New power supply.

[KarthXLR]

Before you start flaming, "Dude your PSU sucks balahbahbao" just hear me out D:

Ok, my PSU sucks, bottom line.

However, I'll be able to afford a new one soon.

Any recommended brands or watt suggestions?

I'm planning on getting an 9800 GTX or 9600 GT to go along with my 8400 GS. (If the power supply comes with an extra slot)

kthxbai

[Ceceil Felias]

Thermaltake makes a pretty decent line of power supplies, and if you're looking to purely upgrade for video card purposes and have an extra 5.25" bay free, their Power Express line makes upgrading cheap and easy.

[KorJax]

Wait you want to pair your new card with the old one?

SLI requires both cards to be exactly the same AFAIK

[KarthXLR]

Wait you want to pair your new card with the old one?

SLI requires both cards to be exactly the same AFAIK

o silly me

derp.

Oh well, a 9 series should run twice as well anyway.

[rumsfald]

[KarthXLR]

Oh god....not the mexico vacation.

[Ceceil Felias]

[quote author=KorJax link=topic=1183.msg31260#msg31260 date=1218935898]
Wait you want to pair your new card with the old one?

SLI requires both cards to be exactly the same AFAIK

o silly me

derp.

Oh well, a 9 series should run twice as well anyway.
[/quote]
A 9 series should run, like, ten times as well if not more than an 8400.

[HeK]

Buy anything brand name. Coolermaster, Thermaltake, Antec (very decent), etc...
Rule of thumb, the heavier the PSU, the better.

Also, see if you can find one with modular cables, it helps keep your case clean.

[copulatingduck]

Before you run out and buy a power supply, make sure your case will take a standard ATX PSU. Dell has some shitty proprietary cases that require proprietary PSU's; would suck to buy one and have to cut a huge hole in your case to make it fit.   :|

HeK: correct me if I'm mistaken, but don't modular cable PSU's have an additional loss of efficiency? It's not a small factor either from reviews I've read of some PSU's.

Also: Karth, before you blow your load on a GPU: is your CPU good enough? Would suck if you bought a 9800 and then your CPU was a MASSIVE FUCKING bottleneck. And if you have an 8400, I suspect your CPU might be a tad too wimpy for a 9800. Not saying don't upgrade, just don't go all out with it. Just saying, CPU can become your bottleneck on Source games MUCH faster than you'd expect.

[HeK]

Before you run out and buy a power supply, make sure your case will take a standard ATX PSU. Dell has some shitty proprietary cases that require proprietary PSU's; would suck to buy one and have to cut a huge hole in your case to make it fit.   :|

HeK: correct me if I'm mistaken, but don't modular cable PSU's have an additional loss of efficiency? It's not a small factor either from reviews I've read of some PSU's.

x2 on the case limitations.
Also check the motherboard. Some are not standard ATX.

Re: modular; I guess you loose some efficiency on the modular contacts, but it would be something like 0.01%.
Not something you really notice.

[KarthXLR]

Also: Karth, before you blow your load on a GPU: is your CPU good enough? Would suck if you bought a 9800 and then your CPU was a MASSIVE FUCKING bottleneck. And if you have an 8400, I suspect your CPU might be a tad too wimpy for a 9800. Not saying don't upgrade, just don't go all out with it. Just saying, CPU can become your bottleneck on Source games MUCH faster than you'd expect.

I have an Intel Core 2 Dual 1.6ghz.

It's ok, but I'd really love not having to buy a new one.

also, define bottleneck.

[Wedge]

[quote author=CopulatingDuck link=topic=1183.msg31318#msg31318 date=1218948765]
Also: Karth, before you blow your load on a GPU: is your CPU good enough? Would suck if you bought a 9800 and then your CPU was a MASSIVE FUCKING bottleneck. And if you have an 8400, I suspect your CPU might be a tad too wimpy for a 9800. Not saying don't upgrade, just don't go all out with it. Just saying, CPU can become your bottleneck on Source games MUCH faster than you'd expect.

I have an Intel Core 2 Dual 1.6ghz.

It's ok, but I'd really love not having to buy a new one.

also, define bottleneck.
[/quote]

You just did define bottleneck.  Though if that's an E2140 I guess those overclock well... but still, that's pretty slow, especially when Source runs mostly off one core.  I'm not sure why an E8400 would be bad though, I don't think there are any dual cores a ton faster than that?

[1Trace1]

Bottleneck is essentially when some components stop other components from performing at full potential. Also are you sure your motherboard even has SLI capability?  Anyways for a 9600GT you'll need:

Requirements
Minimum of a 400 Watt power supply.
(Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 26 Amp Amps.)
Minimum 450 Watt for SLI mode system.
(Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 28 Amp Amps.)
An available 6 pin PCI-E power connector (hard drive power dongle to PCI-E 6 pin adapter included with card

I've never looked into SLI much but I think you might not be able to SLI together two different generation cards (Just basing this on the fact that I've never heard about it being done). Your CPU is probably too big a bottleneck to make the 9800 worth it.

[Eschatos]

My computer's so powerful that I use one of these:



Bitch

[HeK]

My computer's so powerful that I use one of these:



Bitch

What is that? A paint mixer?

On closer inspection it appears to be a super ghetto transformer... using electric motors and a dynamo.

[hawtpawkithero]

[quote author=The Grand Pope of Karthology link=topic=1183.msg31272#msg31272 date=1218939481]
[quote author=KorJax link=topic=1183.msg31260#msg31260 date=1218935898]
Wait you want to pair your new card with the old one?

SLI requires both cards to be exactly the same AFAIK

o silly me

derp.

Oh well, a 9 series should run twice as well anyway.
[/quote]
A 9 series should run, like, ten times as well if not more than an 8400.
[/quote]

Not all the time, alot of the 9 cards are basically overpriced shit.
Buy every-other series. If you're looking for a kickass card, wait a few months and pick up a GTX200 (the 10) series.

[bjlsurfer]

Just to note, even if you do upgrade gfx card, hang on to that old 8400, because even if you can't sli it, I think you'll be able to transform it into a physics card when Nvidia gets all that sorted out. 

[Wedge]

Just to note, even if you do upgrade gfx card, hang on to that old 8400, because even if you can't sli it, I think you'll be able to transform it into a physics card when Nvidia gets all that sorted out. 

If you've updated your drivers lately, they actually did add the physics on a GPU support.  I think it supports weird secondary arrangements or something too... but you would still need an SLI mobo for that I'd figure?

[Ceceil Felias]

[quote author=Ceceil Felias link=topic=1183.msg31280#msg31280 date=1218940720]
[quote author=The Grand Pope of Karthology link=topic=1183.msg31272#msg31272 date=1218939481]
[quote author=KorJax link=topic=1183.msg31260#msg31260 date=1218935898]
Wait you want to pair your new card with the old one?

SLI requires both cards to be exactly the same AFAIK

o silly me

derp.

Oh well, a 9 series should run twice as well anyway.
[/quote]
A 9 series should run, like, ten times as well if not more than an 8400. :P
[/quote]

Not all the time, alot of the 9 cards are basically overpriced shit.
Buy every-other series. If you're looking for a kickass card, wait a few months and pick up a GTX200 (the 10) series.
[/quote]
Okay then, the 8800GTS-G92 runs ten times better than an 8400. Satisfied? :P

Also, failing the Physics card suggestion, that old 8400 can always be useful in a media center box as well. :o

Edit: DIE EMOTES