Need help/advice on a build

[Fastx]

Hi guys need your advice to upgrade my computer cpu, mb, ram & video card. I am not looking expensive or high end power just something that will be decent. I plan on using the computer for some HD video editing (AVCHD) from a Canon HF100 using Pinnacle Studio Plus 12 editing software also multi -task alot and a little gaming once and awhile.

I listed my current system below hopefully the PS will be fine but the system below will not work well for HD video editing so time to upgrade. I am not up to date on computers lately since that build below ( like 4 yrs ago) so any help/advice would be appreciated thanks.

Intel or AMD cpu is fine not looking to overclock not sure on how much around $350-$500.00max?




My Current System.

Win XP SP 3 - I?d like to stay with Win XP
AMD Athlon 3400+
DFI Lanparty NF3 250gb MB
1gb ram
GF 6800 128mb
XION 600w ps
SATA HD
IDE HD
2 DVD drives
6 slot card reader

 

[yh125d]

What is your budget? Also, do you plan to reuse youe DVD drives, SATA HD, or case?

I would recommend against reusing the old PSU, it may have enough power to run a new rig but Xion is not a well known brand, and it'd be wise to invest in a better quality unit

 

[Fastx]

Originally posted by: yh125d
What is your budget? Also, do you plan to reuse youe DVD drives, SATA HD, or case?

I would recommend against reusing the old PSU, it may have enough power to run a new rig but Xion is not a well known brand, and it'd be wise to invest in a better quality unit

Yes I will be reusing the DVD drives, HD's and case budget I am thinking around $350-$500.00. Wow I had plan on using my Xion ps are you sure it wouldn't be good enough?

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: Fastx

Originally posted by: yh125d
What is your budget? Also, do you plan to reuse youe DVD drives, SATA HD, or case?

I would recommend against reusing the old PSU, it may have enough power to run a new rig but Xion is not a well known brand, and it'd be wise to invest in a better quality unit

Yes I will be reusing the DVD drives, HD's and case budget I am thinking around $350-$500.00. Wow I had plan on using my Xion ps are you sure it wouldn't be good enough?

Any link to specs on your PSU? It's not a name brand so that's why he's saying cus you don't want to have nice new expensive hardware with a crap psu that could potentially damage your new components.

 

[Fastx]

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: Fastx

Originally posted by: yh125d
What is your budget? Also, do you plan to reuse youe DVD drives, SATA HD, or case?

I would recommend against reusing the old PSU, it may have enough power to run a new rig but Xion is not a well known brand, and it'd be wise to invest in a better quality unit

Yes I will be reusing the DVD drives, HD's and case budget I am thinking around $350-$500.00. Wow I had plan on using my Xion ps are you sure it wouldn't be good enough?

Any link to specs on your PSU? It's not a name brand so that's why he's saying cus you don't want to have nice new expensive hardware with a crap psu that could potentially damage your new components.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817190012

I agree with what your saying (had this ps for about 2 yrs now no problems) but I am/was thinking this ps should be ok?

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: Fastx

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: Fastx

Originally posted by: yh125d
What is your budget? Also, do you plan to reuse youe DVD drives, SATA HD, or case?

I would recommend against reusing the old PSU, it may have enough power to run a new rig but Xion is not a well known brand, and it'd be wise to invest in a better quality unit

Yes I will be reusing the DVD drives, HD's and case budget I am thinking around $350-$500.00. Wow I had plan on using my Xion ps are you sure it wouldn't be good enough?

Any link to specs on your PSU? It's not a name brand so that's why he's saying cus you don't want to have nice new expensive hardware with a crap psu that could potentially damage your new components.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817190012

I agree with what your saying (had this ps for about 2 yrs now no problems) but I am/was thinking this ps should be ok?

For the price it is it has no PFC and the efficiency is low. It should probably be fine though if you're not building high end stuff.

 

[jae]

q9300 + Asus P5Q (combo deal; $20 off) or Gigabyte P45 DS3L ($10 cheaper w MIR)
G.Skill or Corsair 2x2GB
9800GT
This would probably at the top price of your price range., but would kick ass.

If you wanted to bring the price down some there is a combo deal with the q8200 and Gigabyte P45 DS3L. Entry level Quad but night and day compared to your old rig.

