Finding a card that outperforms what you currently have—especially one equipped with an S-Video connector—is actually a pretty tall order. The issue is that almost everything still sporting an S-Video port relies on DDR2 memory, which, quite frankly, is complete junk by today's standards. I’ve managed to track down a handful of cards using GDDR3, but they’re either impossible to find in stock or they’re priced at three times what they're actually worth. So, buying something brand new isn't really a viable path here. You’re essentially facing a trade-off: you either sacrifice your TV-out capability or you give up on getting any decent performance. Your best bet might be hunting for something used, though even that is proving difficult to find right now...
I honestly wouldn’t recommend buying hard drives online. Relying on the mail to deliver sensitive storage is just asking for trouble—it's far too risky for something so fragile. Plus, when you factor in the shipping costs, plus the inevitable customs fees and import taxes, you end up paying a premium for nothing. And don't even get me started on the lack of a reliable warranty; at the end of the day, it’s just not worth the headache.
It’s not just running off USB power here—this is a full-sized 3.5" drive that requires its own dedicated power brick. As far as I know, you won't find a 2.5" drive larger than 1 TB that can be powered solely through a USB port right now.
Western Digital Elements Portable 500GB doesn't come with any bundled software on the drive itself. Now, Seagate has been known to include some backup utilities with certain models, though...
Looking at the current pricing for 1 TB 2.5" drives, I’d actually prefer picking up two 500 GB units instead—though not necessarily the specific ones you mentioned, but rather the Western Digital Elements Portable 500GB. It feels like a much safer bet, plus it's quite a bit easier on the wallet than what you'll find over at Best Buy...
Look, if there’s already a file system in place—and some manufacturers actually pre-format them right at the factory—then you don't necessarily need to go through the trouble of formatting it yourself.
Investing in a high-quality power supply is always a smart move—it's really the foundation of any build. Low-end units tend to be inefficient, they often run loud, and they have a nasty habit of overheating. More importantly, the voltage they provide can be incredibly unstable, which puts your other expensive components at risk of damage. And of course, if the unit is subpar—and I don't just mean the total wattage, but the actual power delivery per individual rail—it simply won't be able to keep up with the demands of a powerful graphics card.
Nah, the power supply doesn't have any onboard electronics that would actually show up within Windows. You won't mess anything up if you just refresh the page, download it, and leave the internal components alone. 🙂 By the way—if your rig is still under warranty and has that factory seal intact—I'd really suggest not opening it up, otherwise you might end up voiding your coverage. 🙂
Go ahead and flip that side panel open—you'll want to take a good look at the label on the power supply unit. When you're evaluating a PSU, raw wattage isn't the only thing that matters; honestly, what’s even more critical is identifying the actual manufacturer, the specific model, and just how old the unit really is.
Capacity doesn't actually have any bearing on the likelihood of a drive failing. It’s much more about the spindle speed—and with external drives, you're almost always looking at 5400 RPM. The biggest factor is really just how you treat the thing. A drive that isn't sitting on a flat, steady surface while it's spinning is hardly going to last as long as one that stays perfectly still.
Of course, if a larger drive does give up the ghost, it'll obviously take a much bigger chunk of data down with it—but that's just an unavoidable reality of the math. So, what kind of setup are you actually looking for? A compact portable unit (just a simple USB connection) or a beefier desktop drive that stays put (one that requires its own power brick)? (The ones I linked earlier are my top picks 😉)
James Evans49 said:Hey everyone... I was wondering if anyone could tell me which graphics card would be the better pick: the ATI X1650 Pro with 512 MB DDR2 on an AGP slot, or something else? My current setup is a 2.4 GHz Pentium with 1 GB of RAM—what would be the best move here? I'm running an asus p4s8x motherboard and a 350 W power supply.
Honestly, buying anything brand new right now just isn't worth the money. You're much better off hunting down a used radeon 2600 or maybe a 3650. You won't find anything new that outperforms those, and frankly, spending money on a new AGP card is a bit of a dead end—that technology is pretty much a relic at this point.
Quote:
Richard Rivera6 says: I'm looking for some recommendations for a solid NVIDIA-based card that I can find at Best Buy for around $120.
Thanks!
>
GAINWARD GTS450 512MB, $267 — that's almost exactly the price point. Even if you can't snag it for that specific amount, it is definitely worth the extra investment. If I were you, I wouldn't try to cut corners by picking up something weaker or older; you'll likely just end up shooting yourself in the foot when it comes to actual performance.😉
$100 Honestly, that graphics card is a bit underwhelming given how much the rest of the rig is worth. You’d be much better off hunting down a more powerful, older card on Craigslist or eBay—it’ll give you a much better bang for your buck.
Not really—the Thermaltake 420W is honestly pretty mediocre if you ask me. Look, if I were in your shoes, I'd check out the Fortron 400W, the Chieftec A-80 450W, or maybe even the LC POWER Silent Giant LC6560GP3 V2.3...
By the way, just a heads-up: an HD 5670 and a GTX 260 aren't even in the same league when it comes to graphics performance...
Where there’s a will, there’s always a way 😁 If you're looking to dive into this, you actually have a really solid processor to work with 🙂 (of course, we aren't pushing you into anything—just pointing out that the option is sitting right there for you 😉)
Like Patrick Garcia4 mentioned, if you have the breathing room in your budget, I’d really suggest stepping up to the 6870 🙂 . The power supply should handle it without breaking a sweat—that Antec unit is solid enough 🙂 . You might want to poke around in the BIOS a bit; I'm not entirely sure if that specific motherboard supports overclocking, but that processor can definitely be pushed quite a bit further than stock 😉 .
When you actually crunch the numbers, those pre-built external drives usually end up being the better deal. Buying a standalone hard drive and pairing it with a separate enclosure tends to cost more than just picking up a finished external solution 🙂 . Just to give you a quick comparison, 500 GB drive plus whatever enclosure you decide on—you’re already looking at a higher price tag than a ready-to-go unit 🙂 . That said, I don't see any issues with what you've described. I actually have a few setups just like that hooked up to my home server, and I haven't run into any lag or connection hiccups. Plus, they've been running for ages now—my rig stays powered on indefinitely unless there's a specific reason to shut it down 😁 .
Building your own external drive case used to be a smart way to save some cash, but honestly, over the last few years, you're much better off just picking up a pre-built external drive. Personally, I’d suggest going with the WD Elements Portable 500GB. It runs right off a standard USB interface, doesn't need an extra power brick cluttering up your desk, and the build quality is solid enough. The transfer speeds are perfectly decent—you aren't going to see anything faster since the USB connection itself is the main bottleneck here—but don't go thinking the drive is actually slow; it isn't 🙂. For $167, I really don't think there's a more cost-effective way to go. If you want more storage, you'll either have to shell out significantly more money or settle for those bulky 3.5" desktop drives that require their own dedicated power supply.