Advice on a power supply

[Chris01]

Hello,

I'm looking to get a new PC soon and just need to know if what I picked out all matches up. Specifically is the power supply big enough? Other than that if anyone thinks a part would work better than one I have chosen, please advise.

specs of the PC are:
OCZ 700W GameXStream Power Supply w/ Quad +12V
Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gamer Case
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66ghz
Asus P5N32-E SLI Plus
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium x86 (32-bit) DVD
4GB Corsair XMS2-6400C4 TWIN2X Dual Channel DDR2 Kit
xfx GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB PCI-E (just one)
Seagate 250GB Barracuda 7200.10 SATA II
ASUS DRW-1814BLT 18x Dual Layer DVD+/-RW w/ Lightscribe, SATA
Samsung - SyncMaster 206BW 20in Widescreen LCD w/ DVI


Thanks for any help.

[Alaron]

Looks solid. I just have a couple tweaks.

First, go with CAS5 RAM instead of CAS4. It is more stable with Intel setups. Corsair DDR2-800 is still a good brand/speed.

Along with RAM, keep in mind that a 32bit OS will only recognize 3.2GB of RAM out of the 4GB installed. To use all 4, you would need a 64bit version.

Your power supply is fine. If you want to read up on PSUs, check this out: http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=131195

[Chris01]

By CAS5 ram do you mean the latency rating 5-5-5-12 instead of 4-4-4-12?
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX17256(ME).aspx

Do you think the 700w PSU is too muich or is it suitable for when I start to use SLI? Also, thanks for the tip about the ram and 32 bit OS. I didn't know that. I was going to go with the 64 bit Vista at first but after reading around was worried about problems running 32 bit programs on it. Also, most reviews I read said you would only see a noticeable speed boost in really demanding applications. Do you know much about running 32 bit programs on a 64 bit OS and is it really difficult? Also, would you suggest going with XP instead of Vista?

Thanks!

[Cricket]

By CAS5 ram do you mean the latency rating 5-5-5-12 instead of 4-4-4-12?Yes.Do you think the 700w PSU is too muich or is it suitable for when I start to use SLI?If you plan to do SLi you might as well get a SLi certified power supply now. I don't think that OCZ is certified to run two 8800GTXs. Look here for lists of SLi certified power supplies. (http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone_build_psu.html)Also, would you suggest going with XP instead of Vista?A lot of us here are waiting for Vista SP1 to come out before we move up to Vista.

:) Cricket

[Chris01]

Thanks.

What about 32 bit vs 64 bit. Should I go with a 32 bit OS for now, with only 3.2G of my ram being recognized and move up to a 64 bit in the future sometime. Or go with the 64 bit right now and have all the ram visible. How much of a difference would it make really? Would it be worth it to have a bit more RAM but to have compatibility problems between 32 bit programs and the 64 bit OS?

edit: Also the OCZ PSU I have picked does say SLI Ready, is that the same as SLI Certified though?
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX12599(ME).aspx

edit2: Looking on that list of SLI certified PSUs though it doesn't list the OCZ 700w as working with two 8800GTXs.

[Cricket]

What about 32 bit vs 64 bit. Should I go with a 32 bit OS for now, with only 3.2G of my ram being recognized and move up to a 64 bit in the future sometime. Or go with the 64 bit right now and have all the ram visible. How much of a difference would it make really? Would it be worth it to have a bit more RAM but to have compatibility problems between 32 bit programs and the 64 bit OS?Can't help you with these questions, I have no experience with 64 bit operating systems.edit: Also the OCZ PSU I have picked does say SLI Ready, is that the same as SLI Certified though?Nope, "SLi Ready" is not the same thing as "SLi Certified". If you don't want problems get a SLi Certified power supply from the web page I provided a link to.edit2: Looking on that list of SLI certified PSUs though it doesn't list the OCZ 700w as working with two 8800GTXs.That's why I said what I did...I checked the web site before I posted my reply and saw the OCZ isn't listed for two 8800GTXs (but will work for two 8800GTSs).

