Rebuilding From the ruins

[Disgruntledtate]

Ok guys, heres the deal. My harddrive turned to garbage recently so I decided it's time for an upgrade. I dont know all that much about computers so im not too sure on the specs of the hardware i have left but all i know is
im going to salvage 2 256 sticks of ram(512 total) a 465W PSU and my dvd burner. My MB works fine but i'd like to upgrade to a newer one as well as adding some more ram. Does anyone have any suggestions for a new MB, chip, and RAM? i'd like to keep this under $1000 if all possible

 

[nickslick74]

Couple of questions.

1. What do you plan on using the computer for? Gaming, video editing, internet cruising, etc...

2. What type of ram is the 512 that you have (DDR, DDR2)? And what speed is the ram?

3. What is the make of psu and how many watts does it have on the 12+V line?

In general right now the Intel Core 2 Duo's are the fastest processors available right now. AMD makes good chips at a lower cost, but they are not as fast. For $1000 you could build a pretty nice system all from scratch.

 

[Disgruntledtate]

I'd like to do mainly video editing with a little gaming on the side(no fancy games tho like counterstrike 1.6 maybe some battlefield '42)

I dont know too much about computers im pretty sure its DDR its not too old but its not new i am unsure of the speed i had it in an AMD 2.3ghz

The PSU is brand new because the old one melted and started my problems its a retail plus+ 465W "ultimate power supply" has a 20+4 pin for the MB so it works on 20 or 24 pins mb's. Earlier I said $1000 i prolly wont end up spending that much on a system but I's still like to upgrade to a decent processor. thx for the advice

 

[nickslick74]

Take a look at this guide and see what you think: https://www.techspot.com/article/25-affordable-am2-gaming-system/

It says it's a gaming system but it would work just fine for video editing. If you live in the USA you can get the parts from newegg.com. Maybe even upgrade a few since prices have dropped since the review was written.

 

[dmill89]

You should scrap that generic PSU. Generic PSUs tend to be underpowered, unreliable, and lack protection circuicts so they take out other things when they blow. Get a PSU from one of the following brands: Antec (avoid the smartpower 2.0 series), Enermax, FSP, PC Power & Cooling, Seasonic.

You will also likely need new memory since most new motherboards use DDR2and 512 mb isn't really enough for gameing or video editing. I recomend at least 1GB for XP, and 2GB if you plan to use Vista.

I would recomend a Core 2 Duo system since your budget is large enough to allow for this expense.

 

[Bluemouse]

Yea, I recommend Core 2 Duo as well, probably something like the E6400 cpu. You also need a decent Graphics card to be able to do video editing. At least a 7600GT or something.

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And I would get a decent gigabyte mobo:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128012 $192
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128323 $122.99

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GPU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130062 $109.99 (89.99 after mailin)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143071 $279.99

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Ram:

You would want at least 1 gig ram. Others will have good suggestions on this, but if you want to use the sticks you have now, you need to keep the same frequency/brand.

I would personally get new ram, at least 2x 512 sticks dual channel, or if you want to spend $200, go for 2gigs ram OCZ.


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PSU:
Add about a $60 power supply (Conroe cpu's don't use anywhere near as much power as others so you should get away with about a 450 watt psu)



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Case:

You can probably use the same case as before.
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CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115005 (e6300) $184.00
Couldnt find the e6400, but its about $230 and also very nice.

If you want to spend more money, the e6600 is a very nice choice as well.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115003 $314.00


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Your looking at anywhere from $477 (with the lowest price items here/no new ram) to $1045. (top items I posted here and $200 ram)

 

[Disgruntledtate]

well guys a situation has forced me to significantly lower el bugeto so Im going to stay with my old Mbo and CPU which isnt all that bad but im definitly goin to stick some new ram in it at least 1gb of it and i forgot to mention my video card in my original post its nvidia not too sure on the specs but i know its a 128mb. ill just be happy to get my pc working again! but thx for the suggestions nickslick, dmill, and bluemouse u guys have been helpful especially since i dont know a lot about pc's

 

[Bluemouse]

Can your current Mobo support pci-e? Sorry to hear about that situation.