System upgrade help

[ankit.nagpal]

I want to build a new system in budget with decent parts at low price but not top-notch parts as those are expensive. I am going to buy everything online and will get it assembled by a local computer repair person. My primary reason for upgrade is that my 5400 RPM HDD remains at 100% usage for 30-60 sec. whenever I switch from using one heavy software like Photoshop to another like Visual Studio, Dreamweaver etc. after 10-15 mins. of usage of the first app. In fact when I work for 20-30 mins on Visual Studio, even opening Firefox (that has many add-ons installed) takes 20-30 sec. But once the app is open then it works fast. So, my current system causes problem when switching from one set of applications to another after 10-15 mins. of use. The RAM is 0.5 - 0.8 GB free out of 4 GB when switching the apps, so I believe it is the hard disk that is causing the bottleneck because disk activity is 100% for that duration and my aim is to reduce the start time of apps. Boot time of system is not much of an issue because my PC runs 24/7 and I hardly restart it once in a week, but I do log-off and log-on twice in a day to free some RAM and make it faster for the rest of the day. This activity takes 4-5 mins every time. My usual desktop screen consists of Photoshop, Visual Studio, SQL Server, MS-Access, Dreamweaver, Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer open all the time. Multiple browsers are open all time to check browser compatibility of my website.

Please help me decide on following things:

1. Should I buy a SSHD? or use a 120 GB SSD as boot drive and make my existing 500 GB HDD as secondary? C drive is the one that is mostly used for heavy software and I do no gaming at all. So, I am planning to use 120 GB SSD for C Drive and attach the old HDD as secondary.
2. Core i5 2nd gen. is just fine for me but I don't mind buying an AMD 8-core if the price difference is less, because having 8 cores of AMD seems to be a better bargain than having 4 core Intel CPU, even though Intel might have 15-20% better performance than AMD for same number of cores. What do you say?
3. I want to have a high MHz RAM but not at like double the price of a slightly lower spec RAM. So, a decent speed 8 GB RAM at low price is just fine.
4. I have absolutely no idea of motherboards so I will buy anything that fits well in all the above config at low price. But the question is that will Intex chipset/motherboard work if AMD processor if I choose to buy AMD CPU and Intex motherboard? Otherwise I can buy any other motherboard like Gigabyte etc. I am not brand specific. All I want is that everything should just work fine with no bottlenecks.

Did I miss anything important to consider before buying? Please do let me know.

I already have a lcd monitor, keyword, speaker, mouse. My budget is $400 (Rs. 20K) maximum, but that does not mean I do want to reach the limit. Even $300 (Rs. 15K) PC will be fine if it reduces the bottleneck described above. I have the following parts:

CPU
Intel Core i3 540 @ 3.07GHz 52 °C
Clarkdale 32nm Technology
RAM
4.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 665MHz (9-9-9-24)
Motherboard
Intel Corporation DH55PJ (XU1) 47 °C
Graphics
SMB2030 (1600x900@60Hz)
Intel HD Graphics (Intel)
Storage
465GB Western Digital WDC WD5000AAKX-001CA0 ATA Device (SATA) 50 °C
Optical Drives
HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH22NS50 ATA Device
DTSOFT Virtual CdRom Device

My current configuration is at: http://speccy.piriform.com/results/jiOyV0eNSpgT6Ydcow0lrzb

 

[Cerb]

1. Should I buy a SSHD?

No. Hybrid HDDs are for notebooks.

2. Core i5 2nd gen. is just fine for me but I don't mind buying an AMD 8-core if the price difference is less, because having 8 cores of AMD seems to be a better bargain than having 4 core Intel CPU, even though Intel might have 15-20% better performance than AMD for same number of cores. What do you say?

If you are in the price range of an i5, get an i5. It looks like you are right in the territory of Pentiums, i3s, and AMD APUs, though. A Pentium would be a side-grade, a new AMD quad an upgrade, and a new i3 more of an upgrade.

3. I want to have a high MHz RAM but not at like double the price of a slightly lower spec RAM. So, a decent speed 8 GB RAM at low price is just fine.

1600 or faster, CAS 9 or lower, 1.5V or lower. With IGP, you may want some added RAM speed, but don't get heavily overclocked RAM.

4. I have absolutely no idea of motherboards so I will buy anything that fits well in all the above config at low price. But the question is that will Intex chipset/motherboard work if AMD processor if I choose to buy AMD CPU and Intex motherboard? Otherwise I can buy any other motherboard like Gigabyte etc. I am not brand specific. All I want is that everything should just work fine with no bottlenecks.

Mobos vary mostly by features, though I have not had good experiences with low-end MSIs, the last few years.

Did I miss anything important to consider before buying? Please do let me know.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=80121

You answered 1-3 well, but should be a bit more clear about the others.

P.S. 1GB of 4GB free or 1GB of 4GB available?