Looking to do a major upgrade

[Hopeless]

I currently have a P4 2.8 with a X850XT running XP that I'm going to basicly gut out and upgrade. I don't have much time to use it for gaming but still like to fire up one here and there, still haven't finished DoW Soulstorm. I haven't been keeping up with hardware as much as I once did so I'm looking for input in case there is a problem or better choice.

The parts I'm looking at are:
Asus P8P67 LE (Have older IDE drive for storage)
Intel i5-2300
G Skill 1333 2x1GB (8-8-8-21)
Antec HCG-620 ($60 after MIR)
Asus Geforce GTX 460 1GB (Monitor default is 1600x900)

Total would be around $600 before MIRs.

 

[mvbighead]

If you fill out these questions, people can do a better job of helping you:


PLEASE when you POST threads asking for input on system builds tell us...

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

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

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

10. Don't ask for a build configuration critique or rating if you are thin skinned.

 

[mvbighead]

Personally, I would do this with your IDE hard drive:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-406-_-Product

 

[betasub]

^ Yes, an adaptor or caddy is the simplest choice for legacy IDE. OP should consider getting a new, fast SATA drive for the OS/boot partition rather than rely on an old slow IDE HDD.

 

[Hopeless]

If you fill out these questions, people can do a better job of helping you:


PLEASE when you POST threads asking for input on system builds tell us...

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing. Internet & some gaming.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread. $600 or less. Aiming for mid to high-mid.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from. USA, more than likely newegg.

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc. Intel for processor. I've owned video cards from both, just go with bang for the buck.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are. Reusing Antec Case, SATA HD (boot), IDE HD (storage: pics, music, etc), IDE DVD writer, Windows XP home

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

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds. Leave at stock

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with. Current native is 1600x900 and would like to stay with that.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it? Soon, no later than the first part of next week. Would like to get them before the holiday weekend.

10. Don't ask for a build configuration critique or rating if you are thin skinned.

Thanks, put answers next to the questions.

 

[Hopeless]

Personally, I would do this with your IDE hard drive:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-406-_-Product

That Asus mobo can handle 2 IDE devices without a caddy. I have the HD and a DVD burner. Re-using them would leave a little more money to put towards the other parts.

^ Yes, an adaptor or caddy is the simplest choice for legacy IDE. OP should consider getting a new, fast SATA drive for the OS/boot partition rather than rely on an old slow IDE HDD.

I've had a SATA boot drive for quite some time, the IDE drive is for storage.

 

[mvbighead]

That Asus mobo can handle 2 IDE devices without a caddy. I have the HD and a DVD burner. Re-using them would leave a little more money to put towards the other parts.



I've had a SATA boot drive for quite some time, the IDE drive is for storage.

Personally, I would not try to retain the legacy hardware in the system and buy a board to suit, as you are holding yourself back some. It will limit your future upgrades such as additional harddrives, bluray readers, etc.

For $15, I would buy a caddy and find a better (or cheaper) board.

 

[aphelion02]

I would throw out that harddrive even if it weren't IDE. Hard drives have a limited life span, and if you got it with your P4 it must be pretty long in the tooth as well.

 

[bntran02]

I have heard bad things about the IDE interface of that board. A lot of people cant get it to work

 

[mvbighead]

Ok, here's what I got:

DVDRW - 19
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106289

GTS450 - 110 (30 MIR as a bonus)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814500183

PSU - Antec EW 430
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371034

Memory - WinTec AmpX 4GB DDR3 - 35
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820161279

OS - Windows 7 Home Premium x64
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116986

MB/CPU Combo - i2500k + Z68 Biostar - 305
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.658273

Grand Total = 616.01 (585 after MIR) (Add $15 for the caddy I suggested earlier)

Some changes from your suggestions:

Replaced your OS with Windows 7... IMO, there is no reason to stick with XP unless you have to. 7 is a much better OS.

Upped RAM to 4GB, running 2gb is a simply a bad idea with new hardware. RAM is cheap. Why not run at least 4GB, as RAM helps to make your system better for pretty much everything.

Dropped PSU down to a less expensive, capable, reliable unit.

Added SATA DVDRW... you really should let the old IDE stuff go, IMO. It is slower, likely louder, and just not necessary.

Dropped VC down as gaming is not your primary focus. This will be worlds better than your current GPU, and won't waste money on something that you aren't taxing too hard.

Improved CPU, better chipset on the MB. Supports SSD caching should you choose to do it in the future. That point alone will improve your overall computing experience. Also gives you the option to overclock should you choose to later on, while not being all that much more expensive than the lesser CPUs ($10 to $20 really).


You're probably insistent on keeping the IDE stuff around, and while that is understandable, you really should leave it outside the system. I replaced a functional IDE DVDRW with a SATA one at one point, and it really was a shock at how much better the technology has gotten. For the optical drive, it's a mere $19. Well worth it, IMO.

I could probably improve the hardware side of things by cutting out Windows 7, but, IMO, your overall computing experience would be greatly improved by getting a better OS. For about $600, this is what I'd do.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I would throw out that harddrive even if it weren't IDE. Hard drives have a limited life span, and if you got it with your P4 it must be pretty long in the tooth as well.

You would be surprised how long a lifespan that those older (40GB-ish) HDs have. I still have some 40GB WD "BB" drives in service.

Edit: I agree though, you shouldn't store your only copy of something important on it. (Then again, you shouldn't have only one copy of important things anyways. No need to tempt fate.)

Edit: I also agree, IDE has no place in a modern system. (Any rig built with current-gen parts.)

 

[mfenn]

You're probably insistent on keeping the IDE stuff around, and while that is understandable, you really should leave it outside the system. I replaced a functional IDE DVDRW with a SATA one at one point, and it really was a shock at how much better the technology has gotten. For the optical drive, it's a mere $19. Well worth it, IMO.

I could probably improve the hardware side of things by cutting out Windows 7, but, IMO, your overall computing experience would be greatly improved by getting a better OS. For about $600, this is what I'd do.

:thumbsup::thumbsup: Sometimes you just gotta let the old girl move on.

Oh yeah, and the build is good too. :awe:

 

[Hopeless]

Thanks for the responses.

Not sure why the focus on the IDE HD. It's just for storage, ripped some of my cds and misc crap. Nothing that's so important that if it died tomorrow that would cause me problems. Only reason I still use it is because it works. When it dies I'll get another SATA and move on.

 

[mfenn]

Not sure why the focus on the IDE HD

Because it forces you to consider boards that have IDE ports. The best Sandy Bridge chipset choice right now is Z68, and those boards don't have IDE.

 

[Hopeless]

Because it forces you to consider boards that have IDE ports. The best Sandy Bridge chipset choice right now is Z68, and those boards don't have IDE.

Been awhile but thought I drop back in for a little update.

Now that makes sense as the earlier posts came across as just to get rid of it as it's old. After re-checking my OP I failed to mention that I wanted either ASUS or Intel. I've used both & had real good results with them. At the time that ASUS model was one of the cheeper mobos on the egg and the IDE was an added bonus, not really a searched for req.

Ended up going with the parts I listed and other than the stock HSF being a PIA everything is up and running without any problems.

 

[mfenn]

Yeah, pushpins suck. Glad you got it up and running.