Solve : Need help finding parts?

1.	Solve : Need help finding parts?
Answer» About a week ago I received my old computer from my home country. And I want to spend some MONEY to upgrade it and then do some overclocking with it. Current hardware: CPU - Core 2 Quad Q9550 Motherboard - ASUS P5Q3 (not deluxe) GPU - NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT 1GB RAM - 2x2GB DDR3 So I'm planing to buy second GPU ( and use them together at the same time) ( I know that P5Q3 second PCIE slot is limited) Also I need better RAM and Cooler. I found "Thermaltake CLW0215 Water2.0" cooler, but maybe something else would be better for cooling overclocked cpu. So, I need serious advice on GPU, cooler and RAM. You can also contact me directly [email removed to prevent spam] Thanks.Please do not put your e-mail in a post. Did you already buy Thermaltake CLW0215 Water2.0 May I say that before you install a water cooler, read over some reviews of others.The install can be a lot of hard work t of work. But for the price, it is a great idea.Welcome to the forum! The all in one kits like that Thermaltake are just as easy to install as an air cooler, but are usually more expensive for their performance. I really don't recommend them except in very specific circumstances, you're better off buying a good air cooler. I would pick up something along the lines of a Prolimatech Megahalems, Thermalright Archon, HR-02, True Spirit or Silver Arrow, or a Phanteks TC-12 or TC-14. All will perform on par or better than any all in one "water cooler" and will cost less. The P5Q3 doesn't support SLI, so you can't get another 9600GT to run together - even if you could, I wouldn't recommend it, because they're old cards now and even in SLI, they're not very powerful by today's standards. What power supply do you have? Any graphics card upgrade recommendation will be based on that, there's no point recommending a power hungry card if your PSU is LOW powered or low quality. Also, bear in mind most modern cards will be bottlenecked by your CPU, but you'll certainly benefit from an upgrade over that 9600GT as that's really holding you back. What resolution will you be playing at, and what games? When you say you need better RAM - define "better". Do you just need more RAM? FASTER RAM? Finally, do you already have an SSD? If not, I would personally make that my top priority and pick up a Samsung 840 (preferably the Pro or Evo rather than the Basic), Crucial M4, or a Plextor SSD, because that'll make the most noticeable difference to your PC's everyday performance. Edit: oh, an overall budget would also be helpful Ok. So I probably will take Prolimatech Megahalems or similar one cooler. My PSU is "FEEL 3 - 500 ATX", and now one guy recomended Nvidia GTX 660 for GPU upgrade, and its ok for me, but now I don't know if my PSU is powerful enough. And yes, I think that I need faster RAM if I want to do some overclocking with CPU. Or I'm maybe WRONG? Budget: lets say, I just need fast enough system, but not spend a lot of money for that PC I'm usually using to work with Photoshop Lightroom and sometimes to play first person shooter.SSD I'm using only in my loptop. PC currently set with RAID 5. Quote from: qzavs on September 09, 2013, 05:01:54 AM My PSU is "FEEL 3 - 500 ATX", and now one guy recomended Nvidia GTX 660 for GPU upgrade, and its ok for me, but now I don't know if my PSU is powerful enough. Never heard of that brand, are you sure it's FEEL 3? If so, I would err on the side of caution and replace it with a good known brand, rather than push it. The standard 660 isn't bad, but I would recommend a 660Ti over it. There are some good deals on the AMD 7850 and 7870 going on at the minute too. Quote And yes, I think that I need faster RAM if I want to do some overclocking with CPU. Or I'm maybe wrong? Faster RAM rarely makes a difference to real world performance. As long as you have a decent board, which you do, no need to go for faster RAM to overclock, either, as you'll be able to set the RAM divider or multiplier lower, to keep it around its rated speed. Quote Budget: lets say, I just need fast enough system, but not spend a lot of money for that That doesn't help much really, if you can at least give us a rough figure that would be a great help. Quote SSD I'm using only in my loptop. PC currently set with RAID 5. Then my comment still stands, you'll notice more of a difference, day to day, with a good SSD.Yes its feel 3. I think it was manufactured and sold only in europe. I will stick to RAID at the moment, and then after year or two I will start to think about completely now system, with much more cheaper SSD drives and etc. So I decided to buy Prolimatech Megahalems cooler, GTX 660 or AMD 7850 GPU. And because we dont know much about mu PSU, which one can you recommend to feed my system? And now I only have 2x2GB of RAM. I don't think it's enough. So I want to buy 2x4GB more. But I don't know which ones are better. maybe "G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) Ripjaws X Series DDR3 1600MHz (PC3-12800) 240-Pin"?What store will you be buying from? Or, if there are a few possibilities, please list them, so I can compare prices and see what's available. What operating system are you running at the minute, too?I'm now living in UK, and usually finding best prices on eBay. I have never in my life bought a PSU so I don't know what to look for Ah, good, that makes things nice and simple then! I live in the UK as well. I actually find things to be quite expensive on Ebay, but if you're having good luck there, then that's cool I would go for the XFX 650W PSU here - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-003-XF It's a good price for a good quality unit. At the minute, the deals on the 7950 make this a good buy, too - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-049-HS - especially for the same price as a 660Ti, which it outperforms. As far as the heatsink goes, if you don't have a spare fan for the Megahalems, you'll need to buy one separately - the Phanteks TC12DX is around the same price and comes with a fan included, they're about equivalent in performance, so that's just another option for you. For the memory, my go-to recommendation is this kit - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-094-KS Decent price, excellent reliability. OcUK are a pretty good store to buy from, I used to work there and still buy almost all my kit from them as I know they have good service, and usually their pricing is good too. Not saying you have to buy from them, the above are just examples of products so feel free to buy them anywhere you like 7950 pricing has dropped in the last week or two so they're around the same prices everywhere at the minute. They're better value than the Nvidia equivalent right now. Hope this helps!This one would not be enough? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-EZCOOL-650-WATT-SILENT-12V-DUAL-RAIL-ATX-PSU-UNIT-120MM-BLUE-LED-COOLING-FAN-/261253470353?pt=UK_Computing_PowerSupplies_EH&hash=item3cd3eb9891EZcool aren't a good brand, it won't be capable of providing its rated power and could potentially damage your components. This is common practice among budget PSU manufacturers and it's why I originally asked your make and model of PSU, because rating alone is no way to judge quality. It doesn't even claim to live up to its rating, only 480W on the 12V rail (which modern PCs draw almost all of their power from) whereas the XFX can provide 636W on the 12V rail - almost all of its rated output, which is excellent.

