Graphics Card Upgrade Help

[Richyy]

Hi guys, new to the forum and I'm looking for some help or experience...

I'm using a Packard Bell Imedia S3720 and I'm finding that even the simplest games and some HD video look like more of a PowerPoint than a seamless visual, which I was expecting...

After some poking around and asking people, I've decided the crappy little NVidia 512mb GCard has to go... but there doesn't seem to be one (I'll explain now, I'm no computer expert) More asking around and the general opinion/belief is that it's built into the MoBo
GREAT! a crap card I can't get rid of... -_-

Either way, I need to upgrade if I'm going to be able to use this thing for HD video or games (which I want to)


NOW onto the card...

I'm looking to add in a Sapphire RADEON 4870 1gb card... a 500W card and I currently have a 250W supply... Also planning to upgrade to a 500W supply, but I want to know, before I do, what are the odds of it frying the rest of the computer?

ALSO! I want to know if anyone's had any experience with this GCard or even this computer (It's kind of rare-ish, but it's nothing amazing, which is kinda why).

ANOTHER ALSO!! Seeing as my crappy little NVidia 512 mb card is built in, thus I can't get it out, would running ANOTHER GCard from a different manufacturer completely ruin the computer? if so, can someone tell me how to disable the drivers for the NVidia GCard so I don't end up running 2 card that won't work together?


If anybody needs to know more to give me an answer, please reply to this thread.

I need some advice and I'm really lost! =[[

[ShyguyXPC]

well for starters, your going to want a Good Quality Brand Power supply. (And yes, running the 4870 on your stock 250W PSU will most likely fry the PSU, and could potentially take out your entire system in the mayhem that ensues after the PSU Dies)

Antec, Corsair, Seasonic, FSP/Fortron, Silverstone, OCZ, PC Power & Cooling, Coolermaster, Thermaltake, etc etc. All good brands.





2nd, Not familiar with that PC, could you provide the hardware specs, CPU, RAM, number of drives, etc?



Most likely a Good Quality 400 to 500W PSU will suffice for your system.


need to know what CPU you have, because if its too low, it may bottleneck the 4870 card.

Also keep in mind, most Radeon 4870's are at least 9 inches in length (have one sitting on the shelf next to me), and are double slot width cards, so you'll need to make sure it has plenty of room to fit. You'll also need at least another 1 to 1.5 Inches for the Power connectors if it has its connectors on the end of the card, instead of the side/top edge.

They also Run hot on full load, you'll need to make sure your case has plenty of cool air intake and exhaust (especially if the card you get does not vent out the back of the case), to keep the card from overheating.




If you can afford it, I'd look into a Radeon 5770 instead, their newer (Support DirectX 11), similar performance to a 4870, but use less power and run much cooler.

[ShyguyXPC]

Good 5770, vents out the back of case as well.

Sapphire ATI Radeon 5770 1024MB GDDR5 Dual DVI/HDMI/Display Port PCI-Express Graphics Card - Retail

Another good one, doesn't vent out the back per say, but the type of heatsink it has is a VERY effective one (Vapor-X), and fan is fairly quiet on it, you'd just want to make sure it has plenty of good air intake and exhaust on the case.

Sapphire ATI Radeon 5770 Vapor-X 1024MB GDDR5 /Dual DVI/HDMI/Display Port PCI-Express Graphics Card - Retail


Depending on the rest of your system specs, this 430W Corsair would be a rock solid PSU to run, with plenty of power for the Video card.

Corsair CX 430W ATX2.2 Power Supply

Guessing that since your system now runs with a 250W PSU, the overall systems demands aren't all that much, and suspect the Corsair would be more than enough for the entire system plus a new video card.

[ShyguyXPC]

as to the existing nvidia Onboard video (which is what it sounds like you have), if thats the case, once you get your new card, Download the latest Radeon Drivers for your card, and Operating System, save them to the desktop or in a folder on the desktop or My Documents, where ever....

uninstall the Nvidia Display Drivers from with in windows, shut down the PC. Unplug it from the wall.

