Respectfully, I request computer upgrading expertise and suggestions.

[Delsana]

Hello, I am here to ask if you guys would mind giving me some advice for upgrading my computer at a reasonable price. I'm not dirty cheap and would like something of quality, so I'd like possibilities for any things that are recommended such as a new harddrive by giving the option of a cheaper one and then a more quality one.

I've done a bit of research myself but I'm interested in what you guys think. If possible, please use links to Amazon or Newegg so I can review them myself, I don't know the validity of other sites.

Anyway, my system was built in 2007 and rebuilt in March of 2011, this is what it has:

1 x ASUS VS248H-P Black 24" HDMI LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor
Comment: It occurs to me that I literally limited myself to a 1980 by 1080 resolution without knowing it, lol.

1 x EVGA 012-P3-1571-KR GeForce GTX 570 HD w/Display-Port (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready ...
Comment: I don't have SLI, I'm willing to consider it but know much about it or know if my cooling could handle it with my power supply.

CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C9
Comment: I know it's just six gigs of ram. I'm considering possibly upgrading but I'm not sure if I should just try to get another 6 gigs of that or go for something entirely else, it is old after all.

ANTEC NINE HUNDRED BLACK STEEL ATX MID TOWER COMPUTER CASE
Comment: Expensive when I got it, but old now. I've considered possibly upgrading it simply because of better space and wire management and fans but I feel that is a lower priority.

LINKSYS WMP54GX PCI Wireless-G Adapter with SRX
Comment: I'm under the impression this is my ethernet card. I couldn't begin to talk about ethernet cards. Not a high priority.

COOLMAX CUG-700B ATX 12V( V.2.2) 700W Power Supply
Comment: A six year old power supply. I never considered SLI because I don't likely have the power necessary and I just keep hoping this thing doesn't die on me.

SEAGATE ST31000528A SATA DEVICE 1 GB Barricuda
Comment: This seems to work well and is from the past 2 years, but I think I really need to get some more space.

For cooling, alongside whatever came with the case, I have an APEVIA CF12SL-UBL 120mm Blue LED Case FAN attached to the back. I had a second right on the inside of the plate you take off for opening the case, but it was so loud I got sick of it. I think fans are a big thing I want to upgrade and so some good fans (don't need to be LED, lol) that are extremely quiet but will also be much stronger would be nice. Not sure if I need to get a new processor fan as that uses the default.

I had a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 card but it died on me 2 years later so ehh that was useless.

Additionally:

I have an I7 950 Quad Core processor and the Gigabyte UD3R motherboard (yes I'm locked in the I7 I guess) both of which are not being replaced so quickly in this and which I got at the same time as the EVGA.

I've never overclocked anything, I didn't feel I had the cooling power to do so.

----

I play a lot of games, and I TRY to play them at max, though probably play them at 85% to 90% of what's considered max, but I never do medium settings anymore and I'm happy about that.

My graphics card idles at 40*C and goes to 75-85 for high end games these days and so my EVGA fan controller likewise raises that to 85% and that's a very loud sound. I'd like to lower the temperature of that if possible.

All in all my goal is to have some good options to upgrade the potential of my computer to last a bit longer and to be better at what it does, while also decreasing temperature and increasing storage as that's a necessity right now. I understand solid state and all that but I don't have an unlimited budget so some options for an increased storage drive above 1 TB would be good, and whether it should be Seagate Barricuda again or a WD Blue or Black (and the actual differences of those for my purposes) or something else.

TL/DR:

I'm looking to reduce my idle and active temperatures, increase my storage, possibly get some new fans, and maybe look at RAM. Anything else is additional and will be decided on merit.

As an addendum: I have tried figuring this all out myself, but I've just been way too busy and can't seem to make a choice, especially with Black Friday coming and so I don't know if what I need is on sale or not.

Edit:

My storage is 1 TB not 1 GB.

 

[mfenn]

So your budget is somewhere above "dirty cheap" and somewhere below "unlimited". Can you help us out a bit by being more specific?

Generally speaking, what you should be looking for is:
- New PSU (your current one is absolute junk)
- New case fans (the 900 is a reasonably good case all told)
- New HDD (and SSD depending on budget)

 

[Delsana]

So your budget is somewhere above "dirty cheap" and somewhere below "unlimited". Can you help us out a bit by being more specific?

