Upgrade to SSD vs new PC

[Auro]

Hi all,

My wife as agreed to let me upgrade my Drive to SSD(s), however she keeps asking whether it would be better in the long run to get a new PC, compared to just upgrading the HD.

I can certainly see her point, however I'm just not sure that I need the new MOBO, CPU, and faster memory.

Yes, My Dell XPS430 is older, but it seems to do what I need.
http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/dell-xps-430-121b/4505-3118_7-33512961.html

I've upgraded:
Video: ATI Radeon HD 4850 x2 (I love my 3 monitors)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102809

Power Supply: (Can't remember the brand, I believe it was a 700W)

Memory: 12G 1333 DDR3 (Yes, the machine takes 12G, even though Dell says it only takes 8G)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104333

Sound: creative soundblaster x-fi
http://us.store.creative.com/Creative-Sound-Blaster-XFi-Xtreme-Audio/M/B000W7PNZI.htm

Onboard is an Intel ICH9r controller:
http://www.intel.com/content/dam/doc/datasheet/io-controller-hub-9-datasheet.pdf

And my HDD is 7200 RPM, 750 Gig
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145166


So, in short -- Do I supplement my HDD with 3 -4 SSD (Considering Raid 5 or 10 (depending on SSD costs) using the onboard ICH9r), or get a new system?

Additional info:
Approximate Purchase Date: Flexible, depends on answers. SSD's may be in next 3 months.

Budget Range: 800ish, more if a new system is recommended, but still in 1500 range (USD)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: WOW, other gaming, Television recording / watching, browsing, occasional .net programming

Are you buying a monitor: No



Parts to Upgrade: HDD -> SSD, or trash the system and get new.
SSD will get Win, system utilities, game binaries. existing suplemental HDD = Media files etc...

Do you need to buy OS: yes, Planning on installing Win8 (Currently on Vista home)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: flexible, have used newegg in the past.

Location: Portland Oregon Area

Parts Preferences: if you have recomendations, I'm very willing to listen

Overclocking: Current CPU isn't capable

SLI or Crossfire: Crossfire Not enabled

Your Monitor Resolution: 3@ 1920 x1080


And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: ok... I admit, I don't "Need" to upgrade, but I'm tired of being the last person in my WOW raids to load the instances. Besides, faster is better, isn't it? (Don't tell my wife these are the reasons though)

Thanks all!

 

[scorpinock2]

Hey, I totally believe that SSD will give you a huge speed boost you are looking for. I myself upgraded to a Seagate momentus XT, a hybrid SSD (500 GB normal harddrive and 4GB SSD) and it's a breeze The Seagate drive preloads what you use the most at certain times (EX; Program files, boot files) and the speed is blazing, I do know however, that an SSD would have EVEN MORE performance. I would say go for 2 big SSD's in raid 0 or 1 (it really depends on how much data protection you want, if you have an external HDD then just go with raid 0 for better speed and have the external backing stuff up). I would also say a motherboard upgrade, your CPU is great, but just like my Phenom II x6 1035T, the stock speed of 2.5 Ghz doesn't cut it anymore, even though newer processors would out perform your processor at the identical speed, with a new motherboard and an aftermarket cooler you could get to a 3 Ghz speed easily, and overclock lower speed RAM at the same time. Just make sure you have case cooling. If you don't want any of that I would still recommend the dual SSD's.

 

[Poltregeist]

You might want to upgrade, yet keep the monitors of course. Here is what I was able to come up with.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($114.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.29 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($124.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($100.70 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card (CrossFire) ($231.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card (CrossFire) ($231.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.98 @ Outlet PC)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $1130.86
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-17 13:16 EST-0500)


Best I could do for the performance you wanted. In reality, you should save up for this. SO much better performance compared to the dual 4850s you are running now. Just transfer over your hard drive and you are set!