Install your new Power supply, and video card, plug it all up. (Make sure to ground yourself before handling anything in the case, so as to not damage anything from an Electro Static Discharge)

Boot up the PC (make sure the Monitor cable is plugged into the new card and not the motherboards video output), start windows Normally It will use the default VGA drivers.

Then after it finds new hardware for the video card, cancel any driver installation that Windows Automates, navigate to where the new Video drivers were saved, and run the installer for it.

once it completes, reboot the PC, and if all is done right, Windows should boot up with the new Video card, and Drivers.

May have to update DirectX afterwards too for games with the new card.






If you have an actual Video card in the PC, actually plugged into the motherboards Expansion slot.

Steps are similar, when you shut down the PC after uninstalling the drivers, you just need to remove the video card, and install the new one (along with new PSU), and just follow the same steps.



With Onboard video, it should automatically switch to the Video card, for the display device.

if it doesn't you may need to access your Motherboards Bios and find an option that allows the PC to initialize the PCI Express Slot Card first (Many times choosing between PCI, PCIE, or AGP, depending on the slots on the board, and/or Integrated or Onboard Video)

[Richyy]

ShyguyXPC you are INSANELY helpful here!! thankyou!

In reply to your first post: I'm at work at the moment and I can't access my computer. There don't seem to be any sites which give the specs and Packard Bell seem to have disowned it, as none of their websites show any info..

From the top of my head though, the specs are... (also, excuse me if some of the minor details are wrong here, I'm trying to remember what I very occasionally see)

OS: Windows 7 home premium
MOBO: Unknown =[
RAM: 3gb
CPU: INTEl Core2Quad (2.6GHz)
HDD: 1 X 260gb SATA
CD/DVD: 1X 52x DVD/RW drive
PSU: Unknown model 250W
GCard: NVidia on board 512mb card (no idea of the model, sorry =[)


Maybe that could shed some light on exactly what to do here, PSU wise? I know that the only big hitter on the power side of things is the CPU...


Thanks for the heads up on the Radeon 5770. a VERY quick look on google shopping shows them up to £40 cheaper than the 4870...
something's GOT to be wrong there though?? A card capable of running better and more up to date stuff selling CHEAPER than an equivalent old model... o.O

BTW: My monitor is a 32 inch HDTV running on HDMI. I know the 4870 would work DVI to HDMI, as it has no direct HDMI support... would the VGA drivers be able to detect that while I find and install the RADEON ones? (I know just getting the HDMI to work properly on the existing fully working NVidia card was a hell of a job, so please understand my dubiousness about that bit there...)

As for the PCI slot, there's no card attached to it at all... I took a photo of the PCI slot and video outputs last night to try and get some tech savy facebook friends to help me with finding out what i've got (link(apologies for the image being ridiculously small... photobucket won't upload the full sized one o.O)

The PCI slot is free and the case allows for a double card (which I'd checked up on and knew about) As for case ventilation... It's got a pretty beefy set of fans on it and a fair bit of exhaust ventilation on the rear... tbh, I'm not going to be averse to taking a drill to one side of the case and making the thing look like a cheese grater, if needs be. It's not looks, it's performance I care about! =p

hope this helps with more info if needed, I'll look into the 5770 some more now

Thanks AGAIN ShyguyXPC

[Richyy]

OH ALSO! the PSU I researched into and was planning to use was "BAM" <- that
a 500W PSU for the 4870 card... If I go ahead with the Sapphire 5770 (or the Vapor-X version for that matter) would the 430W Corsair PSU you suggested, ShyguyXPC, handle it okay?
Would having that extra 70W ceiling make any significant difference or is it not worth spending the extra tenner on, for my system?

Thanks again!

Honestly, you've got no idea how grateful I am for this info. I'm a complete hardware noob! software's my thing! =[ haha

-Richy

[Aaron_8015]

Well you have a hood CPU so bottlenecks won't be a problem. The 430w will happily run either the 4870 and 5770 (though I would recommend the latter). The card shouldn't have any problem picking up the hdmi signal, if not just use a monitor to set up all the drivers.

