Budget Photoshop/Illustrator machine

[dlstyley]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: this week
BUDGET RANGE: 500-600 After Rebates (unless I need to spend more)
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Photoshop/Illustrator/Indesign CS4, Outlook, Web Browsing, light video editing
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, Mouse, Display
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com (but I'm flexible)
PARTS PREFERENCES:
OVERCLOCKING: No
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080 (dvi preferrable)
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: (see below)

Cool and quiet is big plus

Wife currently has an old Dell Precision Workstation 370 with the following basic specs:

Processor: P4 520 (2.8MHz)
Memory: 2.5 GB

The machine gets bogged down pretty badly currently. I suspect it is a combination of being underpowered and OS (XP) rot.

Is it realistic to think that I can build/buy her a new box that will run Photoshop/Illustrator CS4 reasonably well for $500-600? I can spend more if really necessary, but this is really more of a hobby for her.

I was thinking I would budget as follows:

Motherboard: ? ($100)
Processor: Intel quad-core 2.5GHz ($160)
Memory: 4 GB ram ($100)
Case and PS: ($80) (could I reuse Dell case/PS, or have things changed too much?)
HD: 1TB Sata ($100)
DVD Burner: ($40)

I didn't include a video card... this is a point of confusion for me. I'm under the impression that onboard video from many MBs may be sufficient for CS4. Is that true?

Also, can the Dell case/PS be reused, or has technology changed too much?

Thanks!

 

[r_manic]

Your Dell case can be reused if it's a standard type (ATX, miniATX, etc.)

No, what's more important for PS is CPU power, available RAM, and the use of two different drives for the PS install and your scratch drives.