Upgraded Rig advise

T

Thunderbrain

n00b
Joined
Jan 29, 2004
Messages
22
Hi, I'm thinking on updating my main rig which i don't use for gaming at all, although I encode videos, use sound forge for audio editing and Photoshop:

currently I'm running the following:

Q6600 at stock (not a fan of over clocking)
Connect 3D ATI Radeon X800
2 GB (2 x 1GB) of corsair XMS DDR2 @ 1066 dual channel
Asus P5K Deluxe
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 (PCI slot)
Corsair CMPSU-520HX
Sata HDD and DVD Burners

Now my problem is that I want to install Win 7 x64 and I need to run dual monitors, I tried upgrading the video card and memory only but with my board and the high prices of DDR2 I would end up spending the same amount of money that I would on upgrading every main component.

So after lots of reading I have narrow my picks to these choices:

OCZ Obsidian 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3OB1600LV4GK - Retail
Model #:OCZ3OB1600LV4GK

Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I5750 - Retail
Model #:BX80605I5750

GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD3R LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Model #:GA-P55-UD3R

SAPPHIRE 100296HDMI Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
Model #:100296HDMI

Will these components be enough for what I need or will I still be underpowered?
 
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ok let me go ahead and answer the questions first

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
I won't use it for gaming at all, although I encode videos, use sound forge for audio editing and Photoshop
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
around $600
3) Where do you live?
FL
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
CPU, RAM, Motherboard and Video Card.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
everything else, take a look at my current rig
6) Will you be overclocking?
NO
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
Dual Size monitor, 1 "24 and 1 "21
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
when the price is right
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
the usual, no hardcore video support
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Yes OEM Win 7
 
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lt_shiro said:
I would suggest a Intel Xeon X3440 Lynnfield 2.53GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Server Processor - Retail $240 as it add HT for just $40 more than i5 750. Hyper-Threading will add to the performace of audio editing and Photoshop.
Click to expand...

I agree. For encoding, HT FTW. If you want even faster PS performance, get more RAM and install a RAMDisk, then use that RAMDisk as your scratch disk -- yes, this works better than letting PS handle such things internally. This is for the enthusiast/pro photo editors, though... probably not worth it to people who aren't dealing with very large files (RAW) and/or very many of such files.
 
enginurd said:
I agree. For encoding, HT FTW. If you want even faster PS performance, get more RAM and install a RAMDisk, then use that RAMDisk as your scratch disk -- yes, this works better than letting PS handle such things internally. This is for the enthusiast/pro photo editors, though... probably not worth it to people who aren't dealing with very large files (RAW) and/or very many of such files.
Click to expand...

Ok I can definitely see the benefit in the HT performance but with an LGA 1156 I can't really do triple channel so I have to stick with dual channel, possibly 8GB. How about the motherboard and video card that I choose? Is it a good choice?
 
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It would still be cheaper to go with the Xeon shiro listed, which is 266Mhz slower, but $40 cheaper (compared to the i7 860). The combo discount is only $27.

Dual and Triple channel don't matter much for performance right now. The only main difference between X58 and P55, as far as memory goes, is capacity; 24GB vs 16GB. Though, seeing as how 4GB sticks are highly expensive right now, the capacity difference is negligible unless you plan on maxing out the RAM to begin with.

If you live near a MC, an LGA1366 may be a better option, if you had about $75 more to spend ($200 for i7.920, $205 for P6T SE, and $125 for 6GB DDR3).
 
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