A New Computer

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Computernoober

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Hey guys,

Alright so christmass treated me well and I have around $1500 for a new PC.

I currently have a computer with a

Radeon 9800 pro
Asus P4P800 Se Mobo
1gig ddr ram
Dvd drive
Samsung Syncmaster 712n
Intel Pentium 4 CPU 2.00GHZ
and a normall power supply

I want to get a really nice pc, I play world of warcraft and perordered the expansion as well. I do a lot of webdesign so I run photoshop cs2, macromedia suite, and rendering programs.

What I was wondering is can someone help me pick out some hardware for a new computer as I do not know a lot about comp hardware other then the basics.

also a couple of questions

Can I use my old power supply or will i need a better one?
I run xp home should I upgrade?
Do fancy looking cases really help performance?
Will I need ddr2 ram? How much ram do you recomend?

Thanks for everything! Merry Xmass/ Honica (sorry if spelt wrong) / Happy holidays
 
I recommend a better power supply IF your old one is under 450 watts.

I recommend staying with XP Home, it's good enough for you.

If you want DDR2 RAM (It's faster), you'll need a new motherboard. I recommend getting 2GB, anything more will be unstable.
 
Thanks for quick reply any specific hardware you would like to recommend i was thinking Intel Core2 duo seems to be pretty popular.
 
I recommend upgrading, you get more for your money.

What processor do you currently have? Pentium 4, AMD Athlon?
 
I'm not even sure if your motherboard will support Core 2 Duo. It's probably around 3-4 years old at least.

You could upgrade to a better Pentium 4 chip, or as you said, get a new computer.
 
you could build a nice computer for $1500 but you could upgrade the one you have right now for about $500 depending on what you are upgrading.
 
Norcent said:
you could build a nice computer for $1500 but you could upgrade the one you have right now for about $500 depending on what you are upgrading.


I don't know what he can do though. The computer isn't the newest, my friend's got a Pentium 4 2.4Ghz computer with similar specs from 2002.
 
Odds are it's a socket 478, not a 775. Even it it were a 775, I doubt the mobo could handle a Core2Duo.

If you want to keep your RAM, you can go with a Pentium D or an AMD socket 939. Both are older tech, but cheap.

You can go with a Core2Duo build, but all you'll be able to use would be your hard drive. You may be able to re-use Windows if it is an retail copy, other wise you'd have to replace it as well.

Either way, you will have to replace your power supply. And if your system is a pre-built (Dell, HP, Gateway, etc) you'll need to replace the case as well.
 
Here's what I was thinking so I can get a fresh brand new PC.

Intel Core 2 duo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115005

NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI for Intel 775:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813188009

NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814133187

TOPOWER TOP-1000W Power Supply:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817342009

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB ddr2:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145034


Now this is obviously going to cost me over $1500.
So thats basically what from what I can gather would be my dream PC. Can someone help me downgrade a few of those things to get closer towards my budget?

Thanks you guys are awsome :) .
 
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