Piece by piece, I need to upgrade.

Jerrick

Jerrick

New Member
And I need some help.

First, some background: I do a lot of photo and video editing, and I also do a lot of recording with my computer. Those are my main priorities, and I am always running Adobe Photoshop, Premiere, Encore, After Effects, all CS3. Or I have Cubase SX3 up with all the other sound programs, VSTs, and plugins I have with it.

Im not too much of a gamer. Ive tried WoW for a month, didnt like it, same with Flyff, Rappelz, Perfect World... you get the picture. I do like emulators, NES, SNES, Sega, N64, Dreamcast, and PS. But my comp now runs all of those fine. Every now and then Ill install age of empires, Diablo, Sacred, games kinda like that, so I do like to be able to play most games on the mid-range-spec market.

Besides that its just common computer use. Internet, dvds/videos, music.

So mainly its rendering that slows me down, as with a lot of multi-tasking, which happens all the time.

Ill be buying all the stuff from Newegg.
 
Specs of my comp now.

  • Compaq Evo D300. Pretty much stock really.
  • Pentium 4, 1.7ghz.
  • 1.5gigs of ram. PCI-133SD.
  • 2 IDE harddrives and 1 SATA harddrive with a IDE adapter so I can use it with my board.
  • CD/DVD writable drive
  • Floppy Drive
  • Ethernet card
  • Creative sound card
  • USB add-on card
  • Firewire add-on card
  • ATI 128mb video card

The comp itself had a built in ethernet port, sound, and 2 usb ports.

It seems kinda dumb to list that, but the two main things I want are a new motherboard and processor, and I need to make sure the motherboard has enough IDE slots to hold my hard, floppy, and cd/dvd drives, SATA 3g to hold my SATA drive.

Enough PCI slots to hold my cards.

One question though, that may make this all pretty easy. Are all motherboards under a standard? Sizewise. So I can use my same case? Im doubting it though.

What im kinda looking at is something that can have 3-4gigs (or more) of ram, 3.5-4.0ghz processor.

So thanks for all the help and suggestions. Im going to need it.

EDIT: Forgot to add this, but im looking to spend around $100-200 on each part. I can go higher on some parts, but would like to keep it as low as I can. I also saw this case in someones signiture. Im sure ill be having to buy a new case, and this one looks nice. Black too, so it would match my ps, tv, monitor, audio interface, speakers, and pretty much all my tech stuff. lol
 
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I think you will need new CPU + Mobo + RAM + Video Card + PSU + Case...
Here is my suggestions:

CPU: Q6600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017

Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R, It only has 2 x PCI slot, but, it has 8 x USB 2.0 and 2 x IEEE 1394a. So you probably don't need USB add-on card/ Firewire add-on card.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128344

RAM: CORSAIR 4GB 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 TWIN2X4096-6400C5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184

Video Card: SAPPHIRE 100242L Radeon HD 4850 512MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102747

PSU:CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139001

Case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 532 only have one fan at front, I suggest you get another fan for rear. Althernatively, choose another case. e.g. Centurion 5, CM 590, CM 690
 
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Wow, that looks pretty good, and id be able to buy it all once I get back from a unicycling trip im taking.

Thanks.

Any more suggestions would be appreciated. =p
 
Jerrick said:
Wow, that looks pretty good, and id be able to buy it all once I get back from a unicycling trip im taking.

Thanks.

Any more suggestions would be appreciated. =p
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Just so you know, if you upgrade one part, you'll have to upgrade another to support it, and so on.

Because of the age of your system, you'll need to upgrade your CPU, which will require you to upgrade your motherboard.
This will also mean that your RAM will be incompatible with your motherboard, meaning you need to buy new RAM.
And for a new video card, you won't be able to find a decent motherboard that will support an AGP card, therefore causing you to get a new video card. Along with that, those new components will require a lot more power, meaning you'll need a new Power Supply.
Also, more power=more heat, meaning you will need to buy a better case.

For these reasons, you'll basically be building a whole new computer. That's how technology works. And it would be better for you to set a whole system budget, rather than a budget for each component, because if you spend the same money on each thing, you're certain to end up with bottlenecks, and a system that won't run to it's full potential.
 
Schonza said:
Just so you know, if you upgrade one part, you'll have to upgrade another to support it, and so on.

Because of the age of your system, you'll need to upgrade your CPU, which will require you to upgrade your motherboard.
This will also mean that your RAM will be incompatible with your motherboard, meaning you need to buy new RAM.
And for a new video card, you won't be able to find a decent motherboard that will support an AGP card, therefore causing you to get a new video card. Along with that, those new components will require a lot more power, meaning you'll need a new Power Supply.
Also, more power=more heat, meaning you will need to buy a better case.

For these reasons, you'll basically be building a whole new computer. That's how technology works. And it would be better for you to set a whole system budget, rather than a budget for each component, because if you spend the same money on each thing, you're certain to end up with bottlenecks, and a system that won't run to it's full potential.
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I know. I was fully aware of that and kinda have been excited to put a basically new comp together.

Another thing I noticed is that somewhat high-end parts arent all to expensive. Im not looking for top of the line here, but something better and faster than what I have now. Which obviously isnt going to take much. lol. Also, dont forget that I did say,
I can go higher on some parts
Click to expand...

