BleepingComputer.com: Need new PSU and Video card for my tower.

So my pc's specs are these

AMD phenom 2.2ghz quad core
3gb ram
700gb hdd
nvidia geforge 8500gt

my psu is currently 300watt max.

looking to only spend about 250 dollars max.

this power supply would be a good choice, its made by antec and has really good reviews and should be able to handle most video cards on the market: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817371015
its only 99 bucks with free shipping, and I personally recomend ATI video cards, and Im assuming your computer has a PCI express x16 lane so I would recomend this card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814102822 for you, since your on a budget, its a decent mid to high end video card, for 90 bucks (75 after rebate) would vastly outperform your 8500. however, if your an NVIDIA fan, this EVGA card for 100 bucks (70 after rebate) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814130445 should do you fine. it wont work as well as the 4830 however, and in order to get a nvidia card that would match the 4830 in performance your gonna be paying 150+ bucks on the card itself. so I guess if it were me, I would do ATI they have the best price/performance ratio.

That's a good deal on the p/s. 80+ units are nice to have because they keep the electric bill down. How many internal devices are you running? (Hard drives, CD-ROM's, PCI cards etc.) A 650W may be bigger than you need. If you can get away with it (and if you pay your own power bill) an Antec 430-550W 80+ (They call them Earthwatts) power supply could save some green from the electric company while giving the same performance. (Note: If you run across a reasonably priced modular p/s that would be the best choice, less wires = more cooling and a cleaner look)

The ATI card I agree entirely on. I've found their build quality and lifespan to outperform similarly priced NV cards.

For $250 if you're willing to roll up your sleeves for an hour you can do some great things to that PC.

ATI cards are good, but they generally use more energy, slightly less efficient, and put out more heat than many NVidia cards. They are still a fine choice, though. I've never had good luck with Antec power supplies, I use Corsair and Silverstone PSU's. There are numerous choices for video cards and PSU's.

SPARKLE SFPX98GT512D3 GeForce 9800 GT - A better performer than the 9600 originally for the same point-of-purchase price. A 9800GT will roughly equal the same performance as a 4830. There is no rebate with this one. $100

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W - A great PSU that will handle most things thrown at it. Plus, it has a mail-in rebate. $109 (Before $20 mail-in rebate)

PC Power & Cooling S75CF 750W - Many board members swear by PC Power. I've never used their PSU's though. $104 (Before $15 mail-in rebate)

put out more heat than many NVidia cards

actually, this isnt always true, yes ATI cards generally use more energy, but not always run hotter. the 8/9000 series have very poor cooling, and run extremely hot. I had an nvidia 8600 GT in my system for awhile, and it overheated my system something horrible. my ati 3870 x2 actually ran FAR cooler then the 8600 did. wow. but yeah. :D I dont know anything about PC power power supplies or motherboards, never used them, i generally stick with brands I know for my builds. for power supplies I generally recomend Antec, corsair, OCZ, or coolermaster. have had some luck with Apevia as well.

The HD 4xxx series often does put out more heat than the GeForce 9 series. For instance, my current GPU, 9800GTX SLI, can put out about 72 degrees C of heat under load, whereas the 4870 puts out about ten degrees more. A few degrees one way or another isn't too major, but ten is a large jump. Many of the GT cards have poor heatsinks, so the case should have decent cooling the these cards. ATI cards are a good value, just know what you're getting.

[H] - 9800 GTX+ Heat and Power

ok so the pc i had was defective so i went out and bought a gateway dx4200-11 pc, it has most of the same stuff except this one has only 1 750gb hdd and the graphics card is integrated.

1 pci-express x16 slot is available though.

so i still plan on buying a new card+psu.

thanks for all the replies.

DJBPace07, on Mar 26 2009, 09:06 PM, said:

at stock yes, but have you tried rivatuner? the 4xxx series has the same defect the 3xxx series does is in the fan is automatically set to run at 25% which isnt much. My 3870 x2 runs at 80-90 C with the fan at stock, but when you turn the fan up to about 50-55% it runs at 50-60C under load, easy. the 4xxx series has the same annoying defect that is easily solved with rivatuner. I read a lot of reviewers with 4870 x2s running them at 50-60 C with the fan turned up. Now you can perform the same trick with the 9000 series, but you have to turn the fans up much higher (75-85%) to achieve the same temperature in most cases. I heard the new 2xx series from Nvidia run far cooler, but I havent tried them out yet. The key trick here is though, rivatuner. :D

No, I don't need to use rivatuner since, under load, my GPU's don't get above 66C. I can understand altering the tolerances with the fan to keep it from sounding like a jet engine, but most GPU's are designed to operate under hot conditions. The GTX 200 series uses a different, more efficient core allowing it to operate a little cooler. I don't mind ATI, they do offer better value than NVidia.