:) Cricket

[Masaki 7-11]

I've tried 64-bit windows operating system, but I can't recommend it right now since hardly any programs run natively at 64-bit and waste a decent amount of resources getting translated from 32-bit to 64-bit code. I'm currently using 1GB for my XP rig and 2GB for my vista rig, both of which work well, so a change from 3.2GB to 4GB is not worth getting 64-bit unless you have custom program(s) that requires 64-bit.

[Chris01]

Thanks for the help and the list. I'm going with this one I think:
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX18779(ME).aspx

[Cricket]

Thanks for the help and the list. I'm going with this one I think:
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX18779(ME).aspxGood choice.

:) Cricket

[Chris01]

I've tried 64-bit windows operating system, but I can't recommend it right now since hardly any programs run natively at 64-bit and waste a decent amount of resources getting translated from 32-bit to 64-bit code. I'm currently using 1GB for my XP rig and 2GB for my vista rig, both of which work well, so a change from 3.2GB to 4GB is not worth getting 64-bit unless you have custom program(s) that requires 64-bit.

Thanks for that info. I think I'll go with Vista 32bit for now but stay with the 4gb of ram for when the time comes that I do move up to 64bit.

[Cricket]

I think it'll be awhile before 64 bit computing becomes mainstream. They've been talking about how much better it is than 32 bit for years and years but things haven't changed much in all that time. Of course 64 bit is the norm on the server side of things so it does have it place in the sun...that place just hasn't reached the desktop yet.

For me, 32 bit WinXP Home works fine and I'm happy with it (big improvement over Win98SE which I used for years). Won't move up to 32 bit Vista until I absolutely, positively have to.

:) Cricket

[Katreat]

Vista 64 seems to be getting a lot better support than XP 64 ever did, but it is actually slower on 32 bit programs because it has to do extra processing. So your decision to stay with a 32 bit OS is probably a good one to max performance on 32 bit software. I took the plunge and went with Vista and am generally pretty happy with it. Have not ran into any major problems and it has some nice features like 10X support :).

I am out of the loop on SLI Mobos, but be aware that Nividea has just released two new SLI chipsets, the 750i and 780i I think they are called, so you might want to read up on them and see what they have added to the mix before you buy an older 650i or 680i board. I know the 780i supports 3 cards in SLI, not just 2 and I think the new chipsets support the newer 1333 FSB processors.

Kat

[Masaki 7-11]

Regarding the Video Card you picked out (8800GTX) you might want to take a look at a 512MB 8800GTS since it has very close performance to the GTX while it's a lot cheaper.

[Tin]

Id ditch the multi-rail power supply and get something with a large single rail...PC Power and Cooling, Silverstone, Zippy, Corsair...something along those lines. With a multi-rail power supply, each amp is reserved for something. If your CPU uses 8a of one rail...the leftover amperage will be useless because its not being utilized by something else. Theres also no need for load balancing with a single rail unit.

[Cricket]

Id ditch the multi-rail power supply and get something with a large single rail...PC Power and Cooling, Silverstone, Zippy, Corsair...something along those lines. With a multi-rail power supply, each amp is reserved for something. If your CPU uses 8a of one rail...the leftover amperage will be useless because its not being utilized by something else. Theres also no need for load balancing with a single rail unit.Hmmm...the single vs multiple rail argument again. Do you think the power supply makers will go back to single rail PSUs again? Seems the multiple rail PSUs don't make much sense now.

:) Cricket

[Tin]

Hmmm...the single vs multiple rail argument again. Do you think the power supply makers will go back to single rail PSUs again? Seems the multiple rail PSUs don't make much sense now.

:) Cricket
Intels specifications from a few years ago were to have multiple +12V rails for all of the system components, but in this day in age, CPUs and video cards soak up a lot of amps. The main drawback with multiple rails is they can only support up to 20a each. From what I was saying above...if the CPU is using one rail and uses only 7 to 10a, the rest of the amperage will be wasted because that particular rail is supplying the CPU only. when you add multiple video cards into the mix or one single high powered card, the strain on the power supply gets greater. Nearly all of the big makers are selling their top units as single rail designs.