It’s that time again! Every other year or so, I upgrade my computer. I normally take the most efficient route, trying to get the most bang for my buck. This year will be different:
If you didn’t get the idea from the graphic, I plan to build a (somewhat) reasonably priced system that will run with the best of them. I plan to upgrade this box into a top-of-the-line system for less than $1,500. Part 1 is a Rundown of my old system (so we can see what we need to upgrade):
Case: Chieftec Dragon Case
Description: This case is roomy, sturdy, and has lasted 10 years.
Upgrade? No
Power Supply: Corsair CMPSU-650TX 650-Watt TX Series 80 Plus Certified Power Supply
Description: This PSU isn’t even breaking a sweat on my current setup.
Upgrade? No
CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 630 95W AM3 2MB 2800MHz
Description: I bought this CPU nearly two years ago. It was my first quad-core and has served me well. However, As AMD adds more cores to their CPUs Intel continues to increase performance using only four. I’m going to definitely be looking into building my first intel system this go-around.
Upgrade? Yes
Memory: Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 Desktop Memory
Description: DDR2 ram has served me well, but DDR3 is faster and a heck of a lot cheaper. I live in constant fear of DDR3 prices rising!
Upgrade? YES
Motherboard: MSI 790XT-G45
Description: This board still has legs. After all, it has two PCI Express x16 slots. But if we plan to make the jump to Intel (not to mention DDR3), she will have to be put down.
Description: for 100 bucks this card is amazing, but we are definitely going to be upgrading this bad boy.
Description: Just some Hard Drives I’ve been using forever. The only thing I plan to do here is add an SSD.
Upgrade? Yes/Sorta
Optical Drive: Sony DVD+-RW Drive
Description: Time for a Bluray Drive I think!
Upgrade? Yes
Monitor: 24″ 1080p HP Monitor
Description: Picked this up at Black Friday. More than Adequate.
Upgrade? NO
In Part 2 we will take a look at the upgrades I’m planning! See you then!
