Upgrade - can you get me in the right direction...

70veedub

Distinguished
May 23, 2009
4
0
18,510
Approximate Purchase Date: 1-14 days

Budget Range: Under $500

System Usage from Most to Least Important:
Photography ( Lightroom, Photoshop )
video editing ( Movie Maker )
surfing the internet
watching Netflix, Amazon Prme

Are you buying a monitor: No


Parts to Upgrade:
CPU
mobo
RAM
Storage - * just purchased this PNY Optima 240GB SSD Bundle for $65
OS

**Include Power Supply Make & Model If Re-using PS:
OCZ ModXStream 500W Modular ATX - $35

Do you need to buy OS: Yes
Currently using VISTA OEM,
Not sure if I should just go to Windows 8.1 or go with Windows 7

Preferred Website(s) for Parts:
Newegg ( Shop Runner Member)
Amazon ( prime member )
Best Buy ( local )

Location: Maiden, NC

Parts Preferences:
Would like to stay with AMD brand

Overclocking:
No, but would like to know if its used for anything other than gaming.

SLI or Crossfire:
No, but would SLI help with video editing?

Your Monitor Resolution:
1920x1080

Additional Comments:
Lightroom, Adobe Premier, Movie Maker, may add Sony Vegas Pro soon

Why Are You Upgrading:
5 years and feel that it could be faster.

Selected Parts at this time:
http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/partlist/

CPU: AMD FD6350FRHKBOX FX-6350 FX-Series 6-Core Black Edition

MoBo: ASUS M5A97 R2.0 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD

RAM: Crucial 4GB Kit (2GBx2) DDR3 1333 MT/s (PC3-10600) CL9 Unbuffered UDIMM 240-Pin Desktop Memory Modules CT2CP25664BA1339

GPU: EVGA GeForce 8400 GS 1 GB DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 DVI/HDMI/VGA Graphics Card, 01G-P3-1302-LR
- Newegg was showing $24.99 after a $10 rebate but page is down at this time... I will edit if it comes up. linked Amazon for now.

OS: Windows 8.1 retail at Best Buy for $119.


My Current Build


Processor:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5050e Brisbane
2.6GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 45W Dual-Core Processor - $60

Motherboard:
ASUS M3A78-EM
AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - $79

RAM/Memory:
OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB
(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory $22.50

Graphics Card:
none

HDD:
WD Caviar Black 750GB - $67


Optical Drive:
SAMSUNG Model SH-S223L - $29


Power Supply:
OCZ ModXStream 500W Modular ATX - $35

Case:
Antec 300 Case - $44

OS:
Windows Vista - $110

TOTAL spent: $446.50


 

Darth Rache

Honorable
Jan 8, 2014
626
0
11,160
What is your budget? .... NM i see it now.

ok with your budget here is the option that i would do.

It is 43 dollars over budget, but you can remove the video card and use it as an upgrade route later since the A8 is an APU and has a Graphics processor built in. I would reuse your PSU, Case, and Disk Drive.

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/ztaft/saved/4o3J

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3sNDQ
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3sNDQ/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3sNDQ/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD A8-6600K 3.9GHz Quad-Core Processor ($103.74 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88X-UP4 ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($104.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 750GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($0.00)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 260X 2GB Video Card ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid Tower Case ($0.00)
Power Supply: OCZ ModXStream Pro 500W 80+ Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($0.00)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro (OEM) (64-bit) ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $543.70
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-16 12:24 EDT-0400)
 
Here's my suggested upgrade components. I went with an FX-8320 and an aftermarket CPU cooler so you can overclock the CPU to at least the same speed as the FX-8350. I also went with 8GB of RAM and a decent GPU for GPU acceleration in Photoshop. It's slightly over budget, but would work well for your intended use.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($149.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($35.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($81.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R7 250 1GB Video Card ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $507.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-16 12:36 EDT-0400)