SFF's Oooo and such.

Bail · Tue 13 Jul, 2004 19.59

Ok. This thread has two purposes... but let me explain my situation so far.

I am the proud owner of an AMS EG65-BK (Google it) which I imported from the USA. Its currently running on a 3.0 GHz P4 HT enabled (it just sounds good!) With 512mb PC3200 Corsair RAM. That’s about it, until pay day.

I am intending to stick another block of RAM in and at graphics card, however the manual states that an "APG Graphics card over 3.3v will blow the motherboard up so don’t use one" However no websites that I can see list what voltage a graphics card is.

Can anyone supply a simple list of graphics cards that are under 3.3v or just recommend one that isn’t over £200 and is decent? (And not duel height)

Secondly, noise / temps. The current set up, running with a XBlade fan (mini turbine) and standard Intel HSF is very noise, although running temps are low enough at about 40 average. Is there any way of making it a bit more silent. And going back to my first problem will a super charged graphics card put the temp up by more than 10 degrees ish?

Annoying I am but if anyone wants to help I would really like it

Neil Jones · Tue 13 Jul, 2004 23.43

Bail wrote:I am intending to stick another block of RAM in and at graphics card, however the manual states that an "APG Graphics card over 3.3v will blow the motherboard up so don’t use one" However no websites that I can see list what voltage a graphics card is.

Can anyone supply a simple list of graphics cards that are under 3.3v or just recommend one that isn’t over £200 and is decent? (And not duel height)

All that basically means is don't put in a graphics card that's not suitable for the motherboard. You have a Pentium 4; Some P4 motherboards have what is essentially a "back to front" AGP slot which means they won't run a standard 3.3v AGP Graphics Card. See http://www.ati.com/support/faq/agpchart.html if you please and scroll down, you should be able to tell which one you have from the diagrams. I've Googled this, it claims AGP 8x so you should either have diagram G or H.

Once you know which one you have (or if you're lucky enough to have a "clear" slot as shown in diagram I) then you should be able to work out from the metal contact groups on the card whether it will fit or not in your system AGP slot.

Secondly, noise / temps. The current set up, running with a XBlade fan (mini turbine) and standard Intel HSF is very noise, although running temps are low enough at about 40 average. Is there any way of making it a bit more silent

stock fans are usually a bit crap in the noise department.

http://www.quietpc.com/uk/p4cooling.php should be of interest with all kinds of wierd and wonderful cooling solutions for the P4. However I don't think you'll get anything to replace the turbine cooler though.

And going back to my first problem will a super charged graphics card put the temp up by more than 10 degrees ish?

I wouldn't have thought so really, most of the heat build up comes from extensive CPU use mainly. Anyway most P4s are designed to go up to about 80 degrees in use so if you're only reaching 40 degrees now you shouldn't worry until you start going over about 65 when idle.

Bail · Wed 14 Jul, 2004 10.23

EDIT: Ok now I am really confused. According to the ATI page is have slot H wich is 1.5v 4x AGP, the stats page of my comp says:

"Integrated Graphics controller in 865G GMCH Supports AGP 8X bandwidth, Max. Bandwidth 2.1GB/sec, 1 AGP 8X Slot."
http://www.amselectronics.com/Products/ ... /EG65.html

That says 8x, whereas ATI say it should be 4x.... help...

[Orignal Post]
Wow thank you, that ATI page was very useful. I know now I have a type "H" AGP Slot.

"AGP 3.0 (4X/8X) graphics card in an AGP 1.5V (4X) slot."

I also found the manual and re-read the warning "Only 1.5v AGP Card is supported. If 3.3V AGP Card added, the motherboard will be damaged"

So I'm guessing I Need a 1.5v Graphics card, any idea on which one I should get, budget at about £150 / £200 ?

Thanks for your help so far.

Neil Jones · Wed 14 Jul, 2004 11.40

One thing you will need to look out for is power. You "only" have a 220w power supply unit in there so you're kind of limited to as to how powerful a card you can have. http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/ might be useful in this regard to see from a power perspective.

Having said that, the nVidias are better cards but they take a hell of a lot more power and if that cube unit takes a non standard PSU then you're not going to be able to upgrade it that easily.

I suggest googling the card of your choice or looking for it on usenet ( http://groups.google.co.uk ) and if appropriate make enquiries as to whether it will work with that motherboard. You can have graphic cards that work at 1.5v at the AGP 8x standard but not withstanding the power constraints outlined above, I think you'll be kind of limited really.