Generally speaking, what you should be looking for is:
- New PSU (your current one is absolute junk)
- New case fans (the 900 is a reasonably good case all told)
- New HDD (and SSD depending on budget)

My budget is reasonable. I'm in college after all. My PSU works without an issue, please elaborate. The case may be good other than wire management, but the back and side fan are highly loud and inefficient.

 

[lehtv]

You really need to pick a max. budget in absolute terms. Otherwise it's likely that someone will suggest a build and then you go "that's more than I can pay". Reasonable is a subjective term.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

buy a cheap tower cooler or closed-loop water cooler to overclock the 950. Add a newer GPU like a 7970. You can do both for less than $250.- and the parts can be used in your next build.

 

[Delsana]

I find it unlikely I'd switch away from nVidia. As for liquid cooling, that isn't something I'm skilled enough to set up. I'm not looking for a new build, I'm looking for some modifications I can perform to my system within reason that will better my experience.

It seems like I could use some new fans to replace the 2 fans I pointed out. Those are mounted on the back and the side of the case. Suggestions for types to get that are quiet but very effective would be appreciated.

Additionally, suggestions for a 2 TB or higher hard drive primarily for the purpose of high-end programs and games that would be good to replace my current hard drive or supplement it would also be useful. I'm willing to look at options and I'll decide from that.

--- In regards to an SSD, if a quality one that has great reviews and a good price that could fit my OS one or two primary games, and the main system can be found, then I'll consider it.. provided I have improved the cooling in my system.

As for the power supply, I really need to know why mine is so bad and why I should prioritize that.

In terms of the graphics card, I find it unlikely I'll buy another before resolving these current issues.

And finally, in looking at memory, suggestions of good memory that is higher than 6 GB, whether I should be using triple channel or dual (triple right now), and links to options for ram I should consider.

Addendum:

Due to the upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale dates, I'm not necessarily sure whether I should try to find something in those deals or whether that will just be forcing product on me they want to get rid of. Suggestions on that would be appreciated.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

Use the same case - don't upgrade just for the sake of it.
Buy a water cooler for the CPU.
Get a good PSU.
Get a SSD for your OS and software (not games).

 

[birthdaymonkey]

Your Coolmax power supply was a low quality, inefficient, unreliable unit when you got it six years ago. Now it's a ticking time bomb just waiting to take some of your components with it when it pops. That's why you should get a new one, and from a reliable manufacturer this time. You don't need anything with a high wattage. For single GPU, 400-500 watts is sufficient--in fact your current PSU is probably not capable of anywhere near the 700w printed on the label.

The Antec 900 is very capable in terms of airflow and cooling capacity. If the stock fans are too loud, you can replace them with better models, but I doubt this will have much effect on your temps. If your CPU is running hot and loud, you can get a tower cooler to replace the stock HSF or a closed-loop water cooler (an all-in-one unit, doesn't require any expertise to install).

As for the GPU, you can replace the stock cooler with something like an Arctic Cooling Twin Turbo II if you're set on keeping that GPU. I doubt that tinkering with your case fans is going to make much of a difference in terms of the GPU fan speed/temps. You might check, however, that there isn't a bunch of dust clogging the GPU fan/heatsink, and blow it out with compressed air if necessary.

If you're looking for an inexpensive, quiet fan with decent airflow and cooling power:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835610006

 

[sm625]

All you need is a video card and maybe a psu. But I wouldnt even replace the psu. If you have one that lasts 6 years then it is more liekly that it will last another 6 years than the next one you buy.

 

[riversend]

I am going to ask the question: what is your budget within 10%? $200? $300? More?

 

[mfenn]

I am going to ask the question: what is your budget within 10%? $200? $300? More?

Agree. "Reasonable" doesn't mean anything to us because we haven't lived in your shoes for 20 years and don't know what your expectations are. Reasonable to some people might mean $50, to others it might be $200, and to still others it might be $800. If you're AdamK47, reasonable might be $2000. Give us a number, and we can help figure out what makes sense for you. Otherwise this will happen:

Someone will suggest a build and then you go "that's more than I can pay".

And then we get to play the warmer/colder game until we figure out what your budget is. Nobody wants that, we want to help you as promptly and thoroughly as possible.

 

[ZGR]

I would just upgrade the PSU and GPU.

Nvidia only? 770 4GB or 780.

Overclock that i7 and get a new cooler for it.

