build critique : multimedia workstation

[ocbaud]

sold my macbook pro to help pay for a new camera, and i said i would upgrade my current system if i did.

Current specs are this:
AMD Opteron 165 dual core (1.8ghz @ 2.8ghz)
asus a8n-e motherboard
700watt ocz psu
2gb ddr2 ram
nvidia 8800gts 512mb
250gb 7200rpm sata2
320gb 7200rpm sata2
20x dvd-r/w
sblive xfi card


i need a mobo, cpu, and memory for the upgrade.
Looking at the following combos:

c2q: ($552.95)
Intel q9550 2.83ghz c2q
asus p5q pro mobo
8gb pc1066 ddr2 (gskill)
pci-express firewire 800 card


i7: ($726.96)
Intel 920 2.66ghz i7
asus p6t deluxe v2 mobo
6gb pc1600 ddr3 (gskill)
pci-express firewire 800 card


I don't play a lot of games, hence why i'm not upgrading my video card. i play cod4 every once in awhile, and thats about it. I'll mostly be using it for photography with photoshop and lightroom(a lot of lightroom). Will also be used for some video encoding and a streaming media server sending music and movies to my xbox 360.


i know the i7 is a better system, but i'm wondering if i'll be fine with the cheaper c2q system. my current system runs great IMO, but i need more memory for the things i do and don't feel like spending so much on regular ddr(and the nforce4 chipset doesn't like all 4 ram slots taken up)

any advice?

 

[lt_shiro]

I say go with the Core i7 build. P6T Deluxe is waste of good money... Non Deluxe has much better lay out and leaves out the unwanted things like SAS ports.

But even better option would a GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R for just $210, since you are not that much into PC gaming.

Also you should change your powersupply, Those older OCZ PSU are horse crap and feeding your PC some horrible DC ripple. Get a good powersupply from either Corsair, Coolermaster, Antec or Xigmatech. Rated in the 80 plus range.

 

[lowteckh]

MSI X58 Pro + Super Talent 6GB ram = $260 - $20MIR = $240AR http://www.ewiz.com/combo.php?cat_id=207