BleepingComputer.com: Rebuild System

Ok I have a desktop I built about 4 years ago, and want to upgrade using as much as the hardware that I can. My current system has:

CPU = AMD Athlon 64 4000+
MB = ASUS A8N5X
Video = Nvidia GeForce 7900 GT/GTO
HD = WDC 320 GB
DVD = HP DVD Writer 740 b
Sound Card = Creative SB X-Fi
Power Supply = 500 watt
Case = Cooler Master Tower

What I want to upgrade to is

CPU = Intel Core i5
MB = ??? looking at another Asus
Mem = DDR 6 Gb
OS = Win 7

So I guess what my questions are can I re-use:
Hard Drive
Video Card
DVD
Case
Power Supply
Sound Card I don't think will be needed for anything? I do have a MS Side Winder joy stick.

One more question, which version of Win 7? Confused with all the releases.

Can you help a guy out please?

SunKing, on Nov 5 2009, 07:07 PM, said:

Hey! First off, with Windows 7, basically they are all the same except the professional and ultimate versions have some bonus software/extras in them, honestly they're not worth the extra cash; standard Win7 64 Bit Home Premium will work good!

You can re-use the parts you listed, but a word of caution. the parts you want to re-use, namely the hard drive(not sure on the particular model you have there, what is it?), if it's 4 year's old, it's likely going to be a slow hard drive compared to what's available today!

Also the video card is substandard(no offence). It's ok if you play games that are older I guess. But it's worth upgrading too if you want to play anything remotely new.

Also, no reason to not use the audio card

CPU = http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...5-215-_-Product
MB = http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813157172
Mem = http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...1-193-_-Product
OS = http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...6-716-_-Product

You don't really need 6GB of ram, if you went i7 instead of i5 I'd say get 6gb for tri chanell mode.

FWIW: Agree about the Win 7 Home Premium...I would further suggest that you look into purchasing the upgrade edition and the family pack. Doing so is much cheaper than purchasing a single license.

I'd think about upgrading the PSU, also.

I have an X2 4400 system and 500 works fine for it...but since you are upgrading equipment, why neglect the heart of the system? No juice, no use.

Louis

The Hard Drive is a Western Digital Caviar® Second Generation WD3200JS 320 GB SATA II Hard Drive.

Is that not good enough? If not why?

As for the sound card, I have really never used it and it just uses power. If I understand correctly the mother board chipset should be able to do anything I need. All I am running is 2.1 speakers.

hamluis, on Nov 5 2009, 01:28 PM, said:

Well that work. Currently on the HD I have win XP pro.

Upgrade the Video card and PSU. The i5 proc uses a lot of power. You might need some additional cooling in the case as well. i5 runs pretty hot.

What is the difference between Upgrade and Full in Win 7?

The upgrade edition requires that you have a previous installation on Windows on the computer you want to install Windows 7. If you have XP, it will do a full clean install wiping everything. If you have Vista you can choose to keep all the existing files and programs do you don't have to install them again.

The upgrade is ok, but I prefer the full retail one so you don't need to have another operating system installed.

Also, the upgrade you get will have to be the same as the operating system you have installed. EG: If you have 32bit home premium Vista, you'll get 32 bit home premium windows 7 upgrade.

I advise you to get the Full one.

IrishGrimReaper, on Nov 5 2009, 03:18 PM, said:

I have XP Pro operating on a AMD Athlon 64 4000.

If I change the HDD as suggested I understand I will have to plug in my XP CD to verify. Will that limit to 32 bit, or either 32 or 64?

FWIW: I opened and installed one of my family pack purchases today.

The family pack contains two disks, one for 32-bit Win 7, one for 64-bit Win 7. The license covers whichever I choose to install.

I am able to make 3 installs, the license is good for 3 installs (1 license key).

The install took about 30 minutes and is pretty much offscreen...at times, it appears that nothing is happening .

I have XP...on two separate hard drives (one is a clone/backup).

I clean installed Win 7 32-bit on a different drive, no problems.

Louis

SunKing, on Nov 5 2009, 09:24 PM, said:

I don't think you have to put you XP cd in during install(not 100% sure though). I don't see why you would need to.

If you got an upgrade of that it would be Windows 7 Pro, and whatever bit you're operating on. In your system view menu it should tell you what bit it is, probably be 32 bit if it's older.