Budget PC Help

[djfrankym]

Hey everyone I'm 16 and new to the Anandtech Forums, I've been working all summer to save up for a new computer. I'm currently using a Pentium 3 700MHz, 384MB of PC100RAM, 20GB Hard Drive, 2 CD Burners, and a ATI Radeon 9250 PCI Video Card so upgrade is not an option. I'm planning on spending about $950 Canadian on this Budget PC:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 2.0GHz (AM2)
Biostar TForce4 AM2 ATX Motherboard
Power Up Silver ATX Mid-Tower Case
Ultra X-Finity 500-Watt Power Supply
Kingston 1GB DDR2 PC5400 RAM
Western Digital Caviar SE 16 250GB SATA Hard Drive
GeCube X1600 Pro 256MB with HyperMemory (512MB)
BenQ DW1655 16 x DL DVD+/-RW with Light Scribe
The Whole Build will cost about $800 Canadian ($920 with Tax).
No building fee as I will be building it myself, I have built about 4 high end computers for people so I do have the experience.

What I was wondering if this is good for the price, has upgrade potential, and if it can run programs like: Adobe Production Studio 2, Pinnacle Titanium Editon 10.5, Avid Liquid 7, Maya 8, and possibly the latest games (Not at high settings as I am not heavily into gaming). Im not to conscerned about Maya as I am with the Video Editing Software.

 

[Lord Evermore]

Originally posted by: djfrankym
Hey everyone I'm 16 and new to the X-Bit Labs Forums

Just a suggestion, edit after copying and before pasting. This isn't X-Bit.

There are lots and lots of threads posted about people looking to upgrade and asking for suggestions. You should take a look at those and see if you can find the answers you need.

One obvious point is that two memory modules is better than one so that you can run in dual-channel mode. The performance of the system you've set up should be pretty good, but I can't judge the price without looking each item up and that's too much work at the moment.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

You've been saving up all summer for $950, but you're going to run video editing software with an MSRP of over a grand each?

- M4H

 

[razor2025]

Looks okay to me. However looking at what you're going to be using it for, I recommend investing 2GB of RAM instead of 1GB. Video/Photo editing is RAM hog. You don't need to get top of the line uber-low CAS ram. Just get the cheapest you can get for 2GB. As for the video card, it should be okay for low-medium range. You might want to go for 6600GT if you prefer Doom3/Quake4 engine games over Half-Life 2 engine games. For other applications, either video card will be adaquete for the use. PSU is meh at best as far as Ultra brand IMO.

 

[Lord Evermore]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
You've been saving up all summer for $950, but you're going to run video editing software with an MSRP of over a grand each?

- M4H

But the email said I could get them for 59.99 each! Or only 49.99 if I bought them together!