Answer»

About a week ago I received my old computer from my home country. And I want to spend some MONEY to upgrade it and then do some overclocking with it.
Current hardware:
CPU - Core 2 Quad Q9550
Motherboard - ASUS P5Q3 (not deluxe)
GPU - NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT 1GB
RAM - 2x2GB DDR3

So I'm planing to buy second GPU ( and use them together at the same time) ( I know that P5Q3 second PCIE slot is limited)

Also I need better RAM and Cooler.
I found "Thermaltake CLW0215 Water2.0" cooler, but maybe something else would be better for cooling overclocked cpu.

So, I need serious advice on GPU, cooler and RAM.

You can also contact me directly [email removed to prevent spam]

Thanks.Please do not put your e-mail in a post.
Did you already buy Thermaltake CLW0215 Water2.0
May I say that before you install a water cooler, read over some reviews of others.The install can be a lot of hard work t of work.
But for the price, it is a great idea.Welcome to the forum!

The all in one kits like that Thermaltake are just as easy to install as an air cooler, but are usually more expensive for their performance. I really don't recommend them except in very specific circumstances, you're better off buying a good air cooler. I would pick up something along the lines of a Prolimatech Megahalems, Thermalright Archon, HR-02, True Spirit or Silver Arrow, or a Phanteks TC-12 or TC-14. All will perform on par or better than any all in one "water cooler" and will cost less.
The P5Q3 doesn't support SLI, so you can't get another 9600GT to run together - even if you could, I wouldn't recommend it, because they're old cards now and even in SLI, they're not very powerful by today's standards.
What power supply do you have? Any graphics card upgrade recommendation will be based on that, there's no point recommending a power hungry card if your PSU is LOW powered or low quality. Also, bear in mind most modern cards will be bottlenecked by your CPU, but you'll certainly benefit from an upgrade over that 9600GT as that's really holding you back. What resolution will you be playing at, and what games?
When you say you need better RAM - define "better". Do you just need more RAM? FASTER RAM?

Finally, do you already have an SSD? If not, I would personally make that my top priority and pick up a Samsung 840 (preferably the Pro or Evo rather than the Basic), Crucial M4, or a Plextor SSD, because that'll make the most noticeable difference to your PC's everyday performance.

