Upgrading my rig

[Krez]

SOLVED:

Hey all, I'm looking for a 500gb sata drive and newegg has these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822145215
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822152052
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136073
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136149
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822148136

Will the double cache in this one be worth the extra $20?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822148288

Basically what I'm looking for is a drive that is very stable, will last quite a while with no corruption, and doesn't get too hot. The noise of the drive doesn't matter at all, I have a 74gb Raptor right now so I'm quite used to clunky hard drives . Are any of these faster than the other? Thanks a ton!

(Look down for more questions)

 

[BlueAcolyte]

all the ones besides the last and first one are worth it. You may want to look at the Western Digital green power because of the lower heat... AFAIK there is no real difference but about $5...

 

[Krez]

Thanks for your help Blue . Next question:
SOLVED

Can anyone recommend a good pci-e video card for around $50 please? It'll only be used for light gaming such as WoW and BF2, so it doesn't need to be very powerful, just enough to run those games without any lag. Will a 1650 or 7600GS do the trick?

 

[imported_wired247]

depends on your resolution, but you can run WoW on reasonable settings with a 7600GT flawlessly, or if that is really too much $$$ then you might consider a 6800Ultra (used)


Sorry but I haven't test driven any 7600GS's (but the GT is a fantastic card!! in fact I'm not sure of the difference between GS/GT)

WoW is fairly CPU limited (there was a discussion recently)

 

[DSF]

I played BF2 and BF2142 on the 256MB AGP version of the 7600GS with no problems at all. I was playing at 1024x768 with medium settings I think. The framerate was fine, so it probably could've been run at a higher res.

 

[Krez]

I think I'll just go with this 1650, it seems decent and is a bit cheaper than the 7600GS's
http://www.newegg.com/product/...x?item=N82E16814102084

So the next question I have is, is there any difference between the Intel E2160, E2180, and E2200 aside from price and speed? Does one overclock better than the others?

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: Krez
So the next question I have is, is there any difference between the Intel E2160, E2180, and E2200 aside from price and speed? Does one overclock better than the others?

The E2180/2200 might be a tad easier to overclock since they have a higher multiplier, but they won't be leaps and bounds better than the E2160. They'll all probably overclock to roughly the same point, within 200MHz or so of each other I would think. Always depends on the individual chip you get and the rest of your system, of course.

 

[Krez]

I'm not looking in to overclocking more than 600-800mhz, otherwise I'd have to get a better cooler and ram. What's the power draw on them, are they all the same?

 

[Krez]

Hey guys, back again. I bought the 2200 and an Abit IP35-E motherboard and just received them today. I'm installing them as I write this and am taking a break after wrestling with the stock hsf I'm not even sure I got it in right... Anyways before I go any further, the mobo looks like it requires an 8-Pin power supply cord, which my PSU doesn't have. It says in the manual that, although not recommended, I can still use a 4-Pin cord. Could I use my 4-Pin without any danger? I have an Allied AL-B500E PSU leftover from my other rig. Please look carefully at its specs and tell me if it will be ok for all my computer components:

http://www.bigbruin.com/html/allied500w.htm

My current specs are:
Abit IP35-E
Intel E2200
3gb DDR2-800
7900GT
CD/DVD Drive
WD Raptor 74GB
Hitachi 160GB 7200
A few fans and lights

Will my current PSU be fine for what I have now, or will I have to get a new one?

Btw, is the E2200 a C2D? It says pentium on the box so I'm not sure...

Thanks!

 

[Roguestar]

It's a Pentium processor based on the new Core 2 microarchitecture. They're just applying the pentium badge for the lower end Core 2s now, no need to worry.

The PSU should be fine, providing you plug the 4-pin in as well as the main one; if you're having problems you can always replace it later.

 

[Krez]

By main one you mean the 24-Pin cord, right? My PSU does have that. I'm just worried about any danger I might be putting my new mobo in. Are you sure that the 4-Pin would work fine in the 8-pin slot? It says in the manual:

You may connect either a 4-pin ATX12V or an 8-pin EPS12V power source. However, it is recommended to connect the 8-pin EPS12V power source to meet the 240A protection limits.

What does that mean?

 

[Roguestar]

I mean the 24-pin one, yes. Check the manual again for where the 4-pin plugs in; I'm not sure but I think it goes in the 8-pin slot, from looking at photos of your motherboard.

Basically they say it'll work but if you had the 8-pin one it'd be better.

 

[Krez]

Would the 4-Pin in the 8-pin slot be giving the mobo enough power?

 

[Roguestar]

Yes, it'll work.

 

[Krez]

Thanks for your help Roguestar, the PSU is working fine now. However, I've been getting BSOD's quite often, and in a memtest run of each of my RAM sticks it seems that one of my 1GB and 512GB sticks are reporting errors. Since I plan on overclocking it looks like I'll want to get another 2x1GB kit of high quality RAM. Any recommendations? Nothing extremely fast, just DDR2-800, but it needs to be stable enough to OC with. Thanks in advance.

 

[Roguestar]

Any decent set of 2x2GB DDR2-800 for under $100 would do you great;
try this: for $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231122