[ShyguyXPC]

ShyguyXPC you are INSANELY helpful here!! thankyou!

In reply to your first post: I'm at work at the moment and I can't access my computer. There don't seem to be any sites which give the specs and Packard Bell seem to have disowned it, as none of their websites show any info..

From the top of my head though, the specs are... (also, excuse me if some of the minor details are wrong here, I'm trying to remember what I very occasionally see)

OS: Windows 7 home premium
MOBO: Unknown =[
RAM: 3gb
CPU: INTEl Core2Quad (2.6GHz)
HDD: 1 X 260gb SATA
CD/DVD: 1X 52x DVD/RW drive
PSU: Unknown model 250W
GCard: NVidia on board 512mb card (no idea of the model, sorry =[)


Maybe that could shed some light on exactly what to do here, PSU wise? I know that the only big hitter on the power side of things is the CPU...


Thanks for the heads up on the Radeon 5770. a VERY quick look on google shopping shows them up to £40 cheaper than the 4870...
something's GOT to be wrong there though?? A card capable of running better and more up to date stuff selling CHEAPER than an equivalent old model... o.O

BTW: My monitor is a 32 inch HDTV running on HDMI. I know the 4870 would work DVI to HDMI, as it has no direct HDMI support... would the VGA drivers be able to detect that while I find and install the RADEON ones? (I know just getting the HDMI to work properly on the existing fully working NVidia card was a hell of a job, so please understand my dubiousness about that bit there...)

As for the PCI slot, there's no card attached to it at all... I took a photo of the PCI slot and video outputs last night to try and get some tech savy facebook friends to help me with finding out what i've got (link(apologies for the image being ridiculously small... photobucket won't upload the full sized one o.O)

The PCI slot is free and the case allows for a double card (which I'd checked up on and knew about) As for case ventilation... It's got a pretty beefy set of fans on it and a fair bit of exhaust ventilation on the rear... tbh, I'm not going to be averse to taking a drill to one side of the case and making the thing look like a cheese grater, if needs be. It's not looks, it's performance I care about! =p

hope this helps with more info if needed, I'll look into the 5770 some more now

Thanks AGAIN ShyguyXPC

For cheap, you can get a good Cooling case, and transplant all your parts into one.

Just an example (Same case I have, not in use currently), CoolerMaster Elite 335 Midi Case - Black

another good one, similar internal design to the one above: Xigmatec Asgard Case - No PSU


From the look of that pic (not sure why Photobucket wouldn't allow larger image, I use it, and lets me upload ridiculous sized images fine.

even have a 3D rendered image thats like 6400x3200 in size.

Anyways, looks like the Motherboard is an ECS model (familiar looking orange PCIe slot and green mobo LOL. as to what board, not sure.



But your Q6600 is a decent CPU and that OCZ 430W would be plenty to run the entire system with the GPU upgrade, etc.

OH ALSO! the PSU I researched into and was planning to use was "BAM" <- that
a 500W PSU for the 4870 card... If I go ahead with the Sapphire 5770 (or the Vapor-X version for that matter) would the 430W Corsair PSU you suggested, ShyguyXPC, handle it okay?
Would having that extra 70W ceiling make any significant difference or is it not worth spending the extra tenner on, for my system?

Thanks again!

Honestly, you've got no idea how grateful I am for this info. I'm a complete hardware noob! software's my thing! =[ haha

-Richy

Same OCZ PSU I have, used in that Coolermaster case I mention above, and currently stuffed into a Mini ITX Case I have, Lian Li PC-Q07 case, Also would be great for running your system with new Video card as well (Ran that PSU with a Dual Core AMD X2 CPU, 2GB RAM, 2 hard drives, DVD Burner, Radeon 4830, and then afterwards 9800GTX on it perfectly fine.

no, the Corsair will also be enough to run your entire rig also.

If you get a good deal on either, go for the one thats a good price, but the Corsair will be enough as well.

Well you have a Good CPU so bottlenecks won't be a problem. The 430w will happily run either the 4870 and 5770 (though I would recommend the latter). The card shouldn't have any problem picking up the hdmi signal, if not just use a monitor to set up all the drivers.