 

[Denithor]

Q9400 + EP45-DS3L combo $335AR
G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2-800 $40
Powercolor 4830 $85AR

Total: $460AR

I'd guess your current PSU is more than adequate for this setup. If you want a newer model with active PFC and better efficiency, here's an OCZ 600W model that's $40AR.

 

[swanysto]

E8400 - 165
Asus PQ5 SE - 100
G.Skill 4gb - 40
EVGA 9800gtx - 160

$465+shipping, I would strongly consider a new PSU also, even though you can probably live on yours for a bit. Maybe something in the Corsair line. You shouldn't need more than 550W unless you upgrade to a power hungry Vid Card. If you absolutely need 4 cores(I have four and rarely ever use more than two, even in video) you can get a Q6600 for about $25 more. You could also find a lot of good stuff at a discount on the F/S/T board or the hot deals board.

 

[Fastx]

jae, denithor swanysto thanks and good advice you have me on the right track

I was thinking quad core due HD video editing ( but will not be doing a lot of video editing just personal stuff from time to time) and I do muti task often vs a duo core?
Let me do a little research on the advice you guys gave me which sounds solid from the little research I have done and get back to you as I know I will have some questions.
I am thinking on a new ps also but I really like mine due its modular, quiet and looks good though the window.

Thanks guys!

 

[DSF]

Can you define multitasking? Playing music while you're browsing the internet, editing a spreadsheet and running two chat programs isn't that stressful on a CPU. A P4 can handle all that with no problem.

 

[Fastx]

Originally posted by: DSF
Can you define multitasking? Playing music while you're browsing the internet, editing a spreadsheet and running two chat programs isn't that stressful on a CPU. A P4 can handle all that with no problem.

Yes help out out on this, I will be video editing videos like AVCHD HD, but more often FLV and mpeg video files editing & uploading videos while doing work in other programs ( PS,) at the same time, or working on a website. I can not do this MT now with my system comes to a crawl and is super slow.

 

[Denithor]

I would guess your current system "comes to a crawl and is super slow" because you're running a single core CPU with only 1GB RAM.

I don't know the specific software well enough to know if quad-core is fully supported or not. So you can probably step down to a dual-core and still see a major improvement in performance and always upgrade to a quad next year when the C2Q prices drop again (in response to i7 chips). There's a great combo of the e8400 + Asus P5Q Pro for about $260 after rebate at newegg, go for that and the memory & 4830 I suggested earlier and you're set.

 

[Fastx]

Ok had a chance to research the cpu?s above you guys recommended good advice pointed me in the right direction quickly. I am thinking I need to go to a quad core? seems the Pinnacle recommends a quad core for HD editing per software see below.

Q9400 2.6 & Q9300 2.5 both good choices for me to decide between looks like the Q9400 due to the 2.6 recommended min below.

But I really like the the E8400 ($) but it?s a duo core but looks like very nice bang for the buck ($164.00) from what I can see! Due to the 3.0ghz (FSB1333) what do you think of this one (duo core) per min requirements below vs Quad at 2.6ghz??


TIA



Pinnacle Studio 12 Plus
Minimum System Requirements
· Windows® XP SP2 (SP3), Windows Vista? (SP1) Intel® Pentium® or AMD Athlon? 1.8 GHz (2.4 GHz or higher recommended)
· Intel Pentium HT or AMD Athlon 2.4 GHz or 1.6 GHz Dual core required for Windows Vista
- Intel® Core?2 Duo 2.4 GHz or higher required for 1440x1080 AVCHD editing
- Intel® Core?2 Quad 2.66 GHz or higher required for 1920x1080 AVCHD editing
· 1 GB system memory recommended
· 2 GB required for AVCHD*, recommended for HD and/or Windows Vista
· DirectX® 9 or 10 compatible graphics card with 64 MB (128 MB or higher recommended)
- 128 MB required on Windows Vista (256 MB or higher recommended)
- 256 MB required for HD and AVCHD*
· DirectX 9 or higher compatible sound card
· 2 GB of disk space
· DVD-ROM drive to install software
· Optional:
- DVD burner for creating DVD, HD-DVD and AVCHD discs on standard media*
- Blu-ray burner for creating Blu