Computer Upgrade Mayhem!! [WARNING: Graphic Violence, Explicit Lyrics]

[krashkart]

A true hack-n-slash saga. :yeah:

The time has come to replace the weary and laughably puny 305W power supply in this trusty old beast. The problem is, all of the replacement units I have looked at have a fan in the top! I am screwed, my dear readers! My computer case is not built for that. :o I suspect that I will have to borrow a sawzall and hack a squarish, sort of triangularly ovoid circle out of the chassis to accommodate that blasted fan. Is this workaround over the top? Or right on par with a good upgrade-gone-awry/ouch-I-lost-another-toe-but-got-the-job-done-anyway success story? :06:

Another thing I have noticed is that many of the PSU fans these days are illuminated by LED. What am I supposed to do with an illuminated fan? Stare at it!? Pah! :stare: I have more useful things to do with my time! Moria uber alles!! :rock:


Anyway, on a more serious note:

*cough*

The target machine is the nefarious Dell Dimension E510; a computing device of great virtue and stunning prowess. I have done my reading and discovered that the power connectors on this model are not of the proprietary Dell annoyance, and that an ATX 20+4 power supply will be sufficient. By my current lack of planning this new power supply must possess some Molex connectors, a few SATA connectors, a 6-pin connector to power a magnificent new video card (as-yet-undetermined make/model), and a socket with which to power my automatic coffee-drip machine. :yep:

I will need at least a 550W, and I will need something that will survive for a few years. Preferably something that can survive a direct hit from an Shkval torpedo, but... well, here's to wishing for things we cannot have. :()1: Cost is... probably not in my favor at this point but I am only in the beginning stages of proper lack of planning.

With that said, I open the floor to further pointers, ideas and suggestions.







































Also... ummm, if someone can point me in the direction of a few good fabric patterns for a new mankini... :oops:

[Sailor Steve]

You're trying to ugrade a Dell?!?! I was always told to stay away from them because they couldn't be upgraded. But I only know what I was told, so don't take my word for anything.

[Arclight]

Sooo... a good PSU for a single-GPU system?

http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=MTc2Mw==

Don't ask me if it will fit and/or work for you, really not familiar with the pre-build silly-business. Surely someone else can fill that in. :hmmm:

[krashkart]

You're trying to ugrade a Dell?!?! I was always told to stay away from them because they couldn't be upgraded. But I only know what I was told, so don't take my word for anything.

Some of them can't be, and I was surprised to find that this particular model had escaped Dell's usual sabotage. :hmmm:

[krashkart]

Power supply problem solved.

Now that I've sobered up from last night's festivities I had another look at the case. What I have discovered is that the case is open where the power supply is mounted, which means I can take one of these strange new top-fan units and flip it upside-down, thereby reducing the amount of metal I will have to cut out in the course of this project. (Yes, there will be metal shavings and at least one of my toes scattered around this house by the time I am done.) :yeah:

I'm not stopping with the power supply, though. This machine needs an overhaul if I can ever expect to get serious about playing Moria. A new video card and a memory upgrade are in the plans. :DL

Here is the complete list of intended upgrades:

http://amzn.com/w/3FXJLJDTBHB0B


The only thing that really concerns me at this point is the video card. This computer sports a PCIe 1 slot, and the card is a PCIe 2.1. What I've read so far is that 2.0 and 2.1 should be backward-compatible with 1, but I thought I had better ask around here just in case. Will I be making a mistake by trying to use this card? :06:

My thanks for any help and suggestions. It's been quite a while since I've made an upgrade and a lot has changed since then. :-?

[Arclight]

As long as the slot and card are both PCI-E it will work, regardless of what version they are.

There might be a slight performance penalty due to limited bandwith... don't really know if a 6850 can push more data than PCI-E 1.0 can handle. :hmmm:

[krashkart]

Okay. Considering the card I have right now, I can probably live with the performance hit. :yep:

Thanks for the help, Arclight. If we ever meet the first round is on me. ;):salute:

[magicstix]

Install the PSU upside-down. That's what I did in my case that puts the PSU on the bottom instead of the top with no exhaust port.

Or just buy a new case...

[Arclight]

Okay. Considering the card I have right now, I can probably live with the performance hit. :yep:
If there is one... think you would look at a few % of difference, pretty much negligable.

[Herr-Berbunch]

Thanks for the help, Arclight. If we ever meet the first round is on me. ;):salute:

I'm sure there's a queue forming to buy Arc a beer, and I'm quite sure he's not the only person due one either.

:yep:

[Arclight]

Definitely not, always good advice around here. ;)

[krashkart]

I'm sure there's a queue forming to buy Arc a beer, and I'm quite sure he's not the only person due one either.

:yep:

Who said anything about beer? I was talking about turnip juice. :O:

[krashkart]

My order just came in. The graphics card is a monster! :o

The PSU is a beauty. Hope it fits.:D


EDIT: Again, this video card is a monster! Cripes almighty... When did these things get so dang huge??

