upgrade/ new build

[csit1020]

The time has come to upgrade my current rig. I built it in fall 2005 and it has been holding up surprisingy well, but it's time for something a little faster. It's my home computer and I use it for gaming too for quite a bit.

How much of the old system would I'd be able to reuse? I don't have budget set in stone, yet I don't want to spend more money, than I really have to.

This is the stuff I plan to reuse:

1. Case - It's a Lian-Li PC-6077 mid-ATX tower ( used ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe MB )

2. PSU- 600W Seasonic S12 600 ATX12V V2.0

3. Optical drive - HP DVD player/writer that I currently have. It has worked well and I don't see any reason to upgrade it.

Ok, on to the upgrade list:


1. Motherboard

ASUS P6T Deluxe/OC Palm LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131351

2. CPU

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115202

3. HDD

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148288

4. Memory - ???? . I read that triple channel memory would be a waste of money, but I do want to have 6GB.

5. Video card - I currently have EVGA 7800 GTX, which was a hot ticket back in the day ,
and it has served me well the past three years. I'd like the new one to do that as well, without being outrageoulsy priced. I just got a GTA4 for PC and it has pretty high demands for video performance. Would this be a good choice:

EVGA 896-P3-1265-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130398

6. Monitor - Currently have a 19" NEC 1970 GX LCD, that I absolutely love. It's very adjustable ( angle, rotating base etc. ) and I'd like the next monitor to be as well.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

[shadowpr]

Looks good.

I would get triple channel.

That video card is nice.

For a monitor, what size are you looking for?

And if I was you, I would just get a sta dvd burner if the one you currently have isn't sata. They're cheap.

[Doom]

All your components look very good. For memory, I would also recommend the triple channel. I built a recent rig with the GTX 260 and was extremely happy with it. I think you'll get years out of it in tandem with a new i7 processor.

For a monitor...it's not the most flexible thing in the world, but I have a 20" Samsung and have been extremely happy with it. I highly recommend the Samsung line of computer monitors.

[csit1020]

Ok, for memory I'll plan to go with this one then

G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231223

As for optical drive, how about this one:

LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827136153

As for a monitor, that is a good question. I will have a dual screen setup with my current monitor. I'm pretty happy with the 19" monitor that I have and I really wouldn't want to go much bigger, 22" would be max. It would have to be suitable for gaming though.

[csit1020]

I think you'll get years out of it in tandem with a new i7 processor.

This is exactly what I would like to accomplish. I'm fully aware that hardware gets obsolete very quickly, but it seems that with a decent build you can get at least couple of years of service out of it.

Btw, thank you all for your quick replies, I'm very happy I discovered this site.

[shadowpr]

I personally prefer lite-on or asus dvd drives.

For a good gaming monitor, look for something with 5ms response time or less. I also like samsung, but they tend to be more expensive. There are other good brands out there too.

[csit1020]

This the final list:

Case: existing Lian-Li PC-6077 Mid-ATX tower

PSU: existing 600W Seasonic S12 600 ATX12V V2.0

MB: ASUS P6T Deluxe/OC Palm LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131351

CPU: Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor
[http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115202

Video: EVGA 896-P3-1265-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130398

Monitor: LG L227WTG-PF Black 22" 2ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 10000:1DCR with HDCP Support

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824005109

Memory:
G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231223

Optical:
SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD Burner

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151171

[Valdeam]

Looks good to me!

[not important]

I would go with your original DVDRW choice of the LG or a Lite-On.

[csit1020]

Pulled the trigger and everything should be here by the end of the next week. I have another question though, about the new and the old hard drive.

At the end , I want to have everything on my old HDD on my new one and have the new HDD as my primary HDD ( and probably format the old HDD and have it as back-up, it's only 74 GB in size )

What is the procedure to do that? Lets say I have the new MB already in, everything is plugged in except the HDD. Should I just plug in the old HDD at this point, since it already has the XP on it or should I plug in the new HDD, format it, install the XP and then clone the old HDD on to the new one?

[shadowpr]

Do you have a 64bit os? I hope you do.

And the easiest way would be to install the new hard drive only, and reinstall windows. Then install all your programs from scratch. Then connect your old hd and copy over all your personal files. After that, you can format the old drive and use it however you want.

[csit1020]

I'm pretty sure I have the 32 bit XP Pro. Are you saying I should get a 64 bit OS, like a Vista 64? I was thinking about it, just couldn't think of any reason to do it. OTOH if the old XP becomes the bottleneck, I'll switch it out. What do you think?

edit:
like this one
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English for System Builders 1pk DSP OEI DVD - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116488

[shadowpr]

I like that one. That's teh same one I use.

You will need a 64 bit os to see more than 4gb of ram.

[csit1020]

Well, I got it all up and running, so I want to thank everybody for their advice.

I do have smaller problem, with my old hard drive though. How do I access the data on it?
It shows up in the BIOS settings and the device Manager, but not in My Computer. Also, does it matter which SATA connectors I use? I use No 5 for the new drive and No 6 for the old hard drive, should I use No 1 and No 2 instead?

thanks

[shadowpr]

I doubt it matters too much, but I would try to use sata one for your primary drive.

With the second drive connected, go to disc management, and see if it sees the second drive there. You may just need to assign it a drive letter.

[csit1020]

Originally Posted by shadowpr I doubt it matters too much, but I would try to use sata one for your primary drive. With the second drive connected, go to disc management, and see if it sees the second drive there. You may just need to assign it a drive letter.

I'll try that.

These i7 CPU's run really hot. I have idle temp's 43-45C for CPU and 40 for MB. About 10 minutes of GTA4 and CPU goes up to 60-61C and MB 50-51C. I'm guessing the case I have w/4 80mm fans just doesn't move enough air. I'm thinking about going w a full ATX tower, so it has more room and better cooling.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811112172



I also got the CPU cooler, which should help with the temps

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835608007