Upgrading dads system

[Palurien]

I am looking to upgrade my dads PC to be better for using PS CS3, he is a photo editor. He plans to upgrade to CS 5 soon. He currently had an Asus AM2 board with an Athlon x2 5000+ and 2 Gb DDR2 RAM. His CPU is also running about 48 degrees on stock cooler, which I don't think is good.

All I need to upgrade is the Mobo, CPU, RAM, and HSF. He has a keyboard, monitor, tablet, HDD, 450W PSU, and I have a case for them.

I was thinking about going with PII x4 940 BE http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103644 for the CPU, since I hear DDR3 isnt too much better than DDR2 yet, and its cheaper. I may OC it down the road after I learn a bit more.

For the MOBO I was gonna do MSI 770T-C45 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130270 It cheap and runs DDR2 and AM2+.

For the RAM I was gonna go with Kingston 2x2GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134786 I know CPU is most important for Editing but RAM is 2nd.

Lastly for HSF and Paste I was lookign at Arctic Silver AA http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100014, and CM RR-H101. It not a super good one, but will work, and If I plan to OC I guess I can upgrade to more. Also my CPU is OEM so I am not getting a cooler. But I like the 10+ dollars I save.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

There is absolutely no reason to build a new system around the AM2+ socket and DDR2 RAM. DDR3 RAM is about the same price as DDR2 RAM right now. Have you checked prices lately? What's the budget for the upgrade?

Here's what I would use as a low-cost upgrade:

AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103809

GIGABYTE GA-785GMT-USB3 AM3 AMD 785G HDMI USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128432

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.382180 $217.98 (CPU + motherboard combo)

G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBECO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231321&cm_re=g.skill_ddr3_1600_4gb_cas_7-_-20-231-321-_-Product $119.99

Total - $337.97

This uses a retail chip so you don't need the aftermarket cooler or thermal paste.

If you need to lower the price even more you could get this slower RAM for $11 less.

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBRM $108.99

 

[dndhatcher]

Also you could go with an Athlon II x4 630 for $100 and lower the price while still having a quad core for photo editing.

 

[Palurien]

My budget is around $350 so your response is good shortstuff_mt. Also I would go with Athlon II but they dont have an L3 Cache and I hear it is alot better for editing to have one.

 

[Palurien]

I think only thing I woudl change is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128419 Mobo. I really like the ATX better than MicroATX.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

That motherboard doesn't have an on-board GPU. You didn't mention the GPU in your OP so I assumed you were going to use a motherboard that had an integrated GPU. Here's a combo deal for the 945 and the motherboard you linked to.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.381916

I would still get the 785G board if it was me. It only costs $1 more. Is there a reason you want an ATX motherboard? Do you really need the extra expansion slots?

 

[Palurien]

Yeah, I forgot to mention he has a 9400GTX video card, so hes happy. Mainly need RAM and CPU boosted

 

[batuchka]

$340AR free ship and ya no reason to build with an AM2+ socket Deneb as there Integrated Memory Controller (IMC) is strictly DDR2 only unlike its AM3 cousins (DDR2 and DDR3)