20 vs. 30 amps. Which is cheaper?

[snowhiker]

Hello all. Long time lurker of these forums, and before that, the SR forums. Lots of interesting topics with intelligent/thoughtful replies by knowledgeable and will informed folks.

OK. I'm piecing together a system from old/donated parts. And I have everything except an AGP Video Card.

I'M on a VERY LIMITED budget. I can splurge on a Video Card, but that's it for the time being. Yes, I know AGP is dead, etc, etc, upgrade to PCI-E, etc, etc, I know, I know.

System will be used for games and net browsing at resolutions of 1280x1024 or 1024x768 depending on game. (19" CRT monitor that only does 60 Hz at 1600x1200 so that's out).

- ASUS A7N8X-x (socket A) - AGP motherboard.
- XP 2600 Barton (166.66 x 11.5 = 1917 MHz). I MAY Overclock? Not Sure.
- Antec True Power 550 watt EPS p/s with 36a (max) on 12v rail. 40a on 5v.

My two video card choices. I want "high end" and a 512 MB cards.

1) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150223 costs $270 but only requires 20 amps on 12v rail.

2) http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=326860 costs $173 but requires 30 amps on 12v rail.

Speed of the cards are roughly equal and vary in price by $100.

Question, Will the increased energy usage of the cheaper card make it MORE expensive in the long run, say one year?

rest of system:
- 1 or 2 GB ram, Generic.
- 160 GB WD HD.
- 19" Veiwsonic CRT monitor, A90f.
- on-board sound.
- Netgear NIC.
- Lite-on CRRW/DVD drive.

ANY other comments are encouraged and appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Chewy509]

Overall, it won't make that much difference between the 2 cards, certainly not $100 in electricity over 12mths.

I would just get the cheaper card, and save your $$$ for beer and women (or for that 2GB of RAM).

PS. Welcome to SF
PPS. What games? as some games prefer ATi vs nVidia and vice versa.

 

[mubs]

Never mind.

 

[P5-133XL]

Buy the cheaper card: It is not going to use $100 in additional electricity per year. I generally estimate $10 of electricity per month for the entire computer (including the video card) if it is operating (folding) 24x7.

 

[snowhiker]

Video Card upgrade for AGP system.

OK, thanks for the information.

I'll get the cheaper x1950pro, 512mb. But of course the card linked above is no longer listed on Newegg.com....sigh.

Anybody have experience with "HIS" brand Video Cards? Or any other quality, x1950 pro/XT, AGP, 512MB cards/vendors I should take a look at?

Any other honest, reliable, internet retailers worth checking out beside Newegg?

Games played will be Lord of the Rings ONLINE, and the Half-Life2 series.

Thanks again everybody.

P.S. Does anybody have any CHEAP Athlon XP-2600 (or higher) Bartons for sale? I have two other computer I might upgrade as they have XP-1700s in them now.

 

[ddrueding]

HIS is fine by me, I've owned a few of them.