PSU wattage for this config?

[GodofCats]

Hey all, new poster here.

I just purchased a motherboard that I'm looking to install and upgrade with. I'm wondering if there's anyone out there that can tell me if it will work with a 500 watt PSU, or if I'll need to upgrade, and if so, to what wattage...

Here's the config I'm looking to get...

Motherboard: nVIDIA® nForce 570 SLI
CPU: INTEL CORE 2 DUO E6300 CPU (with fan)
GPU: 2 (SLI) e-GeForce 7600 GS 512MB PCIe Video Cards
2GB 677 RAM
CD Burner/DVD drive
CD Burner
and a wireless network card

I'm guessing a 500 or 550 watt won't work, but perhaps a 600 or 650 watt will work. Thanks in advance for requested info.

-Cats.

[GodofCats]

Also, this is my first time installing a dual core processor. Is it difficult to do? I've read that it's a snap, but I'm unsure...

[Cricket]

As long as it's a good quality power supply, a 500 watt unit is more than enough for that setup. See this thread.

Installing a LGA775 CPU is easy...installing a LGA775 heatsink is another matter. Here's a illustrated tutorial.

Cricket

[hitchface]

A 550 should be fine...but I'll check.

Yeah, Cricket beat me to it. According to a PSU wattage calculator, you're only really looking at about 300 watts max. That might be skewed, but I'm positive you'll be more than fine, supposing you have a good quality unit.

[GodofCats]

550 watt should be fine... OK, sounds good. Dual core CPU easy to install, that's good... The 775 heatsink I've installed before, onto a P4 processor board. Thanks for the info... one last question that I've forgotten...

How do you install and configure SLI graphics with two cards? I've also never done that before, although I HAVE installed one PCIE card into a SLI board.

[hitchface]

Your mobo should come with a connector for the 2 cards.

[GodofCats]

Thanks for such fast replies cricket and hitch.

[GodofCats]

Originally Posted by hitchface Your mobo should come with a connector for the 2 cards.

OK, here's the thing. I got a VERY good deal on the motherboard, but as a tradeoff, it didn't come with hardly any of the supplies that I needed. (driver software, manual) so I'm not sure if it came with the connector for the SLI.

Where should I get one/ what should i do?

I already called the store where I got it from and they said that was the last one they had, to call ECS, the motherboard company.

[hitchface]

No prob. Just plug the cards in, connect them via the SLI linkage, boot up. Windows will recognize it and give you a hardware message. Your drivers CD will come with all you need. Detailed instructions here: http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone_howtobuild_1.html

EDIT: If you can swing it, I'd pitch for another mobo. You want one with drivers, and you don't want ECS. See if you can return it (I doubt that is possible, but who knows) and snag a nice Asus board. You should be able to get one for relatively cheap.

I had an ECS board a while back...actually it was an ECS system. I had RAM slots fuzzing out on me and all manner of instability problems.

[The Village Idiot]

Am I the only one who thinks the nForce 570 chipset is an AMD board?

[hitchface]

Somehow I doubt that an AMD/ATI board would have a competing chipset on it....but thats just me.

[GodofCats]

Originally Posted by hitchface No prob. Just plug the cards in, connect them via the SLI linkage, boot up. Windows will recognize it and give you a hardware message. Your drivers CD will come with all you need. Detailed instructions here: http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone_howtobuild_1.html EDIT: If you can swing it, I'd pitch for another mobo. You want one with drivers, and you don't want ECS. See if you can return it (I doubt that is possible, but who knows) and snag a nice Asus board. You should be able to get one for relatively cheap. I had an ECS board a while back...actually it was an ECS system. I had RAM slots fuzzing out on me and all manner of instability problems.

Unfortunately, ths is not really an option for me. I got the motherboard really cheap, but at the same time need to upgrade my entire PC. Ah well. I will try to contact ECS...

[GodofCats]

Originally Posted by GodofCats Unfortunately, ths is not really an option for me. I got the motherboard really cheap, but at the same time need to upgrade my entire PC. Ah well. I will try to contact ECS...

Okay, I lied. It WAS an option for me. I took it back to the vendor and got a mobo for $10 cheaper, and it supports more than the first mobo, in most aspects. My next question is: Is Quad Core really worth it? If not, when will it be worth it?

Another question: I'm looking to get two cheap 512 Radeon Crossfire supported cards of the same kind, what one would you recommend?

[Alaron]

TVI, the Nforce 570 came in AMD and Intel editions.

GodofCats, what exact board did you buy to replace the ECS?

You can do a forum search on quadcore vs. dualcore. I would go with quad for future proofing, but you'll still have a plenty-fast system with a dual core.

Does your new motherboard support Crossfire? Even still, I'd stick with a single card setup. Multi-GPUs are only needed for gaming at ultra high resolutions. The Geforce 8800GT is a heck of bang for the buck right now.

[hitchface]

What brand of motherboard did you get?

Quad core is worth it if you are a 'megatasker'. Do you run 4 or more apps at once on a regular basis? And I'm not talking MSN and a few internet browsers. Do you chat, game and type a paper all at the same time? Do you crunch CSV files while generating reports? If not, it won't be worth it. Dual core is the home for a lot of people now because you get good power for good money. Quad core is insane power that few people will use. Soon-ish, when games start being able to utilize all four cores, it will be worth it for gaming. But not yet.

As for the cards...how cheap?

EDIT: really gotta refresh before posting...

[GodofCats]

@Alaron: I bought an Infinity 975XG Board, it supports a better processor and better RAM, and it was 10 bucks cheaper.

I think I may go with the quad core... just to prevent future games from getting ahead of my rig.

@hitch I'm looking to get two Radeon cards for say 100-200 each and I would hope they would be 512MB.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by GodofCats @hitch I'm looking to get two Radeon cards for say 100-200 each and I would hope they would be 512MB.

If you're building a gaming rig you really don't want to use two cheap video cards in hopes that it will perform as good as one high end video card...they won't. Benchmarks have shown that two lesser video cards in CrossFire will not outperform one high end video card...they won't even come close. The only time CrossFire or SLi makes a difference is when you use two high end cards together. If you can't afford two high end video cards just get one...it'll still perform better than two lesser video cards.

If you do decide to run two ATi cards in CrossFire you have to get a power supply that is CrossFire certified. Go here for a list of certified power supplies.

Cricket

[GodofCats]

Thanks for all the info guys, (and gals if applicable)

Here are the specs:

Infinity 975 X/G mobo
Intel Quad Core CPU Q6600
4 Gigs of DDR2 800 RAM
RADEON X1950 PRO 512MB Video Card
Seagate Barracuda 160 Gig HD
APEVIA X-Cruiser Gaming Case

I'm going to add the same video card and a PSU that will support them crossfired at a later date. Whatchya all think?