PC Upgrade

[Dartz]

Hey guys I've been watching the [H]ard|forum threads for a few years now and need some help with my upgrade. I have a semi-custom build that i bought from ibuypower.com about 2 almost 3 years ago (this summer will be 3 years.)

I have $600 to spend but less is better here. I plan on buying the parts either this weekend or next week sometime.

Here are my current specs:
motherboard:
K8 Triton GA-K8NF-9 w/ nForce4(-4X) chipset

Processor:
AMD Athlon 3800+

Hard drives:
1 250Gb sata internal drive
1 160Gb ide internal drive
1 320 One Touch 4 USB external drive

Ram:
2 512 sticks
2 128 sticks
...a mix of various eMachines ram that equal about 1.5Gb
(pc 100 i believe)

Monitors:
19" Hans-g rotated to portrait(900x1440)
22" Chimei(1650x1050)

video card(s):
PNY Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT
BFG Nvidia GeForce 8400 GS
*I would like to use the 8400 w/ my 8600 if possible

Keyboard/Mouse:
logitech g15 v2
logitech MX 518

dvd/cd drives:
1 cd drive
1 dvd/cd drive

OS:
Windows Vista Ultimate
*i was wanting to switch to Ubuntu but i had trouble finding/installing drivers for my 8600 and thus could not get dual monitors to work if i could get that to work i would switch most likely.

if there is any other information needed or i forgot something please tell me and I'll get the information for you.

I've priced out the type of upgrades that i want and have it saved into a newegg wish list. Here's a screenshot.

I'm really wanting to switch over to an intel processor. I don't really game anymore on my pc but i think its because of how slow games run on my system now.

I use Photoshop, watch movies, code, internet, vmware, etc.

i didn't mention the power supply because the one i have is a generic version that came with my NZXT Apollo case and i want a new one.

thanks again guys for the help

 

[Dangman]

Please answer the questions in the sticky titled "ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS FIRST"

Right off the bat, ditch the SLI motherboard. Since you're not using SLI, just two cards, and your monitor resolution isn't high enough to justify SLI, you should go with one of these better quality motherboard instead:
Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 Motherboard - $120
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P Intel P45 Motherboard - $135

Either motherboard will allow you to use two video cards.

For the CPU, since you are using VMware and photoshop, you might be better off with the quad-core Q6600 which is roughly the same price as that E8500:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 CPU - $190

If you can wait about 2-3 weeks, the Intel Price cuts will take effect and the Q6600 will be around $170.

RAM wise, I recommend getting this cheaper but equal quality set:
G.Skill F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM - $40

PSU wise, ditch the 550VX since it's overpriced at Newegg. Go with either of these more cost-effective PSUs:
BFG Tech LS-550 550W PSU - $80
Corsair 650TX 650W PSU - $100

 

[Dartz]

sorry about the questions never thought to look at the sticky..

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Photoshop, vmware, browsing, coding (java)
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$600 w/ shipping dont know about tax
3) Where do you live?
oklahoma
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
motherboard, ram, power supply, processor
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
see OP?
6) Will you be overclocking?
no
7) What size monitor do you have or plan to have?
1 19"
1 22"
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
was shooting for next week but i can wait up to a month
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
i need at least 1 ide and 1 sata connection
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
yes (4 copies of Vista, 1 premium, 2 business, 1 ultimate)

i priced the Gigabyte motherboard, quad core, corsair psu and the gskill ram. It came to $467 not including any MIRs which is about $30 less than what i had. Im not sure if i should wait the couple weeks for the price to drop $20 though.

 

[Dangman]

i priced the Gigabyte motherboard, quad core, corsair psu and the gskill ram. It came to $467 not including any MIRs which is about $30 less than what i had. Im not sure if i should wait the couple weeks for the price to drop $20 though.

Well it's totally up to you if you want to wait.

Since $467 is well under your $600 budget. here are few things you can do to make use of that extra money:
- If one of those Vista copies is a 64bit edition or if you're willing to pay for the $10 Vista 64bit disc straight from Microsoft, get another set of that G.Skill RAM for a total of 8GB of RAM. That extra RAM will help out with Photoshop and Vmware immensely
-Get a faster hard drive for the OS like the WD6400AAKS:
Western Digital WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $75
- If you want more storage instead of a faster drive, get a 1TB hard drive:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $110

 

[Deleted member 184142]

Danny has some great recommendations there. I favor the Asus P5Q Pro because I have it and have enjoyed it quite a bit. PSU I lean to the 650TX. The quad will help a good deal in photoshop, the G.SKILL RAM is good, use to have 8GB in my system until it started limiting my OC. Without a doubt get a faster HD, it will do wonders in photoshop, to me it has the biggest impact. Do you plan on running a 64bit OS? What version of PS are you running?

 

[Dartz]

thanks for the help you two I'll go with the gigabyte motherboard, quad core, corsair psu and the double gskill ram for the 8gb. I'll see if i can track down a x64 dvd or just order it. If i stay at 32-bit most of my 8gb would go to waste wouldnt it? because 32-bit doesn't recognize past 3-4gb? anyway i'll be switching to 64-bit no matter, i was just curious

thanks again for the help