Need advice w/ choosing up to date hardware for business pc

Hello, my name is Scott and this is my first post on this forum. I know that this thread is very long, and hopefully not too intimidating. I figured that a little time writing up this thread will save me weeks of research on my own. Should you take the time to read it, I promise that any advice towards the selection of hardware for this new computer is greatly appreciated.

Here it goes:

Over the past 10 years I have built approximately one dozen computers from the ground up for family & friends. I feel that I have a decent “general” idea of what I’m doing.

Now within the past 3 years I’ve started up a small ecommerce business. I am in a situation where I’m doing more multi-tasking than ever before and my current pc is starting to show its age (can't keep up with the latest software and I multi-task beyond its capabilities).

The last format happened about 6 months ago, so just last week I did a fresh format & reinstall of window xp pro to the entire pc. This “temporarily” helped to improve performance.

I say temporarily, because once all of the current windows updates were downloaded and all of the programs were installed, it went back to being pre-format slow. That is even with the system running “lean”.

I specifically go into “msconfig” and limit the amount of programs that open during computer start-up. So the computer is running as lean as possible when it first starts up. Even with just the bare minimum of programs running, after some time (depending on usage – it ranges from 30 minutes to a few hours) of using the computer, it bogs down to where it will take over 15-20 seconds sometimes to open just 1 internet browser page or over 30 seconds to open a larger program (Corel Draw or Outlook). I know that it isn’t that the computer is slowing down, but with the workload demand increasing it is just too much for the dated computer components.


I had built the pc from the ground up approximately 4-5 years ago. At the time, I did weeks of research and tailored every component of this computer to fit my needs.

At the time, this was approximately a $1500-1700 pc. It was not considered a “premier top of the line” computer however it was still on the cutting edge and very fast at the time.


Here is a general list of components from my current pc:

os – Windows xp pro
ps - Allied model al-b450eatx max 450w
mobo - Soyo Dragon Ultra Platinum P4x400
cpu - P4 2.53 – not overclocked (for stability reasons)
sc - Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum
vc - Asus V9280 Ti4200-8x GPU 275 MHz Memory 600MHz DDR; 128 Mb
hd1 – 3 partitions Western Digital WD1200JB 120gb 8mb cache 7200rpm ATA100
hd2 – 3 partitions - pretty sure it is a Maxtor L01Y300 300gb 7200rpm ATA100
ram – (within the past 6 months I upgraded the ram to) 2 sticks of OCZ 1024 pc3200 EL Dual Ch Platinum Edition 2-3-2-5 (2048mb total)
Ethernet – 3com NIC – pci slot
cooling - Digital Doc 5 - 5 case fans - 2 hdd coolers -
dvd drive - generic compusa "rebate special" hi-val
cd burner - generic compusa "rebate special" hi-val
pci card 4 port usb expansion – I added this because the SOYO mobo only came with a couple usb slots in the rear. Those were quickly used up, and I didn’t want to run cables to the front of the computer for permanent devices like the printer or wireless keyboard / mouse.


Multi-tasking:

Almost all of the functions of this next computer are being built around managing my small ecommerce business. The new computer needs to be capable of efficiently running many programs at one time. Multi-tasking is what is killing the speed of this current computer.

For example, on a work day, here is what would be running on the computer at any given time. Several Word / Excel documents, Several windows explorer pages, at least 1-2 dozen internet explorer pages, CorelDraw 12 for light photo editing (resizing, adding watermark to pictures, etc..), ws_ftp for uploading / downloading to website, winamp internet radio, Outlook, transferring data between 2 internal hard drives, and more...






Now here are some detailed specs about this next computer:

For the most part, I would like to leave this current computer intact and build the new computer from the ground up. Two exceptions are the Audio card and the ram. Please read below:


Audio:

One exception is the Soundblaster audigy 2 platinum card & Audigy front 5.25 I/O Drive could be removed from this current computer and used with the new computer. The reason for this is 2 fold.

1. I want a good performing sound card with the next computer. I have a very nice sounding 5 channel Logitech speaker set which I currently use in my office as a theater for watching DVD’s on the TV. Even when I’m just listening to internet radio, I would still like to have it running through my Logitech speakers. Also, one important fuction of the Audigy 2 platinum card is that it has the 5.25” I/O drive that fits in the front of the computer. I really like this feature for connecting headphones or an MP3 player right on the front of the computer. Even if the next computer has a high quality onboard audio card, that alone is not enough. It still needs to have the features that I’m used to with the front 5.25 I/O drive.

