i have a feeling..

[Bananashroom]

i have a slight feeling that my graphics card might be fried. so just in cast i didnt log on or anything. that is most likely the case. if im gonna replace it. its probably end of the month.

[kaasi]

your mobo doesn't have onboard video you can limp on?

[Hulkssmash]

on this topic, is anyone here a pro computer builder?

I have speced out a new machine and would like a little critique.


AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX

MSI 890FXA-GD70 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

SAMSUNG Black Blu-ray Drive SATA Model SH-B123L LightScribe Support

OCZ AMD Black Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3BE1600C8LV4GK

ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound

Antec Six Hundred Black Computer Case

Antec TruePower New TP-650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply

SAPPHIRE 100315L Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

(still trying to track down a sweeter case)

[Somosito]

What is your budget?

[Hulkssmash]

That computer above comes out to about $950 with some rebates and special offers. I would prefer not to go too much over $1k unless there was some particular item where you were like, ZOMGROFLMAOJENKINS YOU NEED THIS VIDEO CARD.

Preferably, I am looking for ways to do the same thing the above computer can do, but for cheaper.

[Sterne1140]

Invest in a larger power supply now. Bare minimum of 850W for a goming rig imo. Power starved video cards do not perform well.

[Hulkssmash]

Yeah, I used the Antec PS calculator and it told me 550 for what I have now, 850 for when I included extra PCIE cards, extra HDDs, extra everythang.

I first picked out the 750, but I was able to save about 100 bucks if i went with 650. You really think the 850 is necessary?

[Somosito]

Do not save money on your power supply. Ever. It's the one thing on your machine that can potentially flake out and take everything else with it.

You always want some cushion room for upgrading down the road and even for not putting a huge strain on it running what you currently have.

[Sterne1140]

^^^^^

Absolutely