Need Some Help With PSU And Memory

[LiquidFlame]

Ok, so I?m getting ready for the big upgrade soon and I?m glad because I?ve been waiting a long time to upgrade, about 3-4 years. I need some help in determining a couple of things for my new rig. I?ve done my homework and read up on the new processors, motherboards and GPUs. I plan on purchasing a C2D E6600, a 680i Motherboard (whether its going to be the eVGA one that is out right now or waiting for other manufactures to put out other boards I?m not sure yet, that?s for another forum), and a 8800 GTX.

Basically my dilemma is I?m not sure if my current power supply is big enough for my system and I?m not sure what kind of memory I should get. So to get this started I?ll give you a brief summary of what I?ll be using my computer for and then give you full detail what my power supply is.

For the most part I would consider my self a gamer, I love playing FPS, RPG, playing online, etc. I surfer the net a lot and download tons of torrents and occasionally I rip/burn DVDs. Whenever I upgrade my computer, I usually go full out and try to get the best so I don?t have to upgrade for a long time; as you can see with how long I?ve waited to upgrade now.

Onto my power supply right now I have an X-Connect 500W ATX PSU ?Green (Limited Edition) with the X-Connect Flex Force upgrade cables kit (in case you?re not sure what I?m talking about, the original cables are just regular X-Connect cables and the upgrade allows me to have the new Flex Force cables that are more convenient). http://www.ultraproducts.com/product_details.php?cPath=37&pPath=15...mp;prod
If you?re wondering why I got a green PSU it?s because I have a green case so one of the more reasons why I would like to keep my current power supply. Here are the specs that the website gives for my PSU:

AC INPUT 115V/230V 10A/6A 60/50Hz
DC OUTPUT +3.3V +5V +12V -12V -5V +5VSB
500W Max Combined Watts 500W

Connectors
1x 20-Pin Main Power
1x 6-Pin AUX (Xeon) Power
1x 4-Pin 12V (P4)
6x 4-Pin Peripheral
1x Floppy
1x SATA Power Adapter

Features
Modular Cable Connection System
Dual 80mm Fans
Power Protections:
Short Circuit, In-rush Current,
Thermal Overload, Over-Temperature,
Over-Voltage, Over-Current, Under-Voltage.

I know that the 8800GTX says that it recommends a minimum or 450W and from what I?ve been reading online it seem like mine should do the job, but I know that when building a computer you shouldn?t skimp out on the PSU because that is where it all starts and that you really need a good one for everything to operate correctly.

Onto the memory. When it comes to memory I don?t really know that much about it. Really the only thing I know is I should get at least DDR2-800 and that Corsair and OCZ are some of the better companies to get your memory from. I?m not into over clocking, but after reading some of the articles about the performance boost of over clocking the CPUs and GPUs I would like to have that option in the future if I do decide to over clock my system.

I?m sorry for being so long, but I know the more detail that I give you guys the better you can help me. I know some stuff about PSU, but in your replies can you please be pretty specific and explain what you mean when suggesting PSUs and memory (especially memory because I don?t know enough about it). Thank you very much for your guys help and if you need any more details let me know.

 

[Noubourne]

It might be fine, but the only good thing I ever heard about the X-Connect PSUs was that they looked good. And that's 100% subjective.

Yours has a 20 pin connector and you would need an adapter to plug it into a new mobo (24 pins now). Your power supply is not ATX 2.0.

You could probably use it, but I wouldn't. I've seen lists at DFI street and Xtreme overclocking forums, and nobody recommends the Ultras for anything.

If you want "Eye-Candy", Hiper makes better looking units imo. I think you can get a green one too.

 

[thecrecarc]

Originally posted by: Noubourne
It might be fine, but the only good thing I ever heard about the X-Connect PSUs was that they looked good. And that's 100% subjective.

Yours has a 20 pin connector and you would need an adapter to plug it into a new mobo (24 pins now). Your power supply is not ATX 2.0.

