Office PC upgrade

Dowaco · Mar 29, 2007, 11:55 PM

I am looking to upgrade my home office PC (I work from home) no gaming will be done on this.
Current specs:

Pentium 4 3.0E skt 478
Intel D865PERL
1 GB (2x512) Buffalo Tech PC3200
36 GB WD Raptor
Radeon 9000 AIW
400 Watt Antec

I have 2 other 37 GB raptor hard drives that I want to configure in a Matrix RAID 0/5 array and I want to overclock the E4300 to 3 GHz.

Here is my current plan
Core 2 Duo E4300 ($168) ($115 in three weeks, I'll wait)
MSI G965M FIR ($103)
2 (2x1024) SuperTalent DDR2 667 (have)
3x36 GB raptor RAID 0/RAID 5 (have)

The only part I am still up in the air about is the motherboard. The MSI has an ICH8R southbridge and on-board graphics.
I had originally thought an Abit AB9 pro would be the best board but it is $50 more and requires a video card. The Asus P5B-E is basically the same as the Abit board. I will need to hit 333 FSB to get the E4300 to 3 GHz.

Anybody have a better way to spend $200 - $250 on a CPU/mobo combo? Thanks for taking the time.

**kris23** · Mar 30, 2007, 04:31 AM

Gigabyte 965G DS3..... it will last a very long time with the new capacitors
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128018

you cant overclock with an integrated graphics mobo it seems so i suggest just buying the cheaper 965P DS3 board and a cheap little PCI-E card to go with it

lol u have an almost identical setup to what i use right now! but i gave off my 2x512 sticks and slap myself everyday because of it........ of course i could always go to the room down the hall and reclaim them but im not mean hahahahaha

Dowaco · Mar 30, 2007, 05:38 AM

That gigabyte board also has integrated graphics and does not have the right southbridge to use Intel Matrix RAID, also, it is $30 more than the MSI (here is the link)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130090

But I hear you about the overclocking potential
I have no problem with a $75 graphics card (like a 7300GS) if that's what it will take to get the other features I want.

CDsDontBurn · Mar 30, 2007, 06:36 AM

question though.....why do you want to upgrade a machine AND overclock it that is running perfectly fine (in my assumption ATM), if it is being used for office type work? Also, if you will be using this for work purposes, you want it to be as stable as possible. IE, no overclocking!

Aside from the gfx card you get (if the board requires a gfx card), you're basically building an upper mid-range gaming machine there.

i have a computer dedicated for work alone, and it does everything i need it to do. Not only that, it's nothing spectacular either. It had top of the line components back in its day about 4yrs. ago or so. Now, it's whatever.

anyways....if you want to spend your money it's all gravy. here's my suggestion on a board and CPU combo

. Any of those will work

.

http://promotions.newegg.com/misc/commander/index.html

Dowaco · Mar 30, 2007, 02:54 PM

I realize it's overkill, but I will be wanting to move to Vista eventually (so will need more memory) my hard drive is filling up and I want to improve data safety by running a RAID 1 or RAID 5 array while adding space and my current motherboard only has 2 SATA ports. Also, it's an Intel board and does not overclock. I do a lot of multitasking on this machine and a dual core processor should handle it better than a hyperthreaded P4. As long as I am getting a new processor, memory and motherboard, I would rather spend $300 than $700 while getting the performance of a $700 setup.

I understand that overclocking may reduce stability and that this is considered overkill for a work PC. I'm overclocking to improve performance of lower priced hardware, and as a hobby. I am not planning to do any extreme overclocking on this machine and it will be tested rigorously for stability.

I am being more geeky than practical here.

On my gaming machine, I will get at least an E6600, maybe a quad core when the prices drop.

Some people buy a new car every two years, I have to have a new PC. It's part work tool and part toy.

