New/Upgrade Build Suggestions

[dojugoo]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming, browsing, some photoshop,
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Try to keep as low as possible, if I have a limit, would be ~$500-$600 maximum, but can be lenient
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

Los Angeles, CA
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.
CPU, mobo, RAM, video card, maybe PSU(see below)
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
My current PSU is a XCLIO Goodpower 500W, since 2007, would I need to replace this or would this be sufficient enough for a new build? Case - Coolermaster Centurion 5, SSD - Kingsotn SSDnowV100, i already have two other HDD I could use,
6) Will you be overclocking?
Dont know, if its easy enough then I will
7) 7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Two monitors, one 27" 1920x1080, second is 22" (forget resolution)
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
January/February
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.
USB 3.0 would be nice, but features not needed
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, windows 7 64-bit


So, essentially, just want to replace the internal parts. Main concern is whether my current PSU is good enough to keep for the new build, or I should get a new one. Would just like some suggestions on the parts.

Thanks

 

[E4g1e]

You will need to replace the PSU before you can upgrade to anything modern: The XCLIO PSUs of that era were manufactured by CWT and were of a similar design to the notorious CWT-made Antec PSUs of the time (Fuhjyyu caps and all). Those older CWT-made PSUs have had a history of earlier-than-expected death. At the first sign of hissing from the PSU, replace it right away!

Second, I strongly recommend replacing that case: The Centurion 5 case has severely imbalanced airflow due to its use of only a single 80mm fan up front and a single 120mm fan in the rear (or put it this way, the intake airflow is substantially lower than the exhaust airflow). This results in the internal temperatures to become significantly hotter than in cases with normal and balanced airflow. Have you ever felt exhaust air that's very hot to the feel under any type of load (or feels very warm even at idle)? That's exactly what happens if your case does not have nearly enough intake airflow. What's worse, that single 80mm fan in that Centurion case is woefully inadequate to draw in fresh, cooler air from outside the case. Modern, hotter-running CPUs and GPUs really require a case that's equipped with a combination of multiple 120 and 140 mm fans just to be cooled sufficiently enough to allow even moderate overclocking.

 

[Dangman]

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
January/February

In addition to what E4g1e said, I recommend that you come back when you're 2-3 weeks away from buying as our parts recommendations tends to change monthly and sometimes even weekly. So parts we recommend this month may not be the same parts we recommend in January let alone February. So unless you want an outdated and/or overpriced setup, your best bet for up to date advice is to ask when you're only 2-3 weeks away from buying.

But even 2 months from now, you're still looking at a new PSU and case.