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Please recommend: Upgrade or build/buy new PC?

R

rk4adtch

Member
hi everyone,

I searched the forums, there is lots of advice for DIY machines. but of course, nothing that addresses my particular requirement 🙂 Here is what I want to use it for:

1. browsing, Word, Powerpoint, Outlook, watching online video(youtube, dailyshow, some hulu etc). i don't play PC games.

2. simple home video editing - both importing .avi from mini-dv tapes, as well as the new AVHCD video from Sony HX5V. No fancy stuff, but will want to clip/combine video clips, some transitions, create and burn home movie. i will use Adobe Premiere elements, or Sony's bundled s/w

3. photo editing - Photoshop elements 9

4. I would like to run Win 7 64bit( that can take advantage of full 4GB mmy?)

Here's the current rig: (obtained from CPU-Z):
- Athlon 64 X2 3800+ (toledo)
- Motherboard : Acer FC51GM with Nvidia GEForce 6100
- 2GB DDR
- I had upgraded the PS to 500W a couple of years ago.
- I had also installed a Radeon X550 card some years ago.


My questions: (sorry for the long preamble!)

1. can i achieve my video/photo editing goals by upgrading any components of above rig? If so, which particular ones?

2. if not, should i get a pre-built machine, or DIY? i've never done the latter before, but it seems straightforward. I guess the only reason i wouldn't want a pre-built is that I already have 3 HDD drives, and don't want to get yet another one. i'm aware of the benefits of DIY.

3. if DIY, what is the recommended configuration? i'd like to keep the cost to about $500-$600. there's so many options for Mobo, CPU, RAM, video card etc. If not trouble, please mention specific parts.

4. i'm thinking of getting an SSD for the OS partition...my fantasy is that if the system boots up in 15-20sec, then i can shutdown the machine everytime, rather than leaving it in standby mode(which still takes power). Do the mobo have to support SSD?

Appreciate your valuable feedback!
 
Hi tcsenter,

thanks for quick reply. However, I wanted to avoid getting extra HDD from pre-built system. Plus i'm not sure if pre-built will have adequate video specs for the purpose that I stated. Can you suggest what min specs to look for in a pre-built?
 
tcsenter said:
Shop around and pull the trigger on a pre-built with the best/highest specs you can find for that amount.
Click to expand...

Nah, not with having a PSU and case already. He could get into an i5 750 with 8GB for around $550 including Win 7. Looking at Dell/Dell Outlet that'd be more like $720 with 6GB.

An Athlon X4 635 with 8GB homebuilt would be around $390 including OS. Dell Outlet you're looking at $470 for a scratch & dent X4 630 with 6GB.

rk4adtch, don't worry about standby power usage. S3 uses like 5 watts, which translates to ~$5 per year. There's really no need to be booting.
 
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DominionSeraph said:
Nah, not with having a PSU and case already. He could get into an i5 750 with 8GB for around $550 including Win 7.
Click to expand...
Sure, with no optical drive, no hard drive, no mouse or keyboard, no speakers, no graphics, no other software included.

Edit: Just realized the OP will be bringing hard drives and other components from his current system.
 
Last edited:
tcsenter said:
Sure, with no optical drive, no hard drive, no mouse or keyboard, no speakers, no graphics, no other software included. Great comparison.
Click to expand...

An optical drive is about $20

He already has 3 HDDs, and said he doesn't require more.

I would assume he already has keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, the software he needs, and probably even an optical drive.

He's not gaming, so should be able to get an adequate card for about $80.

OP, if you want a complete new machine and have another purpose for your current one, it could make sense to buy pre-built. But if you want to re-use many of your still serviceable parts, there is no question that you will be better off with DIY. With the money you save, consider a 60Gb Sandforce based SSD for your OS and programs.
 
Hi, Fishak,

i have all components, but will upgrade speakers. I guess what i'm asking is what Motherboard/CPU/RAM combo to buy for my audio/video editing needs. e.g.

- Is a dual-core enough(e.g. AMD X2 555 ) or should I go 3/4 core.
- Intel or AMD? which mobo is best to get?
- DDR2 or DDR3.
- which video card (there seems to be quite a few available in $80 range, with differing quantities of RAM, DDR, DDR3, DDR5, GDDR?)

also, i know i said I has a case, but the optical drive bay doors keep getting stuck, so i would like to get a new case also. I already have a copy of Win7, so that does not need to be factored in the cost.

i'm hoping to not make any major changes to the machine for the next 3-4 years.

thanks!
 
