help me upgrade my computer =)

[Muffin Man]

where you spend more depends on what youre looking to do. for example if youre gonna be doing like high quality or hd photo/video editing, youre gonna want a good cpu, probably a quad-core like the i7 with alot of processing power.

if you want a gaming rig, you could just stick to a good dual, or triple core cpu but get a higher end gfx card to handle your games well.

so it looks like youre somewhere in between. you said that you want a faster system overall and want to game a little.

so maybe these then. total $475

same psu/gfx card as before
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

 

[Joel A]

Ok, that looks pretty solid.

Pretty close to what I was looking at when I was on Newegg myself actually, it seems AMD and ATI are cheaper than Intel and Nvidia? Will i regret not going with Intel/Nvidia?

One of the main differences from that set-up and what I was looking at though is I had an AMD Triple Core Athlon, and not a Quad Core. Would I be ok saving a bit of money with a similar triple core vs. a Quad core, or is the CPU someplace i should really splurge? I was originally thinking a triple core PCU (like the Athlon here:
Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X3 435 2.9GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

and then upgrading the video card slightly to an ATI HD 4870. Like this one:
Newegg.com - XFX HD-487A-ZWFC Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

What's the real advantage of having more memory on a video card? Do i need the 1GB or would i be ok with 512 MB?

Another quick question i have is if i should buy a new hard drive? As previously mentioned, my current Hard drive is a 120 GB, which i guess isn't to bad considering how old it is.. but i realize in today's world a hard drive that even as big as a terabyte is relatively cheap?

 

[Muffin Man]

no, lol. there wont be anything to regret.

yes, you can go with the athlon triple core, but if do, go with this one instead, the 425. the main diff between this one and the one you linked is that this ones 200mhz slower stock, but even with the stock heatsink you can very easily OC this by 200mhz yourself so just save that small amount of money.
Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X3 425 2.7GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

but still, the quad would only be like $20 more, but thats your choice.

and you could also switch the mobo.
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

a gfx card with more memory will have an advantage if youre playing at higher resolutions like around 1920x1200. the 4870 will play most games on higher settings also.

also i have missed the part about the hdd in your other post. if you want to save money, your current one will work, or you could get a new, faster hdd if you want, but it doesnt necessarily have to be a 1tb, which would cost around $90. not everyone has the same amount of data to store though. some people could easily fill a couple tb's with their stuff, while others will get by fine with just an 80gb hdd.

 

[Trotter]

I would go with one of these:
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Why would you drop a core (X3 vs X4) for only a $9-$19 savings? I'm sorry, but that makes no sense to me.

 

[Joel A]

so kinda noob questions here.. but you managed to lose me a little bit with the lingo.. OC= overclock, right? If that's what it means, then i'm lost. I've seen that term thrown around here and there.. but I don't know how it applies to your everyday computer user?

As far as the hard drive, It'd be nice to save some money.. but i'm not against upgrading either... I understand the simple fact that newer hard drives are bigger, but what makes one faster than another and how is that seen in every day computer usage? I don't think i'd ever use over 120 GB or so... but that doesn't necessarily mean that i should get a 120gb HDD, or does it?


I guess i'd be playing a game at fairly high resolutions, but not as high as you mentioned... i think my monitor is supposed to run at 1680x1050? Would that warrant getting a 1GB graphics card, or no?

 

[Joel A]

I would go with one of these:
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Why would you drop a core (X3 vs X4) for only a $9-$19 savings? I'm sorry, but that makes no sense to me.

Simple, because i don't know what i'm doing .

If you say it makes no sense, then i'll believe you and get the quad-core. I understand they're faster, i just didn't know how much and if i'd need it.

 

[Trotter]

Think of cores as cylinders in an engine. A single-stroke (one cylinder) engine can only do so much. A two-stroke (two cylinder) engine can push further and faster. A motor with three cylinders could do even more and generate more power, and the four cylinder engine would go even better. In other words...
Riding mower < Honda Goldwing < Chevy Sprint (only three cylinder car that comes to mind) < Mazda 3

It's not a perfect illustration, but hopefully it made sense.

The Western Digital Black series utilize a 32MB buffer and dual CPUs to give them some crazy speeds, and they have a five year warranty. That's a heck of a combination.

 

[james.wired]

^ And so the avatar speaks

You may not use all of 640GB right now, but what about down the road? Programs are only getting bigger in size, and the standards are going up. Those Western Digital Blacks are great and you can carry them over to later builds, or utilize them as back ups, or whatever. The occasional hard drive failure is not entirely too uncommon either, so a nice 5 year warranty is pretty handy to have. OC= Overclocking, yes, and it is not for the average PC user even though it can be easy enough, many people would rather not deal with it, but 200mhz is nothing really. I think you should go ahead with the quad core, that way you won't be needing an upgrade any time soon.