You could probably use it, but I wouldn't. I've seen lists at DFI street and Xtreme overclocking forums, and nobody recommends the Ultras for anything.

If you want "Eye-Candy", Hiper makes better looking units imo. I think you can get a green one too.

IRC the x-connect oiginals are bad.

however, the X-2 or the x-connect version 2 is pretty good.

correct me if im wrong of course.

 

[xolisaxo]

heya

welcome to the forums

i'm new myself and have been getting a lot of good help from the guys here with regards to getting a new rig, so i have some pointers i can pass on and yeh im 90% sure of all this stuff, but maybe just confirm with someone too

• as far as the ram is concerned, DDR-800 might be a good way to go - however, the ram will be UNDERclocked so long as you're not overclocking (as DDR-800 is matched with a 400FSB) - however DDR800 is prob best if you're considering overclocking in the future (this is exactly what i'm getting too, i don't intend on overclocking straight away either)

also, the best results with oc'ing apparently seem to come from sticks with the micron D9s... this link has a list of ram with the D9s, and it would do you well to pick your ram from this list

• as for the psu, i don't think i would recommend the one you suggested (even if it looks pretty! from what i've been recommended, it might even serve you well to get a higher rated psu (maybe 620w?) since that 8800 looks like it might use a bit of power, and 620w might give you flexibility in the future anyway... as for which brand, johnnyguru has some great reviews and stuff, the corsairs are brilliant and really efficient, but there's a few other reviews there too
  
  whatever you get, i don't think anyone would recommend you get something according to its colour, even if you ARE looking for something to match...

• and one word of advice about the 680i, now i know i might get flamed for this, but its just a thought, if it's right or wrong someone can correct me but i'm just putting it out there... i'm looking to buy in about a week or 2 and was also thinking about getting the 680i... i decided i'd rather get the P5B Deluxe... the 680i might be slightly unstable and have a few niggling issues (?) and might be a tad expensive since it was released so recently... also the P5B-D has been out for a while, and ppl have been getting good oc's on it, and it seems to be quite decent - i'm not sure if the improvements of the 680i over the P5B-D are anything big (would you notice a difference in speed gonig from one to the other?), maybe for an extreme o'cer with phase change, but perhaps not your middle to upper serious user? might be a good idea to check that out if you haven't already, could save a lil money... and like i said, its just a thoguht...

anyway enough from me... good luck in whatever you do!


lisa xoxo :lips:

 

[LiquidFlame]

Yea, I now know that my psu is out of the question and by no means will I select one by color, I just got that one at the time cause it was the type of psu that I need. From what I have read, a 500w psu should be fine but I have been thinking about maybe getting at 600w just to be safe and for future use, but I don't want to spend more then I have to. What are some of high quality name brands for psu? As for the memory, is there any links/post you could direct me to that could give me a good understanding of what to look for. And as for the 680i, I know its new, but from what I have read, this board really takes advantage of being able to overclock intel processors if you wanted to and basically what sold me was the review that anandtech do on it: Link

 

[Mr Fox]

Originally posted by: LiquidFlame
Ok, so I?m getting ready for the big upgrade soon and I?m glad because I?ve been waiting a long time to upgrade, about 3-4 years. I need some help in determining a couple of things for my new rig. I?ve done my homework and read up on the new processors, motherboards and GPUs. I plan on purchasing a C2D E6600, a 680i Motherboard (whether its going to be the eVGA one that is out right now or waiting for other manufactures to put out other boards I?m not sure yet, that?s for another forum), and a 8800 GTX.

Basically my dilemma is I?m not sure if my current power supply is big enough for my system and I?m not sure what kind of memory I should get. So to get this started I?ll give you a brief summary of what I?ll be using my computer for and then give you full detail what my power supply is.

