My old PIII 1g 512mb system served me faithfully for the past few years. But, now, Im getting into digital photography (professional), DVD authoring, video capture and editing and other stuff and really need to upgrade my system. I will be using my current CD drives, HDD, etc
Budget is around $425-$450, however, of course, I want the best value and I would hate to find out later that an additional $10 or $20 would buy more power.
I am not interested in a gaming system nor will I be overclocking. My system is used for home office work (Word, Photoshop, etc..) plus the digital photography, DVD, and video mentioned above and I multitask frequently. I want to upgrade to a P4 3.0. After searching this site and others, it seems the best mobos (in my price range) are from Abit, Intel and ASUS. I tend to lean toward Intel because its the only mobo I have used in the past in my other three systems but I am open to suggestions.
Stability is a MUST for me. My system is up 24/7 and I use it in my business of photography and PC support/programming. Please review my wish list below and give me any comments or suggestions.
Current Hardware (also to be used in new system):
Pioneer 16x DVD+/- RW
Sony 52x CDRW/DVD Combo
40g 7200rpm internal HDD (will upgrade later to >100g SATA)
80g Maxtor external HDD
Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 150
Wish List:
Motherboard:
Intel D865PERL ($106) -or- D865GBFL ($99)
ASUS P4P800 E Delux ($117) -or- P4P800 SE ($95)
Abit AI7 ($99) -or- IS7-E ($81)
Video:
Im at a loss here. I know nothing about video cards. Currently using mobo video. Unless it would help with video capture and editing, I dont need anything fancy or high performance, just a basic (and again, stable) video card in the $40 - $50 range. Ill use the on-board video if mobo offers.
Ill be using an Antec 400w power supply in either my current case or an Antec case.
One thing that concerns me is the CPU temp of the P4. If I buy the retail box with the CPU, heatsink and fan, will I be OK? Or should I go for additional cooling? I currently have a front and rear fan in my case. What about the temp variations of the various motherboards?
Sorry to be so wordy, but I wanted to give as much info as possible.
THANKS VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HELP.
I am not interested in a gaming system nor will I be overclocking. My system is used for home office work (Word, Photoshop, etc..) plus the digital photography, DVD, and video mentioned above and I multitask frequently. I want to upgrade to a P4 3.0. After searching this site and others, it seems the best mobos (in my price range) are from Abit, Intel and ASUS. I tend to lean toward Intel because its the only mobo I have used in the past in my other three systems but I am open to suggestions.
Stability is a MUST for me. My system is up 24/7 and I use it in my business of photography and PC support/programming. Please review my wish list below and give me any comments or suggestions.
Current Hardware (also to be used in new system):
Pioneer 16x DVD+/- RW
Sony 52x CDRW/DVD Combo
40g 7200rpm internal HDD (will upgrade later to >100g SATA)
80g Maxtor external HDD
Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 150
Wish List:
Motherboard:
Intel D865PERL ($106) -or- D865GBFL ($99)
ASUS P4P800 E Delux ($117) -or- P4P800 SE ($95)
Abit AI7 ($99) -or- IS7-E ($81)
Video:
Im at a loss here. I know nothing about video cards. Currently using mobo video. Unless it would help with video capture and editing, I dont need anything fancy or high performance, just a basic (and again, stable) video card in the $40 - $50 range. Ill use the on-board video if mobo offers.
Ill be using an Antec 400w power supply in either my current case or an Antec case.
One thing that concerns me is the CPU temp of the P4. If I buy the retail box with the CPU, heatsink and fan, will I be OK? Or should I go for additional cooling? I currently have a front and rear fan in my case. What about the temp variations of the various motherboards?
Sorry to be so wordy, but I wanted to give as much info as possible.
THANKS VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HELP.