NEW BUILD vs. UPGRADE

[HOTDOGS]

So I dumped a considerable amount of cash on my PC when I built it last winter and now I'm looking to update it to the best machine I can with in my budget. I'm looking to make an editing machine and gaming on the weekend tank.

My current specs are as follows:

• CM 690 II Advanced
• i7 2600k
• Asus P8P67
• Corsair Vengeance 1600 2X4GB
• Corsair HX650W
• Gigabyte 5770 GV-R577UD-1GD
• Antec Kuhler H20 620
• Hitachi 2TB 0F12117 (5400rpm)
• 2X Western Digital 320GB WD3200AAKS (7200rpm boot drives)
• Tons of Coolermaster Fans

So here is what I have thought of doing so far and you guys can tell me if it is a good way to go or not:

• Grab 8GB more RAM, it's cheap and could help out
• Switch to NVidia because I understand it is better for encoding.
• Upgrade to either a GTX590 or dual GTX570's. I will be powering three 1920X1080 monitors, so I know the GTX570s would do that and be better for gaming, but they would also be pricey. Is there an option that will benefit both and be cheaper, substantially cheaper?
• A new case that looks less nerdy, is easier to clean, has better wire management and better airflow. I'm leaning on the Corsair 500R maybe a 650D with a solid side, but I don't really like the brushed metal look to be honest. I love the idea of the pop out mesh screens, but am open to case suggestions.
• A 7200rpm 1TB for games instead of my 5400rpm which I mainly use as my storage drive for footage and such.
• Better/quieter fans.
• Possibly a new power supply if I need it for the GPUs.
• Maybe a sound card.
• I think my current board doesn't support SLI, so if I go the SLI GTX570 route I would need a new board?

Should I be upgrading anything else? I'm not super concerned with getting SSD's at this point unless I was to start from scratch maybe.

So after all of my upgrade concerns are addressed, is it worth trying to sell certain parts to upgrade the rest or should I could just pop a spare HDD into my system and sell it as a whole and use the funds for a new system? Because I want a very tank system and I could get more money from selling it as a whole could I not? If so how much could I get for my current system?

You guys rock

[rjbarker]

- drop in an SSD for Boot Drive
- yea nv Cards with Cuda Support will speed things up
- get your self a decent 850- 1kw PSU
-Sure another 2x4GB RAM is cheap

You don't need to replace the Case, those cases are awesome for air cooling!!!

[Shadowmeph]

it looks to me that you might have caught the bug .. the upgrade bug this is dangerous to have if you don't have the bucks hehe.
what type of editing are you doing I am not sure how much Cuda would make a difference on most editing because I think that it is a CL so it wouldn't really matter
personally I would just update the video card if you feel you have to. and if your system seems to stagger a little when you are encoding try to figure out what is causing it to stagger, you might just need to overclock a bit.

[HOTDOGS]

I dual boot into OSx and Win 7. I use Sony Vegas, After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator and Final Cut Pro. So will my board handle SLI?

Is it okay if I ask for a full system appraisal?

[Bond007]

I would go for an SSD, ram, and swap the fans in your case to meet your cooling/noise requirements. As for the video card, if you want it to be substantially cheaper and run 3 monitors then you have to go for a single faster AMD (ATI) based card, or SLI cheaper Nvidia cards (which in your case also means a motherboard upgrade). Personally I wouldn't swap the MOB just to go to SLI (though I know many people would). If you went to SLI 570 or better you would also need a new PSU IMO. For those extra cost reasons and your want/need for 3 monitors, I say just grab a 6950/6970 to drive the 3 monitors and call it a day (it will be a huge upgrade over what you have now).

[HOTDOGS]

Originally Posted by Bond007

I would go for an SSD, ram, and swap the fans in your case to meet your cooling/noise requirements. As for the video card, if you want it to be substantially cheaper and run 3 monitors then you have to go for a single faster AMD (ATI) based card, or SLI cheaper Nvidia cards (which in your case also means a motherboard upgrade). Personally I wouldn't swap the MOB just to go to SLI (though I know many people would). If you went to SLI 570 or better you would also need a new PSU IMO. For those extra cost reasons and your want/need for 3 monitors, I say just grab a 6950/6970 to drive the 3 monitors and call it a day (it will be a huge upgrade over what you have now).

I understand but I'm just not sure if NVidia will actually provide me with a better solution for editing and encoding because that comes before my gaming needs. I'm willing to part with my rig if the benefit I'll be getting will be much better.

[great_big_abyss]

I don't understand why you would want to spend more money than you really have to. You have a lot great parts there, and you'd be willing to sell them (at a loss) just to get some more great parts? I mean, if you have the money to burn, then by all means go ahead.

What I would do is upgrade my video card, add RAM and add an SSD. Cases are subjective, and by the time you get to this level of case, there's not a whole hell of a lot of difference. Get a new one if you're bored with your current one.

As for the video card, your board supports quad crossfire, so why not just go with a couple of X-fire 6970's?

[HOTDOGS]

Ok so here is debate. It all comes down to whether or not Nvidia cards will benefit my usage. If they don't then I won't get them, if they do I will and would need a new mobo and psu. What should I be doing here?

Edit: Can I also just get a full system appraisal here?

[tyreman]

Why not wait a bit till recent 2011 stuff comes down $ then change it out

[FlyingFish]

Just wondering, what method did you use for your hackintosh build? I found that to get mine to work I HAD to use the "batmobile" cooler Gigabyte 5770. So when whatever you do upgrade to it'll have to be the ones that lots of people have reported success with.