- Dec 20, 2012
- 10
- 0
- 10,510
I hope everyone is enjoying the winter holiday season!
My beloved spouse has bestowed a gift of $1000 for me to upgrade my prebuilt. Problem: my pre-built is almost 6 years old, while I’d like to salvage whatever parts I can, realistically I’m probably going to have to replace most of the components. It’s been a very long time since I built my own system. I’m also considering saving the old components to build my mom a computer for farting around on the web.
Approximate Purchase Date: 2 to 3 weeks from now (mid to late January)
Budget Range: $1000
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Computer graphics and web development, gaming, 3d applications (maya, zbrush)
Are you buying a monitor: No
Parts to Upgrade: CPU, MOBO, RAM, hard drive, CPU cooler
Do you need to buy OS: Yes
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg, amazon, tigerdirect, - open to others as well
Location: Dallas Fort Worth, Texas
Parts Preferences: Intel, Asus mobo (loyal), Hitachi deskstar HD
Overclocking: Maybe
SLI or Crossfire: No
Your Monitor Resolution: 1680 x 1050
Additional Comments: I run a lot of graphics and web development programs simultaneously. I also do some light 3d modeling with maya and Zbrush (hobby). I’d like to be able to run 3d games at high resolution without running into major framerate issues. However, I would be willing to get a cheap video card for the interim until I can buy a better card that will do the new build justice. I‘d like to cannibalize whatever parts I can from my old pre-built.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: My prebuilt is almost 6 years old, while she’s a battle-axe and I love her to death it’s time to upgrade.
Here are the specs for my 6 year old pre-built from Velocity Micro:
• Asus® P5N-E SLI nForce 650i SLI, Socket 775, PCI-E, DDR2
• 500 Watt Velocity Micro® Power Supply
• 400GB Hitachi Desktar 7200rpm 16MB Cache SATA 300
• Intel® Core 2 Duo E6750, dual 2.66GHz cores, 1333MHz FSB, 4MB L2 Cache
• Arctic Cooling® Freezer 7 Pro Heatsink
• 320MB EVGA GeForce 8800GTS DDR3 PCI-E
• 4096MB Corsair DDR2 PC6400 DDR2-800 (4x1024)
• 20x Lite On® DVD+/-RW/CD-RW Dual Layer
• 16x DVD/48x CD-RW Lite On® Combo Drive
Here’s what I have in mind as far as upgrades and salvaging goes:
• Upgrade OS: Windows 8
• Upgrade mobo to: Asus P8Z77-V PRO ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (note: I’m loyal to Asus mobos, owned 3 with no problems)
• Upgrade CPU to: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
• Upgrade CPU cooler to: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
• Upgrading to 32gb ram: 4 G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
• Video Card: Not sure whether to keep the old GeForce 8800GTS and hope it works with windows 8 or get a cheap HIS Radeon HD 6670 2GB. I plan on getting a better card a year or so down the line, but right now I don’t think I possess enough money to “have it all”.
• Debating between keeping hard drive or upgrade to 1TB deskstar? I’m worried about age-related failure of the drive even though there’s no sign of anything wrong.
• Debating keeping current PSU or buying a new one (unsure on which brand)?
• Keeping both DVD/CD drives
• Wondering if it would be prudent to replace the old case fans or re-use the old ones (set up for positive air flow)?
Which parts are safe to re-use from my 6+ year old pre-built this far out? I have had ZERO problems with her but I’m worried about inevitable breakdown due to age. For most of my pre-built’s life the poor thing lived in a un-airconditioned apartment with wicked dust issues (thank goodness for fan filters). I am both shocked and pleased that my system has lived so damn long, I think it’s kind of endearing. Any old parts I swap out I’m going to keep and build my mom a system for general farting around- it would be nice to see the old girl live on in some way (not to mention my mom doesn’t own a computer and she’d appreciate one).
In terms of near-future upgrades I’d eventually like to get a better video card, but willing to use a cheap one in the meantime until more funds are available. A second monitor is a definite yes in 4-6 months, and I might get an SSD down the line.
