This Forum is just fantastic the advice and comments are just tremendously helpful.
I have a bad case of upgrade fever and could really use some honest advice from the super knowledgeable members of this Forum. Please look at my current PC specs, my typical usage/needs and my upgrade ideas combined with any Forum recommendations and tell me if I will see a significant performance boost over what I currently have? Esp. given that I am not a gamer, don't typically over-clock, don't do high end picture or video editing or other power hungry applications. Bang for the Buck... will I see it, is it worth it?
I currently have a 3 year old HP Pavilion M9047c desktop with only the RAM and Video card upgraded:
- Vista32
- 4G of RAM (2x 512m & 2x 1G DDR2-SDRAM 666MHZ)
- Intel Core2Quad Q6600 @ 2.4Ghz
- NVIDIA GeForce 9500GT
- Std HP 500G harddrive (50% full as most data on the server)
1. I am a full time consultant and trainer and I will be using this as my primary office desktop PC for the standard small office task: E-mail, MS Office 2010 Pro Suite(all modules but heavy PowerPoint with pics and videos), Non stop web browsing for research materials - many pics and videos to use in my PPT's, Peachtree Accounting software, Clould use and storage(Google Apps), video-conferencing and presentations.
1a. I use 2 - 24" LED monitors for my office work and also output to a 55" TV and/or projector to test and practice my presentations.
1b. Small office network with a Windows Home Server for backups and file sharing. Plus keep many presentations on the Cloud for when I am traveling or remote presenting)
So if I make these upgrades what will be my net improvement? **Stability over Speed, Performance over bells/whistles, work under constant deadlines so I don't like aggravation or surprises.
- Mid Range MOBO/CPU
- Windows7 64 vs. my Vista32 (Have/Like W7 on my laptops)
- SSD 64 for Windows, Office 2010, Peachtree, etc, but no data.
- 1 TB high speed HD (Need recommendations on kind and type)
- 6G of RAM (Need advise on kind and amount)
- USB3 vs. USB2?
- Integrated vs. ?? Video card (Want HDMI/DVI/Serial multiple monitor)
- Case/PSU
2. Budget? - Cheap as possible and practical.
3. Country - USA
4. Brand? - AMD or Intel, Mobo - like ASUS, Giga or majors, SSD/HD/RAM - Corsair, Crucial other majors.
5. New parts, combo specials, Net specials.
6. Read a lot of threads and sites but like the folks here
7. Don't normally overclock but I can. Looking for recommendations.
8. Resolution - Not concerned about games but still want good/accurate graphics.
9. When? - Very soon.
10. No thin skin here!
Thanks to everyone and I look forward to your comments and suggestions.
I have a bad case of upgrade fever and could really use some honest advice from the super knowledgeable members of this Forum. Please look at my current PC specs, my typical usage/needs and my upgrade ideas combined with any Forum recommendations and tell me if I will see a significant performance boost over what I currently have? Esp. given that I am not a gamer, don't typically over-clock, don't do high end picture or video editing or other power hungry applications. Bang for the Buck... will I see it, is it worth it?
I currently have a 3 year old HP Pavilion M9047c desktop with only the RAM and Video card upgraded:
- Vista32
- 4G of RAM (2x 512m & 2x 1G DDR2-SDRAM 666MHZ)
- Intel Core2Quad Q6600 @ 2.4Ghz
- NVIDIA GeForce 9500GT
- Std HP 500G harddrive (50% full as most data on the server)
1. I am a full time consultant and trainer and I will be using this as my primary office desktop PC for the standard small office task: E-mail, MS Office 2010 Pro Suite(all modules but heavy PowerPoint with pics and videos), Non stop web browsing for research materials - many pics and videos to use in my PPT's, Peachtree Accounting software, Clould use and storage(Google Apps), video-conferencing and presentations.
1a. I use 2 - 24" LED monitors for my office work and also output to a 55" TV and/or projector to test and practice my presentations.
1b. Small office network with a Windows Home Server for backups and file sharing. Plus keep many presentations on the Cloud for when I am traveling or remote presenting)
So if I make these upgrades what will be my net improvement? **Stability over Speed, Performance over bells/whistles, work under constant deadlines so I don't like aggravation or surprises.
- Mid Range MOBO/CPU
- Windows7 64 vs. my Vista32 (Have/Like W7 on my laptops)
- SSD 64 for Windows, Office 2010, Peachtree, etc, but no data.
- 1 TB high speed HD (Need recommendations on kind and type)
- 6G of RAM (Need advise on kind and amount)
- USB3 vs. USB2?
- Integrated vs. ?? Video card (Want HDMI/DVI/Serial multiple monitor)
- Case/PSU
2. Budget? - Cheap as possible and practical.
3. Country - USA
4. Brand? - AMD or Intel, Mobo - like ASUS, Giga or majors, SSD/HD/RAM - Corsair, Crucial other majors.
5. New parts, combo specials, Net specials.
6. Read a lot of threads and sites but like the folks here
7. Don't normally overclock but I can. Looking for recommendations.
8. Resolution - Not concerned about games but still want good/accurate graphics.
9. When? - Very soon.
10. No thin skin here!
Thanks to everyone and I look forward to your comments and suggestions.