I'd like to upgrade. I have been out of the loop for 5 years so catching up has been difficult.
Current Build
Chassis: Antec P180B*
PSU: Thermaltake "Pure Power" 500W
Mainboard: ASUS A7N8X-E Deluxe
CPU: AMD Athlon XP 2800+
Memory: Kingston 2GB DDR 333 (x2)
GPU: ATI Radeon X1650 Pro (AGP)
SPU: On-board "Bach" SPU. (An actual SPU, unlike AC97 trash)
Storage: 160GB Maxtor SATA (x2 RAIDed)*
Storage: 300GB Western Digital IDE*
Optical: Lite-On DVD-Writer (IDE)*
Other: TV tuner card used for video capture (generic PCI junk, but it works)*
Other: Internal USB Flash Card Reader*
External: All external components do not need replacement. Dual monitors.*
* Part will be retained
PC's purpose - PC is used for everything from accounting, to daily gaming, 3d modeling, and video recording/editing. The above was built for mid gaming performance with excessive RAM for graphic work.
Upgrade purpose - The core of motherboard, RAM, and CPU have lasted me 5 years and the architecture is now obsolete. I would like better performance in the past few years' worth of games, and mid performance in new titles. I'm also interested in near-0 dBa operation; not sure that's in the budget. I'm not interested in running Crysis on high (or at all
). Incresed electric efficiency would be nice if it doesn't subtract from other aspects.
Specific needs: A feature-rich motherboard. Loads of USB ports, including at least one (2 preferred) internal connection. 3 PCI slots. 6 SATA ports (planning for future). A quiet (or silent) PSU with modular cabling.
Upgrade budget - $800 USD. My target is ~$650 USD before taxes and shipping.
Billing/Shipping Country - USA
I have no brand loyalties. I am a total novice regarding Intel-based systems & silent-operaton components.
I will not overclock at all.
I have asked for help at various internet gaming forums before I came to my senses and checked here. The advice received went all over the place, so it's been largely disregarded.
Special note: I'm a patient man. If it's only X amount of time away from earth-shaking development Y, I will bide my time.
Current considerations:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 Wolfdale 2.66GHz @ $180 USD
Mainbaord: GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 @ $125 USD
Memory: Mushkin 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (x2) $76
GPU: XFX PVT88PYDF4 GeForce 8800GT 512MB @ $180 USD
PSU: ???
If you would, please critique & suggest. Thank you for your time.
Current Build
Chassis: Antec P180B*
PSU: Thermaltake "Pure Power" 500W
Mainboard: ASUS A7N8X-E Deluxe
CPU: AMD Athlon XP 2800+
Memory: Kingston 2GB DDR 333 (x2)
GPU: ATI Radeon X1650 Pro (AGP)
SPU: On-board "Bach" SPU. (An actual SPU, unlike AC97 trash)
Storage: 160GB Maxtor SATA (x2 RAIDed)*
Storage: 300GB Western Digital IDE*
Optical: Lite-On DVD-Writer (IDE)*
Other: TV tuner card used for video capture (generic PCI junk, but it works)*
Other: Internal USB Flash Card Reader*
External: All external components do not need replacement. Dual monitors.*
* Part will be retained
PC's purpose - PC is used for everything from accounting, to daily gaming, 3d modeling, and video recording/editing. The above was built for mid gaming performance with excessive RAM for graphic work.
Upgrade purpose - The core of motherboard, RAM, and CPU have lasted me 5 years and the architecture is now obsolete. I would like better performance in the past few years' worth of games, and mid performance in new titles. I'm also interested in near-0 dBa operation; not sure that's in the budget. I'm not interested in running Crysis on high (or at all
Specific needs: A feature-rich motherboard. Loads of USB ports, including at least one (2 preferred) internal connection. 3 PCI slots. 6 SATA ports (planning for future). A quiet (or silent) PSU with modular cabling.
Upgrade budget - $800 USD. My target is ~$650 USD before taxes and shipping.
Billing/Shipping Country - USA
I have no brand loyalties. I am a total novice regarding Intel-based systems & silent-operaton components.
I will not overclock at all.
I have asked for help at various internet gaming forums before I came to my senses and checked here. The advice received went all over the place, so it's been largely disregarded.
Special note: I'm a patient man. If it's only X amount of time away from earth-shaking development Y, I will bide my time.
Current considerations:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 Wolfdale 2.66GHz @ $180 USD
Mainbaord: GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 @ $125 USD
Memory: Mushkin 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (x2) $76
GPU: XFX PVT88PYDF4 GeForce 8800GT 512MB @ $180 USD
PSU: ???
If you would, please critique & suggest. Thank you for your time.