What to upgrade?

[superbikerider]

Hi all,

I am a newbie and would like to upgrade my present system. It works ok but i want to do some video editing and its very slow for that.

I am thinking more RAM but should i just wait until i can buy a better complete system?

The specs are -

Dell Studio XPS 435 MT Desktop
Intel Core i7 920 @ 2.67 ghz
3gb RAM DDR3 @ 528 mhz (3x1gb)
512mb Nvidia Geforce 9600GT
Dell Motherboard 0R849J
1TB Western Digital SATA

Any advice greatly received!!

 

[Kisianik]

Your RAM is low, which Win you have, is it 32 bit or 64 bit? With 64 bit it can go up to 12 GB for sure, or even higher, but could be a problem.
Your GPU is way to old...
What is the purpose, only video editing, or games as well, if yes, which games?
And what is your budget?

 

[superbikerider]

thanks for the reply. I have Vista 64 at the moment. I know the i7 920 isnt the best but from what i understand its still a capable processor. I mainly want the pc for video editing - i play the odd game but not a lot and tends to be just the old Half Life 2 Multiplayer! You are right, the gpu is way too old and the RAM is slow and low. From what i can see the max RAM speed for the motherboard is 1333 and i can go upto 12gb. I can afford to buy the extra RAM but just need help with what speed & amount is best. The GPU is a little more tricky and good ones are costly - if you could recommend a good compatible GPU i would probably try to source a used one off fleabay. I need to crack open the pc too and have a look at the psu and see what power i have and connections - i know i will need some 6 pin connections for some gpu's to run and not sure if the psu will need replacing too. Am i right that its worth upgrading when i have the i7 920?

 

[Kisianik]

Regarding power supply (PSU), yours is most likely 360 watt, which is underrated and actually should be regarded as standard 400 watt or so.

The XPS 435mt supports most generic standard ATX power supply units, with either a 24-pin or 20+4-pin main motherboard power and a EPS/ATX12V 8-pin connector, with or without the on/off switch.

Note: You require a power supply with four SATA power connectors and some 6 pin and 8 pin connectors for video card supplemental power.

Regarding RAM, you know your programs better, so if you check around, how much RAM you actually needed?