Suggestions

[Thezz]

At the risk of opening a hornets nest, here's my question.

I’m looking for some common sense advice. My machine has acted a little flaky a couple of times over the last couple of months and it has gotten me to thinking about a replacement. My current machine was put together after doing A LOT of reading on the forum but that has been some time ago. It has served me VERY well but it is now 4 years old (put together in Fall of 2007). Here’s what I currently have.

Motherboard: Abit P35E
CPU: Intel Core 2 E4500
Memory: 4 GB - OCZ 800 memory
Video Card : ASUS X1550 Series
DVD Drive : SONY DVD RW DRU-810ASCSI Controller (IDE)
DVD Drive : Liteon ATAPI iHAS220 6 (SATA)
SCSI Adaptec: AIC-7850 PCI SCSI Controller (PCI) used with Scanner
Firewire: VIA OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller (PCI) Used to interface with Video cameras
Installed Parallel card to drive my HP Laserjet printer (PCI)
HD #1 320 GB Segate (SATA)
HD#2 1TB WD (SATA)
Operating System : Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition 5.01.2600 Service Pack 3

Here are my requirements:
I don’t use the machine for gaming.
I do use the machine to edit Home-shot video and burn DVD’s so processing speed and good DVD burner is a must.
I generally don’t overclock.
Stability is an absolute must.
I will probably reinstall Window XP so I can continue to use my Scanner (not supported in WIN 7).
I want to continue to use my printer so I need probably 2 PCI slots.
I’m willing to spend $500 - $600.
Any suggestions? I’m leaning toward a ASUS (or possibly a Gigabyte) motherboard.

 

[dac7nco]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128506 2x1394, 2xPCI, Well Regarded
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115074 SB Quad, enough said
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820226095 8GB Exact DDR3 Spec

Total $420... send the change to Daimon@MostExpensiveAdviceGuyEver.com

 

[Thezz]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm looking it over. Maybe you'll get some $change!!

 

[blckgrffn]

You should really consider a power supply. Next to flaky ram, the PSU is the #2 cause of PC malaise in my experience. I would research that.

Also, IDE has fallen to the wayside so expect to replace your burner.

Finally, you can get a full featured board like that from AMD & Gigabyte for more like $115 with a ~$110 nice phenom 2 quad. It will be slower, but depending on the budget it sounds like it would be a perfectly adequate solution.

Or you could consider the Pentium G620 to stay with Intels latest and greatest. In would be along the lines of your current CPU choice. It is quite a performer despite its paltry clock speed and would be a definite upgrade over your current solution.

 

[Thezz]

Thanks for the ideas. I do intend to replace my case and PSU.

I know that IDE has been replaced. I was just showing you what I currently have.

The Sony drive has been a workhorse and has been used to burn 90% of the thousands of DVDs that I have burned.

I appreciate your ideas.

Thanks,

 

[blckgrffn]

The reason I mentioned it was that, in the process of ordering my wife a new case and an AMD AM3+ motherboard I nearly missed the fact that the new boards, even AMD, no longer have IDE ports. I ordered her a SATA Sony Optiarc for ~$19 shipped along with the other items.

I think her current DVD Burner is the single oldest component of her current PC and I had just taken for granted that it would continue to move forward into subsequent configurations.

Just restating the obvious, to some, so that you might avoid a bummer of a surprise when it came time to assemble your new parts.

Do you have local access to a microcenter? That can make all the difference these days as they have awesome CPU+Motherboard bundles.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128501 <-- that would be a brand new board that would let you ditch one PCI card, I think. Plus, its cheap. Just used for my Dad's 2500k build, fast and stable complete with using an SSD for Intel RST caching. It would give you more wiggle room in your budget than the board listed above, as well.

 

[infoiltrator]

Biostar TH67B $75/ either I3 2105 $140 or I5 2400 $180/ 1600 CAS 8 OR 9 value RAM $35-45 2x 4 gb. $20 burner Antec or Corsair PSU with rebate or shell socker $50,Samsung F3 1 TB $60 = about $460 without case.
I like the Rosewill Challenger, Sentey Black Box, Cooler Master 912, or NZXT Source 210 Elite.. at $50 or less.
The Lian Li PC-K58 for $60 or the BitFenix Shinobi are very good.The NZXT has USB3 on front, as does a more expensive Challenger.
There are a number with rebates also: Inwin BUC, Enermax,..
ANTEC Earthwatts 380D $39, Neo ECO 620 $60 - $20 MIR

Asus P8H67-M PRO/CSM 1X ATA 2 DEV MAX 892 SOUND $123
Asus P8H67-M EVO 1X ATA 2 DEV MAX 892 SOUND $125
LESSER SOUND
ASUS P8H67-V 1X ATA 2 DEV MAX $118
Prices mostly newegg today for reference