Edited your typo LOL.





As to the 4870 costing more than the 5770, the reason why is the 4870 isn't made anymore, and the 5770/5750 replaced the 4870/4850 models.

Also the 5700's have dropped in price from what they originally sold for, as did the 4800's before they were discontinued.

the new 6800's replace the 5700's, cost a bit more, but are much more powerful, in another 6 months they'll probably be costing less as well, and be in the $150 range as well.

as it is, the GTX 460 that competes with the 6800's, has fallen in price as well, and the lower 768MB model has dropped down into Radeon 5770 Territory, and easily beats it.

the Geforce GTS 450 beats the 5750 and costs the same, but the 5770 beats the 450...

as these current gen cards phase out, and hand the baton over to their successors, the performance will always be better, and for same price or less than what it costs for the older cards, as the older ones get scarce in supply the prices might go up.

take for example, the Radeon 5850 and 5870, with the release of the 6870 that replaces the 5770, the 6870 can be had for 5850 pricing and in general is similar in performance (sometimes costs less), and in some cases even beats the 5850, creeping up on 5870 territory, and it has lesser specs and power consumption than the 5870.

I know what I typed above seems confusing, heck it confuses me many times, tried to "articulate" it best I could...

basically, its just the way things go with the video card market.

Unless you can get a good deal on the older gen card, its almost always best to go with the current or newest successor to it.

[Richyy]

AWESOME!! thanks =D

Would getting a 500W PSU and having 70W to play with be of any significant improvement, or is it really just worth saving that tenner and going for the Corsair?

And also, your little "confusing" bit, actually made a fair bit of sense =D

It's reason enough for me to look up the GTS 450 (space and money being an issue, the less I have to spend to have this computer gaming capable, the better, though I've got a fair budget of about £220 (I'd prefer not to spend it all, and keep some aside... I've got a motorbike to be slowly saving for, too =p

[Aaron_8015]

Edited your typo LOL.

Its this new phone, im still getting used to it. I had to change 8 words in another post where I had accidently hit the wrong key. Why do they make these things so small?

[ShyguyXPC]

AWESOME!! thanks =D

Would getting a 500W PSU and having 70W to play with be of any significant improvement, or is it really just worth saving that tenner and going for the Corsair?

And also, your little "confusing" bit, actually made a fair bit of sense =D

It's reason enough for me to look up the GTS 450 (space and money being an issue, the less I have to spend to have this computer gaming capable, the better, though I've got a fair budget of about £220 (I'd prefer not to spend it all, and keep some aside... I've got a motorbike to be slowly saving for, too =p

No, for your system the 430W would be plenty and should have a bit of room to spare, the 500W isn't going to net you any more performance, unless say for example you threw in a GT 430 or something for a PhysX card alongside the GTS 450, if your board had dual PCIe Slots to do it with.

So the Corsair will be plenty with practically no difference in performance over the 500W OCZ.



Oh and just for Poops and Chuckles...

Photobucket, 6400x3200: http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...r6400x3200.jpg





Some other stuff I have on Photobucket: My 3D Backgrounds :: DonnyJMCF550Redux320x240LowQualityWithAudioavi.mp4 video by ShazMX6 - Photobucket

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...0x1080HDHQ.jpg

My 3D Backgrounds :: OrbitalFluidavi.mp4 video by ShazMX6 - Photobucket

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...onutsample.jpg

My 3D Backgrounds :: CoolRedGem_LowQualityavi.mp4 video by ShazMX6 - Photobucket

My 3D Backgrounds :: GyrosLensFlareGlowingOrbPreview720pHiQuality-YouTube.mp4 video by ShazMX6 - Photobucket

My 3D Backgrounds :: GlowieSuperBounce1avi.mp4 video by ShazMX6 - Photobucket

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...lated-Mini.gif




LOL, helps to have a Premium Account with them too (though have to admit I'm a bit pissed with them, several images have violated their "Terms Of Service", for being to Risque or bad taste, even though my album is locked from general public viewing, and the fact you can find much worse pics just randomly viewing open albums from their main page.)