Ive looked at full comps, and for what I am aiming for, most of the comps end up being around $1500, so I figured I can save a bit doing it this way too.

Anyways, would I really have to go for the 512? Im sure its worth it, but that seems excecive to me. Feel free to beet me down with my own ignorance.

At the end of this week ill be purchasing the case first, so I guess I should get that worked out soon. And a new keyboard, but I already got that one covered.
 
Jerrick said:
I know. I was fully aware of that and kinda have been excited to put a basically new comp together.

Another thing I noticed is that somewhat high-end parts arent all to expensive. Im not looking for top of the line here, but something better and faster than what I have now. Which obviously isnt going to take much. lol. Also, dont forget that I did say,

Ive looked at full comps, and for what I am aiming for, most of the comps end up being around $1500, so I figured I can save a bit doing it this way too.

Anyways, would I really have to go for the 512? Im sure its worth it, but that seems excecive to me. Feel free to beet me down with my own ignorance.

At the end of this week ill be purchasing the case first, so I guess I should get that worked out soon. And a new keyboard, but I already got that one covered.
Click to expand...

Well, not only are you looking for something that is better than what you have got (which, with all parts available, it makes it extremely easy), but something that will last you quite a while, and is future proof. Video Memory basically is important for one thing, the resolution on the screen you're using. The higher the resolution, the more memory you need to render graphics. So yes, 512 mb on your video card would be a good idea. The parts suggested in the aforemetioned post are very good, sure some people will recommend other brands/parts for whatever reason, but that's roughly what you're going to end up with. Quad core, 4 gb ram, 512 mb graphics card, solid case, solid power supply, and if you require it, a great amount of storage (500 gb quite easily). If you want recommendations for exact parts, wait for some other members to post, as I generally don't pick out the best overall parts for people. Whatever you end up with, you'll be extremely happy with.
 
Schonza said:
Well, not only are you looking for something that is better than what you have got (which, with all parts available, it makes it extremely easy), but something that will last you quite a while, and is future proof. Video Memory basically is important for one thing, the resolution on the screen you're using. The higher the resolution, the more memory you need to render graphics. So yes, 512 mb on your video card would be a good idea. The parts suggested in the aforemetioned post are very good, sure some people will recommend other brands/parts for whatever reason, but that's roughly what you're going to end up with. Quad core, 4 gb ram, 512 mb graphics card, solid case, solid power supply, and if you require it, a great amount of storage (500 gb quite easily). If you want recommendations for exact parts, wait for some other members to post, as I generally don't pick out the best overall parts for people. Whatever you end up with, you'll be extremely happy with.
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Future proof sounds good. Ill stick with the 512. :)

I already got storage covered. Right around 1.somethingTB. I deal with multiple cameras with hours of footage on them all, that with all the editing fills up drivespace quick, so that was one of the first things I got covered.
 
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All I need now is the ram, mobo, and video card. Im pretty excited about all of it coming together. The end of July needs to come quicker.
 
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Just a thought. What Operating System will you be using. I read other peoples posts about video and photographers using a x64 bit OS and about 8gb of Ram. And 64 bit is a lot better for multi-tasking.
 
Might as well go for the x64, right? Great future preparation (more memory), and I doubt Vienna will come out next year or so.
 
maroon1 said:
If you are not going to game at all, then just get a cheaper video card like 8800GS
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I thought about that, but then again, I do game occasionally, and would like the games, even with their low specs compared to what is out now, to be running smooth and trouble free. Also, later on id like to have the 512 cause I dont see me moving frm that any time soon, but with a 256, I know that number would nag at me quite a bit. Haha, I was tempted to go for 1gig while I was browsing around last night, but I dont want to go to overboard with myself.

AlienMenace said:
Just a thought. What Operating System will you be using. I read other peoples posts about video and photographers using a x64 bit OS and about 8gb of Ram. And 64 bit is a lot better for multi-tasking.
Click to expand...

Currently I have Windows XP SP2. I very much like having more memory, and if I remember right, I think with with my OS, I can really only use about 3.5gigs of ram. Changing to a new OS is no problem at all for me though, so its a easy possability. Ill make sure when I buy the motherboard it can support 8gigs.

Zangetsu said:
The 1TB Samsung Spinpoint is a very fast quiet harddisk. I recommend that :)
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Thanks, if I run out of the room I have now, ill look at that, or trade in my data from the seperate drives and load it all onto that one.

My case and new keyboard came in today, and Wednesday ill be getting my processor and PSU. Bought them as a combo, which was pretty nice and convinient.

Now for the ram, motherboard, and video gard.

I may look for a different mobo than what was posted for me. If I could find one with the same specs, but just one more PCI slot, and one more IDE conection on the board, it would be perfect. I have till mid July to order the board though, so im sure ill find that right board. If you have any links to one like that though, send them my way, please.

Thanks for all the help so far. My friends are getting jealous over my comp already and all I have right now is the case. haha.
 
Hey, I got it all built up, and its amazing. Also picked up a few Sata cd/hdd drives because they are so cheap so now I dont have any IDE cable problems ith the motherboard.
 
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