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Wife needs an upgrade!

K

KlutZ

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 25, 2003
Messages
303
My wife needs an upgrade for her comp, which means I get an upgrade and she gets my old system. Since we're getting a tax refund, this is the best time to do it because we're always on a tight budget. I know some of these questions have probably been answered in previous posts, so sorry if I'm being repetitive.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Light gaming (WoW/CSS/Eve), watching DVD's, online video, web, cd/dvd burning etc. Basic stuff right now. Also run linux vm.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
About $900, i can go over a little, not much.
3) Where do you live?
Central Arkansas
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/Motherboard/RAM/HDD/Video card/OS
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Case, dvd drive, seperate dvd burner and PSU (more on that in a bit)
6) Will you be overclocking?
Generally I don't OC but I do play with it sometimes
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
Currently have a 21" NEC, any upgrades won't be much bigger because my desk space is limited.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
In the next two weeks.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.
Won't need SLI or Crossfire. Would like USB 3.0, is SATA 6.0 worth it? I use alot of USB ports, all six are in use on this system I'm on.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
No, getting an OEM Win7 64.

Here is a list of the parts I think I'm going to get so far:
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808 $140
ASUS M4A87TD EVO AM3http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131647$110
Western Digital Caviar Black http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533$90
Is SATA 6.0 even worth getting? If yes, I want my OS on it. If no, I'll still need a large HDD for storage and use the 250gb drive I already have for the OS and programs.
CORSAIR XMS3 8GBhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145315$90, I have 4gb in my current rig and don't have any problem with it, maybe this is better for me:
CORSAIR XMS3 4GBhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145260$50
Win7 Home Premium http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754$100
Win7 Family Pack/ Home Premium Upgrade - Retail 3 PCshttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116775$125 for upgrading my current system (my wifes new comp) and our laptop to Win7. Both have Vista, which I've always hated.

That puts me at $615/$655, depending on the memory I get. A little bit lower if I get a different HDD.

Now, I have no doubt that my wifes Antec 500w PSU will be just fine, but I'm not sure that my Antec True Power 550w will be. By my calculations I'll be in the 540ish range. Cutting it kinda close IMO. And since it's probably 4+ years old, I'm thinking I should upgrade it anyhow. What do you guys think?

I haven't decided on a video card yet, because I'm not sure if I need to get a new PSU or not. I don't wanna blow my wad on a video card and not have the power I need. I've always liked XFX because I've had good support from them. Nvidia or ATI doesn't really matter to me any more, but I would like to stick with XFX. With that said, I haven't bought an ATI card in 10 years probably, any tips/suggestions?

Also, if I'm under budget enough, maybe I should go 6 core, I dunno.

TY guys for any help/tips you could give me.
 
+1 on the X4. If you have a MicroCenter nearby, get it from there in a CPU/mobo for cheap. Mobo in some cases is free.

+1 on the W7 family pack. More bang for the buck.

+1 on XFX, but EVGA is another good one with good support. I would ONLY buy XFX until EVGA had better pricing for better performance. I just picked up a GTX460 OCed for $140 (after MIR) from the Egg and it gives great performance.
 
KlutZ said:
Now, I have no doubt that my wifes Antec 500w PSU will be just fine, but I'm not sure that my Antec True Power 550w will be. By my calculations I'll be in the 540ish range. Cutting it kinda close IMO. And since it's probably 4+ years old, I'm thinking I should upgrade it anyhow. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...

Which model is your wife's Antec 500W PSU is? And how old is it?

And your hunch that it needs to be replaced applies to your True Power 550W. Search for "Antec" and "Fuhjyyu" in these forums.
 
Sadly there is nothing like a micro center around here. The closest thing we had was a compusa, but it closed a few years back. The next closest is maybe best buy.

As for my wifes PSU, its a antec 500w that came with her sonata III I bought her a couple years ago.
 
Your wife needs an upgrade?
and what do you have in mind? liposuction? bust implants?
with $900 you really can't do very much
 
LOL at the thread title. Wouldn't it be fine if wives really were upgradeable...
 
When she turned 40 I told her it was time to trade her in on 2 twenties. Implants would work too.
 
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=samsung f3 1tb

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ..._re=gskill_ripjaws_4gb-_-20-231-425-_-Product

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (Free 2GB flash drive)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0231311&cm_re=8gb_ddr3-_-20-231-311-_-Product

I would prefer you find Ram choices that are 1.5v instead of 1.65 but will lose that 2 MIRs. Sata 6 makes hardly no difference unless your running a fast SSD
 
Last edited:
KlutZ said:
As for my wifes PSU, its a antec 500w that came with her sonata III I bought her a couple years ago.
Click to expand...

That was the original Seasonic-built unit, not the newer Delta-built one. Both the Seasonic- and Delta-built versions are perfectly fine for a middle-of-the-road configuration.

As for Best Buy:

Unless the particular location stocks a higher-end PSU such as Corsair (not the CX series), I don't recommend buying a PSU from there: All of the PSUs stocked at the particular location I visit most frequently are either shitty or severely overpriced.
 
No no no.

You got it all wrong.

Your wife needs your current PC, you need an upgrade :p
 
Exactly, install Win7 and she'll think she got a new comp. Just kidding, she knows what she's gonna get, as long as it works with WoW she'll be happy.
 
BTW, I like the way that G Skill 8g looks, prolly gonna go with it. I usually get corsair only because I've had good luck with it.
 
KlutZ said:
Found a link finally to my current PSU. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817103932
I got it about 5 years ago, guess I'll go ahead and upgrade. Gonna get a newer 650w model.
Antec TruePower New TP-650http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371021
That leave me about $200 to work with for a graphics card. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Excellent choice for a PSU. Go for the HD 6850 which be had for around $180.

Also go with the HDD recommendation that 4LC4PON3 made: That Samung F3 1TB drive is just as fast as that Western Digital 1TB Black drive despite the Black having a SATA 6.0Gb/s interface. As noted earlier, it doesn't make a difference with current mechanical drives and is more of marketing gimmick than anything. So you can save yourself $25 that way.
 
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