Replacing nearly extinct beast with new PC ... suggestions needed

[Immunoboy]

After almost 7 years, my ancient beast (Tyan Tiger S2460 on XP, Dual Athlon XP 1800+ w/SK6s, 3 X 256 MB REG ECC Crucial Ram) has shown weakness and gives me the odd, random reboot. Its time to upgrade, and I'd appreciate your help.

I value stability and reliability ... I primarily use custom software, but I always have multiple apps open (music, web pages, and some light photoshop and video editing work). No gaming and no overclocking, and I usually order from Newegg.

I have poked around multiple threads and have put together the following system:

ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45
E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) (x2)
Vista 64 Home Premium
Western Digital caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640 GB

Current parts to be reused:
Sony DVD writer
Lian Li PC68 case, mouse/keyboard, monitor

Any obvious problems with what I have?

My specific questions are:
1) Would a 500W PSU be sufficient if I add a hard drive or two in the future? Should I go higher? My current beast has a 7 year old Enermax 430W that has behaved superbly.

2) Any suggestions on a low level graphics card? I don't really game, but I do some light video editing.

3) Will older versions of Phosotoshop and Illustrator work with Vista 64? I'd really like to load up on memory (8 GB) if I can, so that is my primary reason for choosing Vista 64.

4) I'd like to build soon (maybe order in the next week or two), but is there any reason to wait?

Thanks very much for any input.

 

[AshPhoenix]

- I think a 500W PSU is enough since you're not gonna use a powerful graphics card, I suggest this one OCZ Technology 500W StealthXStream

- I suggest this graphics card DIAMOND Viper 3850PE3512O Radeon HD 3850 512MB

- There is a reason to wait, E8400 will be $20 less on 20 July.

 

[Twsmit]

1.) 500 watt should be enough, however if a 550 or 600 is only a few dollars more then it wouldn't hurt to go higher.
2.) Depends on budget, a 4850 is cutting edge with great performance for about $180. If that is too rich for your blood, a 9600GT/GS class video card is around $100 or you could opt for an 8800GS for sub $100. In your case I don't think it really matters.
3.)I would definitely opt for 8GB if you plan on keeping this rig around for 5 or 7 years like your last one. I don't think you will have any trouble with old software, and if by chance you do, you can just run some in a VM.
4.) Only reason to wait would be for Nehalem, but otherwise you are good to go. You might want to consider a quad core if you plan on keeping it around for 7 years like your old machine, otherwise the build looks great.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: Immunoboy

My specific questions are:
1) Would a 500W PSU be sufficient if I add a hard drive or two in the future? Should I go higher?

Originally posted by: AshPhoenix

- I think a 500W PSU is enough since you're not gonna use a powerful graphics card,

Originally posted by: Twsmit

1.) 500 watt should be enough, however if a 550 or 600 is only a few dollars more then it wouldn't hurt to go higher.

DSF will be here shortly...

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: Blain
DSF will be here shortly...

:laugh:

Got up early this morning, too. We'll save that for issue #5 though.

2) Frankly, I think the suggestions made so far in this thread are grossly overpowered. If you're sure you're not gaming or doing other 3D work, then don't pay the premium for a gaming card. This 8600GT should have plenty of oomph for $50 after rebate. It also has the benefit of passive cooling, so you won't have the whine from the fan of a high-performance card. Another option would be ATI's HD3650, which is in the same price range.

4) Intel has price cuts scheduled for Q3 '08, which started at the beginning of July, but there's no official date announced. Last year it was July 22nd, so it could be in a week or two, but then again it might not be. The price of the E8400 is supposed to drop $20, and the price of the E8500 is supposed to drop to the E8400's current $183. Those are the per-chip prices for distributors buying them in trays of 1000, not the price you'll be paying necessarily. (In other words, even after Intel's official price reduction, it may take some time for the savings to reach the consumer.)

1 or 5, however you want to look at it.) Now that we've chosen a video card that's appropriate for what you're doing, we can look at the power requirements. Nvidia recommends a 300W PSU for a system with an 8600GT. Again, that's the entire system, not just the graphics card. A 380-430W PSU would have plenty of power even if you add several hard drives and a coffee maker. If we call it 430W to be on the safe side for future expansion, Newegg has the Antec Earthwatts 430W on sale for $40 after rebate with free shipping.

 

[Immunoboy]

Thanks very much for the input. The old dual rigs (Thunder and Tiger) were picky about a PSU, and although it cost a lot at the time, I have been extremely pleased with the performance. The only thing the wife uses this rig for is to sync her Zune, and unless she realizes the beast is flaking, I might wait for a week or two for the potential drop in CPU price. I can scrape by for that long with my laptop.

Cheers!

 

[DSF]

The deal on the Antec EA430 is not likely to be there in a couple weeks, but there will probably be something else on sale.

 

[DaveSimmons]

If you aren't overclocking, the E8400 stock HSF is quiet and works well.

For a substitute HSF, I was looking at the Zerotherm Zen since it uses bolt-mounting, but the stock HSF is good enough that I didn't bother with it.