Greetings - I have an old box at my desk that I'd like to upgrade. By upgrade, I mean new CPU / MB / Memory. Maybe a cost-effective sound card too. Shouldn't be too hard to get better performance -- replacing an Athlon XP 2700 (released Oct. 2002) on a Gigabyte 7n400s motherboard w/ 512MB of RAM. I'm upgrading because I've been dragged, kicking & screaming, into digital photography and I find that the old box is just too slow to render/manipulate photos. The only other CPU/hardware intensive use is sound editing -- I have this singer-songwriter compulsion/sickness, and tend to record every now & again -- so cool & quiet components are key. I'd welcome any recommendations under $300 for the CPU/MB/Memory combo -- and, as always, less is more. Thanks. - Richard
This is a good deal, AMD Phenom quad core, It's a good cheap setup with onboard graphics and it's an excellent performer for the money well under $300. You will also have extra cash for a sound card if needed. NCIXUS.com - Buy NCIX Value Bundle Deal AMD Phenom X4 9500 Quad Core & MSI 780G mATX Motherboard -UNASSEMBLED - 9500-780G.
if its speed your after i highly recommend intel over amd in the core2-duo 3ghz +, amd is cheaper for a reason i would go for intel core2 duo E6850 1333 with 2x 2GB DDR2
