Feasible Upgrades?

[jygsaw]

Right now, i'm running a system with these:

Q6600
2GB RAM
250GB WD SATA HD
NVIDIA GEFORCE 8600GTS 256MB
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3LR
Some generic 450W PSU

I was wondering if the following would be good upgrades? I have about $350-375 I can spend, so I came up with the following:

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ - Retail $46.99:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - OEM $104.99:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284

EVGA 512-P3-1150-TR GeForce GTS 250 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130468

Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail :
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016

Card & PSU combo price of $159.98

Would those be reasonable/workable upgrades? I'm not looking to do too much hardcore gaming (most likely Last Remnant, Left 4 Dead, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.) and I won't be OCing either. I have Vista 64 I can install (currently using XP32 =\ ).

 

[WR2]

With that CPU and motherboard - a bit of overclocking would be a "natural" upgrade. Especially with a new CPU cooler. Interested?

The rest of your list are worthy upgrades too.
But I think you should check out the new ATI 4770 video card. It's a direct competitor to the GTS 250 and its only $100 after rebate.

I think we can find you a better deal on a PSU too.

 

[typeo]

Unless you plan on having alot of videos, games, music, etc. installed on your machine. You probably could get a smaller HD and spend some more cash on a better GPU or PSU.

One thing you want to make sure is never to cut corners and try to save money on a PSU. Always spend that extra buck to make sure you have a more realiable system. a cheap / bad PSU can cause so many problems in a system.

 

[jygsaw]

I've never done any overclocking before. I tried to read the forum post on here about CPU ocing, but I dunno... I feel like i'm one of those guys that can screw up something in BIOS easily on accident...

What would be a better PSU?

 

[jygsaw]

And I think I DO want to go with the 1TB drive... I end up doing quite a bit of video/photo editing, so all that space sounds nice.

 

[jygsaw]

Also, what're the criticisms on the PSU I chose? Is Antec unreliable when it comes to them?

 

[WR2]

I don't know if its bad - but I also don't know if its good. Antec's reputation for PSUs has been spotty. Some have been very good - others have been stinkers.
Without any technical reviews you don't know which category that PSU falls into. And I can't find any technical reviews on that Antec Basiq 550 Plus.

 

[jygsaw]

How is this PSU?

BFG Tech LS-450 450W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Power Supply $69.99 ($49.99 after MIR):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817702014

 

[Helloworld_98]

i'm pretty sure antec basiq's are their 'crappy' psu for low power builds.

 

[typeo]

If it were me, buying a PSU in your price range I would go with something like this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139003

Free shipping and with MIR it will run you around $65

Could you find a cheaper 450W PSU? Of course, but the last thing you want is a poorly constructed PSU running your system.

 

[WR2]

The BFG Tech LS-450 is a pretty good example of how you can order a PSU with confidence it's a good buy.

JonnyGuru review of the BFG LS 450/550 and HardOCP: BFG LS-450 Power Supply

There are two solid reviews that back that up - having been independently tested by a "trusted reviewer" like HardOCP and JonnyGuru websites. You're not stuck with deciding on if your believe the MFGR's marketing spiel.

I can't fault the Antec Basiq 550 Plus on what I know, it could very well work out OK for you in the long run.

 

[WR2]

Corsair 450VX reviews: JonnyGuru and HardOCP

 

[jygsaw]

Oh awesome... with the Corsair 450VX, that takes me to about $386 after tax and free shipping on everything =D