Mar 29, 2007, 11:55 PM	#1
Dowaco DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: East Coast, USA Posts: 217 Rep Power: 0	Office PC upgrade I am looking to upgrade my home office PC (I work from home) no gaming will be done on this. Current specs: Pentium 4 3.0E skt 478 Intel D865PERL 1 GB (2x512) Buffalo Tech PC3200 36 GB WD Raptor Radeon 9000 AIW 400 Watt Antec I have 2 other 37 GB raptor hard drives that I want to configure in a Matrix RAID 0/5 array and I want to overclock the E4300 to 3 GHz. Here is my current plan Core 2 Duo E4300 ($168) ($115 in three weeks, I'll wait) MSI G965M FIR ($103) 2 (2x1024) SuperTalent DDR2 667 (have) 3x36 GB raptor RAID 0/RAID 5 (have) The only part I am still up in the air about is the motherboard. The MSI has an ICH8R southbridge and on-board graphics. I had originally thought an Abit AB9 pro would be the best board but it is $50 more and requires a video card. The Asus P5B-E is basically the same as the Abit board. I will need to hit 333 FSB to get the E4300 to 3 GHz. Anybody have a better way to spend $200 - $250 on a CPU/mobo combo? Thanks for taking the time. __________________ The above is my opinion and in no way reflects the views of this website.

Mar 30, 2007, 04:31 AM	#2
kris23 Going Insane..... Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 6,018 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	Gigabyte 965G DS3..... it will last a very long time with the new capacitors http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128018 you cant overclock with an integrated graphics mobo it seems so i suggest just buying the cheaper 965P DS3 board and a cheap little PCI-E card to go with it lol u have an almost identical setup to what i use right now! but i gave off my 2x512 sticks and slap myself everyday because of it........ of course i could always go to the room down the hall and reclaim them but im not mean hahahahaha __________________ Hardwareheaven Super-Moderator Building a new computer system and not sure where to start? Click Here! last updated (5/18/11) Rosewill FUTURE case replaces CM 690 II with its greater interior length. Building a PC: Step by Step Guide Written by Kristopher Pedemonte and Nathan Marks-Forder Edited by Allan Campbell Questions or Comments? feel free to post them in the forums!

Mar 30, 2007, 05:38 AM	Thread Starter #3
Dowaco DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: East Coast, USA Posts: 217 Rep Power: 0	That gigabyte board also has integrated graphics and does not have the right southbridge to use Intel Matrix RAID, also, it is $30 more than the MSI (here is the link) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130090 But I hear you about the overclocking potential I have no problem with a $75 graphics card (like a 7300GS) if that's what it will take to get the other features I want. __________________ The above is my opinion and in no way reflects the views of this website.

Mar 30, 2007, 06:36 AM	#4
CDsDontBurn Lurking DriverHeaven Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,779 Rep Power: 235 System Specs	question though.....why do you want to upgrade a machine AND overclock it that is running perfectly fine (in my assumption ATM), if it is being used for office type work? Also, if you will be using this for work purposes, you want it to be as stable as possible. IE, no overclocking! Aside from the gfx card you get (if the board requires a gfx card), you're basically building an upper mid-range gaming machine there. i have a computer dedicated for work alone, and it does everything i need it to do. Not only that, it's nothing spectacular either. It had top of the line components back in its day about 4yrs. ago or so. Now, it's whatever. anyways....if you want to spend your money it's all gravy. here's my suggestion on a board and CPU combo . Any of those will work . http://promotions.newegg.com/misc/commander/index.html __________________ Her First Day \| A year later

Mar 30, 2007, 02:54 PM	Thread Starter #5
Dowaco DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: East Coast, USA Posts: 217 Rep Power: 0	I realize it's overkill, but I will be wanting to move to Vista eventually (so will need more memory) my hard drive is filling up and I want to improve data safety by running a RAID 1 or RAID 5 array while adding space and my current motherboard only has 2 SATA ports. Also, it's an Intel board and does not overclock. I do a lot of multitasking on this machine and a dual core processor should handle it better than a hyperthreaded P4. As long as I am getting a new processor, memory and motherboard, I would rather spend $300 than $700 while getting the performance of a $700 setup. I understand that overclocking may reduce stability and that this is considered overkill for a work PC. I'm overclocking to improve performance of lower priced hardware, and as a hobby. I am not planning to do any extreme overclocking on this machine and it will be tested rigorously for stability. I am being more geeky than practical here. On my gaming machine, I will get at least an E6600, maybe a quad core when the prices drop. Some people buy a new car every two years, I have to have a new PC. It's part work tool and part toy. __________________ The above is my opinion and in no way reflects the views of this website.