Usually when I start upgrading a system I start with the mother board, processor and memory using my previous video card. This time I'm going video card first.

This is what I got:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 202166-S0B
It is an AMD Radeon R9 300 Series card with 4GB GDDR5 RAM running at 5800 MHz.. The card's core clock is 1010 MHz on a Radeon R9 380 GPU with 1792 Stream Processors. The max. resolution is 4096 x 2160.

If you look at the reviews there are several that report that the card was dead on arrival (DOA). The cause of this is one of the reasons that I picked this card. It seems that the most common cause is a switch on the card being set wrong for the system's 'BIOS'. The card is designed for both legacy BIOS and UEFI. There is a switch on the card to select which operation mode to use. Since I'm sure my next mother board will be UEFI I wanted full compatibility. However my current board is a highbred between a standard BIOS and UEFI. I wanted the 'next step' to be there but also to be sure it was compatible with my current board. Both bases are covered with this card.

After a rebate I will pay $170.00. I did something I normally do not and bought an extended warranty for $30.00 for a three year warranty extension. Total price will be $200.00.

This will go in my Windows 7 desktop system. It should raise the Windows 7 Experience Index from 4.4 to 7.2 out of a possible 8.0. I don't pay a whole lot of attention to the Experience Index but it serves well in letting you know where the system is weak. While it lets you know weak points it could have been done a bit better as to people being able to understand. For instance the probable future Index rating of 7.2 will be due the fact that 7.2 is the rating for my processor. My memory is rated at 7.3 and my SSD at 7.7. To me this makes an overall rating of 7.2 due to the processor misleading. As far as performance seen by the average user the hard drive is the bottleneck that slows down the system. With a 7.7 on my drive my system performance is higher than the 7.2 that I will end with.

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You mean out of a possible 7.9

Yep, meant a 7.9.

Actually the main reason I'm starting an upgrade is that I'm wasting the potential of my hard drives. All my drives are SATA3 but my system is only SATA2.

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When I bought my SSD drive, a Crucial 250GB (CT250BX100SSD1), I had an old 'Sata2' AsRock motherboard that did pretty much what I wanted but because I was now using all the available Sata ports I had to replace it with another if I wanted to use the old HDD for storage so I bought one capable of Sata 3.

At that time Windows Experience rated my Primary hard disk (the SSD) as 7.6 if I recall correctly, with my new motherboard it now rates it as 7.9 (the maximum) and I really can't say I've noticed a difference.

The biggest difference I noted was from HDD to SSD, it was like night and day, but the difference form Sata2 to Sata3 has been like moving from a 5,400rpm HDD to a 7,200rpm HDD... which imo is not much in the real world.

Ymmv

But I also have two internal SATA3 mechanical drives. One of these is the output drive for my video conversions. In this case a switch from SATA2 to SATA3 MAY show a little more real-time difference.

Of course we all know that I'm upgrading primarily because I want to. Eventually the older hardware will end up in my bedroom driving that HDTV.

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At your age that's impressive!

Actually I just looked at both Tiger Direct and Newegg and was a bit disappointed. They used to both have a section of mother board bundles that just included the board, CPU and RAM. This section seems to be gone from both sites. I MAY just speed up the entire process and get a bare bones bundle with case, power supply, CPU, RAM, etc.. Then swap drives and such between the two to achieve both systems at the same time.

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Any form of bundling is very hard to find on this side of the pond these days unless you're a serious gamer willing to pay silly money for the latest and greatest hardware.

It'll probably remain that way until the likes of MS etc get their fingers out their whatever and come up with ground breaking software that requires hardware upgrades.

Sadly the world of Operating Systems appears to be solely profit driven these days so that's unlikely to happen any time soon.

LOL! I thought that I should add that you just may be treading on thin ice as Patty and I are the same age.

As a note on the new video card I have to open up my case in the morning. The new card is pretty demanding and requires two 6-pin auxiliary power connectors. I can't remember how many my power supply has. I know it has at least two but can't remember if it has a third. If not it means a new power supply on the way. I could get a splitter to make one 6-pin to two but won't. I don't want to strain the rail. If it is designed to have three it will.

No big deal if a new power supply is needed as I'll eventually need one anyway if I am going to end up with the current system connected to my bedroom HDTV.

Hmmm, what exactly am I going to need...

1) Another case of course.
2) Another power supply. (May, as per above, be getting sooner than later. )
3) Mother board, CPU and RAM.
4) Optical drive.
5) Hard drive. I doubt that I'll bother with an SSD on the bedroom system.

I won't need any large internals as I'll just network to the main media system for movie and music access. The main system is on pretty much 24/7. My router is more than able to stream DVD format videos.

I DO rather enjoy this stuff. I remember the first media system I built. It was before anyone even thought about using a computer to drive an entertainment system. The system used an ancient AMD K6-2 processor running at the incredible speed of 550MHz. This processor was released in 1998.

On this first media system I was fortunate enough to happen to have an ATI Rage Fury video card with S-Video output. Remember S-Video? It was as simple as getting an adaptor to change the S-Video to an RCA plug as to the video line. Audio was also easy as it is a common adaptor to change the 1/8 inch audio out from a sound card to RCA plugs.

