Time to upgrade and I am really lost

[EONVirus]

Hi Everyone,

Been a while since I've been here. Well I thought that I would start using my desktop again instead of my laptop. So I reformatted, cleaned things up and found that it has become a gutless wonder. This rig was originally built about 7 years ago and now it cannot handle my workload. I am primarily a web designer/developer using Photoshop, Dreamweaver, a couple browser sessions and Outlook 2010 all at the same time. I was thinking about getting into some light gaming as free time allows. My buddy told me I should get an AMD FX-8350, but that seems a little overkill for what I am doing. I know I'm going to have to replace my CPU, motherboard and RAM. I would like to keep all of that as far under $500 as possible and still be able to run the applications I mentioned. Any recommendations would be appreciated as I have been out of the hardware market for some time.

Current Specs:

• 
  ■ Windows 7 Ultimate
  ■ AMD Athlon 64 3800+ (2.4GHz)
  ■ ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe AM2 Motherboard
  ■ 3GB RAM
  ■ Zotac GeForce GT 520 1GB
  ■ Antec 550w Power Supply

Thank you,
Matt

 

[kirilmatt]

For your workload any CPU should work, if you want to go AMD then I'd say go with the FX-6350. It has to be the beat value CPU out there. It costs around 130 I think. I can't really help you for motherboard too much, but it mostly depends on overclocking and sli/xfire, stick around 100 or so, 500 is an easy budget without upgrading the GPU! Will you be overclocking?

 

[EONVirus]

Hi kirilmatt,

Thank you for you input. I have no plan to overclock; I'm not sure there would be much benefit with the applications. I might go with SLI if whenever I decide to upgrade the video card.

Cheers,
Matt

For your workload any CPU should work, if you want to go AMD then I'd say go with the FX-6350. It has to be the beat value CPU out there. It costs around 130 I think. I can't really help you for motherboard too much, but it mostly depends on overclocking and sli/xfire, stick around 100 or so, 500 is an easy budget without upgrading the GPU! Will you be overclocking?

 

[8350rocks]

This is what I would do:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1479y
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1479y/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1479y/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor ($129.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Asus M5A99X EVO R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($117.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: PNY 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($57.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $305.96
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-07 21:19 EDT-0400)

If you can swing it, G.Skill or Corsair memory runs a bit more...though if you're not overclocking RAM, PNY is fine.

 

[kirilmatt]

Hi kirilmatt,

Thank you for you input. I have no plan to overclock; I'm not sure there would be much benefit with the applications. I might go with SLI if whenever I decide to upgrade the video card.

Cheers,
Matt

For your workload any CPU should work, if you want to go AMD then I'd say go with the FX-6350. It has to be the beat value CPU out there. It costs around 130 I think. I can't really help you for motherboard too much, but it mostly depends on overclocking and sli/xfire, stick around 100 or so, 500 is an easy budget without upgrading the GPU! Will you be overclocking?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157262
Well this motherboard looks like something I'd recommend, SLI, Xfire, USB 3.0 and sata 3, I'd say go with fx 6350 or 8320, your choice! Both are very solid options

 

[EONVirus]

Hi 8350rocks,

Thank you for the parts list, that really helps. Those prices seem right in line with what I was hoping for.

Cheers,
Matt

This is what I would do:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1479y
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1479y/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1479y/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor ($129.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Asus M5A99X EVO R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($117.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: PNY 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($57.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $305.96
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-07 21:19 EDT-0400)

If you can swing it, G.Skill or Corsair memory runs a bit more...though if you're not overclocking RAM, PNY is fine.

 

[EONVirus]

Hi kirilmatt,

Nice looking motherboard. Thank you for the suggestion.

Cheers,
Matt

Hi kirilmatt,

Thank you for you input. I have no plan to overclock; I'm not sure there would be much benefit with the applications. I might go with SLI if whenever I decide to upgrade the video card.

Cheers,
Matt

For your workload any CPU should work, if you want to go AMD then I'd say go with the FX-6350. It has to be the beat value CPU out there. It costs around 130 I think. I can't really help you for motherboard too much, but it mostly depends on overclocking and sli/xfire, stick around 100 or so, 500 is an easy budget without upgrading the GPU! Will you be overclocking?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157262
Well this motherboard looks like something I'd recommend, SLI, Xfire, USB 3.0 and sata 3, I'd say go with fx 6350 or 8320, your choice! Both are very solid options

 

[montosaurous]

For your workload an A10-6800k, 8GB RAM and A85x motherboard would be more than enough. I'd also grab an SSD. They're excellent for productivity. I was a little disappointed by mine at first, but now I don't think I could live without it.

 

[EONVirus]

Hi montosaurous,

Thanks for the idea. Not sure I need the onboard video with the external card as it is. Nice combo though.

Cheers,
Matt

For your workload an A10-6800k, 8GB RAM and A85x motherboard would be more than enough. I'd also grab an SSD. They're excellent for productivity. I was a little disappointed by mine at first, but now I don't think I could live without it.

 

[montosaurous]

Hi montosaurous,

Thanks for the idea. Not sure I need the onboard video with the external card as it is. Nice combo though.

Cheers,
Matt

For your workload an A10-6800k, 8GB RAM and A85x motherboard would be more than enough. I'd also grab an SSD. They're excellent for productivity. I was a little disappointed by mine at first, but now I don't think I could live without it.

The onboard video of the A10-6800k is a little better, but not too much. If you don't want an APU then an FX 6300 would be a little better, though AM3+ boards are a little more expensive than FM2 boards.

 

[EONVirus]

Hi montosaurous,

Thanks for the non-APU suggestions. I'll have to take a look at that one.

Cheers,
Matt

Hi montosaurous,

Thanks for the idea. Not sure I need the onboard video with the external card as it is. Nice combo though.

Cheers,
Matt

For your workload an A10-6800k, 8GB RAM and A85x motherboard would be more than enough. I'd also grab an SSD. They're excellent for productivity. I was a little disappointed by mine at first, but now I don't think I could live without it.

The onboard video of the A10-6800k is a little better, but not too much. If you don't want an APU then an FX 6300 would be a little better, though AM3+ boards are a little more expensive than FM2 boards.