[danurve]

Got enough air moving through the case I hope.

[krashkart]

Haven't had a chance to put the computer through its paces yet, but I got the most important part taken care of: replacing the old power supply. It was about to peeter out.

The video card is unfortunately too long and too thick to fit. The way the motherboard is laid out puts the centerline of the PCI-E x16 slot too close to the side of the CPU fan/heatsink/air duct unit. The 6850 is about two inches thick, which would put the rear cooling fan half an inch or so into the side of that duct. You know the old rule "measure twice, cut once"? I didn't look up the dimensions of the new card to see if it would fit. :oops: Expensive lesson to learn. :roll:

I have a much smaller card on the way, and the 6850 goes into the next build. :yep:


My thanks to everyone that offered up suggestions and advice. This upgrade is pretty much complete. :salute:

[Arclight]

Could just remove that duct. ;)

[krashkart]

Maybe. :hmm2: It holds the heatsink down on the CPU. I'm not sure if there are any fittings that would secure a third-party heatsink. Here's a look at the processor area to give you a better idea of what I have to work with:


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7056/6923513667_cddede8442_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/through_the_ccd/6923513667/)


(Older photograph from when the computer was given to me, hence the dust bunnies. It's much cleaner in there now.)

[Arclight]

Yes, I see your problem... I've seen ducts in Dells, but in those cases it was no more than an ill conceived contraption screwed to a side panel. :hmmm:

[krashkart]

This duct integrates the heatsink. Two screws secure it to the case and the pressure from that is what holds the heatsink to the processor.

Dell sure does like to screw with us, don't they? :stare:

[krashkart]

I almost forgot:

Do not drop a HD6850 on your bare foot -- it will leave a mark. *ouch* :cry:

[krashkart]

Dropped in an HD5450 today. Maxed all the card options and fired up SH3 with 16km atmosphere and am getting right around 30 fps on open seas, vsync on. Assaulted a convoy earlier this afternoon and averaged 36 fps without vsync and using stock atmosphere. Slight performance hit when viewing the Uboat from behind. Particles over geometry will be a problem in some games, I suspect.

For the second test I fired up Virtual Sailor, 1920x1080@60 resolution w/ maxed gfx options, and loaded in Jason Simpson's newest Armidale release. I used that boat because it slaughtered the framerates on my previous card. Sailed past Dover using the England scenery and averaged 12 fps in external view, looking at the land across the boat from starboard. Looking out to sea gave it three more frames for a total of 15 fps. Internal views gave me comparable results, which is a big surprise for that boat. :yep:

Third test was using the VME addon for Operation Flashpoint, A Shau Valley island. That gave my previous card some troubles, which were manageable with reduced graphics settings. Visibility this time around set to ~3200m, all shadows on and everything else important maxed out. No HWTL. The mission started out with rain and fog. I don't remember if I had the screen rez maxed out beforehand or not, and I didn't touch those settings this time around. I only ran it for a couple of minutes, just long enough to get a quick impression of how well it will run with this card. Satisfactory. Processor needs an upgrade, but I'll wait for a new build.

Overall I'm happy with this card. This particular Dell can be upgraded. I don't know about the rest. Just be sure the video card you order will fit. :yep:

The 6850 I had originally tried to install has inspired a barebones Crossfire build, and when I can afford it I'll go attention whore on this forum again with plenty of questions. :O:

[Arclight]

As far as I know Crossfire/SLI doesn't work for SH. Might want to look into that first if that's the main aim.

[krashkart]

As far as I know Crossfire/SLI doesn't work for SH. Might want to look into that first if that's the main aim.

Oh, didn't know that. So only certain games work with that? Won't hurt me a bit to stick with one card anyway. I just thought it would be a fun build.

[Arclight]

I'll just link to an article which happens to mirror my sentiments towards it:

Next up is multi-GPU in the form of NVIDIA's SLI and AMD's CrossfireX. The basics here a straight forward. Don't bother. Now, that's going to upset people successfully running multi-GPU rigs, particularly SLI systems, which are definitely preferable to AMD's flaky CrossfireX technology.

But the case against easily outweighs the case for. Number one, multi-GPU in all flavours is less reliable. It's hard to be sure if it's working optimally. In my view, guaranteed if slightly lower performance is preferable to the constant worry that comes with multi-GPU. What's more, multi-GPU performance isn't always what it seems to be based on benchmark results. One reason why is micro-stuttering. We've not the space and I've not the inclination to explain why here. If you want to learn more, I suggest you start here (http://techreport.com/articles.x/21516). If I were you, I'd just trust me on this one. Life is happier with single-GPU.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/02/07/hard-choices-graphics-cards/

Imho it's just another hassle, with no guarantees of improvement while adding complications. But some people love it; YMMV.

[krashkart]

Well that settles it in one paragraph - no Crossfire for me. :down: