Silly Question...But...

Verios · Jun 9, 2008, 07:52 AM

Evening Gents!

So, I have kind of a silly question for you all! heh.

Tomorrow I plan on going out and getting my new eVGA 9800 GTX KO edition to replace my X1900XTX (It served me well...heh but it's time to put the old girl out to rest!).

Now, I recently formatted my computer not too long ago (maybe 2-3 weeks) when I purchased a new MB/Processor/Ram. Would it be advisable to completely reformat again (which would kind of suck! *chuckles*) or will I be fine simply removing all the drivers using ATI's cleaning utility, then running Driver Cleaner/Cab Cleaner ...etc... and then removing the card?

Oh! and one more quick question. Would the following power supply still be good enough for a 9800 GTX:

Enermax Liberty 500w (ELT500AWT)
Can be seen here: Enermax Liberty 500w Power Supply ELT500AWT

Thank you for the assistance guys/gals!

Also, here's my current system now for good measure:

Processor: Intel Core™2 Duo Processor E8400 3.00GHz w/ 6MB Cache
Motherboard: MSI P35 Neo Combo-F
Memory (RAM): Corsair 2GB XMS2-6400 TWIN2X Dual Channel DDR2 (5-5-5-12-2T)
Video Card: ATI Radeon X1900XTX 512 MB PCI-Express (Soon to be replaced with the 9800 GTX)
Sound Card: Auzentech X-FI Prelude 7.1
Monitor: Samsung SyncMaster 226BW 22in Widescreen LCD (1680x1050 Native Resolution)
Operating System: Windows XP Home 32Bit (severely tweaked! heh)

procupine14 · Jun 9, 2008, 08:52 AM

Yes you should be perfectly fine with doing that. If you experience any problems i would suggest running a repair on your windows installation rather than a reformat to correct any issue (if one still exists when you install the new card). I switched from ATi to Nvidia awhile ago and i didn't have a problem after just removing all drivers etc from my X700.

yes I think that PSU will do just fine

Zardon · Jun 9, 2008, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Verios

Now, I recently formatted my computer not too long ago (maybe 2-3 weeks) when I purchased a new MB/Processor/Ram. Would it be advisable to completely reformat again (which would kind of suck! *chuckles*) or will I be fine simply removing all the drivers using ATI's cleaning utility, then running Driver Cleaner/Cab Cleaner ...etc... and then removing the card?

Obviously it would be a better situation if you had a brand new, fresh OS when you put the card in, however you can (if you dont have the new DC):

download new nvidia drivers to desktop
uninstall all ati drivers and software
shut down
remove ati hardware
insert nvidia hardware
turn on
install drivers

Quote:

Oh! and one more quick question. Would the following power supply still be good enough for a 9800 GTX:

Enermax Liberty 500w (ELT500AWT)
Can be seen here: Enermax Liberty 500w Power Supply ELT500AWT

It is a decent power supply however bear in mind a reference 9800 GTX consumes around 170w of that, and your preoverclocked version will consume probably around 20w more than that. This, under full load (in demanding gaming for example) will leave you will around 300w for the rest of your system. It should be ok as the rest of your system isn't overly demanding, although there is no indication of the number of internal HDDs in your list.

Personally I would spend a litte extra and go for a high quality 700-800w unit just for a bit of peace of mind and futureproofing, however if you currently have the 500w enermax and are trying to save building a new one then I would certainly give it a shot. Just test the system for stability running programs like cinebench, pcvantage and high drain games under full load like Crysis (monitoring 12v rail).

Verios · Jun 9, 2008, 08:58 AM

Knew I was forgetting something! heh

Have 2 internal SATA HDD's.

Zardon · Jun 9, 2008, 09:13 AM

well id say around 30-40w for both drives depending on the make/model.

Seagate Barracuda sata 160gb for example consumes no more than 12.5w at full seek (7.5 idle).

Obviously it is important to point out that wattage is by no means a measure of the quality of a PSU, I have seen very high quality 600w psus outperform low quality 800w units.

