crashes completely and the game quits on its own... maybe power supply issue? If I can't even run BF2 on a 6800 (non GT/Ultra), I'm pretty sure I'll be having problems on an X800XT PE

Where did you get your Superflower 550 and how much was it? Is it directly swappable with the proprietary PSUs that Dell uses in their Dimensions systems?


[/quote]

PC Power & Cooling make PSU's that are made for Dells.
 

TrojanAaron

Senior member
Sep 19, 2002
293
0
0
Originally posted by: pxc
Originally posted by: TrojanAaron
Yea... I'm running my "250w" supply on a Dimensions 4550. But granted that I'm running dual opticals drives and dual 7200RPM hard drives, SB Live, 4 occupied USB ports... I'll be pushing the edge of that supply.
That's not too much. In my Dell 400SC (same "250W" PSU as the 4550), I had a P4 3GHz, 3 hard drives, RAID controller, 6800 GT @ Ultra speed, 2 burners, Audigy 2 ZS, 1GB, floppy and a Firewire card. Every single slot and bay was filled in the case, except the PCI slot next to the video card (NV Silencer 5 on 6800GT). :p

HOT DAYAM... And if I'm not mistaken... the 6800GT/Ultra is a pretty power hungry beast. If you never had any problems... I'd feel pretty confident that I can survive with my Dell PSU.

And yes, PC Power & Cooling makes Dell specific PSUs, but for $170 shipped... so I'd prefer to keep my upgrades to a minimum.

All for the sake of Battlefield2

$55 for BF2 PC-CD
$233 for X800XT PE
$52 for stick of 512 RAM
----------------------------
$340 for a bloody game!

add $170 for the PSU and I can almost jump on the 9XXX Dell series w/ a free 19" LCD!
 

pxc

Platinum Member
May 2, 2002
2,001
0
0
Originally posted by: cuttergallery
PC Power & Cooling make PSU's that are made for Dells.
Those have been unnecessary since Dell started shipping P4 systems. All Dell P4 desktops use standard ATX 12v PSUs. The only exceptions are 1) the small form factor cases (Optiplex slim "desktops" and the similar 4600C/4700C models), which like all SFF cases uses it's own small PSU (but it is still ATX 12v) and 2) the XPS Gen 5 (and probably Gen 4) which uses a strange shape PSU (but again, it is still ATX 12v). The limitation for the rest of the P4 systems is that the PSU can't have a rear power switch. There's no cut out on the back of the case for a PSU with a rear power switch. It's not hard to find one like that. I have 2 spares (standard ATX 12v A+GPB, $5AR and $0AR) that fit and work in Dell systems.

It's pretty sad that more than 4 years after Dell stopped using funky PSUs that people still think Dell has non-standard PSUs.
 

Diogenes2

Platinum Member
Jul 26, 2001
2,151
0
0
I'm one of the impatient one's who cancelled the day before they shipped...

I got the regular XT from ZipZoom for $219... Overclocks to PE speed with headroom to spare...

3D05 4690
3D03 12745
 

ICXRa

Diamond Member
Jan 8, 2001
5,924
0
71
Originally posted by: pxc
Originally posted by: cuttergallery
PC Power & Cooling make PSU's that are made for Dells.
Those have been unnecessary since Dell started shipping P4 systems. All Dell P4 desktops use standard ATX 12v PSUs. The only exceptions are 1) the small form factor cases (Optiplex slim "desktops" and the similar 4600C/4700C models), which like all SFF cases uses it's own small PSU (but it is still ATX 12v) and 2) the XPS Gen 5 (and probably Gen 4) which uses a strange shape PSU (but again, it is still ATX 12v). The limitation for the rest of the P4 systems is that the PSU can't have a rear power switch. There's no cut out on the back of the case for a PSU with a rear power switch. It's not hard to find one like that. I have 2 spares (standard ATX 12v A+GPB, $5AR and $0AR) that fit and work in Dell systems.

It's pretty sad that more than 4 years after Dell stopped using funky PSUs that people still think Dell has non-standard PSUs.

True they are pinned like a standard one now BUT I bought a TruePower 430 to replace my Dell 250 with and these crazy cases won't accept a standard power supply without a little modding. I think that is where PC Power Cooling still has their in with Dell as they are desinged to fit the case as well, or at least I would imagine since they are billed as Dell direct replacements.
 

Budarow

Golden Member
Dec 16, 2001
1,917
0
0
You ain't nothing but a hound dog! Ahhhh...Thank you very much...thank you very much! Elvis has left the building and my X800XT PE has just arrived in Nashville Tenn. in route to Michigan and my PC!!:)
 

ICXRa

Diamond Member
Jan 8, 2001
5,924
0
71
Well if it makes you feel any better I got a email response back from PC Power and Cooling stating that in fact Dell switched back to standard pinouts on the ATX connector but I am not sure with a model from 98.

