When upgrading your computer system, don't forget to consider the
possible limitations imposed by your present power supply.
My 6-years-old desktop computer crashed after I upgraded to a GeForce
Fx 5200 (128 MB) video card. The newer video cards require much more
power than the older cards, all that heat necessitating additional
cooling fans comes from the electric current. My original 200-watts
power supply already was maxed out due to the previous upgrades
(second hard drive, new CD burner) performed, and the new video card
crashed my system. Everything now runs smoothly with a much bigger
(480-watts) power supply.
Not all power supplies (say, all 400-watts supplies) distribute
similarly the current. The computer assembler needs to calculate how
many ampheres are required on each of the three rails (+3.3 volts, +5
volts, and +12 volts), and then choose a model of power supply that
matches that particular distribution.
32MB AGP/PCI basic video card requires up to 30 watts,
ATI Radeon 9700/9800 Pro requires up to 54 watts,
nVidia GeForce FX requires up to 75 watts.
If you've already upgraded your system from what the vendor originally
provided, your power supply already might be stressed near to its
limits.
Erratic crashes can result from an under-sized power supply.
(Cougar) wrote in message news:<. com>...
> Am currently running an AMD 2600+ CPU on an MSI K2N7 mobo. System has
> 512 memory and the vid card is a Radeon 9800 PRO.
>
> Am interested in opinions to what upgrade is the best route.
>
> Path 1. Upgrade memory with an additional 512 to give a total of 1 gig
> DDR
>
> Path 2. Keep memory at 512 but upgrade to an AMD 3000+ cpu.
>
> Path 3. Dump the 2600 and go for a new mobo with an AMD 64 bit cpu
>
> Path 4. Dump the 2600 and go with an Intel P4 at 3mHz plus
>
>
> All in all which path gives best bang for the buck improvement...
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