Hey all.
It's been a little while since I've built a PC. My current rig is as follows:
4400+ x2
2GB RAM
7800GT
2x250GB SATA Drives
2x250GB IDE Drives
Audigy (1) Gamer
XP Pro
Here's some answers to some inevitable questions.
---
1. What YOUR PC will be used for?
Photoshop painting/tweaking, Illustrator ... um, illustration, multi-page InDesign layouts, a mild dose of Cinema4D. Often all of these are happening at the same time, along with multiple browser windows, iTunes, etc.
Being able to play modern games would be nice, but a second priority at this point.
2. What YOUR budget is.
Approx. $1000 CDN - give or take about 20%. Up to $1500 if there's a VERY good reason.
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
Canada. Probably Memory Express (http://www.memoryexpress.com/) unless someone sees an obvious rip-off.
4. IF YOU have a brand preference.
Not really, whatever works best for me. But no Creative Labs parts!
5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
Probably keeping the SATA drives, if not all of them. Monitors and peripherals are all in good working order.
Probably keeping the 7800GT, at least as a second card. More on that later.
Might be keeping the DVD-Burner, but last I checked those were cheap these days anyways.
6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
Of course!
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
It's a workstation for freelance and school stuff, so stability is paramount. If an easy 20-40 % performance gain can be made with very little risk I'll try it, though. I'm dumb like that.
8. WHEN do you plan to build it?
In the coming month or so.
---
Special needs:
I have two 20.1" Dell LCDs, and a 12.1" Cintiq Tablet. Basically, I'd like to be able to hook up all of these through DVI simultaneously. Most / all cards I know of can only push out two DVI signals at once, so I'm assuming a two-card solution is the only way here. Are there any cheap 2D cards I can just slot in for the Cintiq?
I have a huge, awesome clicky PS/2 keyboard. It's not going anywhere. A motherboard with legacy support or a recommendation for a good USB/PS/2 converter would be appreciated.
Basically - can I get a worthwhile upgrade at this point (+50% real world performance) over my current setup with this kind of budget? I'm having a hell of a time finding a decent, current benchmark list that includes both modern CPU's and my 4400+.
Cheers!
It's been a little while since I've built a PC. My current rig is as follows:
4400+ x2
2GB RAM
7800GT
2x250GB SATA Drives
2x250GB IDE Drives
Audigy (1) Gamer
XP Pro
Here's some answers to some inevitable questions.
---
1. What YOUR PC will be used for?
Photoshop painting/tweaking, Illustrator ... um, illustration, multi-page InDesign layouts, a mild dose of Cinema4D. Often all of these are happening at the same time, along with multiple browser windows, iTunes, etc.
Being able to play modern games would be nice, but a second priority at this point.
2. What YOUR budget is.
Approx. $1000 CDN - give or take about 20%. Up to $1500 if there's a VERY good reason.
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
Canada. Probably Memory Express (http://www.memoryexpress.com/) unless someone sees an obvious rip-off.
4. IF YOU have a brand preference.
Not really, whatever works best for me. But no Creative Labs parts!
5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
Probably keeping the SATA drives, if not all of them. Monitors and peripherals are all in good working order.
Probably keeping the 7800GT, at least as a second card. More on that later.
Might be keeping the DVD-Burner, but last I checked those were cheap these days anyways.
6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
Of course!
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
It's a workstation for freelance and school stuff, so stability is paramount. If an easy 20-40 % performance gain can be made with very little risk I'll try it, though. I'm dumb like that.
8. WHEN do you plan to build it?
In the coming month or so.
---
Special needs:
I have two 20.1" Dell LCDs, and a 12.1" Cintiq Tablet. Basically, I'd like to be able to hook up all of these through DVI simultaneously. Most / all cards I know of can only push out two DVI signals at once, so I'm assuming a two-card solution is the only way here. Are there any cheap 2D cards I can just slot in for the Cintiq?
I have a huge, awesome clicky PS/2 keyboard. It's not going anywhere. A motherboard with legacy support or a recommendation for a good USB/PS/2 converter would be appreciated.
Basically - can I get a worthwhile upgrade at this point (+50% real world performance) over my current setup with this kind of budget? I'm having a hell of a time finding a decent, current benchmark list that includes both modern CPU's and my 4400+.
Cheers!
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