Help with upgrade for old timer OCer

[jdwright]

I want to upgrade my current box. I'm running a 24" monitor at 1080 and intend to keep the case/power supply, keyboard, mouse, optical drives, and various cards.

I'd like to upgrade the mb, ram, hd, and cpu. And, potentially the video card. I have a 6800gs I think. I bought it so I could run Oblivion and it did an adequate job.

I play games, do 3d work, photoshop, and some video editing.

I'll be ordering from newegg - where I've ordered everything for about 4 builds in the past.

I have a budget of about $500. And, I am open to overclocking! I enjoy sticking it to the man and getting more for my money! =)

Any input is appreciated!

J

 

[Denithor]

Q8300
EP45-UD3R
G.Skill 4GB DDR2-1066 (red kit, ~$42)
WD6401AALS
4830 (~$80AR)

Should be just over $500AR.

EDIT: Just search for those parts on newegg.

 

[mpilchfamily]

Thats kind of a tight budget but you should be able to put together a decent system. The above mentioned system is a good one but lets not forget about an OS. If you have a copy of XP still then great. I wouldn't want you to waste your money on Vista. Especially since Windows 7 will be out before the end of the year. There is also a chance that if you upgrade the video card you will have to get a New PSU as well.

Generally with a $500 limit on the bild price i recommend people get an OEM form an Office supply store where they sell just the towers. Sure you won't be able to OC it but it will be a good stable system and probably have better parts then you can put together on Newegg.

 

[jdwright]

Okay, let me make a quick edit. Would it be a good move to go to the i7 920 so for the extra hundred bucks? It sounds like it's a pretty fancy processor and overclocking well.

Thanks for the setup Denithor, what do you think about the i7 and how would that affect the config?

Thanks in advance for the advice!!

J