If you had $500-800 to sink into this system, where would you put it?

[ajsellaroli]

If you had about 800 dollars to sink into this system, what would you get? It turns out I just recieved 4000 dollars from the goverment as far as grants go. up until now, my tuition/books for college have only cost me 2000 dollars. Soooo..as I use this computer for homework it seems it's ok with the folks at the financial aid offices if I spend the money on 'educationally related' things, and you guys KNOW how i need my microsoft word FAST! lol no seriously though, I'm on the school newspaper as a photographer, and I do need photoshop/lightroom to run well too, its not just for gaming

Here's the system:
Monitor: dell 2005fpw 20"
PSU: Antec Earthwatts EA430
e2180 proc
gigabyte ds3l mobo
4gb g.skill rm
visiontek 3870
250gb barracuda hd
lite-on dvdburn
Windows XP
ball mouse (ew)
Gateway 2000 keyboard (double ew)

Ok, so I'm thinking definitely get a mouse. what do you think of the logitech g5? Then definitely get a new keyboard. I don't know what to get there - suggestions? I'm also thinking I should get another hard drive, as I already have 60gb of photos, and I"m taking more every day. Then I was thinking I should replace that stock heatsink with a better one before I overclock, but which one? As for the rest of the money, I'd like to get software. Through educational discounts, I can get Photoshop CS3 Extended right now for $175. I can get Adobe Lightroom for $95. Any other software you can recommend? Any other stuff in general you would recommend i haven't even thought of?

thanks

 

[rockbyter]

Monitor. A system is only as good as what you can see. The more real estate the better for Documents or images, etc. Go 2 monitors if you like the one you have.

 

[theone117]

First off I would definitely upgrade the cpu. Depending on where you live you can get the q6600 for $200 at microcenter. Depending on whether you overclock or not I would spend $45 for a brand new zalman 9700 cooler to overclock the q6600 to at least 3.2 ghz. But if you want the best heatsink out there then get thermalright 120 extreme ($60) and a scythe fan ($15). The mouse looks good, but maybe a little pricey and for a keyboard you should browse newegg until you find one that you like. Also depending on the the degree you game you might want to get a gigabyte ds4 x38 motherboard, since it supports crossfire.

q6600 $200
zalam 9700 $45
x38 ds4 (optional) $205
mouse+keyboard $60
photoshop $175
lightroom $95

total $780

 

[deathsycthehe11]

and what graphic card would he use???? I wouldn't go for a quad with that budget.

 

[cisco]

LG has an excellent 22inch with 10,000:1 Contrast at Best Buy.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8739118&st=LG&type=product&id=1201913867539

 

[nuklep1]

and what graphic card would he use???? I wouldn't go for a quad with that budget.

He already has 3870

He is just asking what to spend 800 bucks on given what he already has.

-I would surely recommend a QuadCore (q6600 in this case) ~$200 - 250
-a good heatsink. Zalman 9700 would do good $45
-How about a solid PSU (If you do not have one already) ~$130 avg (don't really know what kind of upgrade if any you'll need). If you do need to upgrade psu, don't wait for a bargain, their prices fluctuate tiny bit and rarely.

-Your software + kb + mouse $370


Total: ~ $795

 

[SuicideSilence]

I say a new keyboard/mouse, new Heat sink/fan, (same cpu), another HDD, maybe a new screen, (depends on what kind you have now).
Since you collect so many pictures, and have so much money to spend, I would consider putting 2 HDD in raid (mirror) as a back up, in case one drive fails.
You said you were going to overclock. If you do so up till around 3.3 GHZ you shouldnt need a quad core, or maybe you will, depends on what you really think you need.

Example,

Thermalright Ultra-120 CPU Cooling Heatsink - Retail $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835109125

Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120mm Case Fan - Retail $20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185006

Logitech G15 $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126034

Logitech G5 $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104076

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM (x2) $220
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288

=$440, use the rest on software/ new screen. (If you need one)

 

[ajsellaroli]

I was thinking the exact same thing about the CPU. That is probably the weakest link in my system right now. I upgraded my original post, I'm sorry I forgot to say what monitor and PSU I have.
I have the Antec Earthwatts ea430 psu
and I have a Dell 2005FPW 20" monitor. I actually do like this monitor. I don't really know how it compares to others, but it seems quite large, and I think I like it. Maybe I'll get another, that'd be really cool.

I would like a quad-core processor, would it help tremendously with photoshop cs3? I am a little surprised you guys are saying go quad core, I thought the 'geek consensus' was that not enough programs fully utilized quads to make them worth the money. Why shouldn't I go with an e8400?

I like the look of that logitech g15 keyboard, looks sweet

No, I'm not really considering crossfire, I'm not that into gaming. My radeon 3870 handles games pretty well at 1680x1050 res, I'm happy with it for now

Whew, I think I've addressed everything, thanks alot for the suggestions thus far, keep them coming. Oh, and make sure to answer my question about quads or duals

 

[SuicideSilence]

Have you considered more Harddrive space?

