Upgrade recommendations

[cismajor97]

Hey folks,

I have my current system and I'm in need of an upgrade. I would like to keep as much of the equipment as possible. The only piece that has to change is my HD since it died. Any recommendations on how I can max out my existing system?

CoolerMaster Praetorian 730 RC-730 Aluminum Tower
AMD Athlon™64 X2 4800+ Dual-Core CPU
Western Digital Raptor 150GB 10,000RPM 16MB Cache (dead)
ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe nForce4 SLI
Corsair XMS High Performance Memory 2GB PC3200 400mhz
Aspire 600W DARK SIDE POWER ATX
Creative Labs X-FI Platinum
eVGA NVIDIA Geforce 7900 GTX 512MB

Thanks,

 

[Alai]

Yes. Get these:

Antec P182
10x WD Velociraptor 300GB and RAID 0 them.
ASUS Rampage Formula II
16GB DDR3
Koolance PSU-1300ATX-12N Liquid Cooled Power Supply
HT Omega Claro Halo XT
4870X2 CF
30" monitor

I can list speakers and headphones and such, but I don't know if you need them.

 

[Dangman]

Yes. Get these:

LOL! That's sure maxing out the system

Anyway, OP, please answer these questions or we cannot help you. Otherwise, you get recommendations like Alai's:

I
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
3) Where do you live?
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
6) Will you be overclocking?
7) What size monitor do you have or plan to have?
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

Oh and the part you will/should replace with 100% certainty is that PSU of yours. It's a total POS. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it was the culprit that killed your hard drive.

 

[cismajor97]

1. Gaming/Software Development/Database Development
2. $500, Yes
3. Long Beach, CA
4. CPU, RAM, HD, Motherboard if upgrade is recommended
5. Case, PS, Video Card, Sound Card, Motherboard if deemed reusable
6. Neveroverclocked a machine, but it couldn't hurt
7. I have a 24" monitor
8. As soon as I get approval from the wife.

 

[cismajor97]

Update, I think I may have already replaced the PS, but I'm not at home so I can tell you the exact model, but it's either equal to or above the same wattage of old PS.

 

[Dangman]

Update, I think I may have already replaced the PS, but I'm not at home so I can tell you the exact model, but it's either equal to or above the same wattage of old PS.

Well for now I'll assume that you'll need still to replace the PSU just in case:

Intel Pentium Dual Core E5200 CPU - $84
Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L Intel P43 Motherboard - $87
G.Skill F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM - $50
Sapphire 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB PCI-E Video Card - $160
Antec Earthwatts 650W PSU - $65
---
Total: $446 plus tax and shipping

The above should be a nice upgrade over your current system. The HD4850 should allow you to play most games at medium settings at 1920x1200.

 

[Alai]

Ouch, 24" and only $500 for several major components.

Personally, I would sell the 24" and get a 20" but that's just me. I like my eye candy that's not blurry.

I really can't add more than what Danny posted with $500.

 

[HardwareGuru]

Dannys build is good. I would put together something like that myself. But, forgot to include the HDD. $500 budget? Goodness...need more than that for a decent build. Too bad you game hehe then it would be easier.

 

[Dangman]

But, forgot to include the HDD. $500 budget?

Oops forgot the hard drive.

Hmmm, cismajor97, is that Raptor still under warranty? If so, it'll be more cost effective to RMA that drive rather than buy a new hard drive. Oh and find out the exact model of your new PSU.

 

[HardwareGuru]

I'll assume also his PS needs replacing. Based on his limited budget and the fact that he will keep his video card right now, I would just upgrade to this:

CPU - Core 2 E8400 - $170
MOBO - MSI Neo3-F - $85 &10 (MIR)
RAM - 4gig G Skills DDR2 800 - $50
HDD - WD 6400AAKS - $75
PSU - Antec Neopower 650 - $90 w/free shipping

Total $470 w/o shipping

I would still get a bigger HDD. I think 150gigs is still small especially if you load games on it. But, if its still under warranty, fix it and use it as the boot drive and make the 640gig as the backup/storage. Later on, when you have money, upgrade the video card. One things for sure, it will be overall faster than your obsolete socket 939 X2 4800+ cpu. This upgrade may help a little with the performance of your 7900GTX video card also. Too bad the sale on the Antec EA650 that Danny listed ended. Also, the Gigabyte board is also at $95 now. Still good price though.