Buy or Build? E6600 or Q6600 machine from older PC. Help!

[Scott99999]

Hello,

I do a decent share of gaming (UT2004) and a heavy amount of professional digital imaging (Photoshop, etc...).

Lately, my PC feels like it's crawling as I edit large files, and I need to upgrade ASAP, since I'm working on a book project with gigs of digital images to edit.

My current rig:
Windows XP
3.06 GHz Intel
1GB Crucial RAM (not sure what, DDR2 I think)
Antec Truepower 550
Intel reference mobo D845PESV
Radeon X850 (AGP)
TDK DVDRW 880N
(4) Western Digital 1200JBs
Creative Soundblaster Audigy
Black Antec steel case
Two external 500GB firewire drives

Anyway!

I've been thinking about an E6600 or Q6600 system. I've built my own systems before, but I can't say that I enjoy it that much. My last build ended up in a RAM / motherboard mismatch and it took me forever to figure out the problem because they were "supposed" to work together. That resulted in many wasted $$$$$ in returned / replaced / swapped items.

THAT said, I'm open to a new build.

Budget: $700-$800

Choices:

1. Buy a system from a reliable (high feedback) seller on eBay driven by the processor (Dell discounted system or custom build)
2. Build a system from scratch and try to utilize my available parts (my power supply, etc..)
3. Buy a barebones or motherboard combo.


*HELP* and *THANKS!!!!!*

 

[qw3r7yju4n]

digital imaging....it's a no brainer, get the quad and upgrade your gpu later. get a midrange maybe an 8600. or if you like the idea of HTPC go with a 2600xt. keep the power supply, and if your ram is DDR2 then just get another 1GB and you should be good.

you could get and P35 mobo and quad, gig of ram for round about 600 spend alitlle more and get yourself a video card bam your done.

 

[Scott99999]

OK, I went to NewEgg and after trolling the other threads, this is what I came up with for $1100 with $70 or so in rebates. It's a bit over my budget at around $1000, but survivable if there's a quality increase. I could probably sell the video card for $50 in ebay.

*KEEP*
Antec Tower case
Antec TruePower 550W power supply (enough? )
Creative Soundblaster Audigy
Belkin Wireless N networking card
Windows XP
Firewire drives (obviously)

*BUY*

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$74.99

EVGA 640-P2-N825-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16
$394

Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
$109.99

GIGABYTE GA-P35C-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
$159.99

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80562Q6600 -
$289

Any thoughts?

 

[monst0r]

dont get that 8800gts if all your doing is playing ut04 and photoshopping. if i were you i'd get an 8600gt maybe a 7900gs..but possibly passively cooled if your into that sort of thing.

an 8800gts 640mb is definetly way overkill for what you need..save a few bucks and upgrade next summer when the real dx10 gets kicking.

also if you still want to spend that much i would look into a larger HDD maybe 500gb or a raid 0 + 1 array(if the pics are important). you would notice a big improvement if you go raid 0

i recommend:
289$ c2quad

129$ gigabyte p35-ds3r (save a few bucks from the p35c-ds3r, by the time you will want ddr3 ram you'll need a new system anyway..)

109$ crucial ram you listed

108$ 2600xt
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131059

110$ WD 500gig
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073

total:745$

 

[Scott99999]

Thanks!

One reason why I'm considering the better video card is the fact that Half Life Episode 2 and Unreal Tournament III are on the horizon. I considered just getting a "budget" card for now, but since we're pretty close to the fall/winter season, it's a tough call.

Thanks for the feedback. The RAID is a good idea. I'm thinking that I'll be saving off things to the external drives and just trying to maintain good backup practices, but I'm also thinking that RAID is something to consider.