For the most part I would consider my self a gamer, I love playing FPS, RPG, playing online, etc. I surfer the net a lot and download tons of torrents and occasionally I rip/burn DVDs. Whenever I upgrade my computer, I usually go full out and try to get the best so I don?t have to upgrade for a long time; as you can see with how long I?ve waited to upgrade now.

Onto my power supply right now I have an X-Connect 500W ATX PSU ?Green (Limited Edition) with the X-Connect Flex Force upgrade cables kit (in case you?re not sure what I?m talking about, the original cables are just regular X-Connect cables and the upgrade allows me to have the new Flex Force cables that are more convenient). http://www.ultraproducts.com/product_details.php?cPath=37&pPath=15...mp;prod
If you?re wondering why I got a green PSU it?s because I have a green case so one of the more reasons why I would like to keep my current power supply. Here are the specs that the website gives for my PSU:

AC INPUT 115V/230V 10A/6A 60/50Hz
DC OUTPUT +3.3V +5V +12V -12V -5V +5VSB
500W Max Combined Watts 500W

Connectors
1x 20-Pin Main Power
1x 6-Pin AUX (Xeon) Power
1x 4-Pin 12V (P4)
6x 4-Pin Peripheral
1x Floppy
1x SATA Power Adapter

Features
Modular Cable Connection System
Dual 80mm Fans
Power Protections:
Short Circuit, In-rush Current,
Thermal Overload, Over-Temperature,
Over-Voltage, Over-Current, Under-Voltage.

I know that the 8800GTX says that it recommends a minimum or 450W and from what I?ve been reading online it seem like mine should do the job, but I know that when building a computer you shouldn?t skimp out on the PSU because that is where it all starts and that you really need a good one for everything to operate correctly.

Onto the memory. When it comes to memory I don?t really know that much about it. Really the only thing I know is I should get at least DDR2-800 and that Corsair and OCZ are some of the better companies to get your memory from. I?m not into over clocking, but after reading some of the articles about the performance boost of over clocking the CPUs and GPUs I would like to have that option in the future if I do decide to over clock my system.

I?m sorry for being so long, but I know the more detail that I give you guys the better you can help me. I know some stuff about PSU, but in your replies can you please be pretty specific and explain what you mean when suggesting PSUs and memory (especially memory because I don?t know enough about it). Thank you very much for your guys help and if you need any more details let me know.

Any memory in this list is Micron Chips....


DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel


Crucial Technology 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory ? Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820148017

Team Group - Team Xtreem 2 Gb Kit DDR2 (2 x 1Gb) 240-Pin DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel
http://www.tankguys.biz/ddr2-3338-p-167...sCsid=f4298906ac5457e7b0b44172b58de39d

________________________________________________________________________

DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)



BUFFALO Firestix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory ? Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820150054

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145168

Crucial Technology Ballistix 2GB kit (2 x 1GB) DDR2-800 PC2-6400 Memory ? Retail
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80061-9

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231065

Patriot Extreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820220174

SUPER TALENT 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820609026

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=T800UX2GC4

Team Group - Team Xtreem 2 Gb Kit DDR2 (2 x 1Gb) 240-Pin DDR2-800 (PC2 6400)
http://www.tankguys.biz/ddr2-44410-800m...sCsid=f4298906ac5457e7b0b44172b58de39d

WINTEC AMPX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory ? Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820161063



these are the Best PSU's in the Class that You Seek..... The Enhance is the TOP of the Heap... They Are All Modular.



CORSAIR HX620w ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 620W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick ? Retail
Jonny Guru Review : http://www.jonnyguru.com/review_details.php?id=32

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817139002

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=373110


Enhance ENS-0560G 600W EPS SLI 2Xeon Power Supply
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=PS-EN0560G


SeaSonic M12 SS-600HM ATX12V/ EPS12V 600W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CE, CB, TUV, FCC - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817151030

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=271604

Thermaltake Toughpower W0104 650W w/14cm Fan Power Supply (Black)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817153040

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=371319

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=PS-M12-700


Good Luck With Your Build !!