Mini-Upgrade Input Needed

[:FI:Murph]

Hi All; As some of you know, my vidcard, a GeForce 6800 OC has been acting up lately, partly due to the heat and lack of air conditioning here.
I don't think I can afford to upgrade to a new MB in order to use one of the new PCI X cards, since this would probably also require new memory, PSU, case, etc.
I'm thinking about getting a 7800 AGP card, and perhaps upgrading my AMD64 3000 to a 3400 (slot 754).
I'm hoping this would be the cheapest way for me to go to upgrade things for the next year or two- I hear rumors that there are new slots configurations for AMD CPUs coming out in the near future and that prices on the old gear might drop soon.
Any thoughts to share on the matter?

My current build is; ASUS K8V Deluxe, AMD 64 300, Antek 480w PSU, 2X 512 Corsair 3200 RAM.

[:FI:RULES]

If your problem is heat, you can´t fix it with a new GPU...
I´m going with a 6800 oc 512mb and don´t have problems..
All setting´s maxed out and no stutters...

the rig you got should ceep you in the game till BoB get´s here and buy a new rig when you know what that game need´s...
I think that will save you some dough....

2c.....

[:FI:Dr_Strangelove]

IMO you should not resolve matters via an upgrade. Instead, get yourself better cooling and stick with what you have. Socket 754 is single channel and really pretty much a dead upgrade. Yes prices are going to drop this month but that does not mean you should go out and get a new CPU. Going from a 3000 to 3400 is not going to get you much in the performance department on a 754 socket.

There is also no real reason for you to upgrade your video card since you are CPU limited with your current rig anyways. If I were you, I would wait about 6 months or more and save my cash for an upgrade in the new year.

Now, if you need some help clearing up your heating issues, lets work that out and forget about the upgrading

Do you feel comfortable taking the heatsink off a video card yourself and replacing it? Maybe something like this would work: http://www.directron.com/accelerox1.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There are also a million other ways to keep your system cool. Being seomone who uses watercooling mostly, I can however tell you that if your ambient room temperature is 30 degrees Celsius to start with, you will have a heck of a time keeping your system cool using air cooling. Even with watercooling, the best you can hope for is about a 6C-10C delta above ambient.

Have you ever used canned air to make sure you have no dust in your system? Do you have any pictures of your rig?

[:FI:Heloego]

I recently upgraded my GPU from a G4 Ti4400 to a 7800 GT 256mb AGP.
I was forced to upgrade my PS to one with 12v rails with a minimum current rating of 20a. Ended up having to get a 500watt PS to do it.
GPU: $350.00 US
PS: $105.00 US
Total: $455.00 (plus tax)

Upgrades aside, since cooling is your issue (not the card) I agree with the rest...

Solve your cooling issue first!

Start by replacing the current heatsink with a copper (or at least LARGER) one for better heat dissipation. Though, as stated, if your room temp is 30deg plus (Celsius) you're screwed anyway.

If that doesn't do the trick...
1. For what you'd spend for the upgrade, you can go to Lowes or Home Depot and get a window AC unit for a lot less!
2. If you have a mechanical bent and an active imagination, rigging a duct from the AC unit outlet to your case inlet will work absolute wonders! Though a bit cumbersome, it does overcome the Delta limitations of the Water-Cooled method.

Another important item many folks don't consider is the air flow through the case. Ideally, you want fresh air entering through the inlet, and a CLEAR path for the air to flow to the GPU, CPU, and then to the inlet side of your Power Supply. This requires "neating up" the mass of cables/wires inside your case so they don't imped the airflow.
If you don't already have a high quality Power Supply I strongly recommend getting one. A good PS will normally have two fans...inlet and outlet. This system provides two benefits: Increased cooling for the PS unit itself, and provide for better airflow through the PC case by faster venting of the warm air inside the case.

That said, interior CLEANLINESS is mandatory!!!!!
Open your case on a regular basis to clean out all accumulated dust from the heatsinks and fans! This includes the fans on your PS. Nothing will mess up your airflow faster than dust.

It appears you already have a good rig. You just need to get those temps down so it can perform the way it's designed.


To re-cap:

1. Ensure good airflow by a) "neating up" the cables, b) keeping the interior clean.
2. If comfortable, change your current heatsinks (GPU and CPU) to better quality 'sinks.
3. If all else fails, buy a Window Air Conditioning unit to cool the room.
4. Even if you buy an AC unit, #1 and #2 still apply!

[:FI:Murph]

Thanks for all the input. I installed a big Zalman copper heatsink on the CPU a couple of years back, shortly after I built the PC,and I try to keep the inside of the case as clean as possible using canned air. I have installed extra fans, front and back, in the case. I also keep all the cables wrapped back out of the way.
Unfortunately my condo complex does not allow window AC units, only central AC or evaporative cooling units.
It seems all I can do is to keep a floor fan trained on the open case, and wait for the weather to cool down some.
If the problem persists, I may have to look at changing the heatsink/fan on the GPU. Right now I have a PCI slot fan set up right below it, to pull the air coming off the GPU fan and expell it from the case.
The ambient temp in the room has gotten pretty high lately during the day, more than 85 degrees F. It does'nt seem as hot to me because I'm out delivering mail all day where it's 95-100, 5-10 degrees hotter in the truck. Dry heat though....

[:FI:ZekeMan]

Have to agree with the other guys, Murph. No real point in upgrading if heat is your only problem. I take it you took a look inside the case and made sure the innards weren't a maze of wires and such blocking airflow and such? I also got into the practice of mounting a fan on the removeable case panel using a spare fan. You also probably checked for dust build up on your CPU and vid card?

Instead of getting a window AC unit, you can actually pic up cooling systems for computers from most computer shops, although I will confess I have no idea what their cost is. If ambient heat in your computer room is going to be a recurring problem, this might be the way to go if you can't cool the whole bloody room.

Mike