Upgrade Time $400-500

[BeeBahBoo]

I'm looking to upgrade what I've currently got, or get all new stuff, which ever is going to be better.
I'd like some extra advice deciding on what to do.
Here's what I've put together so far... (I'll try to keep this tidy)

What I've got at present:
Dell Precision 380
Pentium D Smithfield 3GHz
4GB DDR2 RAM
Stock 375W Power Supply, 24 pin + 4 pin eps [I think it's a 4 pin eps?] (which is no where near what I need)
GForce GTS 250 (set with that)
1TB + 750GB internals
Pretty old Sony DVD burner
External Creative Soundblaster x-Fi (I'm getting really tired of creative and their horrible driver support)
500GB External HDD

And that covers the basics.

As far as upgrading what I've got, here's what I'm wanting to do and products I'm looking at:
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II - $85
Power Supply choice 2: SILVERSTONE Strider Essential - $70
Again, with power supply I'm pretty sure what I've got is a 4 pin eps [2x2 4 pins?]

Processor: Intel Pentium D Extreme 965 3.73GHz 775 - $140
That's as good as my current mobo can support, unfortunately.

RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 - $65
Not entirely sure if I can put anything but 800 speed in there. That's what's in there now. Room for 2 more sticks.

HDD: External BUFFALO DriveStation JustStore 2TB - $85
No room for another internal.

Alright, so that put's me at roughly $335. I'd like to stay around $400 with a band-aid-upgrade.

New set ups I'm looking at:

New Rig #1:
$485 (a little more than I'd like to spend honestly... but if it looks like the best option...)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=581638&CatId=4910
GIGABYTE P67A-D3-B3 Intel 6 Series Motherboard
Intel Core i5-2500K BX80623I52500 Unlocked Processor
Corsair Vengeance 4GB DDR3 RAM
Seagate 1.5TB Internal HDD
LG GH24NS50R 24x Internal CD/DVD Drive
Thermaltake V3 Black Edition Mid Tower Case
Diablotek PSDA600 DA Series 600W Power Supply

New Rig #2:
$418
Not sure this link will show you anything
Gigabyte Ga-P43-Es3g Lga775 P43 Ddr2 Mb
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 2.5ghz 4mb
"Heavy Duty Cooler"
4gb Ddr2 Pc2 6400 800mhz Kit 2x2gb Chips (who knows what brand) + the ram I've got now
Delta 700watt Dps-700fb B Power Supply
Case Cooling Fan 80mm (Regular Speed)
Gateway Mid Size Tower W/ Media Reader

Here's where I'm looking at this jalopy if the above link isn't leading anywhere

New Rig #3:
$388+
New Egg has this.
No case or power supply though...

Okay, so I'm sure you can see what I'm wanting.
I'd really like an i5, a core 2 quad would be alright. Power supply is a 550W minimum.
Another 'stipulation' is that there needs to be room for my GTS 250 on the mobo, I've noticed a lot of mobo's that don't have an extra slot above the PCIe x16.
I think that covers everything.
Hope you made it through all of that.
Sorry if it was a mess. My mind is all over the place from looking through countless options etc.

Any advice, comments, tips, etc. would be awesome.
And most importantly, thank you so much for your time.

 

[wintermint]

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice

Buy a reputable brand for a power supply such as Seasonic Antec and Corsair. You don't want to risk your system in any way.

 

[BeeBahBoo]

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice

Buy a reputable brand for a power supply such as Seasonic Antec and Corsair. You don't want to risk your system in any way.

Thanks for sending me to the link; cleaned things up a bit.
I'd really like to get an Antec if I choose to band-aid things, but I can't find one that 1) will fit in my case 2) isn't too expensive and has 24 pin connection + 4 pin eps

 

[wintermint]

1) Those tie thingy
2) Godly cable management
3) Drill holes in your case for better cable management
4) Miracle? lol

 

[spillz1123]

I
I think if you choose new, you wont need a new hard drive, and you want to keep your Gpu right?

and you for sure want an i5 right? what types of tasks will it be used for?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072 i5 219.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157241 MB 59.99

(I'm not sure i understand what you mean by having an extra pci slot above it to fit your video card)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231421 4gb ram 28.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016 PSU 54.99 550watt

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042 59.99 case, I don't know what size or anything you wanted, so i just added this for the price + reviews.

That brings your total to $423, You don't need a new cpu cooler unless you want to overclock your cpu, but you still have $77 to your budget to add somethings, like dvd burner, extra fans for the case, Wireless adapter, ram cooling fans or heat sink, Maybe add a USB 3.0 add on and you would still be inside your budget.

 

[BeeBahBoo]

I
I think if you choose new, you wont need a new hard drive, and you want to keep your Gpu right?

and you for sure want an i5 right? what types of tasks will it be used for?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072 i5 219.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157241 MB 59.99

(I'm not sure i understand what you mean by having an extra pci slot above it to fit your video card)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231421 4gb ram 28.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016 PSU 54.99 550watt

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042 59.99 case, I don't know what size or anything you wanted, so i just added this for the price + reviews.

That brings your total to $423, You don't need a new cpu cooler unless you want to overclock your cpu, but you still have $77 to your budget to add somethings, like dvd burner, extra fans for the case, Wireless adapter, ram cooling fans or heat sink, Maybe add a USB 3.0 add on and you would still be inside your budget.

