Need a little PC upgrading advice.

[Hotrod]

Alright so, I've been planning to upgrade my computer for a nice long while, but I have never gotten the chance to get to it. But now that summer is here, and there's no school, I should be able to finally upgrade. So now, I have chosen some parts that I will get to upgrade my computer, but there are still a few choices I could use help with.

So, here's a list of things that I am considering (note that all prices are in Canadian Dollars :

Processor :
AMD Phenom 9500, 2.2Ghz, 189.99$

Memory :
Corsair XMS 2x1GB KIT PC6400 DDR2 800MHz, 79.99$

Hard Drive :
Keeping what I have for now, but will consider getting a new one

Video Card :
Visiontek Radeon HD 4850 Video Card - 512MB GDDR3, PCI Express 2.0, CrossFireX Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, HDMI Support, VGA Support, 199.99$

Motherboard :
ASUS M3N-HD HDMI AMD AM2+ AM2 DDR2-10, 159.99$

Power supply :
Antec EarthWatts 650 - Power supply ( internal ) - ATX12V 2.2 - AC 100-240 V - 650 Watt - active PFC, 99.99$

Total so far : 729.95$
Total with taxes : 824.84$

So, before I buy all this stuff, I'll need a new Power supply, and probably a new case. But, I'm not quite sure what to get. I don't really care what the case looks like, all I'm interested in is how powerful of a power supply I'll need, so I might be able to find a case that comes with a good one already in it. Also, if you have any suggestions, or see any problems with this configuration that will stop it from working, please tell me, and I'll look into it.

Also, I don't want to spend too much money, and the less used, the better, so don't suggest that I go buy 2 9800GTXs or something like that, because that won't happen. The max I'll want to use is 1000$, that's including taxes, so please keep that in mind. Thank you in advance for helping me.

EDIT : Well, I have chosen the power supply, and I've changed the video card to the HD4850 instead of the HD3870.

[kenney001]

how about 4 gigs Corsair XMS2 FOR 86?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184

or a geforce 9800GTX for 220?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150287

[Hotrod]

Maybe, though, again, I still need to know how powerful of a power supply to get. The memory seems like a good deal though, I'll look into it.

EDIT : The 9800GTX takes up 2 slots, which is all I have on my board, and it's pretty big, I don't want to get something that doesn't fit.

[kenney001]

nvm The HD4850 is out, and its alot cheaper

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102747

[Hotrod]

That also looks like a good deal. However, I'm not sure if my parents would let me order that stuff online, especially from a site they've never heard of.

How much more powerful is the HD4850 compared to the HD3870?

[343guiltymc]

Besides, it's newegg. I don't think they ship to Canada. It terms of performance, 4850 is similar to the 9800 GTX, and the 9800 GTX is more powerful than the 3870.

[ultama121]

If possible in any way, go for the 4850, its slightly better, and seems to be overall cheaper.

[Hotrod]

Alright, I've seen the HD4850 for 243.99$, so I could get that one without going over my limit. However, which is the better deal, the HD3870 for 199.99$ or the HD4850 for 243.99$

Also, would a 450 Watt power supply run this setup well enough?

[ultama121]

You may want to refer to these benchmarks to help make your decision: http://www.pcghx.com/aid,648086/Test/Benchmark/Radeon_HD_4850_PCGH_Benchmark_Review/&page=1
E: Wait, wrong url. FIXED.

[kenney001]

how the hell do you know about building pc's but not know what newegg is?

[Xetsuei]

Hotrod where are you getting sites for your parts? Futureshop? Ive got a little setup that I think might work, but it depends what the prices are in Canadian dollars.

CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 around $189.99
Memory
Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800 2GB Stuff, I think it's around $40 with MiR
Mobo
ASUS nForce 750i $149.99
Video Card
eVGA e-GeForce 9800GTX $199.99, but it might be lower.

Total is about $579.97

To whoever recommended him 4GB of RAM, don't get it. Anything 4GB and over will make you have to get a 64bit operating system.

[Hotrod]

how the hell do you know about building pc's but not know what newegg is?
I know what Newegg is, but I've never used it.

@Xetsui : Hmm, that could also work, I'll consider it.

As for the 64-bit OS, I don't really want to upgrade that at the moment, and I'm sure 2Gb will be fine, so I think I'll stick with that. Thanks for telling me that.

[Amit]

how the hell do you know about building pc's but not know what newegg is?

Well, he was talking about his parents and he never said they knew anything about computer building.


I know what Newegg is, but I've never used it.

@Xetsui : Hmm, that could also work, I'll consider it.

As for the 64-bit OS, I don't really want to upgrade that at the moment, and I'm sure 2Gb will be fine, so I think I'll stick with that. Thanks for telling me that.