 

[FrozenGpu]

Actually most of these idiots :lol: , haven't actually done the basic amount of research to say that a quad core actually helps in photoshope, if u refer to this link:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/247939-28-buyers-guide-open

go to section 3.1, it says this:

"As an example of quad core vs dual core performance, we will compare an Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6800 (Quad core) to an Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 (Dual core) both running at the identical stock clock speed of 2.93GHz

Toms Hardware Guide provides the following results.
Results in red indicate a significant improvment in performance using a quad core CPU
Results in blue indicate no significant improvment in performance using a quad core CPU "

a little further into it:

"Photoshop CS3 filtering 69mb tif (time in minutes)
Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6800 (Quad core): 1.39
Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 (Dual core) : 1.40

So in other words don't listen to all the guys recommending a quad-core they probably more or less are part of that mentality, well I have a quad-core and I use it for gaming and its uber good, so everyone else should use it...

now in the future [who knows how long] [don't say you know when b/c in most cases you would be lying] there actually might be more justification to use a quad core but as it is right now, for what you do, no, you are better off going with something else...

Did you o/c your e2180? and if you did what did you overclock it too, b/c the only area where that CPU is weak is in cache, an E8400, or even a E3110 would be great in this arena. If you feel it is sluggish you could always push it a little further. So 6MB of cache compared to 1MB might make a bigger difference that you might be able to actually account for, and the fact that you could take the Wolfdale's further, like 4ghz or higher, makes them better for what you do [at least the gaming end of it]...Just take into account that if it feels sluggish, then you might wanna upgrade it but to be honest you won't notice a huge difference going from an Allendale to a Conroe, but it might be more apparent when going from an Allendale to a Wolfdale...

I would recommend you do a little more research as I pulled that CPU guide from the THG forums...so I assume you could find more information than you could point a stick at, if you just looked for it.
[:kentuckyranger:1] [:kentuckyranger:1]

As for the monitor, if you like the one you got, just get another one, or get a bigger/better one. The keyboard & mouse are all up to you, I personally like straight forward laser mice like the Microsoft 6000
[ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826105183 ], it feels pretty good and is quite comfortable to use for hours on end.

 

[chuckm]

This cooler comes with a fan and performs almost as well as the Ultra 120;
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?SCriteria=BA24691

 

[random1283]

Have you oced your cpu, if not get the Heatsink upgrade recommended but if your upgrading the cpu, like frozen gpu said just get a 8*00 or 3110 instead of a quad

 

[ajsellaroli]

OK guys, I'm sorry I have to ressurect this post, but I need some help. I posted a couple days ago in the Software section, looking for some help, but it turns out nobody ever goes there, so I might as well come in here.

My question: Is it legal to download software from Limewire, or any other place (such as bittorent, etc). Is it legal to download music?

Here's my dilema: I want photoshop, lightroom, premier pro, and an antivirus program. I am sort of ok with paying for them, as I get an extreme educational discount (I can get CS3 Production Premium for $314 bucks. It includes Photoshop cs3 extended, Premier Pro, after effects pro, flash pro, illustrator, soundbooth, encore, bridge, dynamic link, device central, and adobe acrobat connect). I think it normally costs like $2500 or something. I know photoshop cs3 extended is $1000 all by itself, so I think this is a great deal.

Back to the point - I am ok with paying for it, but I don't want to if I don't have to. Is there any legal place to download free software like this?

Thanks

 

[FrozenGpu]

technically speaking...no.

But just bit torrent it, I wouldn't worry too much about the legalities of it, as long as you kind of keep it on the d-lo...

 

[ajsellaroli]

Hmm..any other opinions on software? I would rather do it legally..I'm not really interested in keeping it on the d-low - thanks for trying though

I think I'm going to make a poll asking how many of you actually buy your software. What sort of answers would I get? I'm starting to think that the majority of people on here probably just bittorent their software, am I right?

 

[angry_ducky]

I would definitely go for a second monitor; try and get an identical one (or as close as possible) to your current monitor. Here's why:

-Both monitors have the same resolution. This means that you can "combine" the horizontal resolution of both monitors (I.E. with two 19" monitors, you get 2560 x 1024; 1280 x 2 = 2560).

-Windows stretched between both monitors will be the same size on both monitors.

-The monitors are the same physical size (It's annoying to have 1 monitor be larger than the other; the screens are in different places, etc. Trust me; I usually run a 19" and a 15" monitor and the physical disparity is annoying).

As you mentioned, I'd spend the rest of your money on software and peripherals. Hooray for student discounts!

And if you really feel the desire to do so, buy a better CPU cooler and OC that sucker.

 

[FrozenGpu]

Hmm..any other opinions on software? I would rather do it legally..I'm not really interested in keeping it on the d-low - thanks for trying though

I think I'm going to make a poll asking how many of you actually buy your software. What sort of answers would I get? I'm starting to think that the majority of people on here probably just bittorent their software, am I right?

dude, what do you think?

you ask that in such a manner that is either disturbing or is borderline intrusive...

You asked is there anyway to obtain it legally w/o paying for it, dude no...there isn't such a manner, unless of course if your college/work/parents/b1tch gives it to you for free...

People who have more money will generally buy it b/c they can, while the rest of us, who scrounge just for the cost of hardware, will usually feel, that since there is away to get around paying for software, why shouldn't we?

I honestly recommend you not make such a poll, as to people who are bright enough to know that you can get a lot of that software you mentioned for free, know that you don't talk about it, b/c just is common knowledge and there is no use in attracting un-wanted attention...

Jesus Christ...this thread is like watching a bunch of retards trying to hump a doorknob...

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[doomsdaydave11]

I'm one of them poor kids... but I still pay for my software. Then again I use Linux.

If I were to upgrade anything, I would get a Q6600, add a G15, G5, and a 24" Monitor, and there you go. I would wait a bit to upgrade your GFX card though.