New here...with some questions

Eatskittens

New Member
Hi all just signed up today lurked for a while and there seems to be a smart bunch here. Here is the deal I have a emachine t2642 cpu I configured it awhile ago to run as server. I use it for my business (photography) it serves 12 viewing stations. Things have progressed and I need it to do more like run Photoshop cs3 and other applications, more multitasking for sure.

current is a t2642 recently had mobo and psu replaced under best buy warranty.

celeron 2.6
2g ram
2 500gig sata drives (mirrored)

I was thinking of replacing it with this:

SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S223Q - OEM
Item #: N82E16827151173

$24.99

HEC 6K28BBX585 Black 0.8mm SECC Steel MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case 585W Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16811121004

-$5.00 Instant
$69.99
$64.99

Rosewill RCR-102 52-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB port - Retail
Item #: N82E16820223073

-$5.00 Instant
$16.99
$11.99

Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KHX8500AD2K2/4G - Retail
Item #: N82E16820104097

$45.99

AMD Phenom 9600 Agena 2.3GHz Socket AM2+ 95W Quad-Core Processor Model HD960ZWCGDBOX - Retail
Item #: N82E16819103244

ASUS M3A78-EM AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813131324

-$20.00 Instant
-$20.00 Combo
$193.98
$153.98

Any thoughts or suggestions? Not looking to overclock or anything just looking for more multitasking capabilities.
 
ok, couple of stuff:

1. What is your budget?
2. Because you are using it for images and what not, you will need a video card.
3. What hard drive(s) capacities do you want, or are you happy with the ones you have now?

Also, bear in mind that more RAM=More overclocking capabilities, so for an extra $46 or you can get another 2x2GB pack and hugely increase speed. And while on the topic of RAM, i have always found corsair or OCZ to be the best suppliers of RAM, kingston are so-so
 
Replace the processor you have chosen with the Phenom 9650. The Phenom 9600 may have problems.

I know the GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-US2H motherboard is compatible with the Phenom 9650 processor and it is $80 presently at NewEgg.com.

Power supplies that come with a case are generally not very good quality. Take a look at the Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU 500 Watt power supply presently $60 at NewEgg.com:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153052&Tpk=Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU
 
The hdds I have now are fine. Will xp pro sp3 run more than 4 gig ram? budget wise not much more than $400. I was considering using my existing case but it wont really save me more money. also not hell bent on a quad the one I picked was pretty much due to getting a quad at a good price. If there might be a dual core that is better but priced well let me know. Also that mobo has onboard video which should be fine for editing.
 
Actually kinda like this better.

1 Linkworld 32104-68WU+P07 Black/ Silver Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16811164122 $45.99

1 GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3 AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813128376 $10.00 Mail-in Rebate $74.99

1 GIGABYTE GV-R435OC-512I Radeon HD 4350 512MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814125251 $15.00 Mail-in Rebate $39.99

1 CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 - Retail
Item #: N82E16820145184 $25.00 Mail-in Rebate $44.99

1 AMD Phenom 9650 2.3GHz Socket AM2+ 95W Quad-Core Processor Model HD9650WCGHBOX - Retail
Item #: N82E16819103288 $119.99

Subtotal: $325.95 before $50 rebates same optical as above and card reader as well.
 
Windows XP Service Pack 3 or 4 will only recognize about 3.25 gigabytes of RAM. With Windows XP 2 gigabytes of RAM is plenty. So with 3.25 gigabytes you will definitely be fine with XP.

The Gigabyte GA-MA770-UD3 is a better motherboard than the one I selected. Be warned your hard drives are likely IDE and there is only one port for IDE hard drives on the motherboard you selected (all new motherboards pretty much only have one IDE port). Hard drives are now using Serial ATA interface.

Everything else looks fine except your power supply and video card. Get the power supply I recommended above.

Here is a better video card (MSI Radeon HD 4650) for $63:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127384
 
No my drives are 500gb sata drives. I run them off a pci raid controller. Video card wasnt sure on but I will go with the one you chose. I thank you guys for the help. Any opinion on going to xp 64 bit?
 
Windows XP 64-bit is not a good operating system. It is hard to find software drivers for it.

If you already have a Windows XP 32-bit installation disk I would advise you to not upgrade to Vista 64-bit. Why spend another $100 on another operating system when Windows XP is good enough?
 
No I have vista on my laptop and I loathe it..........................xp all the way for sure. The only reason I considered 64 bit was for higher ram (4 to 8)
 
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