Upgrade suggestion please

[ArriRC]

Hello friends

This is my first post here, so I hope that I have posted in the right section.

I need to upgrade my system and would like to future proof it as much as possible (components are rather costly, so I can not afford to change my system in every 4~5 years).

My requirements are as follows:

1. General PC usage

2. Extensive use for editing Photos and Videos (I am a professional photographer). So I use resource heavy software like Ps, Lr etc.

3. Gaming - very rare

4. Movie watching

My present system is as follows:

1. Intel Core2Duo 1.8GHz+ASUS P5B-VM MB+CoolerMaster Processor Fan
2. HDDs- 1 IDE (80GB), 3 SATAII (160GB, 250GB, 500GB), 1 SATAIII (1TB)
3. 5GB DDR2 RAM (1+1+1+2)
4. XFX HD4700 ATi GPU with 512MB DDR5 RAM
5. SMPS- 460W Dual rail power supply (CoolerMaster)
6. LG 25" IPS monitor
7. JBL speakers


I intend to retain the Monitor, SMPS, Speakers and HDDs for sure. Though I may have to ditch the IDE one, as it seems newer MBs do not incorporate IDE ports. I am not so sure about the Graphics card, whether to keep it or not.


Please suggest a system for me.

Is it mandatory to reinstall the OS (and hence all the software) if I upgrade the system? Even when I am retaining my OS containing HDD? It would be much easier for me to get rid of the old drivers and install the new ones rather than installing the software as the software are customized for my work and re-customization after new install would be nothing less than a horrible nightmare, not to mention time consuming. Presently I use Windows 7.


Thank you in advance.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Build threads go in General Hardware. I'll ask a Mod to move your thread.

Btw, you forgot one important thing - what's your budget, and what country will you be buying from?

 

[ArriRC]

Thank you for your reply. I hope that one of the moderators would move this thread to a suitable part of this forum. Sorry for the inconvenience.

I am from India. My budget is about INR 30,000.

 

[Ken g6]

I suggest you keep the following:

1. CoolerMaster Processor Fan
2. HDDs- 3 SATAII (160GB, 250GB, 500GB), 1 SATAIII (1TB) Just forget the IDE one.
4. XFX HD4700 ATi GPU with 512MB DDR5 RAM - or sell it, either way. Your new CPU's onboard graphics may be superior.
6. LG 25" IPS monitor - nice!
7. JBL speakers

If you upgrade to new parts, I'd recommend:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: *Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor (₹9199.00 @ Amazon India)
Motherboard: *Gigabyte GA-B150M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (₹7800.00 @ Amazon India)
Memory: *G.Skill Ripjaws 4 series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (₹3750.00 @ Amazon India)
Storage: *A-Data Premier SP550 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (₹4540.00 @ Amazon India)
Other: Corsair VS450 (₹2900.00)
Total: ₹28189.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-03 21:07 IST+0530

An i5-6500 would be better, but you can't quite afford it.

Is it mandatory to reinstall the OS (and hence all the software) if I upgrade the system? Even when I am retaining my OS containing HDD? It would be much easier for me to get rid of the old drivers and install the new ones rather than installing the software as the software are customized for my work and re-customization after new install would be nothing less than a horrible nightmare, not to mention time consuming. Presently I use Windows 7.

Well, there's another problem. First, you should reinstall your OS. This is a completely new system that needs new drivers. Second, Microsoft might require you to buy a new copy of Windows, if the copy you have came with your old computer. That seems unlikely given its age, but it's possible.

There is one other option. You could upgrade your current computer.

First, get a quad-core LGA775 processor off Ebay or the like. You can also use quad-core Xeons if you block some of their pins. You could probably find a kit for that.

After that, I'd upgrade your RAM, get a new PSU, add an SSD, and maybe upgrade your GPU.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83Ghz Quad-Core Processor (₹4500.00 is an estimate - you can probably do better.)
Motherboard: Asus P5QL-VM DO/CSM Micro ATX LGA775 Motherboard (represents your current board. Not quite the same, but similar.)
Memory: *Kingston ValueRAM 2GB (1 x 2GB) DDR2-667 Memory (₹1299.00 @ Amazon India)
Memory: *Kingston ValueRAM 2GB (1 x 2GB) DDR2-667 Memory (₹1299.00 @ Amazon India)
Memory: *Kingston ValueRAM 2GB (1 x 2GB) DDR2-667 Memory (₹1299.00 @ Amazon India)
Storage: *A-Data Premier SP550 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (₹4540.00 @ Amazon India)
Video Card: *Zotac GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card (₹9297.00 @ Amazon India)
Other: Corsair VS450 (₹2900.00)
Total: ₹25134.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-03 21:20 IST+0530

 

[ArriRC]

I suggest you keep the following:

1. CoolerMaster Processor Fan
2. HDDs- 3 SATAII (160GB, 250GB, 500GB), 1 SATAIII (1TB) Just forget the IDE one.
...
Total: ₹25134.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-03 21:20 IST+0530

Thank you so much for your suggestion. It really helps.

If I go for the i5 route what other components should be there? I can be bit flexible with my budget. One more thing, there are quite a few versions of both i3 and i5. Which one should I choose? Secondly, what about AMD route?

 

[Ken g6]

AMD's current processors are old technology. They might be decent for lightroom but not so good for Photoshop.

On the other hand any current AMD FX processor would be better than any processor that would fit in your current system. AMD is supposed to be coming out with new processors in 6-9 months.

 

[ArriRC]

AMD's current processors are old technology. They might be decent for lightroom but not so good for Photoshop.

On the other hand any current AMD FX processor would be better than any processor that would fit in your current system. AMD is supposed to be coming out with new processors in 6-9 months.

Thank you for your reply. Let's wait then and see what comes out.

 

[Ken g6]

Thank you for your reply. Let's wait then and see what comes out.

Given your current system (old and slow), and what you need to do (photo and video editing), I just can't agree with that.

At a minimum, you could really use an SSD. An SSD will be very helpful no matter what other hardware you get. Both my suggestions included one. The parametric filters for those builds (click the "PCPartPicker part list" links to see what they chose) currently selected an A-Data SSD. So I'd get that ASAP. You can then clone the contents of whichever drive has your OS and programs onto the SSD - if you don't upgrade the whole system and reinstall first.

Second, I don't think AMD Zen is going to be a good choice for either PS or LR at this point. Evidently, LR also needs fast single cores frequently. So I think you should upgrade sooner. Also, it appears I overestimated the capabilities of your current system. You can't run any processors at 1333MHz FSB. So I'm thinking the i3 with full reinstall is really the way to go.

 

[ArriRC]

Thanks a lot Ken. I think I shall go for Intel then. Could you please suggest another system configuration involving Intel CPUs?

 

[Ken g6]

Well, I suppose it's easier to upgrade RAM later than to upgrade the CPU later.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (₹16000.00 @ Amazon India)
Motherboard: *Asus H110M-K Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (₹5275.00 @ Amazon India)
Storage: *A-Data Premier SP550 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (₹4699.00 @ Amazon India)
Other: Corsair VS450 (₹2900.00)
Other: G skill Ripjaws V DDR4 8 GB (1 X 8GB) PC (Ripjaws V) (₹2969.00)
Total: ₹31843.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-15 03:45 IST+0530

If you get that, see if you can find another Rs. 3000 within a few months or years, and add another 8GB stick of RAM.