Its this new phone, im still getting used to it. I had to change 8 words in another post where I had accidently hit the wrong key. Why do they make these things so small?

LOL, yeah, I know, thats one thing I hate about phones and their QWERTY keyboards, too damn small to type anything with any speed and accuracy.

but then again a Capacitive Touch screen wouldn't be any better either unless its a large enough screen not to run into the same problems with the keys being too small.


what would be nice, is some sort of Speech to Text Dictation technology, that actually worked right.

[Richyy]

okay awesome. Thanks again to EVERYBODY here, especially ShyguyXPC
You've all been immensely helpful and I actually know what I need to be doing now! Some youtubing and research has shown me how to change what needs changing I'll be buying the new PSU this week and the GCard on payday! I should have it up and running within the next 2 weeks or so. I'll try to remember to post up/update when it is

-richy

[Richyy]

Originally Posted by Aaron_8015
Its this new phone, im still getting used to it. I had to change 8 words in another post where I had accidently hit the wrong key. Why do they make these things so small?

Yeah, I've got a Blackberry Curve (an older one with awkward keys) for a fat guy with un-coordinated thumbs it's hard... haha!!

You get used to it though! =p
I find the iPod Touch harder to use, cuz I use my fingers to mess with that xD for a guitarist, I'm not really making myself seem talented when I can't even press the right buttons on an iPod am I? =s hahaa

-Richy

[ShyguyXPC]

Between now and then you may want to run some Benchmarks to compare before and after.

Furmark: FurMark: VGA Stress Test, Graphics Card and GPU Stability Test, Burn-in Test, OpenGL Benchmark and GPU Temperature | oZone3D.Net


Unigine Heaven (can run in DX9, DX10 and DX11 modes): Heaven DX11 Benchmark 2.1 | Unigine (advanced 3D engine for multi-platform games and virtual reality systems)


3DMark 06 (for DX9 systems, can also run on DX10/11, but its intended for DX9 hardware/Windows XP with DX9): Futuremark - Benchmarks - 3DMark06 - Introduction

3DMark Vantage (Need DX10 or 11, Was intended for Vista, but will run with 7 as well): Futuremark - Benchmarks - 3DMark Vantage - Introduction

3DMark 11 (DirectX 11 Required, So Windows Vista or 7 with DX11): 3DMark 11 – The Gamer&#039;s Benchmark for DirectX 11

Lightsmark 2007 and 2008: LIGHTSMARK - next generation lighting benchmark

One Rolling Demo (non playable) game I use for Benchmarks is this one: X3 Terran Conflict Rolling Demo Benchmark download from Guru3D.com

Though if you look around there are some others out there too.


Just make sure with the benchmarks you run them with the same settings for each run (Radeon 4350 and new video card have same settings)

So for example with Say Unigine Heaven demo, if you run it in DX10 mode, make sure with the new card to run it at same exact settings as the 4350 had, and compare the scores/framerates, etc.

Though I know with 3DMark Vantage, your limited to a single Run, not sure if 3DMark 11 is also limited to a single run, so those two might not be feasible, (I'd just run a single run with the new card afterwards to see what you get), otherwise to run unlimited runs, you'd need to purchase the base version of the software.

For 3DMark 06 though, you can run as many runs as you want, and the settings are locked so its same settings regardless of the card.

The rest of the benchmarks here you can tweak, change, tinker, and run as many times as you want.


overall it should give you an idea of the improvement over the old system at least for some games. Or could even indicate a potential problem or bottleneck if there's not a significant increase over the baseline (initial runs with current hardware, before running with upgraded) runs.

[Richyy]

Awesome, thanks for the tip! I'll get on with that tonight, when I get home!

By the way, I've been looking up the GTX450 card you suggested. Found the GTX460 at the same price... looks to be a MUCH better card but demanding a bit more power (about 460/470W..)

What you think of that for my setup, if I go for the 500W PSU after all?