Yeah, if I go with new I want to keep my GPU it's been serving me well.
If I go with a new system I want an i5, unless there's something better in my price range.
I mainly do gaming. Quite a bit of heavy multi-tasking, Photoshop occasionally.

With the GPU/mobo concern, when I look at pictures (like the mobo you posted) it seems like there isn't enough room above the PCI slot for my card. The analog audio ports look like they'd be in the way. My current mobo has a PCIe x1 slot above my PCI x16 slot, which is covered up by my GPU and unusable.

The components you've put together seem great though. That power supply is actually the one I first looked at. I guess I didn't put 2&2 together and realize that a 20+4 connection is a 20pin connection with a 4 pin 'break-away.'

The dimensions of my current case are 17.6 x 6.8 x 18.4, so I imagine a case like that would do the trick. My only concern with a new case has been the onboard output perfs/usb etc. on my mobo and the slots on the back of the case.

Thank you for your response and time. Greatly appreciated.

 

[spillz1123]

I just ordered that MB, but usually if I am unsure about something I look at the reviews and see what other people have tried and what their systems are.

One such person says he has a Sapphire 5770 card in it, which is also a dual slot pci shown here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102864

So I don't think you will have a problem with that, I don't see why a MB company would make a MB that can't fit well known GPUS anyways.

The other thing is, is your hard drive IDE or Sata? If it's not Sata then you might need new Hard drives, or a different board (probablly cpu 775) which would mean you wouldn't have i5.

 

[BeeBahBoo]

Okay, thanks for clearing that up for me. Just wasn't entirely sure.

Both internals are sata.

Side note: I already have a CPU cooler, it's Dell's, are they compatible with other cpus...
it seems like they should be as long as it's the same mobo.

 

[wintermint]

I
I think if you choose new, you wont need a new hard drive, and you want to keep your Gpu right?

and you for sure want an i5 right? what types of tasks will it be used for?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072 i5 219.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157241 MB 59.99

(I'm not sure i understand what you mean by having an extra pci slot above it to fit your video card)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231421 4gb ram 28.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016 PSU 54.99 550watt

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042 59.99 case, I don't know what size or anything you wanted, so i just added this for the price + reviews.

That brings your total to $423, You don't need a new cpu cooler unless you want to overclock your cpu, but you still have $77 to your budget to add somethings, like dvd burner, extra fans for the case, Wireless adapter, ram cooling fans or heat sink, Maybe add a USB 3.0 add on and you would still be inside your budget.

You suggested an i5-2500k with amazing overclocking capability with H61 which doesn't have overclocking (correct me if I'm wrong but I think only P series and Z series includes overclocking)

 

[spillz1123]

You suggested an i5-2500k with amazing overclocking capability with H61 which doesn't have overclocking (correct me if I'm wrong but I think only P series and Z series includes overclocking)

I see, It seems like it has some basic overclock functions (not sure what they are) http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/ASRock-H61M-U3S3-Motherboard/1287/7

However, it's unclear if he would even want to overclock.

Personally I have thought about getting an i5 next year but wouldn't want to overclock.

 

[BeeBahBoo]

I don't think I'm going to overclock.
I've heard it's like constantly running a car as hard as you can,
in turn causing it to die sooner.
But if I did want to, they're very vague about how that MB can overclock cpu.

 

[BeeBahBoo]

Alright so here's what I've got lined up as of now.
This will be a new rig and not an upgrade.

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz
BIOSTAR TP67XE
Antec BP550 Plus 550W
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 x2

Makes my total ~$470. Make changes as needed (more cost efficient, better components).
So would this set up be better than the rig I posted from TigerDirect?
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=581638&CatId=4910
(the power supply with TD's bundle has awful reviews)

 

[dork_police]

Now as you stated you really want an i5, why go for the 2500k if your not going to overclock?
I would much rather go for a smaller i5 and then put the rest into a decent motherboard/ram

I would buy the following products (if I were in your position):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115076 - i5-2300 $185
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131705 - Asus $155 - you can also use the motherboard you selected
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104221 - Kingston $33x2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016 - Antec $55

That puts you at $461;

 

[BeeBahBoo]

I'm still undecided on whether or not to overclock.
If I got the 3.3Ghz version and overclocked I'd have an awesome processor.

I like the mobo you posted, more usb 2.0 and no eSata, which is fine and better to me.

I've changed to this ram: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
How does the kingston compare?

I've also added the following:
ODD: ASUS x24 Burner
My current burner is IDE. Figured I should just upgrade for $20.
HDD: HITACHI Deskstar 5K3000
I'd like to add at least another TB to my computer. 2TB would be awesome.

So clearly it's going to be hard for me to stay in the $500 range.
With this setup I'm looking at ~580.

 

[imaurer269]

This combo is out of stock but was a pretty decent package for a 2500k with no gpu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.644166

I've used a couple of MSI mobo's with both 2500k builds I've done and don't have any complaints yet here is a cheap p67 & 2500k combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.660241 I just ordered it on sat for a SLI capable GTX 460 build.

This board is sitting in my living room waiting to be built with but has a huge rebate to wait on. I've never used a ECS mobo but willing to give them a try. They have these black series where they are offering 99 hour RMA service. The rebate only has 18 days to be mailed out shorter than the 21 that corsair uses: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135283

 

[BeeBahBoo]

Best answer selected by beebahboo.