It has been a very long time since I built my own system, so any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
My beloved spouse has bestowed a gift of $1000 for me to upgrade my prebuilt. Problem: my pre-built is almost 6 years old, while I’d like to salvage whatever parts I can, realistically I’m probably going to have to replace most of the components. It’s been a very long time since I built my own system. I’m also considering saving the old components to build my mom a computer for farting around on the web.
Approximate Purchase Date: 2 to 3 weeks from now (mid to late January)
Budget Range: $1000
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Computer graphics and web development, gaming, 3d applications (maya, zbrush)
Are you buying a monitor: No
Parts to Upgrade: CPU, MOBO, RAM, hard drive, CPU cooler
Do you need to buy OS: Yes
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg, amazon, tigerdirect, - open to others as well
Location: Dallas Fort Worth, Texas
Parts Preferences: Intel, Asus mobo (loyal), Hitachi deskstar HD
Overclocking: Maybe
SLI or Crossfire: No
Your Monitor Resolution: 1680 x 1050
Additional Comments: I run a lot of graphics and web development programs simultaneously. I also do some light 3d modeling with maya and Zbrush (hobby). I’d like to be able to run 3d games at high resolution without running into major framerate issues. However, I would be willing to get a cheap video card for the interim until I can buy a better card that will do the new build justice. I‘d like to cannibalize whatever parts I can from my old pre-built.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: My prebuilt is almost 6 years old, while she’s a battle-axe and I love her to death it’s time to upgrade.
Here are the specs for my 6 year old pre-built from Velocity Micro:
• Asus® P5N-E SLI nForce 650i SLI, Socket 775, PCI-E, DDR2
• 500 Watt Velocity Micro® Power Supply
• 400GB Hitachi Desktar 7200rpm 16MB Cache SATA 300
• Intel® Core 2 Duo E6750, dual 2.66GHz cores, 1333MHz FSB, 4MB L2 Cache
• Arctic Cooling® Freezer 7 Pro Heatsink
• 320MB EVGA GeForce 8800GTS DDR3 PCI-E
• 4096MB Corsair DDR2 PC6400 DDR2-800 (4x1024)
• 20x Lite On® DVD+/-RW/CD-RW Dual Layer
• 16x DVD/48x CD-RW Lite On® Combo Drive
Here’s what I have in mind as far as upgrades and salvaging goes:
• Upgrade OS: Windows 8
• Upgrade mobo to: Asus P8Z77-V PRO ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (note: I’m loyal to Asus mobos, owned 3 with no problems)
• Upgrade CPU to: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
• Upgrade CPU cooler to: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
• Upgrading to 32gb ram: 4 G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
• Video Card: Not sure whether to keep the old GeForce 8800GTS and hope it works with windows 8 or get a cheap HIS Radeon HD 6670 2GB. I plan on getting a better card a year or so down the line, but right now I don’t think I possess enough money to “have it all”.
• Debating between keeping hard drive or upgrade to 1TB deskstar? I’m worried about age-related failure of the drive even though there’s no sign of anything wrong.
• Debating keeping current PSU or buying a new one (unsure on which brand)?
• Keeping both DVD/CD drives
• Wondering if it would be prudent to replace the old case fans or re-use the old ones (set up for positive air flow)?
Which parts are safe to re-use from my 6+ year old pre-built this far out? I have had ZERO problems with her but I’m worried about inevitable breakdown due to age. For most of my pre-built’s life the poor thing lived in a un-airconditioned apartment with wicked dust issues (thank goodness for fan filters). I am both shocked and pleased that my system has lived so damn long, I think it’s kind of endearing. Any old parts I swap out I’m going to keep and build my mom a system for general farting around- it would be nice to see the old girl live on in some way (not to mention my mom doesn’t own a computer and she’d appreciate one).
In terms of near-future upgrades I’d eventually like to get a better video card, but willing to use a cheap one in the meantime until more funds are available. A second monitor is a definite yes in 4-6 months, and I might get an SSD down the line.
It has been a very long time since I built my own system, so any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
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