Ok heres the deal.

In early august my pny nvidia 8800 gts 640mb card died. It was under warranty, but the card is end-life, so they ended up sending me a brand new 9800 GTS with 1GB memory. Now heres the problem...I have a 550w power supply, which has worked great, but now this new 9800 requires an 8pin connection compared to my previous 6pin connection that the 8800 used. My psu only has 1 8pin connection that is being used by the motherboard to power something (but I know its required lol). The other problem is that this god dam 9800 is so big it takes up almost 3(2 HD's is a real tight fit) of the my 4 hard drive slots and I have 2 hard drives.

So should I --
1. Get a 6-8pin adapter (and a new bigger case)
2. Get a bigger psu that supports 2x 8pin connections (and hope it fits in my case)
3. Just get a new psu and case.

Feel free to give me suggestions for a new psu and case. I would want a fairly large case though, for future expansions.

Another problem is Im not sure how much of my 550w psu I would be using and whether I need to up my psu regardless. Heres my system.
Intel 2.13ghz Core 2 Duo
2gb RAM
1x 400gb HD, 1x 320GB HD
2x CD/DVD drives
Nvidia 9800 1GB
MSI SLI motherboard (I dont use SLi)


Thanks a bunch.

I would suggest a bigger case and power supply. That case you have will only grow older and get more frustrating as time goes on.

Take a look at the Ultra Aluminus. It has the look and versatility of a server case, but the size is a bit between a Full Tower and a Mid-Tower. I used it in my build I just finished last night, it was $69.99 from TigerDirect and is absolutely awesome. You can't go wrong with it. The HDD's are installed sideways, so the wiring doesn't protrude over the MB, getting in the way of peripherals, and also allows you to hide the Wiring behind all the equipment on the opposite side of the case from the window.. There are (8x) 3.5" HDD Slots and there are (5x) 5.25" Bays for mounting Optical Drives or mount additional HDD's. The area for the Power Supply is huge, so length and width of most ANY PSU is not an issue. There is plenty of room around the edges to hide and get wires out of the way to promote good airflow. The removeable MotherBoard Tray DID WONDERS...I installed everything onto the motherboard (except the Video Card), and slid the whole thing, preassembled, into place. So, no rooting around in the case trying to mount your RAM, Processors(during an upgrade) or anything else. I just slid the GPU into place easily, with plenty of room.

As far as the PSU...I would suggest an Antec with modular option.

Check pictures of this case in my 2008 Build thread:
http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/2008-Build-t209161.html

I will have more photos up tonight or over the weekend, so you can see how it looks with everything installed. So, check back.

This post has been edited by CrazyIvan007: Aug 29 2008, 10:06 AM

If I get a new case the motherboard will justt be a quick swap, everything is already installed on it. I start school next Tuesday and luckily my friend has a 8800 that I can use in the meantime while I get the proper parts so I am using this free time to make sure I get the perfect parts I need to rid myself of hassles (not right psu connections, parts fit properly into case, etc).

Sure it will be a quick swap...my point is, that the removeable tray is very helpful. And, if (more like when) you ever decide to upgrade your entire system, this case would be a great accomodation for that. That's all I meant.

I mean, I've build about 15 computers, 4 for myself and the others for other people. This is the best case I've ever used before. I've used gaming cases, workstation cases, micro towers, mid-towers, full-towers...this is the most versatile, easy and lightweight case I've ever used. And, considering the current cost of Aluminum, to acquire this full, lightweight (but strong) case made almost exclusively of aluminum for $70 is awesome.

This post has been edited by CrazyIvan007: Aug 29 2008, 10:33 AM

Is it steel or aluminum? And it doesn't have any bright flashy stuff does it? Having a light-bulb of a PC seems cool and all in the beginning but now all these fancy lights annoy me when im trying to sleep at night.

It's mostly aluminum. Of course you have the Lexan side window panel, and the plastic front bezel and feet, but the rest is aluminum. The slots, the case, the rack, everthing... Very sturdy and lightweight.

No lightbulbs...lol.

There is the power LCD on the front bezel, but you can close the bezel access panel and it covers it all up. Only other lights would be if you bought LCD Fans or something that you put inside the case. Some motherboards have small LCD's on them that light up when the power is on....

This post has been edited by CrazyIvan007: Aug 29 2008, 11:01 AM

I'll look into that case and psu, but some secondary opinions/options would be great too.

You could just turn it off...