 

[Delsana]

Currently, I am willing to go up to 300, I very much would prefer it be at 250, but clearly I'd much prefer to pay less. In exigent circumstances, I can find more funds.

In regards to the fans, let me make it clear that I would really like to be able to put a fan on the side mount panel that comes out when I open the case. More accurately, I would really like to be able to put a fan that isn't ridiculously loud on that side, as it has one of those 2 blue led fans I pointed out up above. I want that fan to be high quality or at least do what I want at the best rate. And so I'd likely put one on the back too to replace the other blue led fan I have installed there. The 2 fans blowing out near the harddrives and the top fan (which likely has its own issues) are not planned on being removed or changed out as they still work. At current, I have no idea what fan to replace the two blue ones with.

The harddrive has to be supplemented with more space, I simply can not keep operating on a 70 gb threshold that I have to keep deleting things to keep available and my games can't take it either as I have a large archive. I don't think I'm in the territory for a solid state drive yet as I don't think it will really impact me as much as it might another, so for now I'm leaning towards sticking with just a larger hard drive. It seems that it should be another Seagate Barracuda for 2 or 3 TB? I hear the 2 TB one had too many platters or whatever so I'll go with the 3TB I guess.

Why don't you guys seem to like my graphics card? Did it hurt you? Coming from a nVidia 8800, I can definitely tell you that it has been good to me. Since you seem to dedicated in making me swap that out, then some links to options I should consider and the reasoning why I should consider those (as well as what the difference will be and if the temperature will be cooler on it or not with quieter fans) would be appreciated.

My CPU via HWMonitor from CPUID... The idle temperature on my Gigabyte X58-UD3R for the CPU is 38, something called a northbridge seems to always be at 47 on idle. My i7 950 cores seem to be between 45 and 52 at idle. And the graphics card is generally at 38-41 at idle. I use the default CPU heatsink and fan and other than changing voltages, have no legitimate idea how to overclock or why I'd want to.

As a quick test, I used Witcher 2 on max everything as an indicator of what's going on. At standard play the graphics was at 70 temperature with 70 fan and all other temperatures were raised by roughly 10. I'd like to decrease that temperature so the fan is less loud, otherwise lowering the fan manually makes it at 75-80 and that's dangerous.

You're saying better fans won't help that?

As for my power supply, very well you think it will die on me. I won't say I'm going 500, at some point I will upgrade my computer again perhaps with even better stuff, so I'd like to future proof it. If I were to say, add an SLI card and upgrade my ram someday, what would I want to get, and from what brand? I was under the impression my chosen brand wasn't terrible.

No one thinks I need more ram? Would it even do anything to get faster ram?

Finally, I don't know anything about replacing stock cooling fans, what's that about?

---

Thank you for the responses.

 

[piasabird]

Newegg had a sale recently on 4gb hard drives. If you sign up for their newsletter you might see some 2,3,4 GB hard drives.

Newegg server was down?? Sort of.

 

[birthdaymonkey]

Currently, I am willing to go up to 300, I very much would prefer it be at 250, but clearly I'd much prefer to pay less. In exigent circumstances, I can find more funds.

In regards to the fans, let me make it clear that I would really like to be able to put a fan on the side mount panel that comes out when I open the case. More accurately, I would really like to be able to put a fan that isn't ridiculously loud on that side, as it has one of those 2 blue led fans I pointed out up above. I want that fan to be high quality or at least do what I want at the best rate. And so I'd likely put one on the back too to replace the other blue led fan I have installed there. The 2 fans blowing out near the harddrives and the top fan (which likely has its own issues) are not planned on being removed or changed out as they still work. At current, I have no idea what fan to replace the two blue ones with.

The harddrive has to be supplemented with more space, I simply can not keep operating on a 70 gb threshold that I have to keep deleting things to keep available and my games can't take it either as I have a large archive. I don't think I'm in the territory for a solid state drive yet as I don't think it will really impact me as much as it might another, so for now I'm leaning towards sticking with just a larger hard drive. It seems that it should be another Seagate Barracuda for 2 or 3 TB? I hear the 2 TB one had too many platters or whatever so I'll go with the 3TB I guess.

Why don't you guys seem to like my graphics card? Did it hurt you? Coming from a nVidia 8800, I can definitely tell you that it has been good to me. Since you seem to dedicated in making me swap that out, then some links to options I should consider and the reasoning why I should consider those (as well as what the difference will be and if the temperature will be cooler on it or not with quieter fans) would be appreciated.

