Tips needed to upgrade previous build

[SpydaMan]

Good morning everyone. It's been quite a long time since I visited the forums, and when I built my last computer everyone was great and very helpful. It's now time to upgrade my previous build, and I need some help once again.

My current build is:

CASE: Rosewill TU-155 Black Steel ATX Black 0.8mm SGCC Steel Mid Tower Computer Case 400W(20+4 pin) Power Supply – Retail

NOTE: Replaced power supply with...

POWER SUPPLY: ENERMAX Noisetaker II EG495P-VE ATX12V 485W Power Supply 115/230 V – Retail

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail

ASUS P5K LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

(2) Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

EVGA 256-P2-N755-AR GeForce 8600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Superclocked Video Card - Retail

MEMORY: CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Desktop Memory - Retail

OPTICAL DRIVE 1: LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner with LightScribe – Retail

OPTICAL DRIVE 2: ASUS Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E616A3T - Retail

FLOPPY DRIVE/Card Reader: Rosewill RCR-FD200 All-in-one USB 2.0 Black 3.5" Card Reader with 1.44MB Floppy Drive – Retail

I am looking to upgrade my motherboard, processor, and video card, and also need to purchase a new DVD burner (don't see the need for a 2nd CD drive anymore) and card reader as well.

Can someone recommend a starting place for me to research current components? I haven't kept up to date with the latest and greatest technology so I'm a bit lost.

[glc]

Would you please post the specs for your current system, along with your upgrade budget? What do you use your computer for?

[SpydaMan]

Originally Posted by glc Would you please post the specs for your current system, along with your upgrade budget? What do you use your computer for?

Sorry about not including my current build, but I'm only 50% awake. I included it to my original post.

I'm on my computer A LOT and almost always on the internet at the same time, no matter what I'm doing. I use the computer for general use but also for a moderate amount of photo editing. I plan on working on some video editing in the future, but that will be minimal compared to the photos. I would like the ability to implement two monitors as well.

There's a strong possibility we will be shifting to services offering streaming movies in the near future.

As for my budget, I don't currently have a price in mind since I'm unsure of the current technology and pricing. I do not need components that are the "best of the best", but also do not want any too low on the scale.

Did that help?

[jdeb]

ASUS P8Z68-V LX
Newegg.com - ASUS P8Z68-V LX LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

Intel Core i5-2500K
Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB)
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Profile Desktop Memory Model CML8GX3M2A1600C9

Setup SSD for caching drive prior to operating system install. Increases performance on current hard drive and boot, write and read speeds.

Intel 320 Series SSDSA2CT040G3K5
Newegg.com - Intel 320 Series SSDSA2CT040G3K5 2.5" 40GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

ASUS ENGT440/DI/1GD5 GeForce GT 440. Note: You could just try the integrated graphics in the CPU prior to investing in a separate video card.
Newegg.com - ASUS ENGT440/DI/1GD5 GeForce GT 440 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

ASUS 24X DVD Burner
Newegg.com - ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - CD / DVD Burners

Antec BP550 Plus 550W
Newegg.com - Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Research
Intel Smart Response... SSD Caching Drive and the Z68 Chipset
AnandTech - Intel Z68 Chipset & Smart Response Technology (SSD Caching) Review

[glc]

New power supply not required, your Enermax is fine. For your use, the video card can be reused if the onboard Intel 3000 graphics isn't suitable.

Are your 2 hard drives in RAID or are they separate?

Newegg.com - Rosewill RCR-IC002 74-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB port / Extra silver face plate

[jdeb]

My bad, I read Enermax but thought Coolmax

[SpydaMan]

Thanks for all the replies so far. I'm tied up but will continue reading and reply this evening.

[SpydaMan]

Originally Posted by jdeb Setup SSD for caching drive prior to operating system install. Increases performance on current hard drive and boot, write and read speeds. Intel 320 Series SSDSA2CT040G3K5 Newegg.com - Intel 320 Series SSDSA2CT040G3K5 2.5" 40GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

I admit, I have no idea what SSD is. Could you offer me more details on it, and since it appears to be a hard drive (or not), will there be any issues with the two I currently use?

Originally Posted by glc New power supply not required, your Enermax is fine. For your use, the video card can be reused if the onboard Intel 3000 graphics isn't suitable.

I believe I'm having issues with my current video card, so would prefer purchasing another (if needed).

Originally Posted by glc Are your 2 hard drives in RAID or are they separate?

My current hard drives are NOT in RAID, and this is another thing I am not knowledgeable about. (ex. purpose of RAID, advantages, disadvantages, etc.)

[glc]

SSD = solid state drive. Have you read jdeb's link about SRT?

Are you prepared to back up your data, wipe one of your drives, and reinstall your operating system and apps? If you don't have it already, are you ready to get Windows 7?

[SpydaMan]

Originally Posted by glc SSD = solid state drive. Have you read jdeb's link about SRT?

Actually missed that somehow. Will read asap.

Originally Posted by glc Are you prepared to back up your data, wipe one of your drives, and reinstall your operating system and apps? If you don't have it already, are you ready to get Windows 7?

I currently have two hard drives - one for the operating system, programs, etc., and the other for everything else. I've used two hard drives for several years to eliminate the hassle when installing a fresh copy of Windows and starting from scratch.

I'm using (gasp) Vista right now but want to start using Windows 7 with the "updated" build.

[glc]

Wipe your OS drive and install Win 7 - then use SRT and a 64gb or less SSD to cache it.

You will need to set the SATA controller to RAID, install Windows, install the SRT software, then install the SSD and use SRT to establish the cache.