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Advice - upgrade or not?

R

rtol

n00b
Joined
Jan 7, 2009
Messages
23
I'm just looking for some advice / thoughts / opinions on what I should do with my current desktop. The components are listed in my sig. This is obviously an old build, right after core i7 came out. I'm trying to decide if I should attempt an upgrade, or just repurpose this and get something new altogether. I want to be able to do some gaming here and there, photo editing (lightroom), maybe some video editing in the future - nothing too crazy, just home video recorded from my Sony nex-5n.

I was thinking first off, it's long past time to upgrade to win 7 64 bit. So if I go the OEM route, that's $100. My problem with this is, I'm basically paying $100 for an OS that is very soon to be outdated by windows 8. Also, the fact that it's OEM means it's tied to this motherboard, which is already more than 3 years old. If I go the full retail version that's $200 then I start thinking this isn't just a cheapish "upgrade" anymore and maybe I'm spending too much on really old hardware.

If I upgrade the OS to 64 but, then I may as well upgrade my ram since I currently only have 3 Gb. My board is triple channel, I don't know if that's even used anymore, seems like there are far more dual channel memory options out there.

I could get 12 Gb of this for $70

I'd probably add at least a 1tb hdd as well. Whatever the fastest one currently available is.

So altogether I'm thinking around $300 ish, If I go the win 7 OEM route. Around $400 if I go full win 7. I can't seem to pull the trigger for some reason. I guess because that seems like a pretty good chunk toward an altogether new pc.

Am I leaving anything out / not considering anything you can think of? I should point out that currently I have no desire to build another pc, I'd be much more inclined to buy something prebuilt.
 
You could try Windows 8 Release Candidates for a free OS to use until it actually comes out. Assuming you don't mind Metro >_>. Saves you having to buy a new license.

You definitely don't need a new processor at the moment, but more RAM and probably a newer video card would help. Depends on what games you do. More RAM would also help any video/photo editing stuff a lot.

If you are having issues with storage then obviously get a new HDD. If you are gonna buy a 1TB HDD though thats about $90-100, which would get you a decent 128GB SSD. That would help your system a TON but wouldn't help any storage issues.

Just my 2 cents.
 
rtol said:
I could get 12 Gb of this for $70
Click to expand...
Two things wrong with that RAM:
1) It's meant specifically for AMD CPUs. Not entirely sure how they've done that but we've seen in the past that RAM specifically made for AMD will not work with Intel platforms.
2) It's overpriced considering that you can get 16GB of RAM for $80 these days:
$80 - 2 x G.Skill Value Series F3-10666CL9D-8GBNT 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM

Also, what's the voltage of your current RAM? No point in buying new RAM if the old RAM is using a ton more voltage and you're unwilling to ditch the old.

rtol said:
I'd probably add at least a 1tb hdd as well. Whatever the fastest one currently available is.
Click to expand...
Do you need the extra storage or something? If not, you might be better off just buying a SSD. While hard drives today are faster than your current WD 640GB drive, the noticeable performance difference won't exactly justify the $110 for the new 1TB drive. You're better off spend the $130 for a 128GB SSD:
$130 - Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SSD

However if you do get the SSD, you will need Windows 7 or 8. If you want to stick with a HDD, I recommend this:
$110 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

As for OS, do note that it will take awhile for MS to lessen the teething issues in Windows 8 when it's released. Especially considering that they're going with a new interface and all. If you do use the Windows 8 RC, you will have to completely reformat the SSD/HDD when/if you get Windows 8 retail.
 
the memory is this:
CORSAIR XMS3 3GB (3 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit

1.5 volts I believe. I had just planned on getting rid of it and using a new set. Don't I need triple channel since my board is triple channel?

I noticed that was made for AMD after I posted it as well, thanks.

I was thinking something like this as a replacement.

Point noted about the SSD, I do need storage but the SSD would be nice for performance.
 
rtol said:
1.5 volts I believe. I had just planned on getting rid of it and using a new set.
Click to expand...
Go ahead and keep the RAM in. It's rated at 1.5V so it's still good set of RAM.
rtol said:
Don't I need triple channel since my board is triple channel?
Click to expand...
Not really. Very miniscule and hardly noticeable performance difference between tri and dual channel.
rtol said:
I was thinking something like this as a replacement.
Click to expand...
That RAM is a good set but just a tadly overpriced. You're paying about $5.45 a gig with that G.Skill set versus $5 a gig for the G.Skill set I linked to earlier.
 
Ah, ya I just assumed there would be some conflict with the 2 different brands of ram so I'd have to do away with the old stuff.

Thanks for the tips.
 
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