2GB should be fine. I find that Futureshop has bad pricing. All video cards are overpriced. I'd consider the HD 3870 overpriced at $199 as well since I've seen the sapphire single slot version (blue) for $139. I haven't seen any stores in Canada that sell the thing either, except for Tiger Direct and NCIX.

Well the Canadian prices for the HD 4850 are still overpriced as well since the US/CAD rate is pretty close and the best I've seen for one is $240. It shouldn't be more than $210. They'll get pretty cheap fast so I'd wait a month or two if possible. I'm still waiting for what kind of HD 4870s Sapphire will throw out with Atomic or Toxic branding.

[Hotrod]

Yeah, I'm not buying at Futureshop, TigerDirect is where I'm looking. I probably won't be upgrading for about a month anyways, so I can wait to see if the prices go down, and if not, 30$ isn't all that much.

Also, I know nobody has answered this yet, and it might be getting a little annoying, but I really need to know how powerful of a power supply I'll be needing.

[Xetsuei]

Anything above 550W should be fine, one exception for a Corsair 520W.

[kenney001]

My bad....its a little hard reading on my iphone and i skimmed. Sorry..

[Hotrod]

Thank you Xetsui, that helps me quite a bit.

@Kenney001 : I understand, it's not your fault.

[Amit]

If he's not planning on crossfire, I don't see much in the computer that takes up a lot of power. a 500-Watt power supply should be fine. Just make sure it's a good brand. Post the product back here and we'll look over it for you. If it doesn't cost much more...well you could pick up the 550W PSU if you decide later to crossfire.

[Xetsuei]

Room for upgrade is always good.

[Hotrod]

Room for upgrade is always good, but I'm 99% sure that I won't be getting a second video card to crossfire, so I'll try to get a 500 Watt, unless the 550 Watt isn't much more expensive.

What would be the lowest I would need to run it all (not that I'm going to go get the lowest, but just out of curiosity), and what are good Power Supply brands?

[Amit]

Room for upgrade is always good, but I'm 99% sure that I won't be getting a second video card to crossfire, so I'll try to get a 500 Watt, unless the 550 Watt isn't much more expensive.

What would be the lowest I would need to run it all (not that I'm going to go get the lowest, but just out of curiosity), and what are good Power Supply brands?

Well, some of the more known ones are usually companies that make good memory or chassis for computers: Corsair, Antec, OCZ, Rosewill (select PSUs), and to a certain extent, Raidmax.

[Hotrod]

Well, I was looking at Antec power supplies, and one of them is the "Antec EarthWatts 650 - Power supply ( internal ) - ATX12V 2.2 - AC 100-240 V - 650 Watt - active PFC" for 99.99$ or the "Antec Basiq BP500U ATX12V 2.01 500W" for 79.99$. I'm leaning towards the 650 Watt one, but what do you suggest?

[Amit]

Well, I was looking at Antec power supplies, and one of them is the "Antec EarthWatts 650 - Power supply ( internal ) - ATX12V 2.2 - AC 100-240 V - 650 Watt - active PFC" for 99.99$ or the "Antec Basiq BP500U ATX12V 2.01 500W" for 79.99$. I'm leaning towards the 650 Watt one, but what do you suggest?

Looks great for $100. Definitely get the EarthWatts 650 because you get three +12V-22A rails for just $20 more than getting only two +12V-18A.

Basically, the more Amps on the +12V rails you have, the better. So you must get the EarthWatts 650.

[Patrickssj6]

Pay attention to the rails
Don't buy something below $75
500 Watt is enough...except when overclocking...the Watts will skyrock.

Get a Phenom instead of a Core2Duo. You should consider getting 64-bit Vista.

My part.

[kenney001]

64bit vista gave me much slower overall performance that 32 bit, and was quite lacking in the driver availability.

[Hotrod]

I was always going to get a Phenom rather than a C2D, so I agree on that part. I'm not sure if I'll upgrade to Vista though, since it uses more memory than XP, and I'm only going to have 2Gb of RAM, so I want to have as much for games as possible. Thanks for the suggestion though.

[343guiltymc]

I was always going to get a Phenom rather than a C2D, so I agree on that part. I'm not sure if I'll upgrade to Vista though, since it uses more memory than XP, and I'm only going to have 2Gb of RAM, so I want to have as much for games as possible. Thanks for the suggestion though.
Plenty people use vista and 2GB of RAM, and yet they play games fine. And why Phenom?

[Hotrod]

Yes, but I don't feel like going to buy Vista, since it's more money to use, and I'm 100% fine with XP the way it is. Also, the Phenoms are less expensive than the Core2Quads, and I've never had any problems with AMD so far, so I don't see why I wouldn't get one.