Power problem with new case...

[Synthesthesia]

The Steam christmas sale has rekindled my love affair with PC gaming.

I was just wondering, if i could skip getting EVERYTHING new and just boost my graphics card for an upgrade? I'm wanting to buy a 1920x1200 monitor.

Current specs are:

3800+ (2.00 gigahertz) AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core
ASUS A8R-MVP Motherboard
ATi Radeon x1800GTO 256mb graphics card
2GB OCZ ram

Any advice would be much appreciated

And if you know anywhere selling 1920x1200 monitors for cheap that would be a good bonus too

[Hohum]

That's a tough one... whilst you could just upgrade your graphics card, I think the rest of your system may prevent you from getting a decent framerate at 1920x1200. What's your existing monitor? Perhaps you'd be better off using the money towards new PC components, then buy a better screen further down the line.

[Synthesthesia]

It's either a 40" sony HDTV at 1920x1080, or an old dell 17" TFT at 1280x1024.

[Matt]

Your CPU will limit many recent games I'm afraid.

I'd stick with your HD TV for the time and upgrade the whole PC, if money permits

[Rep]

Echoing the comments, splash out on some new hardware first. Could do which replacing that board first

[Synthesthesia]

I was afraid of that lol.

What's the minimum cost i'm looking at for a rig to play most things top settings? Not bothered about crysis much.

[abigsmurf]

Will definately need a new graphics card but the rest of the system will be a minor bottleneck too.

An ATI 5770 is probably the best bang:buck card for your upgrade. Check the rating on your PSU to see if you can take it (I'd imagine a 400W one or better would just about cope but look up beforehand).

An extra 2gb ram (make sure it matches the speed of the ram in there or you'll be wasting money) is a relatively cheap upgrade that'll be a big boost. Expect to pay around £30

Depending on the motherboard, you'll probably be able to upgrade to a much better CPU (look up on the manufacturer's site or google for other people's experiences with the board) for not too much (£50+).

[Synthesthesia]

Should I also look into getting a sound card? I just use onboard atm, would that make games run better? (would also let me use it with my surround sound speakers/headphones).

[abigsmurf]

Sound cards are dirt cheap now, if you've speakers you can't properly use with your onboard it's probably worth it.

[sj33]

You shouldn't really need a new sound card for surround sound. The common Realtek onboard sound supports 5.1 fine for new games (older games that relied upon DirectSound for surround sound may require you to install 3D Soundback) over analogue. Because optical/coaxial is only 2.0 PCM by nature, you need to enable the Dolby Digital Live option in your Realtek control panel. This will encode the sound as Dolby Digital on the fly, and is the only way to get 5.1 over optical/coaxial regardless of sound card.

Since Vista, there is no hardware acceleration of sound as such, everything has to run through a protected software layer. Because of this, dedicated soundcards are a little pointless these days unless you have specific requirements (like HDMI bitstreaming) or have audiophile tendancies and like to switch the OMAPS and the like.

That said, if you really want to get a new soundcard regardless, go with the Xonar DS.

[Synthesthesia]

Got my 8800GT yesterday, really, really impressed with how much it's improved things! I was getting around 15fps on Trine at 1280x720, now i get 77fps average on highest, everything turned on at 1920x1080.

Also managed to run Stalker at 120fpsish, max with everything on at 1920x1080, got about 40fps before on medium at 1360x768 with my x1800gto!


Also should be getting my new PC case tomorrow... Gone with a Cooler Master Scout, was going to get an antec 900...but this one looks better, and is cheaper! (mmm black)

[Synthesthesia]

Got my new case, installed everything in it, and it won't start up

I've tried reversing the power button connector to see if that was causing it, but after 6 tries nope. Tried wiring my old case's power button, nope.

Tried disconnecting all the fans, no luck.

Green light comes on on the motherboard though so i'm guessing it's not shorting out?

[Hohum]

Could still be a short. Take the motherboard out of the case again, and ensure you've fitted the motherboard standoffs properly (secure, and that you don't have any standoffs fitted where there aren't screwholes in the first place).

[Synthesthesia]

Found out what my problem was. The manual for the power button i downloaded, said the wrong positions. It needed moving one pin to the left. Shame i only found this out after taking it out of the case... :/

Thanks anyway.

[Rep]

Also should be getting my new PC case tomorrow... Gone with a Cooler Master Scout, was going to get an antec 900...but this one looks better, and is cheaper! (mmm black)

Back in the day the Antec 900 was a massively popular case when it came out. Bought a 1200 last week and it's a beast. Are you sure it looks better?