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Adding some new hardware: Compatibility Check!

The_SnizzThe_Snizz Member UncommonPosts: 16
in Hardware

Hello everyone, I'm about to order some new hardware for my PC and I was wanting to check with you guys to see what you think. Most of all to make sure that everything will work out okay.

Here is the list of what I currently have (What I plan on updating to will be listed below):

Motherboard:

ASUS M4A88T-V EVO - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131668

 

CPU:

AMD Phenom ll X6 1100T Black Edition 3.3GHz - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103913

 

RAM:

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

 

Power Supply:

RAIDMAX 730W - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152036

 

Video Card:

PNY GeForce GTS 250 1GB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133266

 

Here is what I want to add, replacing with what I currently have:

Video Card:

EVGA GeForce GTX 670 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130787

 

Power Supply:

CORSAIR 850W GOLD Cert - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011

 

Thanks in advance for your input!

Comments

  • RidelynnRidelynn Member EpicPosts: 7,383

    Why would you get a 670? The 770s are a lot better for like $20 more (and at that price point, $20 is not that much)

    Why do you need 850W of power for that?

  • RaunuRaunu Member UncommonPosts: 480
    Originally posted by Ridelynn

    Why would you get a 670? The 770s are a lot better for like $20 more (and at that price point, $20 is not that much)

    Why do you need 850W of power for that?

    I agree, drop the power supply, there is no need to pick up a new one. And get a 770 instead of a 670.

    - - "What if the hokey pokey really is what it's all about?" - -

  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,353

    While the parts that you're looking at are worthy upgrades for you (and your current power supply in particular is a piece of junk), they're also rather overpriced for your needs.  You can get better products for much cheaper:

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202008

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088

    If you prefer Nvidia and want a good deal, then you basically have to either save some money and get a GTX 760, or pay more for a faster GTX 770:

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125465

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500301

    Also, if you've got the budget for parts like that, then an SSD would be a nice upgrade for you:

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147188

  • The_SnizzThe_Snizz Member UncommonPosts: 16

    Thanks for the input. I'll pick up the 770. I was thinking I should get a better, more reliable power supply if I'm going to be getting a good graphics card. The Corsair one is quite hearty and is very reliable. I haven't had problems with my current power supply, but I'm not sure If I want to wait til I do. It's sort of a off brand one I guess.

    What do you guys think, stay with the current power supply with the 770? Or get the Corsair?

  • The_SnizzThe_Snizz Member UncommonPosts: 16
    Originally posted by Ridelynn

    Why would you get a 670? The 770s are a lot better for like $20 more (and at that price point, $20 is not that much)

    Why do you need 850W of power for that?

    Do you think my current power supply will be able to handle the 770 well? Or should I pick up a new one, just lower then a 850W?

  • Stuka1000Stuka1000 Member UncommonPosts: 955
    The PSU is rubbish to be honest but having said that 730w is enough to power a 770 so why spend money where it isn't needed?  If the PSU is working fine then leave it.   If you insist on buying a new one the corsair range are pretty decent.
  • The_SnizzThe_Snizz Member UncommonPosts: 16
    Originally posted by eric1000
    The PSU is rubbish to be honest but having said that 730w is enough to power a 770 so why spend money where it isn't needed?  If the PSU is working fine then leave it.   If you insist on buying a new one the corsair range are pretty decent.

    Thanks, I'll try my current PSU with the 770 for now.

    I'm going with this one:

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CU9GOAE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,353
    Originally posted by The_Snizz
    Originally posted by Ridelynn

    Why would you get a 670? The 770s are a lot better for like $20 more (and at that price point, $20 is not that much)

    Why do you need 850W of power for that?

    Do you think my current power supply will be able to handle the 770 well? Or should I pick up a new one, just lower then a 850W?

    The main issue is quality, not wattage.  At stock speeds, you'll likely never pull 400 W from your power supply, even with the upgrade.  For you, a good quality 850 W power supply doesn't have any advantages over a good quality 650 W power supply.

    But a good quality 650 W power supply is massively better than a poor quality power supply of any wattage, and the latter is what you have.  Your current power supply might run everything in spec, but it might not.  It might have excessive ripple or poor voltage regulation that slowly damages other hardware.  It might cause system crashes, or abruptly shut down.  It might someday die and take the rest of your system with it, including the expensive parts that you just bought.

    While no power supply is 100% reliable, high quality ones are far less prone to any of those problems.  Furthermore, if a high quality power supply does die, it has protections in place to make it less likely that it kills other hardware in the process.

    You could actually go much cheaper than the Seasonic X-650 that I linked and still get a huge upgrade over your current unit.  But if you're spending $400 on a video card, then spending $95 (before a $15 rebate) on a high end quality power supply is entirely appropriate.

    Also, be sure to get a good SSD if you don't already have one, as they provide a hugely obvious upgrade in performance.  Spending $400 on a video card and then running all of your programs off of a slow hard drive is doing it wrong.

  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,353
    Originally posted by The_Snizz
    Originally posted by eric1000
    The PSU is rubbish to be honest but having said that 730w is enough to power a 770 so why spend money where it isn't needed?  If the PSU is working fine then leave it.   If you insist on buying a new one the corsair range are pretty decent.

    Thanks, I'll try my current PSU with the 770 for now.

    I'm going with this one:

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CU9GOAE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

    You need a new power supply, and I'd recommend replacing the power supply even if you decided against upgrading other hardware.  I'd bet good money that your current power supply wouldn't function properly if you tried to pull its rated 730 W from it under real world circumstances.  If you're lucky "not functioning properly" would mean shutting down.  If not, you could have a bunch of dead hardware on your hands.

    How much power can you pull from it and keep everything in spec?  400 W?  500 W?  600 W?  Some run out of spec at 100 W, even if they don't actually die until you try to pull far more from them.  And running out of spec can damage other hardware, even if it's not at all obvious that the power supply was the real culprit.

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