My CPU via HWMonitor from CPUID... The idle temperature on my Gigabyte X58-UD3R for the CPU is 38, something called a northbridge seems to always be at 47 on idle. My i7 950 cores seem to be between 45 and 52 at idle. And the graphics card is generally at 38-41 at idle. I use the default CPU heatsink and fan and other than changing voltages, have no legitimate idea how to overclock or why I'd want to.

As a quick test, I used Witcher 2 on max everything as an indicator of what's going on. At standard play the graphics was at 70 temperature with 70 fan and all other temperatures were raised by roughly 10. I'd like to decrease that temperature so the fan is less loud, otherwise lowering the fan manually makes it at 75-80 and that's dangerous.

You're saying better fans won't help that?

As for my power supply, very well you think it will die on me. I won't say I'm going 500, at some point I will upgrade my computer again perhaps with even better stuff, so I'd like to future proof it. If I were to say, add an SLI card and upgrade my ram someday, what would I want to get, and from what brand? I was under the impression my chosen brand wasn't terrible.

No one thinks I need more ram? Would it even do anything to get faster ram?

Finally, I don't know anything about replacing stock cooling fans, what's that about?

---

Thank you for the responses.

Your GPU temps are pretty normal, and certainly 80 degrees isn't very hot for a Fermi card. Changing your case fans will make very little difference to your GPU temps - you can get louder fans that move more air, or quieter fans that move less air, but by and large there are no miracle fans, and as long as your airflow is adequate, increasing it significantly with faster fans isn't going to make a big difference. I'm sure the airflow in your Antec 900 is fine. If you really want your GPU to run cooler/quieter, you're going to need to put a better cooler on it.

Good PSU brands include Corsair, Antec, XFX, many Rosewill models, and Seasonic. (As a rule I buy Seasonic or Seasonic-built). There are other good makes too, but Coolmax isn't one of them.

If you want to make your CPU run cooler, get something like a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo.

 

[Torn Mind]

Good PSU brands include Corsair, Antec, XFX, many Rosewill models, and Seasonic. (As a rule I buy Seasonic or Seasonic-built). There are other good makes too, but Coolmax isn't one of them.

No, only two of their lines are compelling buys, which are the Fortress and the Capstone series. Their 80 Plus Bronze or regular 80 Plus units MIGHT be okay, but anything older from them or included in cases are garbage.

 

[mfenn]

No, only two of their lines are compelling buys, which are the Fortress and the Capstone series. Their 80 Plus Bronze or regular 80 Plus units MIGHT be okay, but anything older from them or included in cases are garbage.

The Hive series is are totally fine for midrange and budget setups IMHO.

OP, thanks for specifying a budget. That amount should be plenty for what you want to do.

XFX XXX 650W $45 AR - just a stupidly good price for a modular unit based on the Seasonic M12II platform
Noctual NF-P12 120mm fan x2 $40 AP
Hyper 212 EVO $30 - I didn't see mention of your HSF, but adding this will really quieten down the PC if you're using the stock one
Seagate 7200RPM 2TB $100
Total: $215

 

[Delsana]

Well, I'm going to hold off on any graphic card updates since that'd be three hundred.. Perhaps next year for Christmas. /i will look into power supply upgrades. To future proof for possible SLI what wattage should I get? Additionally it seems the Seagate 3tb has notorious failure rates so /i'll have to go with a WD 2 tb black instead. Not sure how to make sure i have the newest version though. Finally I still want two good fans at a silent speed. Which should I get?

 

[birthdaymonkey]

Well, I'm going to hold off on any graphic card updates since that'd be three hundred.. Perhaps next year for Christmas. /i will look into power supply upgrades. To future proof for possible SLI what wattage should I get? Additionally it seems the Seagate 3tb has notorious failure rates so /i'll have to go with a WD 2 tb black instead. Not sure how to make sure i have the newest version though. Finally I still want two good fans at a silent speed. Which should I get?

For really quiet fans that are cheap and perform well for the sound level, the Nexus 120s that I linked to earlier are great. They've been the SilentPC Review reference fans for years and with good reason.

If you want to spend more than ~$10 apiece, look at Noctua or NoiseBlocker. Be warned that the returns start to diminish rapidly the more you spend beyond $10/fan.

