Upgrade Confusion?!?!?!?###

[jinderb]

Hello. I'm new to this message board thing. So bear with me.
I am looking to upgrade my comp. We had a lightning storm come thru a couple of weeks ago. It took out cable modem, router w/VOIP. Already replaced both of them. But, I think, it also fried mobo and psu(plug at ATX connecter. burnt). I'm not sure if cpu is ok or not.
I'll try to list everything I have and what I use comp. for. And what I have looked at so far. I have visited THG, Anantech,HardOCP and several other sites. But am getting a migraine(Information OverClocked...I mean Overload ).Here's, basically, what I have:
? AMD Athlon 64 3400+ Socket 754
? MSI K8T Neo (MS-6702) Ver. 1.0
? Maxtor 40GB D740X-6l (IDE)
? 512mb Crucial Ballistix DDr4000 CL2.5 unbuffered
? ATi Radeon 9800Pro 128mb or 256mb(not sure) AGP
? On-board sound
? Case is about 5-6yrs old. But it has alot of room. That's kinda why I have had it that long. 4-5.25, 2-3.5 ext bays. 2-3.5 hdd holder (removeable). removeable mobo tray. 7 exp. slots. changeable i/o panel. 21" tall.
? Ext. Sony DVD/Cd Rewritable DRX-700UL
? Int. 52x cd drive
? 17" Studioworks 995E CRT
I do alot of video editing(Studio 9) for my home movies from my dig. camcorder and from VHS to DVD.Also work with pics from dig. camera. I use Paintshop for pics(don't know if that has an impact on recommendation or not?).I like to do other things on comp. while waiting for video rendering, but it is nearly impossible.
Am also a gamer !! (between family life)
I've looked at:
? Abit AN8fatal1ty SLI
? AMD 64 x2 3800+
? Corsair 1gb Twinx1024-3200c2
? Antec True Power 2.0 550w
? BFG Tech 7800GTX
? 74gb Raptor WD
? 19" Viewsonic LCD 5ms
Which brings total around $1850.00. Just want to know if someone knows of a better configuration for around $2000.00.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for being soooooo wordy. Just wanted to give plenty of info(probably isn't enuff! )

 

[Geomagick]

You don't need that powerful a PSU for your propsed changes.

Also if you are really into video editing then a large capacity drive would probably be more suited than the raptor. Something like a Maxtor DM10 16MB cache would be pretty good.

Only if you're really into gaming should you go for the 7800gtx. It is one hell of a card but not worth it unless you like to play games at really high res. The 7800gt would be far more balanced for your system.

For pictures and video dual core is very much worth it. Also 2GB ram is never a bad thing, more than enough is better than enough.

 

[Fresh Daemon]

But, I think, it also fried mobo and psu(plug at ATX connecter. burnt).

That's called "learning the use of a surge protector the hard way." 🙂

Of course, nothing protects against a direct strike. But something in the area can be blocked by a good surge protector or UPS. You can't beat unplugging power and coax during a storm, though.

AMD 64 x2 3800+

Good choice for media work.

Abit AN8fatal1ty SLI

Bad choice. This is overpriced and underperforms. DFI Ultra-D or SLI is the way to go. They're supposed to be releasing a new revision in October.

Corsair 1gb Twinx1024-3200c2

This won't play nice with the DFI, if you go that route. OCZ and Crucial are good bets. I would definitely try and get 2GB if you can afford it, though.

Antec True Power 2.0 550w

Antec has been iffy lately. If you want headroom should you need SLI later, I recommend the Enermax EG565. It's SLI-ready, I run one in my rig and it's rock-solid.

74gb Raptor WD

It's a much better idea to get a larger 7200rpm drive. 74GB fills very quickly, especially with video, and you won't really notice the speed increase. For video editing, you can't beat really big, really fast SCSI drives, but that will probably be out of your budget.

 

[jinderb]

Originally posted by: Fresh Daemon

But, I think, it also fried mobo and psu(plug at ATX connecter. burnt).

That's called "learning the use of a surge protector the hard way." 🙂

Yeah, I learned the hard way. Just pushed my luck(which ain't much) toooo far. I broke down and purchased a UPS. the first thing.
Thanks for suggestions.

 

[jinderb]

Originally posted by: George Powell
Also if you are really into video editing then a large capacity drive would probably be more suited than the raptor. Something like a Maxtor DM10 16MB cache would be pretty good.

I seen those for under $100.00. And I think I can even do 2 of them and still be within budget!
Thanx!!