As I said if you already have the 500w unit then try it, if you are buying one I recommend you go for a higher output model (without sacrificing quality). Shouldnt be more than a minor outlay for more futureproofing and lower loads. Also worth bearing in mind a 500w psu will be having to work harder than a higher output equal quality unit at 400-450w (example) so it could very well be making considerably more noise to keep things cool and within tolerances.

Jun 9, 2008, 07:52 AM	#1
Verios DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 103 Rep Power: 0	Silly Question...But... Evening Gents! So, I have kind of a silly question for you all! heh. Tomorrow I plan on going out and getting my new eVGA 9800 GTX KO edition to replace my X1900XTX (It served me well...heh but it's time to put the old girl out to rest!). Now, I recently formatted my computer not too long ago (maybe 2-3 weeks) when I purchased a new MB/Processor/Ram. Would it be advisable to completely reformat again (which would kind of suck! chuckles) or will I be fine simply removing all the drivers using ATI's cleaning utility, then running Driver Cleaner/Cab Cleaner ...etc... and then removing the card? Oh! and one more quick question. Would the following power supply still be good enough for a 9800 GTX: Enermax Liberty 500w (ELT500AWT) Can be seen here: Enermax Liberty 500w Power Supply ELT500AWT Thank you for the assistance guys/gals! Also, here's my current system now for good measure: Processor: Intel Core™2 Duo Processor E8400 3.00GHz w/ 6MB Cache Motherboard: MSI P35 Neo Combo-F Memory (RAM): Corsair 2GB XMS2-6400 TWIN2X Dual Channel DDR2 (5-5-5-12-2T) Video Card: ATI Radeon X1900XTX 512 MB PCI-Express (Soon to be replaced with the 9800 GTX) Sound Card: Auzentech X-FI Prelude 7.1 Monitor: Samsung SyncMaster 226BW 22in Widescreen LCD (1680x1050 Native Resolution) Operating System: Windows XP Home 32Bit (severely tweaked! heh) Last edited by Verios; Jun 9, 2008 at 07:58 AM.

Jun 9, 2008, 08:52 AM	#2
procupine14 Why is it Beeping!?!?! Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: USA, Missouri Posts: 1,400 Rep Power: 56 System Specs	Yes you should be perfectly fine with doing that. If you experience any problems i would suggest running a repair on your windows installation rather than a reformat to correct any issue (if one still exists when you install the new card). I switched from ATi to Nvidia awhile ago and i didn't have a problem after just removing all drivers etc from my X700. yes I think that PSU will do just fine __________________ HTPC/file server: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit - AMD Phenom x4 9850 - 4GB OCZ DDR2 800 (2x2GB) - 1TB WD Black - 4 x 1TB Hitachi DeskStar in RAID 5 - ATi TV Wonder Digital Cable Tuner - HIS Raedon 4850 512MB - ASRock N68C-S UCC mobo - OCZ ModExtreme Pro 500W PSU GF's Gaming PC: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit - AMD Phenom 9850 - 4GB OCZ DDR2 1066 - 500GB Western Digital GP - HIS Raedon 5770 1GB - ASUS M3A78-EM - Zalman 650W PSU Media Streamer: Win 7 Pro 64-bit - AMD Athlon x2 3200+ - 4GB SuperTalent DDR2 800 - 250GB SeaGate Barracuda - MSI K9N6PGM2-V2 - ASUS Raedon 5450 SILENT - FSP group 250W PSU

Jun 9, 2008, 08:58 AM	Thread Starter #4
Verios DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 103 Rep Power: 0	Knew I was forgetting something! heh Have 2 internal SATA HDD's.

Jun 9, 2008, 09:13 AM	#5
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 177	well id say around 30-40w for both drives depending on the make/model. Seagate Barracuda sata 160gb for example consumes no more than 12.5w at full seek (7.5 idle). Obviously it is important to point out that wattage is by no means a measure of the quality of a PSU, I have seen very high quality 600w psus outperform low quality 800w units. As I said if you already have the 500w unit then try it, if you are buying one I recommend you go for a higher output model (without sacrificing quality). Shouldnt be more than a minor outlay for more futureproofing and lower loads. Also worth bearing in mind a 500w psu will be having to work harder than a higher output equal quality unit at 400-450w (example) so it could very well be making considerably more noise to keep things cool and within tolerances.