Edit: oh, an overall budget would also be helpful Ok. So I probably will take Prolimatech Megahalems or similar one cooler.
My PSU is "FEEL 3 - 500 ATX", and now one guy recomended Nvidia GTX 660 for GPU upgrade, and its ok for me, but now I don't know if my PSU is powerful enough.
And yes, I think that I need faster RAM if I want to do some overclocking with CPU. Or I'm maybe WRONG?
Budget: lets say, I just need fast enough system, but not spend a lot of money for that
PC I'm usually using to work with Photoshop Lightroom and sometimes to play first person shooter.SSD I'm using only in my loptop. PC currently set with RAID 5. Quote from: qzavs on September 09, 2013, 05:01:54 AM

My PSU is "FEEL 3 - 500 ATX", and now one guy recomended Nvidia GTX 660 for GPU upgrade, and its ok for me, but now I don't know if my PSU is powerful enough.

Never heard of that brand, are you sure it's FEEL 3? If so, I would err on the side of caution and replace it with a good known brand, rather than push it. The standard 660 isn't bad, but I would recommend a 660Ti over it. There are some good deals on the AMD 7850 and 7870 going on at the minute too.

Quote

And yes, I think that I need faster RAM if I want to do some overclocking with CPU. Or I'm maybe wrong?

Faster RAM rarely makes a difference to real world performance. As long as you have a decent board, which you do, no need to go for faster RAM to overclock, either, as you'll be able to set the RAM divider or multiplier lower, to keep it around its rated speed.

Quote

Budget: lets say, I just need fast enough system, but not spend a lot of money for that

That doesn't help much really, if you can at least give us a rough figure that would be a great help.

Quote

SSD I'm using only in my loptop. PC currently set with RAID 5.

Then my comment still stands, you'll notice more of a difference, day to day, with a good SSD.Yes its feel 3. I think it was manufactured and sold only in europe. I will stick to RAID at the moment, and then after year or two I will start to think about completely now system, with much more cheaper SSD drives and etc.
So I decided to buy Prolimatech Megahalems cooler, GTX 660 or AMD 7850 GPU.
And because we dont know much about mu PSU, which one can you recommend to feed my system?
And now I only have 2x2GB of RAM. I don't think it's enough. So I want to buy 2x4GB more. But I don't know which ones are better. maybe "G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) Ripjaws X Series DDR3 1600MHz (PC3-12800) 240-Pin"?What store will you be buying from? Or, if there are a few possibilities, please list them, so I can compare prices and see what's available.
What operating system are you running at the minute, too?I'm now living in UK, and usually finding best prices on eBay. I have never in my life bought a PSU so I don't know what to look for Ah, good, that makes things nice and simple then! I live in the UK as well. I actually find things to be quite expensive on Ebay, but if you're having good luck there, then that's cool
I would go for the XFX 650W PSU here - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-003-XF
It's a good price for a good quality unit.
At the minute, the deals on the 7950 make this a good buy, too - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-049-HS - especially for the same price as a 660Ti, which it outperforms.
As far as the heatsink goes, if you don't have a spare fan for the Megahalems, you'll need to buy one separately - the Phanteks TC12DX is around the same price and comes with a fan included, they're about equivalent in performance, so that's just another option for you.
For the memory, my go-to recommendation is this kit - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-094-KS
Decent price, excellent reliability.

OcUK are a pretty good store to buy from, I used to work there and still buy almost all my kit from them as I know they have good service, and usually their pricing is good too. Not saying you have to buy from them, the above are just examples of products so feel free to buy them anywhere you like 7950 pricing has dropped in the last week or two so they're around the same prices everywhere at the minute. They're better value than the Nvidia equivalent right now.
Hope this helps!This one would not be enough? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-EZCOOL-650-WATT-SILENT-12V-DUAL-RAIL-ATX-PSU-UNIT-120MM-BLUE-LED-COOLING-FAN-/261253470353?pt=UK_Computing_PowerSupplies_EH&hash=item3cd3eb9891EZcool aren't a good brand, it won't be capable of providing its rated power and could potentially damage your components. This is common practice among budget PSU manufacturers and it's why I originally asked your make and model of PSU, because rating alone is no way to judge quality. It doesn't even claim to live up to its rating, only 480W on the 12V rail (which modern PCs draw almost all of their power from) whereas the XFX can provide 636W on the 12V rail - almost all of its rated output, which is excellent.

Solve : Need help finding parts?

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