So now how is it all put together? One problem was that the computer needed to be accessible for easy access from where I sat. The mice had tails and balls instead of being optical. More wiring adaptors were needed. Once all the outputs for video and audio were converted to RCA plugs we still needed wiring to carry the signals well enough to travel from the computer to the TV. Well there happens to be neat little adaptors to convert RCA to co-axial which is the round cables associated with cable TV. From the computer I ran the three needed co-axial cables under the house via the crawl space.

So now all the outputs were done but how do I connect to the actual TV? The exact same adaptors that changed the RCA output to co-axial cable worked just fine to convert back to RCA on the TV side. There is still one problem to overcome...

OK, I have all the input for the old style CRT TV I was using but I also had Direct TV. Of course I could not directly connect both to the TV, I needed an audio/video switch box. Enter the perfect solution. I used a VCR deck as the switch box. Plugged Direct TV in one input of the VCR and the computer in to another. It worked without flaw and I actually made money with this setup when I was doing computer stuff as a business.

How things have changed! While I want it I don't really even need the bedroom media system. Since my laptop is networked to my main system it has access to all my movies and music. It also has Intel graphics. For serious graphics AMD and NVidia are, of course, superior except for one factor. That factor is WiDi (wireless HDMI). With a receiver on an HDTV I can stream anything from my laptop to that HDTV including music and videos. Yes I do have such an receiver.

Can you take the hint that I LOVE messing with hardware?

If I do need to get a power supply for the new video card I MAY even bite the bullet and go ahead and get a bare bones kit with a mobo and processor I like making sure that it has a power supply with three 6-pin connectors. Swap parts between the two and be done with it. I have the money in my 'slush funds' but it would drop that reserve under $1000.00 and I don't like to do that. Then again what is a slush fund for?

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Oh we know you love messing about it's why we call you our Resident Geekazoid.

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Joan Archer
http://crossstitcher.webs.com

Grrr! I DO have to replace my power supply for the new video card but am having issues finding one.

One of the power supply requirements is a 500-watt or better power supply with two 6-pin PCIe power connectors. I believe that this is the same type 6-pin connector that is used for the auxiliary power to the mother board but am not sure. The problem is that I can't seem to find a PSU that specifically states that it has such. Well I DID actually find one which was a sweet deal but I can't get. I forget the brand but it is a 1000 watt semi-modular unit for ~$120.00. From the reviews I would love it except for one factor, it only gets a 4 out of 5 eggs on newegg.com for one reason that being the fact that the main power cable for the mother board is just too short. Keep in mind that my case is full sized and has the mounting for the PSU at the bottom yet the plug on the mother board for this power connection is at the top. Sounds like an issue to me.

It seems to me that both Tiger Direct and New Egg have live chat features but mayhaps I hit the try for this option too late in the day as I can't find a link on either site. The live chat option is probably only available during normal East Coast business hours.

Of course, as I DO seem to have two of these connectors from my current power supply I could just get a splitter to turn the one not connected to my mobo in to two but I worry about putting strain on the rail from the PSU. On the other hand my power supply is 650 watt and the requirement for the video card is only 500 watt. Mayhaps the line could handle the load... Any opinions? It is a pretty stout power supply. In fact just two days ago a quick storm came through and flickered my power enough that I needed to reset several clocks yet my system didn't flinch. While I can't prove through documentation it SEEMS that the unit MAY have a bank of large capacitors to cover momentary power loss. My router and modem both dropped yet the actual system maintained. Sigh, NO I have still not gotten around to getting a UPS...

So what do you think? Since the video card only needs a 500 watt PSU, and mine is 650 watt, also including the thought that this is a pretty heavy duty PSU, is it worth the $10.00 cost to try a 6-pin splitter? I'm tired of searching and just want to install this video card when it arrives in two days. With being a regular customer at both Tiger Direct and New Egg I don't pay shipping but would in this case to get the splitter by the time the card arrives.

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You might be lucky and get away with it but don't forget [as if you would ] your CPU, motherboard, fans etc. also draw power form the PSU so you might well be hitting the limit of a 650 watt PSU, if not exceeding it, when the new video card is installed.

I thought I'd have a quick look on the newegg website and quickly saw the following was in stock, the Corsair RM1000X, I don't know if it'll be of any use to you and I'm not recommending it because I've never owned one but it would appear to meet your requirements, according to the manual the motherboard cable is 610mm long and the CPU cables are 650mm long, the Sata and Molex cable lengths are possibly a bit misleading so consult the manual (available on the newegg link below) to be sure they'd meet your needs.

It costs a bit more than the one you mentioned earlier, $139.99 after rebate, it also gets 4 eggs but afaict no negative comments due to cable length.

