Help me with an upgrade plan.

D

dpro

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Jan 24, 2007
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1.) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
- Some gaming, (newer games FPS / RTS games), programming, web browsing.

2.) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
- $500-600

3.Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
- US, Seattle, WA

4.What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
- This is where I am unsure, what can I upgrade or replace to get the most bang for my buck?

5.) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
- I have a Seasonic X650 Gold (unused) that I will for certain use.
- The rest of the parts are: AMD 1055T, ASUS M4A89TD/PRO, 8GB Gskill RAM, EVGA 580GTX, WD640GB HDD, ANTEC 300 Case, Corsair H50, antec 520 Neo Eco(currently being used).
- I am not really fond of this case, it's rather cramped, and I am hoping to have a little more space.

6.Will you be overclocking?
- Unlikely.

7.What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
- 1920x1020, 23"

8. When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within a month.

9. What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc
- USB3.0, SATA6Gb/s, UEFI would be great.

10.Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes I have Windows 7 that is transferrable.

- I am hoping to upgrade my system without spending too much, additionally, upgrading my case would be one of my first priorities. I'd prefer an Intel Ivy Bridge if possible.

Any ideas or help to make this the most productive upgrade?

Thanks for the help!
 
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You are already on an AM3+ platform and you have most of your requirements already.

I would replace the mobo with a Gigabyte 990FXA-UD7. I got mine in the mail earlier this week.

It does have USB3.0, Sata 6 GB/s and duel bios and hybrid UEFI. You can put 4 way SLI or Xfire in it. A UD-5 board can do 3 way and a UD-3 can only do 2 way SLI/Xfire. The UD-7 is more of an overclocking board but has some really nice features. I am actually putting my UD3 board in another computer to use the UD-7. They also have alot of similar features.

I would find you a good case. Something like a HAF 932 would do the trick. Then add some Corsair or G. Skill ram(up to 32gb) and you would be fairly set.
 
Definitely a new CPU + mobo and case for sure. However I disagree with spending money on an AMD platform. Just exactly how much of your time on the PC is spent on programming?

Which G.Skill RAM set do you have? Which version of Windows 7 do you have? Home Premium? Pro? Ult?
 
Time spent programming, currently around 10% of my time on the computer right now. I anticipate spending more time programming, up to 40-50% of my time, but for now, its more game playing and general use than programming.

2GB - GSkill F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL x 4 is the RAM Type I currently have.

I have Windows 7 64Bit Ult.

Thanks!
 
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Well 8GB of RAM should be enough for your gaming needs and possibly your programming needs as well. With that said, if you feel that you'll need more RAM for programming, get this RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148661

However for the actual upgrades, I recommend the following upgrades:
$180 - Intel Core i5-3470 CPU
$95 - MSI Z77A-G43 Intel Z77 ATX Motherboard
$110 - Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD1 2.5" 128GB SSD
---
Total: $385 shipped.

The SSD will probably provide the largest noticeable difference in overall system responsiveness. However the new CPU will provide greater gaming performance than your current Phenom and should last you quite awhile.

As for the case, choose your own case. I recommend any of theses cases:
$60 - Corsair Carbide Series 200R ATX Case
$65 - Corsair Carbide Series 300R ATX Case
$80 - Corsair Carbide Series 400R ATX Case
$100 - Antec 1100 ATX Case
$110 - Antec P280 ATX Case
$120 - Corsair Carbide Series 500R ATX Case
$120 - Lian Li PC-7HX Black Aluminum ATX Case
$120 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-002GR Black Finish w/Green Trim Full Tower ATX Case
$120 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White ATX Case
$126 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black ATX Case
$123 - Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Gunmetal Black ATX Case
$125 - Fractal Design Define R4 Arctic White ATX Case
$135 - Fractal Design Define R4 with Window Black Pearl ATX Case
$135 - Fractal Design Define R4 with Window Arctic White ATX Case
$135 - Fractal Design Define R4 with Window Titanium Grey ATX Case
$120 - Corsair Obsidian Series 550D ATX Case
$140 - Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Arctic White ATX Case
$144 - Silverstone RV03B-WA ATX case
$160 - Corsair Graphite Series 600TM ATX Case
$168 - Silverstone TJ04B-EW ATX Case
$160 - Corsair Obsidian Series 650D ATX Case
$168 - Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T ATX Case
$230 - Silverstone FT02B-USB3.0 ATX Case
$240 - Silverstone FT02S-W-USB3.0 ATX Case
$245 - Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW ATX Case
 
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Thanks! I appreciate the recommendations, out of curiosity would I need an aftermarket cooler? I assume the Hyper212 would be the recommended cooler if I went aftermarket.
 
Nope, my house is generally not much above 70-80F unless its the dead of summer, where if its really hot it may hit up to 90ish, but that's quite rare.

I assume if I get something like NZXT Phantom (the case I am currently liking), that should have plenty of cooling power for an I ivy bridge.
 
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