Email support over at PC power and cooling for a model that old just to be certian. They will know for sure!
 

ICXRa

Diamond Member
Jan 8, 2001
5,924
0
71
hmm looking at the number of views this thread has had I wonder if this won't end up being the "Hot Deal" of 2005!
 

TrojanAaron

Senior member
Sep 19, 2002
293
0
0
No way I'm running an X800XT PE in a '98 computer... what... top of the line would be like

Pentium2 333mhz
64mb of SDRAM
9 GB @ 5400rpm

My how days have changed.

The thing about '98 is when Dell supposedly changed their power supply to standard ATX.
 

Budarow

Golden Member
Dec 16, 2001
1,917
0
0
Originally posted by: TrojanAaron
Man... between Dell Forums, these forums and general hardware forums, its pretty much split 50/50 between people saying that Dell uses proprietary PSUs vs. Stanard.

And with adapters such as this:

Dell ATX PSU adapter for Dimensions (exceptions at the bottom)

its tough to know who is right or wrong =T Anyone with any actual experience changing the PSU in a Dimensions Desktop post '98?

Dell is like any other OEM...they've used all kinds of proprietary components over the years in order to PREVENT their machines from being "upgraded" (i.e., cases, RAM, etc.).
 

xiaobao12

Senior member
Oct 9, 2004
283
0
0
Originally posted by: TrojanAaron
Originally posted by: xiaobao12
Originally posted by: TrojanAaron
Yea... I'm running my "250w" supply on a Dimensions 4550. But granted that I'm running dual opticals drives and dual 7200RPM hard drives, SB Live, 4 occupied USB ports... I'll be pushing the edge of that supply.

Anyone else here plan on installing this beast of a card into a Dell 4XXX series?

trojan, i got a similar setup. dell 4600 - 2 optical drives and dual 7200RPM HDs. audigy plat pro and USB.

i'm still using the stock PSU but i have a superflower 550 that i think i should put in...but i heard they are noisy so does anybody think its a bad idea to see if the x800 runs fine on the stock PSU or might that permanantly damage some hardware?

When I run BF2 on my eVGA 6800, sometimes it just crashes completely and the game quits on its own... maybe power supply issue? If I can't even run BF2 on a 6800 (non GT/Ultra), I'm pretty sure I'll be having problems on an X800XT PE

Where did you get your Superflower 550 and how much was it? Is it directly swappable with the proprietary PSUs that Dell uses in their Dimensions systems?


hey all,

i got my superflower from directron when it was on sale. i haven't installed the superflower yet. i'm worried about doing so. is the atx connector the main issue with this discussion - about how there is an extra one on the proprietory motherboard?

i don't quite understand what you guys are saying - pxc, are you saying that 4 years ago, dell started installing standard PSUs so that you don't have to go thru PC power and cooling? but before 4 years ago, if you wanted a new PSU, you had to go thru PC power and cooling?
 

TrojanAaron

Senior member
Sep 19, 2002
293
0
0
I got mine in 2002 I believe. If you look at the this link:

Linky

you'll see how Dell used to have their PSUs connect to the mobos with two points of connection right next to each other- thus you would need that adapter to break out the standard ATX cable into two in order to connect to Dell's mobo.

In the newer Dells, supposedly, they're not like that anymore, but I guess the only real way is to look at the mobo itself. The primary difference that hasn't changed is the fact that Dell's PSUs don't have an "on/off" switch which prevents standard ATX PSUs from fitting into the cases, but that can be fixed by cutting the rear of your case a bit.

From the looks of mine, it seems standard (just one point of connection) but I JUST emailed PC Power & Cooling to ask them for an answer.
 

pxc

Platinum Member
May 2, 2002
2,001
0
0
You will fry your 4550, or any other P4 Dell, if you plug in that adapter. Luckily, due to all the bad info floating around, that adapter won't fit on the newer 24 pin (ATX 12v v2.2) PSUs.

Here's a quick reference for Dell PSUs:
Pentium 3 and Celerons (Socket 370) and older: proprietary PSUs
Pentium 4 and Celerons (S478/LGA775): standard ATX 12v (v2.0/2.1 for 20 pin, v 2.2 for 24 pin), except for XPS Gen 5 and SFF cases (and some *S423* systems), and with the limitation of no rear power switch.

examples of Dell desktop systems with standard ATX PSU (20 or 24 pin): Dimension 2100, 2200, 2300, 2350, 2400, 3000, 4100, 4300, 4400, 4500, 4550, 4600, 4700, 5100, 8200, 8250, 8300, 8400, 9100. (yes, that's over 4 years of systems :p) And that includes the Optiplex and PowerEdge versions of similar systems.