OT: New PC!

AgentZero · #1 December 26th, 2005, 11:30 AM

Frugal: fru�gal adj.
1. Practicing or marked by economy, as in the expenditure of money or the use of material resources.

Sorry. Had to.

Anyway, I've been out of the loop for so long, all this new RAM terminology has got me a bit confuddled. DDR this and PCxxxx that. What the devil does it all mean? And more importantly, what's a good thing to look out for that would give decent performance along with a managable pricetag?

Fyron · #2 December 26th, 2005, 02:09 PM

You can get a good price tag on any RAM, so long as you shop around.

PCxxxx is related to clock frequency of the RAM, in a convoluted sort of way. Higher is generally better. Try not to combine different "PC" levels of RAM, since it will all be downclocked to run at the lowest frequency.

Sorry. Had to.

Not entirely sure why.

AgentZero · #3 January 5th, 2006, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Imperator Fyron said:
Sorry. Had to.

Not entirely sure why.

Because I had to. I thought I was clear on that.

Anyway, here's a rather important question: I'm looking at a Geforce 7800 card, and it says as part of it's minimum requirements that one should have a 350W power supply. Now, if I'm going for two SLI cards, does that mean I should be looking at a 700W power supply?
I'm assuming not, since I don't think it needs the whole 350W, and that's listed as a minimum since that's the least it will run on with the processor, fans, HD, etc running.

But I can't seem to find anywhere that says what the card's actual draw would be. Any ideas?

Thermodyne · #4 January 5th, 2006, 05:59 PM

This is what I used in both of my sli systems
PSU

Beware, it's slightly longer than a std PSU. Made it a real hard fit in one of my cases.

AgentZero · #5 January 5th, 2006, 08:17 PM

Thermodyne, this is the case I'm thinking of (Though I'll be looking for a slightly better price, this site just has the best info about its dimensions). Case

Ed, thanks for the idea, but I left my spreadsheet with all the details on it at work (I'm productive, really!) so I can't actually remember what card I was looking at. I might actually show up early tomorrow just to find out.

Edit: Fixed linky

Thermodyne · #6 January 5th, 2006, 09:43 PM

OK that�s the same case I have but with a different front. You will have to remove the top of case connector panel and fan to install the linked PSU. It�s not a big deal, one screw on the panel and a squeeze bracket on the fan. Don�t loose the screw, it�s a real short one.

AgentZero · #7 January 6th, 2006, 09:08 AM

Currently this is the PSU I'm looking at PSU .
That should fit ok, shouldn't it? Out of curiosity, Thermo, do you have to remove the case connector pannel & fan permenantly, or can they be replaced once the unit is in place?

Ed Kolis · #8 January 5th, 2006, 06:47 PM

Is there an online version of the printed manual at the manufacturer's website? Those things usually explain all the nitty-gritty technical details...