For a SLI-capable PSU, I'd look at a Seasonic-built 750-860 watt model. Seasonic actually makes the units sold under many brand names... check out this list:

http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/psu_manufacturers

 

[mfenn]

Well, I'm going to hold off on any graphic card updates since that'd be three hundred.. Perhaps next year for Christmas. /i will look into power supply upgrades. To future proof for possible SLI what wattage should I get? Additionally it seems the Seagate 3tb has notorious failure rates so /i'll have to go with a WD 2 tb black instead. Not sure how to make sure i have the newest version though. Finally I still want two good fans at a silent speed. Which should I get?

Did you see my post above?

Actual failure rates of HDDs are all pretty similar. All you're getting with a WD Black over a Seagate or WD Blue is additional warranty, which doesn't really help you when your data is gone.

As for upgrading to SLI, don't. It's not worth it unless you're buying multiple cards per generation, which given your buying habits and budget, you clearly aren't. Just get a better single card with the savings ($40 modular 650W Seasonic PSU is pretty awesome).

 

[Delsana]

Alright, so before I make my final order this is the current plan:

Since my X58A-UD3R Gigabyte Rev 2.0 motherboard isn't a Z series and apparently can't use Intel's Smart Response system, I'm going to hold off on putting a SSD as a focus. Since I can't use it as a caching tool, I'll likely only get one when I have nothing else I feel I need to get. Also, since I have a third party Sata 3.0 connector on the motherboard, that makes it even less likely that a SSD would be used fully for me, and getting a new MB and thus a new processor is not going to happen for a couple years. If I were going to get an SSD though perhaps for Christmas what type should I get? I was looking at the Crucial M500 128 and 250 gb models though some suggest either the Intel or the Samsung EVO, but they wouldn't store all my games and without a cache usage I'm not sure just putting the OS and the most used applications and perhaps 1 game would utilize it very much.. more like under utilize.

As for the rest:

The Seagate 2TB seems to have platter issues that are inferior, so I'm going with the Seagate 3TB, but since I don't have a UEFI BIOS I'm not sure I'll be able to utilize that to its full potential either, which is worrisome. I looked at the WD Black but apparently the 3TB is not superior to the Seagate 3TB so that was surprising.

I'll go with the Nexus fans for now, not sure where the best place to put them is though or how to install their rubber style to my case's side and rear (or if that's the best place to put them, since someone mentioned putting it over the heatsink? That seems weird), but I'll figure that out. It'll be nice to have an additional fan in there and for it now to be set to low every day on the rear one. I wonder if the two stock fans for the Antec Nine Hundred case near the harddrive cages should be replaced as well? Not sure on that, they don't seem to be that bothersome but I don't even know what speed they run at.

The Hyper 212 CM EVO seems to be sold out and I'm a bit worried about having to go through the nerve wracking process of putting Artic Silver on the CPU again after delicately removing it, and then trying to situate a new heatsink on it. Do you guys think my heatsink is really that bad as the default for the i7 950? I'm sure I couldn't overclock it with it but I don't even know if I should overclock and that'd be an entirely different thread I'd need help with lol. Regardless, I'm not sure if I should be getting another heatsink or one of those Zalman fans or one of those Corsair coolers (do you have to refill them?), so some more info on that would be nice.

Someone said Seasonic and another said XFX, and I was looking at Corsair for the power supply. Can someone help me narrow down the options? I'd like something good quality obviously, but I would like to be able to future proof for a higher graphics card or even maybe SLI down the line. So how much power would 2 graphics cards, a high-end quad core, a good motherboard, and 3 harddrives and fans actually require?

Aside from that, I think I've begun to actually put things in the cart and start fidgeting with them so that's good. I'll likely make the purchases on Cyber Monday. And I've decided to hold off on any ram purchases until another time.

You guys seem to mention that my Antec Nine Hundred series case is good at things, but I wonder if you realize that it's the original, which has the worse wire management on the planet?

 

[mfenn]

Since my X58A-UD3R Gigabyte Rev 2.0 motherboard isn't a Z series and apparently can't use Intel's Smart Response system, I'm going to hold off on putting a SSD as a focus. Since I can't use it as a caching tool, I'll likely only get one when I have nothing else I feel I need to get. Also, since I have a third party Sata 3.0 connector on the motherboard, that makes it even less likely that a SSD would be used fully for me, and getting a new MB and thus a new processor is not going to happen for a couple years. If I were going to get an SSD though perhaps for Christmas what type should I get? I was looking at the Crucial M500 128 and 250 gb models though some suggest either the Intel or the Samsung EVO, but they wouldn't store all my games and without a cache usage I'm not sure just putting the OS and the most used applications and perhaps 1 game would utilize it very much.. more like under utilize.

