How would YOU improve this budget build?

[MOKHAN]

Intentions: light~midrange gaming/video editing in the Adobe Suite

Motherboard: ASUS P5K
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 <------------- replaced my Core 2 Duo E6750 with this
GPU: EVGA GTX 460 SE (Fermi) 1GB <------ replaced my Radeon HD 2400 pro with this
PSU: Cooler master Extreme Power Plus 500w
RAM: 3GB (3x 1GB modules) [Not sure of brand/specifications, assume it is stock]
Case: Generic Mid-tower case [I'll check the specifics when I get home]
OS: Windows XP

My main concern with the build is the power supply. Will it be enough to handle the [overclocked] CPU and GPU? And how important is RAM with respect to overclocking?

 

[zander1983]

To be honest, save a bit more and buy a more up to date machine. CPU, Mobo and Graphic card are all more than 2 generations old.

What is your actual budget? But anyway, this is what I would recommend at a minimum (forget about overclocking, need to get i5 before considering to OC):

Intel System
cpu = Intel G630
motherboard = asus p8h61 / p8b75
RAM = 4GB DDR3 1333 / 1600MHz
gpu = GTX550ti / GTX560 / HD7770 / HD6870
psu = Coolermaster / Seasonic / Corsair 450 - 500w
os = win 7 home premium
case = make sure enough airflow and big enough inside to fit screen card

AMD System 1
cpu = AMD Fusion A8-3870k
motherboard = Asrock A55M
RAM = 4GB DDR3 1333 / 1600MHz
gpu = use built-in cpu graphics chip (think it is a HD6670)
psu = Coolermaster / Seasonic / Corsair 450 - 500w
os = win 7 home premium
case = make sure enough airflow and big enough inside to fit screen card


AMD System 2
cpu =FX-4100 / FX-4170 / FX-6100
motherboard = Asus M5A78 (FX CPU)
RAM = 4GB DDR3 1333 / 1600MHz
gpu = GTX550ti / GTX560 / HD7770 / HD6870
psu = Coolermaster / Seasonic / Corsair 450 - 500w
os = win 7 home premium
case = make sure enough airflow and big enough inside to fit screen card

 

[unksol]

Coolermaster makes horrible PSUs on the low end. The extreme power plus series is particularly bad. I would not recommend using it.

www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Cooler-Master-eXtreme-Power-Plus-500-W-Power-Supply-Review/728/10

 

[kishagi]

Yea you're going to want to get a much better/higher wattage psu for over clocking and that gtx 460 card.

IMHO get 4 P5K mobo:

q9300 core2quad or higher 775 cpu (check ebay)
8gb (4x 2GB) DDR2 800 ram with heat spreader (more expensive than ddr3 ram now)
Radeon HD 6850/6870 graphics cards (intel based chipsets don't support sli at all, only crossfire. check nforce 780i, 790i for sli on 775 socket)
ENERMAX NAXN 82+ 650W 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply (you stil might need a higher wattage)
Cooler Master Hyper 212+ CPU cooler
90gb SATA2 SSD (OS/boot drive)

and thats if your going to keep using the P5K mobo

heres other 775 mobo that are still sold in stores:

ASRock G41M-S3 LGA 775 Intel G41 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-G41MT-S2PT LGA 775 Intel G41 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Foxconn G41MXE LGA 775 Intel G41 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
+
Wintec One 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)
EVGA GTX 460 SE (Fermi) 1GB
ZALMAN CNPS 7500 Cu LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler
SIIG USB 3.0 4-Port PCIe card
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1 PCI Sound Card
ENERMAX NAXN 82+ 650W 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
OCZ Vertex 2 90gb SATA2 SSD

 

[Cjsparky]

What are you using the PC for primarily? There is an argument to be made to not touch the processor if gaming...

Sorry...I should learn to read the first line in your thread...