My first PC mod (W.I.P.)

[Crumbz]

So yesterday I decides to mod my old 2008 Acer desktop tower. And want to do a complete revamp of the internals as well.

So I need ideas for parts to buy as I am not sure what I can use...

My desktop currently has:
- 2.5 TB HDD (3.5 HDD)
- 4GB DDR3 RAM
- 1GB DDR5 Nvidia graphics card
- 500 watt power supply (Earthwatts brand)
- Dual Core processor (2008 model)

I am hoping to get either a i7 core chip or an AMD CPU chip, as well as a wifi/Bluetooth module for a PCI slot if possible. As well as a X-Fi sound card and an extra 3TB HDD and extra RAM if possible.

My only question is can I swap the dual core with an i7 or an AMD CPU? Or would I need a whole new motherboard?

My motherboard model is Acer N1996.

The paint job I decided to do is red and black. Here's what I have so far.

Front:


Side A:


Side B:


Top:


Back:


Also I am planning to swap LEDs to red ones and am looking for a good spot to solder LEDs to. Any suggestions?

Motherboard:




-Crumbz

[frenulem - No.5417]

Looks cool, you will need a new MoBo when you upgrade, your one atm has a LGA 775 socket, the compatible CPUs are on he right of this article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA_775

[Crumbz]

Yeah I thought so... I'll be getting an ASUS motherboard with a quad core AMD processor and 16GB of DDR3 RAM. Also will be replacing my built in sound card with an X-Fi 3D Sound Card.

And upgrading to a 750 watt power block.

[whitetop]

8gb ddr3 ram
i5 2500k
550w psu
2.5tb hdd
z77 motherboard 1155 socket
amd 7xxx or gtx 550 +

this will run way better than the amd your thinking of getting and no need for 16gb since high end games just about touch 4gb

[frenulem - No.5417]

Yeah, depends what you are using it for, a huge PSU seems OTT too, and cut down the HDD to like 1.5 TB and a 120GB SSD. All depends on what you are running

[Crumbz]

Well as 3TB HDD runs around 165.00 but a 120SSD runs around 165.00 lol. So... its either fast read/write or more storage space.

I want a PC that will last for pretty much the next 10 years. Lol.

So I guess SSD will last longer but its pretty much useless to me until they make a 2TB SSD.

[whitetop]

you can get 1.5 tb ssd

if i was you i would get a 64gb ssd and 2tb hdd 64gb for os and 2tb hdd for data ect the setup i did will last you the 10years easy.

[Rodent]

Wow i just realized i have that same case .... and  looks close to the same motherboard, Which blew all the capacitors in it and I paid $50 bucks for it , and replaced all the capacitors for $6 bucks...lol   very good idea nice look , great job 

[snowcolt17]

just my .02.

go with a intel board inside of amd. and get at least a i5. but if you got the money get a i7.

[Crumbz]

i decided on making a server accessable over wifi and internet connection.

Specs:

- ASUS Motherboard (Will add mobo model later)
- 3TB Barracuda HDD and a 64GB SSD for OS.
- ASUS Graphics Card with HDMI in and out (will add model later)
- 16GB DDR3 RAM
- AMD quad core 4.3GHz
- 750 watt PSU
- wifi/bluetooth 3.0 module
- additional AWM USB Cable (for some reason my pc has 4 usb in front but only uses two)


Also will be adding either white or red LED lighting.

[SixtyninNaMoose]

Hey Crumbz,

Few things here that might help with your decision making.

1st here's a link to a custom build price/performance configur're, very helpful when choosing between similar components. http://pcpartpicker.com/

2nd if you plan on your pc lasting a while, you should get a z77 mobo. They have a LGA1155 sockets compatible with Intel Sandy Bridge & Ivy Bridge cpu's as well as Intel's upcoming cpu's.

3rd if you plan on running 16gb's of Ram, you need windows premium or higher, basic only supports 8Gb's. Not sure about Linux or others.

I'm also building a new rig right now, just got my components yesterday.

I chose:

- Asus P8z77-V Pro mobo
- 1.5TB Seagate ST1000DM003 HDD(storage)
- 120Gb Kingston HyperX SSD(OS/most used software like Autodesk
- 16GB Corsair RAM
- Intel i5-2500k 3.3GHz(overclocked at 4.7GHz)
- Corsair H100 Liquid Cooling
- AMD HD 7970 GPU
- 1000Watt PSU
- Windows Vista Ultimate

I know this isn't your price range but the PSU and RAM is being carried over from current pc. I notice that your looking at AMD CPU, I'm admittedly an Intel .lol 1st time getting an AMD GPU. I aggree with everyone else, only need a 64GB SSD for OS and 3TB HDD for everything else. Hope My input helps.

[PsychoticWolf]

Omg. I am Shocked that the lot of you dare to do something different yet no inputs on AMD. But you are all going to Intel? What Horrible Horrible idea. AMD is the way to go.  For the Price of a i5 can run an 8 Core AMD CPU with twice the speed. I always Build around AMD and after working with Intel in my shop and the Computers I repair I found an new level of hate for that company. Like right now depending on what you can carry over with and what you plan to build a Decent Build of around 950-1000 bucks you can build a computer that can last you about 10years with updates to video cards accordingly.  Its what I do for a living. Must People,  (not saying you guys) but most people tend to disregard AMD as if they were Second Class. I Get people calling and asking for intel based computers but when I tell them I have AMD based Computers/Laptops available they go No I want intel its better. that is because they only know intel and its been force fed by all the Intel commercials. you don't see AMD advertised everywhere. its like "Open Wide I have 2 tons of Crap im gonna shove down your throat"  -intel  opposed to "                                                     " -AMD for a professional point of View you can get the same performance out of both chips but your just paying more for the name.  I had a Computer built back in late 2007 that lasted up until a 2 months ago when I sold it for 400 bucks. Played all the current games out with not issues and it was a dual core that Smoked my friends Intel Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Duo...ect sure benchmarks were lower than theirs but Speed and Gameplay Mine was kicking ass.