Most of the apps and uses you mentioned are going to be a lot more dependent on the CPU and RAM (and HDD) than graphics hardware. Still, I would recommend something newer (and better) than Radeon X550, such as GeForce GT 220.
 
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ussfletcher said:
I think your current system is good enough to do what you listed.
Click to expand...

Oh, you mean I should not upgrade at all?! But i'm seeing problems like Adobe premiere elements runs very slow, VLC 'stutters' terribly when viewing AVHCD.

hmm, this is very interesting, that you say that. I wonder if its the memory that is the problem (only 2GB? ). I will try tonight and see how much memory is being used.

If not, how about just upgrading the CPU/mobo combo ?
 
rk4adtch said:
Hi, Fishak,

i have all components, but will upgrade speakers. I guess what i'm asking is what Motherboard/CPU/RAM combo to buy for my audio/video editing needs. e.g.

- Is a dual-core enough(e.g. AMD X2 555 ) or should I go 3/4 core.
- Intel or AMD? which mobo is best to get?
- DDR2 or DDR3.
- which video card (there seems to be quite a few available in $80 range, with differing quantities of RAM, DDR, DDR3, DDR5, GDDR?)

also, i know i said I has a case, but the optical drive bay doors keep getting stuck, so i would like to get a new case also. I already have a copy of Win7, so that does not need to be factored in the cost.

i'm hoping to not make any major changes to the machine for the next 3-4 years.

thanks!
Click to expand...

I would definitely go for an AMD quad on a 785G or 880G motherboard. The X550 is ancient and probably slower than newer integrated graphics. It certainly uses more power and is less featureful.

Phenom II X6 1055T + ASUS M4A88T-M combo $270
G.Skill DDR3 1333 8GB $147
Corsair Force 60GB $129 AR
Antec Three Hundred $45 AR
Total: $591 AR
 
mfenn said:
Phenom II X6 1055T + ASUS M4A88T-M combo $270
G.Skill DDR3 1333 8GB $147
Corsair Force 60GB $129 AR
Antec Three Hundred $45 AR
Total: $591 AR
Click to expand...

Thumbs up on that!

I'd get a Athlon II X4 and 4GB ram since you're mostly using productivity apps. 6 cores and 8GB ram is pretty unnecessary overall. This is a trade off however with having lesser performance for editing video. Since that is of secondary importance, you might consider it.

The money you save with that should let you grab a pretty high cap disk drive.

Windows 7 HP can handle up to 16GB, while other versions can use up to 124GB.
 
oh, i thought it included a 500W PS ("Power Supply 500W(Model : DR-8500BTX)" ) mentioned in the specs. Does this mean the above PS has to be purchased separately?

thanks.
 
1. GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H: $69.99
2. AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz Socket AM3: $99.99
(-$17 combo)
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 $139.99
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM $99.99

$392.96

Since nobody else included OS, $292.97 for comparison. (No OS)

And I'd hold off on the SSD. As I said, there's no reason to be booting anymore with S3 sleep, and with 8GB of RAM and Windows 7 you may find that everything you use stays loaded in RAM.
 
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hi DominionSeraph,

Is the Gigabyte brand better than MSI? also looking at the specs, the memory standard for the GB is "DDR2 1200 (OC) / 1066 /800 / 667" while the one for the MSI board is "DDR3 800/1066/1333/1600 (OC)". Will the GB board be able to take advantage of the G.Skill ripjaws DDR3 mmy that you specified? or is this a silly question??

thanks!
 
Ok, so should I even get DDR3? prices seem to be equivalent between the two types(DDR2 might be cheaper), but the 'Latency' column for DDR2 seems to be better ('5-5-5-15'), vs '9-9-9-20' or DDR3.

Edit: I'm assuming lower latency is better.
 
rk4adtch said:
Ok, so should I even get DDR3? prices seem to be equivalent between the two types(DDR2 might be cheaper), but the 'Latency' column for DDR2 seems to be better ('5-5-5-15'), vs '9-9-9-20' or DDR3.
Click to expand...

DDR3 is more likely to be able to be carried over to a future build. As for the latencies, you can't just compare the numbers like that since they're a function of the clock speed.
 
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