[Richyy]

Actually I should point out... what I've found is actually a PNY GeForce GTX 460 OC (LINK TO REVIEW)

Factory overclocked version of the standard GTX460... reviews and benchmarks I've seen, comparing the base model alone to the 450, the RADEON 5770 and some bag of crap Asus card have the (again BASE MODEL) Leaving them all for dead... factory OC for the same price as a lower overall rated card.... sounds good to me... any bad experiences or anything to have me avoid it? :S

[ShyguyXPC]

Awesome, thanks for the tip! I'll get on with that tonight, when I get home!

By the way, I've been looking up the GTX450 card you suggested. Found the GTX460 at the same price... looks to be a MUCH better card but demanding a bit more power (about 460/470W..)

What you think of that for my setup, if I go for the 500W PSU after all?

its a bit better performing, you probably spotted the 768MB model.

If its the GTX 460 SE model forget about that one, its not that much better than the GTS 450, and is really just a Defective 768MB model, with some specs locked out and sold as the SE model.

They don't use that much more power, and that Corsair 430W Will still be enough power.

The Corsair Puts out 28A on +12V, that translates into 336W of power on +12V, the GTX 460 doesn't consume anywhere near that much, so there's plenty of power for the video card, and the rest of the system to use.


Just read your 2nd reply, if it is indeed the 1GB model you found, if its for only a little more than the GTS 450, then thats a GREAT Deal.

and the 460 is a good card, currently one of the best performing all around mid range cards out there, with only the Radeon 6850 and 6870 being its best direct competitors, the 6870 does tend to pull ahead in some cases, and is closer to a GTX 470 in performance.

But over all the GTX 460 1GB is a great card, low power, though the 6800's are still less power and cooler running.

But for the price, it'd be a great choice.

Yes, the 430W Corsair will still run it just fine.

If you opted for the GTX 470, or something like that, then a 500W PSU might be needed.

but the GTX 460 will be fine with the 430W PSU.


Just in case you stumble across one, the GTX 465, is based on the same GPU core as the 470/480 models, and do consume more power, and run hotter, but perform about the same as the 1GB GTX 460, the 460 is based on a revised version of the 465/470/480 core, uses less power and runs cooler.

the new GTX 560 Ti replaces the 460, but performs the same as the older 470. but those are just announced to be released, and might not even be in stock yet.

Newegg.com - Computer Hardware,Video Cards & Video Devices,Desktop Graphics / Video Cards,GeForce GTX 500 series,GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi)



But back on your question, if you can get a Factory OC'd 1GB GTX 460 for only a little more than a GTS 450, it'd be a great deal regardless.

[Richyy]

Yeah it is the 1gb model. Found it for £115 + £6 postage... the 5770 was selling for about £125 + £5 postage so it's actually cheaper... someone messed their pricing up there... that or the internet has YET AGAIN done me right =D

All the same, with it being a factory overclocked model (the PNY edition is the overclocked one, that I've found for 115 quid) are you sure the Corsair would handle it safely? I read the base card alone wanted a 450W supply and can't find if the OC needs more... (if you haven't already guessed, I'm ridiculously concerned about the PSU, because I'm terrified of messing something up or not having enough power to play with and frying my system, which I can NOT afford to replace and which I need for the technical side of my apprenticeship! :S)

Anyway, I've been reading reviews on it and it seems to have some good cooling and AWESOME revuews =]
All the same, I'm going to be taking some sharp objects to my computer case soon anyway to add some more vents/grills on the back and some on the opening side of the case as a precaution a running computer can never be too cool, right? =p

[ShyguyXPC]

Max Power draw on a stock clocked 1GB 460, 160W: nVidia GeForce GTX 460 1GB Video Card - Reviews, Specifications, and Pictures - GPUReview.com

Yes, corsair will run it. That 450W rating is the over all system power consumption, not what the card uses, and factors in the amount of crap power supplies out there that have to have a rating that high to output the needed amp ratings for the over all system.

Unfortunately due to the amount of Unscrupulous Manufacturers out there it ruins everything for everyone else that is making quality dependable products.

