PDA

View Full Version : Making Mid-PC Life Decisions


Kursah
05-16-2007, 04:02 AM
Well, my RMA's P5B Deluxe made it till yesterday and did the same thing my first MB did, would turn on, turn fans not, but no POST, no response...this happened when going from a slight OC'd state to stock...and did not change after removing CMOS battery, resetting CMOS jumper, etc...so it's on the way back for...yep ANOTHER RMA!!! AAAAHHHHRRRRGGG!!!.

I also complained to Newegg about my vcard, the Powercolor x1950pro 256, I like the card, and it's good bang for the buck or was, but overall I just am not content as I think it should've been, plus it didn't OC well at all, and frankly mine didn't really keep up with similar systems... They said they'd refund me the $200 US I paid, and I found an EVGA 8800GTS 320 for ~$315 US shipped ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130038 ), it also includes a $ 15 rebate (I'm bad with rebates though...). I can probably spare the extra $115 with my next paycheck n/p, and I am sure I'll need a beefier PSU as I don't think my current Antec Smartpower 2.0 500W w/ 12v1 @ 19A and 12v2 @ 17A will cut it. There's another 100 and some odd dollars in a new PSU which will keep me down longer, but may be worth it!

Should I take the refund on the card (I do like the cool temps it runs..but it OC's shitty, and it's performance doesn't make me happy when I can dish out another 100 bucks and get way more!) and have some serious downtime? I am using my old pc (currently my g/f's rig), and it will do fine till I can afford all the goodies, but I could be down up to or a little more than a month...I am planning on running Vista again, and haven't read up much about Nvidia getting their act together on drivers..I will look into that also.

If I do this then I'll be DX10 ready, have greater performance now..sure I'll miss the R600 boat and jump to the Green Side...but it almost seems worth it ATM, especially since I'll get full price back on my x1950. So I would like some recommendations on a good PSU, I found one here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153050 And it looks pretty good to me, plus when I get a new PSU, I want the 8-pin for my MB, more than two 12v rails is no big deal, but I'd like to keep it close to $100 US and be able to run the 8800, eventually OC'd with my system OC'd also.

So please respond soon and let me know if I should go for it, or sit on what I have...right now I'm leaning on 8800 + new PSU even though that means more downtime. Thanks all!

Kursah
05-16-2007, 04:39 AM
Also any info on 8800GTS 320 temps would be cool, I find varying results from different reviews,etc...but anyone that has experience, please let me know. And if anyone's also running Vista, what drivers are worth a damn ATM? Thanks again!

anticlutch
05-16-2007, 05:19 AM
My 8800gts idles at 58C after I replaced the stock thermal paste with Arctic Silver 5. I'd definitely recommend the 8800GTS; the only think you need to be careful of is how hot it gets. I'd recommend that you buy yours from eVGA because it has a lifetime warranty with the possibility to "step up", as well as it's current price of $260 with a MIR from Newegg :)

Wile E
05-16-2007, 05:28 AM
I say go for the card anticlutch suggested, and use the money to buy an even better psu.

Maybe this one? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139001

Kursah
05-18-2007, 12:50 AM
The card I linked to I believe was the EVGA 8800GTS, looks great!

But Newegg messed up by say they'd take refund on my x1950pro...and took their statement back, I argued today...a lot, and they aren't budging...I'm not too impressed. So now I'm down to selling my x1950pro in order to get an 8800. Kinda sucks having to take that route, cause I can't sell it full price, that wouldn't be fair, so getting a full refund would've been awesome! Ahh well...

hat
05-18-2007, 12:53 AM
My uncles 8800320mb runs about 60 idle/under 70 load
wierd I know

anticlutch
05-18-2007, 12:54 AM
Actually, those are pretty normal temps...

ktr
05-18-2007, 12:58 AM
I say go for the card anticlutch suggested, and use the money to buy an even better psu.

Maybe this one? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139001

no this one...http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341002

Ketxxx
05-18-2007, 12:59 AM
Because I'm tired and feeling lazy I say keep with what you got, its good stuff and will do fine for a while. Driver support for nVidia stuff in Vista also sucks heavily still, so that 8800 will be more like a $300 paperweight than something you can actually use.

Kursah
05-18-2007, 01:09 AM
Good point. I like the x1950...but I'm craving for more LoL. It'll never be enough I'm sure, it never has been.

KTR, that's a sweet PSU!

ATM I'm just gonna wait out for my M/B to return from RMA (AGAIN!!!) and hope that this one works out okay. Thanks for the answers and support!

Wile E
05-18-2007, 04:36 AM
no this one...http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341002

Nice find.

wazzledoozle
05-18-2007, 04:37 AM
Newegg has great customer service, but they arent some charity. $200 is a lot for an X1950Pro, how long ago did you buy it?

Kursah
05-20-2007, 05:04 AM
Newegg has great customer service, but they arent some charity. $200 is a lot for an X1950Pro, how long ago did you buy it?

True, and I understood their policies fine, plus I started this thread for help and suggestions, neither of which were provided by that statement :shadedshu . I did not assume they were charity, but when that tech e-mailed me stating they'd take the card back and refund my purchase price I was excited, I figured they're great service was even greater than I had experienced thus far..then to shortly recieve a following e-mail notifying an error had been made and they would do no such thing, well that's dissapointing, I don't care who you are, if you were in my shoes at that moment with that situation you'd feel the same :banghead:.

I bought it about 4 months ago, which is why I could only be so upset about that issue. $200 for an x1950pro being a lot? Hmm...hope you're not confusing x1950gt with pro :confused:. Cause last I checked the OEM version I purchased IS the same exact price I paid. Here's the link:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131031

Maybe you didn't check my sys specs and realize the extreme model also has the AC X2 cooler on it??? Who knows..but $200 for an x1950pro is still about the norms from what I've seen at least for one with any kind of decent cooling, $200 seems about right...but I have no reason to search for prices when I already have one! hehe


Now onto a different subject, I ordered a new PSU, nothing too crazy or expensive, but I found a good price on the Corsair CMPSU-520HX at ClubIT, here's the link:

http://www.clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno=A6200026

I read some reviews on it, from customers at Newegg and some professional reviews, sounds like a kickass PSU FTW! And I never plan on SLI/CF so I'm not too worried about that, otherwise I would've purchased a different MB from the beginning. And I'm gonna stick with my x1950pro for the moment and wait for prices to drop on the x2900xt's, and wait to see if a better version of 2600 with 256-bit memory will show up. But if 8800's get much cheaper it's gonna be awfully hard to deny myself one and explain the next PC investment to the "budget-nator"!! LoL!

I also just verified my Antec SmartPower 2.0 PSU is failing. I was gonna install it in my G/F's pc since the PSU that came with her thermaltake case is kind of a weak and cheap POS, after hooking everything up it worked okay for about 5 minutes, made this high pitch noise, and then poof! Power Down, and that was about it. This P4 630 system is lightly OC'd and there is no way it could overload that PSU, so I re-installed the original PSU, so I have at least one operating PC ATM so all is good there, and I have contacted Antec for an RMA.

Now I'm just curious about how I should place my AC Freezer Pro 7 since that PSU has the bottom 120mm intake for the PSU..I've seen some people aim the cooler up at that, I think I'll keep it aimed towards the rear case exhaust fan which also happens to be 120mm, I don't think feeding the PSU more heat would be a good thing. Anyone performed this and have any issues? Again thanks to those of you who have been helpful and suggestive!! It's very much appreciated, this is why I love TPU, it's gotta be the best place on the net!