It's that time again!! (Upgrade)

[williams]

Hi,

It's time to make a few updates to my desktop. Now when I originally built the pc it was my first project & I didn’t know about this website

So I appreciate that the build might be completely rubbish, but I used to think I knew what I was doing! Until I started reading through this site, so all comments/criticism are welcome!

1. What YOUR PC will be used for.- I will be using it for mainly Producing Music (Fruity Loops), Graphics (Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator), Web Browsing & a tiny biy of Video Editing (Sony Vegas)

2. What YOUR budget is. - £300

3. What country - United Kingdom

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. - None

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts. - As this is an upgrade & not a complete new build, I intend to keep as much as possible & update parts based on your advice. See below for the spec.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads. - Yes

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking. – Default speeds

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with. – Not Gaming

9. WHEN do you plan to build it? – Christmas 2010

Current Spec:

Coolermaster RC-1000 Cosmos Silent Full Tower Case - Black [RC-1000] (4-Case Fans)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-144-CM

Corsair HX620W Modular Power Supply
http://www.corsair.com/products/hx/default.aspx

Asus P5K-E
http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=LCK1LS8DWojB38IJ

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB
http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=c89ef141e7f43110VgnVCM100000f5ee0a0aRCRD

Freezer Pro 7 AC
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/arctic_cooling_freezer_7_64_pro_coolers/1
LG DVD-RW

Intel Quad Core Q6600 @ 2.40GHz

ATI Radeon HD 3850
http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/3582041/HIS-ATI-Radeon-HD-3850-256MB-DDR3-PCI-Express-2-0-x16-Graphics-Card/Product.html?_%24ja=tsid:11518%7Ccc:%7Cprd:3582041%7Ccat:Components

Standard 19" Monitor & Keyboard & Mouse.

The computer has been running slow lately & my first update was going to be an OCZ Vertex 2E 120GB - £173 from Scan.co.uk & I'm also updating the OS from XP to Windows 7 64bit (Cost of £38 as im a part-time student)
After this I am not sure what else to update to acheive better performance.

All help/comments are welcomed!

Thanks

 

[zi0n.]

How much ram do you have?

I would probably get a SSD and Win7 like you said and possibly add memory, depending on what you have atm.

 

[williams]

I knew i left somthing out

4 x Corsair XMS2 DDR2 1GB (5-5-5-12, 800MHz, XMS2-6400)
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/93557

I figure updating to Windows 7 64bit will give me the option of upgrading to more Ram if needed.

 

[zi0n.]

Pretty sure 4 gb is enough for what you're doing... I would upgrade to Win7 and get a SSD. You are on a 775 socket, don't think you can upgrade to something better with a £300 budget

 

[williams]

cool, long term what should i be looking at next. Would it be the CPU or Mobo or maybe both? I'm guessing the SSD will be keep me happy for the next 12 months or so.

But it was at least 2-3 years ago when I put this system together, so i'm worried it will be a bit outdated another 12 months down the line.

 

[betasub]

2011 will allow you to have a look at Intel's Sandybridge and AMD's Bulldozer before you decide on upgrading the CPU. Your case and HSF should allow a decent overclock on the Q6600 if you need higher core speed (the old quads may seem a little slow in single-thread performance otherwise).

 

[mfenn]

Define "running slow".

If it is not performing well in general usage, then yes SSD and fresh OS install is the way to go. Gaming, up the GPU. Photoshop filters/etc., up the CPU.

 

[williams]

When i said running slow, your correct. I just meant general use, time to load windows, using fruityloops, mixing down tracks etc.

I've saved up the money for the SSD & Windows 7 so i'll be getting them in the next week. Then i might take betasub's advice & overclock if im still not happy, but i've never done it before so we'll see.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to read my post & for the feedback. Really appriciate it!

 

[Davidh373]

I wouldn't get 1GB sticks of RAM anymore 2 x 2 GB is just as cheap these days.

Edit:http://www.ebuyer.com/product/143803