Looking for better performance on my desktop..

[bananapancakes6]

Hello all,

I'm relatively new here and am looking for advice. I'm starting to get into video editing, but I don't do a whole lot of gaming. I've listed my desktop PC's specs and I was wondering if I could get advice on upgrading the graphics card, sound card, processor, etc., or if perhaps it is time to replace the machine. Thanks!

Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3500+
Processor Main Features: 64 bit Processor
Cache Per Processor: 512KB L2 Cache
Manufacturer: HP Pavilion 061
Model: PX769AA-ABA a1130n
Total amount of system memory: 3.00 GB RAM
System type: 64-bit operating system
Number of processor cores: 1
Power Supply: 300 watt

Total size of hard disk(s): 940 GB
Disk partition (C: 888 GB Free (932 GB Total)
Disk partition (D: 1 GB Free (8 GB Total)
Media drive (E: CD/DVD
Media drive (F: CD/DVD

Motherboard Name
MSI: MS-7093
HP: Albacore-GL6E
Display adapter type: ATI RADEON Xpress 200 Series
Socket Type: Socket 939
Total available graphics memory: 1343 MB
Dedicated graphics memory: 128 MB
Dedicated system memory: 0 MB
Shared system memory: 1215 MB
Display adapter driver version: 8.383.0.0
Primary monitor resolution: 1280x1024
DirectX version: DirectX 9.0 or better

 

[St1ckM4n]

You have 64-bit OS, bu 3GB RAM - interesting.. Also only single-core CPU, which I'd say is holding you back a lot. In that case, since you have to change CPU, you might want to consider a whole new build, as you might choose a different socket.

I'm no expert, but here are my recommendations:

- At least 2.8GHz dual-core. These are dirt-cheap now, and even core i5 quad-cores are rather cheap.

- 6GB RAM + . The higher the better with RAM. This depends on your socket/mobo choice - dual/triple channel, and most likely DDR3.

- RAID 0 HDD's. I hear this helps a LOT. Get 2x 1TB drives, they are dirty cheap now. Or just get one more, as you seem to have a single TB already.

- Graphics card. Not entirely sure here if a workstation card would help.. something tells me no. However, most new programs now DO take advantage of the GPU, so I think an Nvidia card would be better due to CUDA. Unsure if the AMD equivalent is as well-used.

Hope that helps.