This is straight up crazy talk. Adding an SSD is straight up the biggest performance upgrade you can make to your PC, bar none. You're worried about minute difference between different platter drives when you should really be looking at the 100x (yes, really) random I/O improvement that you could get from using an SSD. Not having SATA 6 Gb/s integrated into the chipset doesn't really matter, what you care about is random I/O performance, which is not bottlenecked by the SATA interface.

Managing space on a 240GB SSD is not terribly difficult. The biggest benefit is gained by putting your OS and applications on the SSD. Some games can see a benefit, but mostly just in level loading times. Media does not benefit at all.

The Seagate 2TB seems to have platter issues that are inferior, so I'm going with the Seagate 3TB, but since I don't have a UEFI BIOS I'm not sure I'll be able to utilize that to its full potential either, which is worrisome. I looked at the WD Black but apparently the 3TB is not superior to the Seagate 3TB so that was surprising.

UEFI is only needed to boot from a disk with a GPT partition table. GPT is in turn only required for disks greater than 2TB. This whole issue is a little moot to you however since you will be booting from an SSD or your existing 1TB drive (if you don't get an SSD).

I'll go with the Nexus fans for now, not sure where the best place to put them is though or how to install their rubber style to my case's side and rear (or if that's the best place to put them, since someone mentioned putting it over the heatsink? That seems weird), but I'll figure that out. It'll be nice to have an additional fan in there and for it now to be set to low every day on the rear one. I wonder if the two stock fans for the Antec Nine Hundred case near the harddrive cages should be replaced as well? Not sure on that, they don't seem to be that bothersome but I don't even know what speed they run at.

You mean Noctua? Replace the two loudest fans in your system with them. From your description, that sounded like the rear fan and that you wanted a side fan. They are compatible with normal screws if the rubber vibration damping mounts don't work in your situation.

The Hyper 212 CM EVO seems to be sold out and I'm a bit worried about having to go through the nerve wracking process of putting Artic Silver on the CPU again after delicately removing it, and then trying to situate a new heatsink on it. Do you guys think my heatsink is really that bad as the default for the i7 950? I'm sure I couldn't overclock it with it but I don't even know if I should overclock and that'd be an entirely different thread I'd need help with lol. Regardless, I'm not sure if I should be getting another heatsink or one of those Zalman fans or one of those Corsair coolers (do you have to refill them?), so some more info on that would be nice.

Yes, the stock heatsink is pretty damn loud. I would not be surprised if it is the loudest fan in your system under load. The Hyper 212+ looks in stock to me at $25 AP, its pretty much the same as the EVO. A more expensive HSF or AIO doesn't really make sense given your budget. A Hyper 212 will give you 90% of the benefit for $25.

Someone said Seasonic and another said XFX, and I was looking at Corsair for the power supply. Can someone help me narrow down the options? I'd like something good quality obviously, but I would like to be able to future proof for a higher graphics card or even maybe SLI down the line. So how much power would 2 graphics cards, a high-end quad core, a good motherboard, and 3 harddrives and fans actually require?

The thing to understand about power supplies is that there are far fewer power supply manufacturers than there are power supply brands. The XFX I recommended is in fact built by Seasonic.

A 650W will handle any single GPU setup that's out there. Going for SLI with your GTX 570 doesn't really make sense given how old it is.

 

[Delsana]

Actually upon review those Nexus fans he mentioned up there seemed to have reviews of being quieter and since one is going right on the back, that needs to be a quieter fan for my purposes.

In regards to the CPU, I'll take a look at that fan you linked, though I don't often hear anything other than the graphics card fans these days, so I'm not sure how loud that really is.

I understand that a 650 can run a high end single graphics card, but truth be told I will someday buy a new graphics card and when I do that, I'd like to know if I need to future proof in case I get two of those. While it's unlikely I'll ever buy two, the possibility is there, and I certainly will be buying a new one, likely next year. Hence why I was curious how much I would need for another. Amazon's power supply guide said that 750 can usually run two for most people, but I don't know if that's actually true.

Finally, I've actually been looking at those after market graphics card coolers and I'm kind of curious what ones would be suggested. Also, are the installation procedures very easy?