Apparently, and I'm sure you know this already so I feel a bit like teaching my granny to suck eggs (or should that be neweggs?), but the PCIe 6+2 connectors are the same as for e.g. an ATX 20+4 connector, if you don't need the 4 pin connector on the ATX cable you simply don't connect it, i.e. in your case you'd only connect the 6 pin connector and leave the 2 pin connector unconnected. I've not owned a GPU yet that has that type of connector so you'd be wise to research that for yourself (if you feel like sucking a few more (new)eggs).
[I really need to stop that pun!] .



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139140

The actual wattage should not be an issue as even with the card mounted I doubt that the entire system will hit 450 watt.

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The card arrived today and I'm about to mount. I solved the auxiliary connector that I needed with an adaptor from a local store. It is a 2-Molex connector to 1-6 pin auxiliary. I'll use one Molex connector from each of two different rails.

LOL! Hopefully I'll be back in about half an hour with the results. :mr.green:

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Well it took longer than the half hour but the new card is installed and running.

While I like my case I wish I would remember to put something over the power supply when dealing with screws. My PSU is a bottom mount in this case and for the second time I dropped a screw that went inside the PSU. I had to remove the PSU from the case to get the screw out.

I never used the adaptor to change Molex to an auxiliary plug. When I pulled the PSU to get the screw I found the third 6-pin auxiliary that I initially thought I had but could not find. I had the cables tucked so well I just could not find the thing. LOL! Mayhaps dropping a screw now and then is a good thing.

The install went fine and, of course the Windows 7 Experience now has my graphics pegged at 7.9 for both Aero and Gaming/Business graphics.

This thing is HUGE!!!! I had to tilt, wiggle and finagle to get the thing in my case and the case is not small.

These are size comparisons between the new and old card.

This is the old verses the new. Of course the larger is the new.


Just because I like the look here is the other side of the new card.


Now this I like. The cooling is intensive. It holds large heat sinks and dual fans yet it goes further. In the following note the copper heat pipes to aid in heat transfer.


In this note the space it takes in the case! Like I said, the thing is HUGE.


Bottom line is that I think that I am VERY happy. So far the highest temperature I have gotten is a peak of 122 degrees F while running Apache Air Assault.

<edit>

So far the highest temperature I have logged is 132 degree F while playing Diablo III.

I am VERY happy with the temperatures I've seen and, even when the dual fans kick in I cannot hear them.

Since I have only blown dust out of this case once in over three years of use let me know it you would like instructions as to how to keep a case dust free. You have to admit from the photos that the inside of the system is pretty danged clean... It is all about fans and airflow.

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The only issue I see is the power supply blowing hot air up at the video card and the video card blowing hot air down at the CPU. These newer cards tend to dump their heat into the cases now.

Might look into one of these if you see temp issues:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... &CatId=494

AMD Radeon covered the flow as to heat and air. The fans actually seem to be intake, not exhaust. It is a two slot card and the lower slot SEEMS to be pretty much dedicated to cooling. The lower slot is, to a large extent, heat exhaust. The entire cooling system throws out the heat through the lower half of the card's cooling system. It exhausts totally out of the back of the case, not in to the case.

Of course I will monitor temperatures for a while. You know me well enough to knows that I am temperature conscious. So far I am getting lower temperature reports playing Diablo III than with my old card.

I was talking earlier today with a tech at a local shop. His partner is running basically the same card except that his is 2GB as to RAM where mine is 4GB. In both cases, his and mine, graphic card temperatures have seemed to drop.

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@ David: I have a bit of a strange setup. My bottom mounted PSU does not exhaust within the case. It exhausts via ports at the bottom of the case.

In a real sense the PSU fan sort of acts like an additional intake fan. It is sucking air from outside yet not allowing the air back to the case.

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Actually I want to correct some things in my above quote...

I was a bit excited as to the temperatures I was seeing and jumped a bit..

1) I think that it is probable that my PSU actually DOES exhaust to the inside of the case. To be honest I'm not quite sure. The problem is that my case cooling and air flow is so danged good that it is hard to test. I can honestly say that I have NEVER seen my PSU fan spin; I have just never put enough load on the thing for it to do more than idle.

2) I really DO think that the exhaust for the new video card is out the back of the box but cannot as of yet prove. The issue her is two fold. First; normal operation does not even make the card yawn, the fans never even turn on. Second; when I DO slightly tax the card I get involved and forget to check the temperatures.

Here are the temperature results that I HAVE managed to get....

Apache Air Assault with graphics set to max on everything... after 45 minutes of heavy usage the max logged temp for the video card was 145 degrees F.

After ~30 minutes of battle type mode in Diablo III the max temperature logged was 141 degrees F.

I have a couple of other graphic intensive games to check such as Skyrim and Oblivion of the Elder Scrolls series to test

Regardless, I am thrilled with the temperature results at this point.

Also... As this card is installed in my media system I want quiet. Sigh, how do I define 'quiet'? OK, right now I am just using IE and Live Mail, nothing going on that involves serious graphics. In this case the system is totally silent as neither the video card or power supply fans even turn on.

Of course, if I put a load on either the video or power fans will spin. The end result is that there is zero difference... I cannot hear the system run.

I am a very happy camper!

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Just take a piece of paper and put it over the fans to see which way they are blowing.