Computer Upgrade

P

Proximity

Geek Trainee
I am finally after 5 years am going to upgrade :)This will be my second PC I will build. I am a graphic designer, 3d Modeler, and avid gamer.Thoughts, Suggestions, and advice is suggested. Thanks

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-M61P-S3 Socket AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 ATX AMD Motherboard
Ram: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Case: Antec Performance One P180B Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel for durability through the majority of chassis 1.0mm cold rolled steel around the 4 x HDD area ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
PowerSupply: OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply 100 - 240 V
Video Card: EVGA 640-P2-N821-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card
 
That looks like a really good build. Depending on the size of the files you use for modeling, you may want to have a 2nd drive tossed in there for business, but otherwise, that should serve you well.
 
Thanks, that sounds like a good idea. After searching and exploring more rigs I will add details of things I plan on changing. Suggestions and feedback would be excellent. :D

Changed : Red
Suggestions: Blue

Case: Silverstone TJ07
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower 850W W0131RU
Motherboard: ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce SPP 100 ATX
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz Socket AM2 Processor
Memory: G.SKILL Value Series 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
Video Card: EVGA 640-P2-N821-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card
Hard Drives: 2 Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
Keyboard: (I heard bad things about Microsoft Keyboards and Mice)
Mouse:
Operating System: Windows Vista Ultimate

I am hoping I can have a decently quiet system, any tips on that would be great.
 
Your choice of Case and PSU are rock solid. You might even look at Silverstone for the PSU though. They break records when it comes to stability on the voltage.

The motherboard you changed to won't work though. It's the wrong socket. For that CPU you have to have a socket AM2 board. Your original choice would be just fine.

The CPU is fine, but be warned that it will suck up some serious power. Under full load, it can draw 135 Watts.

The RAM you switched to will never work for your work. It also won't work in the first motherboard. Look into some good RAM like Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800. Newegg has it for really cheap right now. You can get 2x 1GB for 100$ after rebate.

Unless you're going to do some serious overclocking, water cooling will be a giant waste of money. Even with OCing, this CPU won't go very far. If you want cooling, go with an after market air cooler.

The video card is great, but with the work you do, I'd even go up to the 8800 GTX 768MB version.

I'm personally just not a big enough audiophile to worry with a sound card any more. On board sound these days is fine.

The HDDs are fine.
 
For the Motherboard I would like to go with Asus instead of Gigabyte, just a personal preference.

Memory: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
Motherboard: ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
Video Card: EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card

I would also like a nice temperature inside the case, if anybody can help me out on that it would be great.
 
That's a good motherboard. The RAM and vid card are also great choices. If you're really worried about case temps then do a google search for the the name of whatever case you're looking for plus review. It'd look like this in the search field:
"Thermaltake Tsunami"+review
You'll come up with thousands of results that will pick apart that case and tell you everything you want to know about it, including how good it's air flow is.
The Tsunami actually rates very well in that area by the way.

-Crom
 
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