Upgrading Suggestions

[hamstu]

I'm upgrading my old computer to something better. And when I say old, I mean really old, 366 Celeron old.

I need to upgrade three things (primarily). The mobo, video, and memory.

I already have a case, sound, monitor, power (400 w), and the standard peripherals.

Graphic Design (Photoshop, Illustrator) and some casual gaming are my main activities. I don't care much if I can't run at max res. with full setings but I want something that looks nice.

My budget is around $1000

I'm thinking I'll need around 1gb of ram, but i'm not sure what kind, or from who. As for video and mobo, well, that's where I need help

 

[Maxiius]

I need to upgrade three things (primarily). The mobo, video, and memory.

4... CPU 8)

 

[hamstu]

ROFL

How could I...

Yeah, I might need one of those too eh?

 

[zyzplasmaz]

i recommend a new hd also, and maybe a dvd burner (and you might as well get a new pc then )
look at www.newegg.com
you can get an antec case with power supply for $60 or so, athlon 64 3200 is like 120, motherboard 60, hd 250 for 120 or so, ram 1g for 100 ddr, dvd burner for 50, video card maybe the x1600xt which is 150 or so. good for gaming and dvd playback though other people might recommend the 6800gs for a little more but it's up to you.
optical mouse if you dont have one $10
these prices are off the top of my head though.
let me give you a quick run down of compatibility, amd system, i dont know about intel:
power supply make sure it's atx2.01 (it has 20+4 or 24 pins) you probably want 350w min. not sure what your current 400w psu is so it could be good or it could be crap.
motherboard for athlon 64 get socket 939. make sure it has pci-express and SATA.
cpu amd athlon 64 3200 is probably good. i recommend this over the sempron.
ram is ddr400 not ddr2. amd dont use ddr2 (yet). try and get 2x1gig if you can afford it. better for graphics design.
hd i recommend at least 200g and sata though ide can still work.
dvd burner 40-50
video card - make sure it is pci-express. it'll have better upgrade options
sorry i didnt give exact parts, but that's half the fun you can check other threads for their build and work off that if you want

 

[PJ101]

OCZ Titanium 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail
$252.41 ($217.41 after $35.00 Mail-In Rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227056

AMD Opteron 165 1GHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor-Retail 325.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103588

DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $122.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136152

There that's $665.40.. tons of cash left for a graphics card I'd suggest a 7800gt ($300... Gigabyte makes a nice one with a nice quiet cooler), 7800gtx($400), or maybe an x1800xt($350)... basically anything on this page
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048+1068609623+1069609641+1068509619+1068409614+1068909627+1295318922&Subcategory=48&description=&srchInDesc=&minPrice=200&maxPrice=450

That build will handle anything... if you want to save money you could change the processor to single core such as a 3500 and up. Also you could get value ram, if you are lucky and get it from corsair or such it could overclock well. The mobo is a must, its rock solid. A graphics card is totally your choice.. i prefer Nvidia, but that is just me. Any DX9 card with at least 16pipes and a decent clock speed and amount of memory will handle games or general use.

 

[hamstu]

Thanks for the great suggestions guys

 

[hamstu]

Should I splurge for the Opteron, or would an AMD 64 3200+ suffice?

 

[hamstu]

Thanks, I'll likely go with the Opteron then.

 

[sojrner]

OCZ Titanium 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail
$252.41 ($217.41 after $35.00 Mail-In Rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227056

AMD Opteron 165 1GHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor-Retail 325.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103588

DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $122.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136152

There that's $665.40.. tons of cash left for a graphics card I'd suggest a 7800gt ($300... Gigabyte makes a nice one with a nice quiet cooler), 7800gtx($400), or maybe an x1800xt($350)... basically anything on this page
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048+1068609623+1069609641+1068509619+1068409614+1068909627+1295318922&Subcategory=48&description=&srchInDesc=&minPrice=200&maxPrice=450

Ya, you can get corsair value ram at newegg for ~$150 and if you are not going to oc you can do great with that. Also, the athlon x2 3800 is about $50 cheaper than the opteron... faster but less L2 cache.

Both those suggestions are only if $ is really an issue. Regardless, that system is solid for what you want to do... you will be very happy.