skwirrel
03-08-2008, 07:02 PM
I am in the process of researching a new system build. Why is likely something you'll be asking me, so I'll answer that off the top. I'm currently running an AMD 1800+XP on a Gigabyte GA-7VAXP mobo and an ATI AIW7500 GPU which I built myself. I'm using Windows 2000Pro SP4. It's still the best PC I've had my hands on (it ridiculously outperforms my laptop which is only a year old) and I've had it for about 7 years, but the AMD CPU is not SSE2/3 enabled which I need to run Adobe Premier Pro 2.0. Since this forces me to upgrade, I'll also need to change OSes and I plan to go to Vista Premium (I know I know, but that just seems to be the way things are going), therefore the GPU needs an upgrade and of course unless, I purchase an mobo that has AGP slots, the ATI AIW7500 is of little use.
I am not really a gamer, although I do play occassionally and could see myself playing more should I run into the free time. Mostly, I want to be able use it mostly for media/entertainment purposes. I do a lot of photography, so lots of Photoshopping/Illustrator, video editing, etc. The sytem will also be used for entertainment purposes - movies, music, TV, etc. I also enjoy modding and tinkering around; this may be more my motivation for rebuilding than anything! I should also mention it seems that I'm pretty much a multi-tasking whore...
Current hardware that I have that I would like to integrate:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500Gb and Maxtor 6L250RO 250Gb hard drives
- I may purchase another 500Gb drive to set up a raid array
NEC ND-3520A and LG GCE-8418B optical drives - might get a Blu-Ray player, or is it better to get a PS3?
Benq FP931 19" LCD (I will possibly upgrade here and use the Benq as a second monitor
home entertainment system capable of 5.1 will full speaker setup and a Panasonic TH-42PE7U plasma television.
So my questions are: what components do you all recommend and why? Big question: AMD or Intel? Back when I bought my AMD (way back), AMD was cheaper and yet outperforming Intel; I have become an AMD fan because of this, but I hear things have changed. I have also noticed that the "AIW" type GPUs do not seem to exist anymore, and from what I hear, AMD/ATI is suffering this department too.
Keep in mind, I don't want to break the bank on this. Money isn't really a concern, but I don't think I need to go top of the line here. That said, I do want to make sure that my next system can last as long as the one I have now and will be upgradeable for years to come. I guess, I'm looking to buy just above or around the sweet spot range. Originally, I was thinking of budgeting around $600/700cdn (about what I paid for the system I have now), but that may not be realistic. This budget does account for the fact that I don't need to buy new hard/optical drives or a monitor. If I did, that would be $ on top of what I'm spending.
I look forward to your recommendations and suggestions. Thanks...
I am not really a gamer, although I do play occassionally and could see myself playing more should I run into the free time. Mostly, I want to be able use it mostly for media/entertainment purposes. I do a lot of photography, so lots of Photoshopping/Illustrator, video editing, etc. The sytem will also be used for entertainment purposes - movies, music, TV, etc. I also enjoy modding and tinkering around; this may be more my motivation for rebuilding than anything! I should also mention it seems that I'm pretty much a multi-tasking whore...
Current hardware that I have that I would like to integrate:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500Gb and Maxtor 6L250RO 250Gb hard drives
- I may purchase another 500Gb drive to set up a raid array
NEC ND-3520A and LG GCE-8418B optical drives - might get a Blu-Ray player, or is it better to get a PS3?
Benq FP931 19" LCD (I will possibly upgrade here and use the Benq as a second monitor
home entertainment system capable of 5.1 will full speaker setup and a Panasonic TH-42PE7U plasma television.
So my questions are: what components do you all recommend and why? Big question: AMD or Intel? Back when I bought my AMD (way back), AMD was cheaper and yet outperforming Intel; I have become an AMD fan because of this, but I hear things have changed. I have also noticed that the "AIW" type GPUs do not seem to exist anymore, and from what I hear, AMD/ATI is suffering this department too.
Keep in mind, I don't want to break the bank on this. Money isn't really a concern, but I don't think I need to go top of the line here. That said, I do want to make sure that my next system can last as long as the one I have now and will be upgradeable for years to come. I guess, I'm looking to buy just above or around the sweet spot range. Originally, I was thinking of budgeting around $600/700cdn (about what I paid for the system I have now), but that may not be realistic. This budget does account for the fact that I don't need to buy new hard/optical drives or a monitor. If I did, that would be $ on top of what I'm spending.
I look forward to your recommendations and suggestions. Thanks...