Is my PC any good?

[Frostmourne]

You need a new PSU, preferably 650w if your case conforms to ATX specs. You also need cooling. If you don't want to spend too much a 4890 is sufficient with a new PSU.

 

[pparks1]

He may or my not need additional cooling. Without a doubt, the PSU unit will provide more cooling to the case than the stock one. And the video card will have it's own cooling.

I think there are some who simply overcool their equipment.

 

[Frostmourne]

My system has one 200mm on the top, one 120mm (or 140mm) on the back and I'll be adding one 120mm on the side to intake directly onto the GPU.

 

[RST101]

Mountain and mole hill spring to mind here.

Get yourself a gpu and you will be good to go. Depending on what gpu you acquire will determine if you need extra power..

Some of the advise really is overkill here guys, the man/woman just wants to plays games not go the whole hog and have top end machine worth thousands.

In summary then

CPU = Good enough
RAM = Good enough
Disk = Good enough
GPU = Not good enough.

 

[Fumz]

Not necessarily overkill, imho.

His HP P6240F comes with a 300 watt PSU. Granted, the overall wattage may be sufficient currently, but overall wattage doesn't mean squat when it comes to powering a modern graphics card; it's the amperage that counts. If the OP does not have sufficient +12 volt amperage, then the experience of trying to resolve the myriad problems that will occur will most definitely suck.

I agree you should not just go out and get any old PSU just because it has a number stamped on the box, no matter how high that number might be; however, it's never bad advice to consider upgrading your PSU to one with high +12 volt amperage.

 

[RST101]

Not necessarily overkill, imho.

His HP P6240F comes with a 300 watt PSU. Granted, the overall wattage may be sufficient currently, but overall wattage doesn't mean squat when it comes to powering a modern graphics card; it's the amperage that counts. If the OP does not have sufficient +12 volt amperage, then the experience of trying to resolve the myriad problems that will occur will most definitely suck.

I agree you should not just go out and get any old PSU just because it has a number stamped on the box, no matter how high that number might be; however, it's never bad advice to consider upgrading your PSU to one with high +12 volt amperage.

If you read my post properly you would have noticed I stated "depending on what gpu you acquire will determine if you need extra power..

Also when I referred to overkill I meant by telling him his quad is not good enough and that he will need extra cooling.

That's all.....

 

[LyzeUH]

Get a better PSU-minimum 500W and pay attention to the 12V rails (with 25A at least-preferably), and get a graphics card-ATI 5750, 5770, or even 5830 when it comes out.

Seems as though you've posted a while back, if you would wait, take a look at Nvidia's new Fermi cards or the 5830 when they come out.

 

[TeamDerka]

So I would need a cooling unit and a GPU, right? (in that case, what would be the best, cheapest GPU to get?)

I see that a Raedon HD 4830 might be a good investment, but is it really?

 

[RST101]

So I would need a cooling unit and a GPU, right? (in that case, what would be the best, cheapest GPU to get?)

I see that a Raedon HD 4830 might be a good investment, but is it really?

The 4830m will be fine for you but you will also need to buy at least a 500 watt power supply to go with that. Also make sure there is at least 27/8 amps on the rail from which ever psu you decide to buy. You won't need a cooler so forget that.


Good luck...

 

[Fumz]

If you read my post properly ...

I did read your post "properly".

Imo, it's not a question of which gpu he chooses. Any gpu he gets that's worth getting is going to require more amperage on +12 volt rail; thus, require a slightly better PSU than the one's OEM's toss into their mid-range boxes.

Why not plan ahead and get both? This way, the OP avoids the hassle of having to go out and get another after the fact; and avoid the hassles that come with an inadequate PSU. Planning to get both before hand allows him to budget better... errr... properly.

 

[Wishmaster]

A 500W@ 25A PSU is a extremly weak Power Supply :-/


For the 4830 something like a Corsair 400W / 32A will be plenty and will power everything with ease.



However, if you want more head room for future upgrads etc.. , thats fine,
Im just saying this is the min. you should be aiming for. You'll have a little headroom, but not much.

just keep in mind to get a good quality PSU.
Pay attention to the 12V rail most of all, and effeciency and you will be fine,.

And by good quality that doesnt mean 'most expenisive" Or biggest wattage.

 

[TeamDerka]

I wanna thank you guys for all the help.

BTW how hard is it to take out a power supply from your tower and install the new GPU?

 

[stormy13]

Taking it out is the easy part; disconnect all cables from the power supply, remove 4 screws, lift the power supply out. Should just come right out assuming the heatsink on the CPU isn't in the way.

Putting it back you just reverse the process. Slide it into its position, put in the 4 screws, and connect everything back up.

 

[ThePizzaMan]

Taking it out is the easy part; disconnect all cables from the power supply, remove 4 screws, lift the power supply out. Should just come right out assuming the heatsink on the CPU isn't in the way.

Putting it back you just reverse the process. Slide it into its position, put in the 4 screws, and connect everything back up.

yes just make sure that if you have a 4 pin on your motherboard you also have one on the psu and that if you have a 24 pin as you main motherboard connector you don't get a 20 pin one

 

[LyzeUH]

My 700W psu powers my 4850 and 5770 fine and it has 25A 12V rails, that's why I set that as a standard but in any case, good brands to go for are: Corsair, Seasonic, Antec, PC Power & Cooling, and OCZ.

And for graphics card, you might want to go for the 4770 perhaps, it is stronger than the 4830-almost 4850-, uses less power, and is a cooler card(there's also ocing potential...). In terms of pricing...I was under the impression that the 4830s were no longer in production.

GPU is easy, remove the back grill near the PCI-E slot and push card in until fully inserted and locked in...and then there might be a snap to hold the rest of the grills in. The graphics card does come with instruction manual. And screws maybe?

 

[Wishmaster]

LyzeUH, you & I may have a slight misunderstanding.

When I refered to a 25A rail being weak, i meant a single 25A rail.


Some PSUs use more than one 12V rail, in which case is slightly different.

The PSU you have seems to have multiple Rails at 25A each, in which case is plenty.



Thought I should clarify.

 

[LyzeUH]

Yeah I forgot to mention that I have multiple 12V rails...all good.

 

[TeamDerka]

Is a PSU really necessary though? (I mean, who's to say I don't already have a good one?)

 

[Wishmaster]

To know for sure, pull the side of the case off and look at the PSUs specs.

it should be labeled on the side. See what its rated wattage is, and what the 12V rail is rated.

Then you will know whta you have to work with.

 

[TeamDerka]

It's just that I don't want to dissect my PC either for fear of destroying it.

Why do I have such a crappy GMA X4500?