If everyone were trustworthy, then the minimum PSU specs would be something like at least a 300-350W PSU maybe.

But they also have to factor in the average PC power consumption.

Which is one of the reasons (though I don't agree with the idea myself, as it misleads users with the info provided for Benchmarks), why many Review sites use ridiculously Overclocked top end hardware for their Video card benchmark reviews, and then obtain the Power consumption and Heat output ratings from their tests as well. To obtain the info needed to know what the minimum amount of Power needed to safely run the PC with the video card (and this is the part I don't agree with, Its as if they think EVERY or at least most gamers are running a Quad or 6 Core overclocked by 50% or more, with 8GB of memory, and running $500 Video cards, which is far from the truth, as a result the Gaming Benchmark results they get do not show what someone with a much lower end system with same Video card will get in those same games at same settings)


Anyways the Corsair will run that card fine with your current system.

it should have enough power to even run a GTX 470 possibly with out much trouble.


If your not that comfortable with the Corsair, its up to you, grab the OCZ then, or nab a 550W Corsair with a little more room in available power.

Antec makes a nice NEO series 500-550W model.

as does Seasonic, though you pay a premium price with them, as they're the Cream of The Crop for PSU's aside from Enermax. Seasonic actually makes most of Antec's really good units, and almost All of Corsairs.

but what matters is what you think is safe enough.

The fact is, the 430W Corsair Will be enough, but if your more comfortable with some thing with a bit more power, like 500 or 550W, then thats fine too.

just as long as you don't over do it, you certainly wouldn't need anything beyond 550W, 600W Absolute max that would be ok, anything more, and its just really wasted.

unless you were running 2 or 3 or 4 Video cards.


With my Mini ITX case I have, the only reason I have the 500W OCZ modular in it, is the case can hold a full size PSU, and the Modular cables, all I need is the main Motherboard cables, and a single Cable for 2 SATA Devices, nothing else needed, cuts down on cable clutter in case, increases air flow, and just looks nicer.

granted the entire system could run on a 200W or less PSU, and still have power to spare, so 500W is way overkill, but still I shouldn't have to worry about not having enough power, plus it has decent surge/power protection built in, instead of using those low end cheap low wattage units that usually come with these tiny cases.

[ShyguyXPC]

Oh as to the sharp objects, depending on the material for the case.

Side panel, Tin Snips, and some rubber/plastic edging material, or even grind down and smooth the sharp edges,


But maybe look into installing a single 200mm or 230mm or 250mm side case fan, low speed, large CFM air flow, quiet running, large enough to provide air over the entire motherboard area as well.

Akasa AK-F2230SM-CB 220mm Silent Case Fan - 4 Pin [AK-F2230SM-CB]

NZXT 200MM 11 Blade Rifle Bearing Fan FS-200RB | Ebuyer.com

Antec "Big Boy" 200mm Tri-Cool Case Fan | Ebuyer.com

COOLERMASTER MEGA-FLOW 200mm Transprent Red LED Silent.. | Ebuyer.com

Just some examples.

My Case, though a couple years old already, has a 250mm case fan on it (Thermaltake Armor Case with Optional 250mm Side Fan Panel)

Thermaltakeusa*»*Chassis*»*Full Tower*»*Armor Series*»*Armor : Armor VA8003BWS

I actually had to modify the side panel, and mount the fan on the outside of the panel, which looks a bit ugly, but works, seeing as my Tower CPU Cooler, a Xigmatek Dark Knight 120mm Cooler, is just a tad too tall to close the panel, since the fan touches the cooler.

Needed the side panel (which I already had for a while), to cool 2 Video cards in the PC (My GTX 285 and 9800GTX, now I only have the GTX 470 in there, but will be adding the 285 back in, in the next week or so).

Picture of what I did:





So now it fits.

But I plan on getting a newer lighter Weight and Wider case before the end of the year.

With all my stuff in my case, the entire thing weighs in at an Easy 50 pounds, maybe 55.

Case itself, empty is at least 15 to 20 pounds or at least feels like it.