Now, I looked into the soundblaster x-fi fatal1ty card, but I’m not sure if it is a “worth while expense” upgrade to my current Audigy 2 platinum card. I’m not an audiofile and I’m quite happy with the audio capability of my current system. I don’t think the Audigy 2 platinum card is bogging the system, so is there a need to upgrade this?

2. the reason I can get away with removing the soundcard from this computer and transferring it to the new computer is because the current SOYO mobo has onboard audio. Because the current computer will become just a backup 2nd computer, it will get a set of cheap desktop powered speakers. The onboard audio will be fine for this.


Video:

Although the current computer has onboard video capability, it is only single monitor output. Right now, I’m using a dual monitor setup, and even when this current computer becomes my backup computer, I still want it to have the dual monitors. That means I can’t afford to remove the Asus video card and use the onboard video capability of the Soyo mobo.

By the way, the next computer must also have dual monitor (maybe even triple monitor) capability, so please let me know of a good graphics card that can handle at least dual monitors and also handle some light photo editing work. I am not into gaming, so a mega expensive video card is simply not needed. But I don’t want something that is underpowered either.


Motherboard:

One request which I think is pretty much standard on new mobos is that it must allow for 2 front usb ports. For the new computer case, it will have usb ports on the front, and these need to be able to plug into the mobo. Another factor is that it has enough PCI slots to handle all of the cards.


Processor:

It seems there is much debate but all roads are leading to the new Intel Duo processors. Prices range up to $1000+ for a processor. I need a good one that will handle plenty of multi-tasking. If I only truly need a $300 processor, I do not care about bragging rights for the $1000 processor. My money is better spent elsewhere.


Hard drive:

I would like for the new computer to have faster hard drives. I believe one of the reasons why this current computer takes so long for programs to load, is because the hard drives are dated. I am currently using up 150gigs of space spread out over 2 ATA100 hard drives each drive being portioned 3 times. Out of the 150 gigs of stuff on the hard drives, only about 50 gigs are “active” (30 gigs for operating system & programs “C: drive”, and another 20 gigs for business documents). The remaining 100gigs are just a mix of everything (backup of my website, backup of business documents, mp3’s, etc..) With that explained, on the next computer, would it be worth while to possibly pick up 1 high speed 10,000 rmp SATA drive, and reuse the Maxtor 300gb drive from the current computer. Leaving the current computer to just have the Western Digital 120gb drive, which would be more than enough since it will be just a 2nd computer to access the internet, kids can do homework on it, etc..

Ethernet:

If the new mobo has onboard Ethernet, is it wise to use this or does it pull from the resources of the processor and bog down the system.

Years ago, when I first started building computers, all mobos had external cards. Very few used onboard graphics, sound, internet, etc.. Now it seems that all mobos companies are going with onboard for every function of the computer. My only question to this, is that it would seem as though when everything in onboard, it pulls from the capability of the main processor. Where if each device (sound, audio, internet) had its own card and own processor, it would lessen the load on the main processor and allow for a faster computer in general. Feel free to elaborate about this topic…

Ram:

I’ve always been a believer of going with a proven name brand high quality ram. It seems that ram is so finicky that if you don’t go with something high quality, you’re just asking for trouble. I would like to go with as much ram as possible, but I’m sure it will depend on the brand and type of mobo.

By the way, if the ram in the current computer (as listed above) is up to date, I can afford to remove this ram and use it in the next system. When I upgraded the ram a few months ago, I kept the older 2 sticks of 256 (512 total). It was a very high quality ram, just not enough of it. But because the current computer will be used just as a backup computer, I can resort back to the 512mb and use the current 2048mb ram for in the new system. But I’m guessing this is still a waste of time because the new system will use even more than 2048mb plus I could go with a faster ram as well. Feel free to elaborate about this topic…

Power Supply:

I will need a new power supply, and a good name brand one at that. I want to pick up one with plenty of power to run the system, hard drives, case fans, and whatever other 12v stuff I can pack into the case. What output wattage do you think will be sufficient.


I believe this covers just about everything that I can think of for the time being. Thank you taking the time to read this and posting a reply. –Scott-