Edit:

Additionally, since it seems that an SSD would still be useful, I'd still like some help choosing a good one.

Edit 2:

I looked at your suggested power supply but there were not a lot of reviews on it which always makes me wary. I do like the quasi-modular design of the cables though. Not sure what the fan noise level is.

To compare, I listed the most reviewed power supplies in my range and found these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

(not sure what the difference between this and the one above is: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021

I hear the TX has worse cables and no modular and the HX has semi modular and better parts? I'm not sure what the difference between the first 2 is though, I guess one must be newer? Though the second seems to have a higher percentage of 1 level reviews.

 

[mfenn]

Actually upon review those Nexus fans he mentioned up there seemed to have reviews of being quieter and since one is going right on the back, that needs to be a quieter fan for my purposes.

The Noctuas can be run in one of three modes:

1. Normal: Slightly louder than the Nexus but much more cooling power
2. LNA: Quieter than the Nexus and more cooling power
3. ULNA: Basically inaudible but the same cooling power as the Nexus

I understand that a 650 can run a high end single graphics card, but truth be told I will someday buy a new graphics card and when I do that, I'd like to know if I need to future proof in case I get two of those. While it's unlikely I'll ever buy two, the possibility is there, and I certainly will be buying a new one, likely next year. Hence why I was curious how much I would need for another. Amazon's power supply guide said that 750 can usually run two for most people, but I don't know if that's actually true.

Edit 2:

I looked at your suggested power supply but there were not a lot of reviews on it which always makes me wary. I do like the quasi-modular design of the cables though. Not sure what the fan noise level is.

To compare, I listed the most reviewed power supplies in my range and found these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005

(not sure what the difference between this and the one above is: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139020)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139010

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139021

I hear the TX has worse cables and no modular and the HX has semi modular and better parts? I'm not sure what the difference between the first 2 is though, I guess one must be newer? Though the second seems to have a higher percentage of 1 level reviews.

750W can handle most dual-GPU setups. However, spending a bunch of extra money up front for the chance that you might someday a couple years from now run SLI doesn't make sense. Based on your buying history, you will end up running a new single card for long enough that going dual-GPU doesn't make sense.

As for reviews, Newegg reviews mean nothing because you have no idea what the reviewer's technical background is. 99% of 1 or 2 star reviews are from people who have no idea what they're doing and screw their parts up by themselves. You have to look at professional reviews. It's easily the best PSU available at $40 right now.

Finally, I've actually been looking at those after market graphics card coolers and I'm kind of curious what ones would be suggested. Also, are the installation procedures very easy?

Usually putting the aftermarket cooling on is no harder than putting a HSF on a CPU. Sometimes getting the old cooler off can be tricky though. However, I wouldn't buy one until you've had a chance to give the graphics card direct cool air via a side fan and cleaned out the dust.

Additionally, since it seems that an SSD would still be useful, I'd still like some help choosing a good one.

The crazy Seagate 600 240GB deal is gone, so this Crucial M500 240GB for $144 is probably your best bet.

 

[Delsana]

I'll take another look at those fans then, they are pretty ugly though, lol.

I found the Hyper 212 Evo on Amazon for 5 dollars more, but I'm not sure which one would fit the best on my board.

If I swap out the CPU fans am I going to have to reseat the CPU and thus put more arctic silver on it? Or will I be able to just swap the fans out without messing with it. Should I reapply it just for the sake of it? Not sure.

I didn't see the Seagate SSD appear on the top 30 reviews so I didn't even pay it any attention, for Amazon or Newegg. Oh I'm going to need a 2.5 - 3.5 converter cage won't I? Any suggestions?

Yeah good idea on the GPU aftermarket fan swap, it would be best to see if I need it in the end.

I'll take another look at that power supply and read some reviews. Perhaps I just trust Corsair since they make 500 dollar RAM and have always been my ram supplier lol.

Edit:

Lol, it's been almost 3 years and I never realized my RAM was running at 1033. I just used the XMP Profile 1 to change the DRAM Frequency to the 1600 it was supposed to be. I'm sure it will have no visible effect but I like my stuff running the right way.

Doing so made me realize how little I know about using the BIOS though. I'm not sure I'm skilled enough to do an overclock even, unless I read from a well written set lol.

I did a bit more research on the fans, it seems that my board kind of hates fan controllers and so it has 3 pins or something? And the others have 4? This seems to be a problem.