Hi all. I am not trying to start a fight. So here it goes.
My 5 yr old Dell XPS 540 (I used for video editing, rendering, photoshop, etc.) died. Thanks to TSG (this web site) I was able to determine it was the mobo. So now do I purchase a XPS 8700 (http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-8700/pd...el_id=xps-8700) or build the following...
Mobo - GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD7 AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Extended ATX AMD Motherboard
CPU - AMD FX-8350
RAM - Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model BLS2KIT8G3D1609DS1S00
Case - Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
PSU - CORSAIR TX Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply & New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready
Graphics Card - GIGABYTE GV-R777OC-2GI Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 2GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready Video Card
If I build the above I will take the DVD, card reader and the 1TB WD Blk HDD from the 540 and install in the build. By doing this I keep my costs around $800... the XPS-8700 is $850.
ALSO, if I build, I have a few questions...
(1) are the above parts compatible?
(2) do I buy a SSD as my master HD and my WD Blk as my slave?
(3) buy another WD Blk HDD and setup a RAID 0 to get a speed bump or
(4) just put my current HDD in and reformat?
Other thoughts...
* I like the Gigabyte board as it has firewire. The Dell doesn't. I need this to get video from my camera into the PC or buy a firewire card for the Dell..
* I plan to stay on Win7. I am not a fan of Win8. The Dell comes with Win7.
* If I buy the XPS-8700 I'll put my WD Blk HD in as a slave.
* OTHER CONSIDERATIONS?
I appreciate the feedback. I've built/repaired computers before. Its not my favorite past time. However I want the best bang for my buck. Thanks!:cool:
My 5 yr old Dell XPS 540 (I used for video editing, rendering, photoshop, etc.) died. Thanks to TSG (this web site) I was able to determine it was the mobo. So now do I purchase a XPS 8700 (http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-8700/pd...el_id=xps-8700) or build the following...
Mobo - GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD7 AM3+ AMD 990FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Extended ATX AMD Motherboard
CPU - AMD FX-8350
RAM - Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model BLS2KIT8G3D1609DS1S00
Case - Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
PSU - CORSAIR TX Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply & New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready
Graphics Card - GIGABYTE GV-R777OC-2GI Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 2GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready Video Card
If I build the above I will take the DVD, card reader and the 1TB WD Blk HDD from the 540 and install in the build. By doing this I keep my costs around $800... the XPS-8700 is $850.
ALSO, if I build, I have a few questions...
(1) are the above parts compatible?
(2) do I buy a SSD as my master HD and my WD Blk as my slave?
(3) buy another WD Blk HDD and setup a RAID 0 to get a speed bump or
(4) just put my current HDD in and reformat?
Other thoughts...
* I like the Gigabyte board as it has firewire. The Dell doesn't. I need this to get video from my camera into the PC or buy a firewire card for the Dell..
* I plan to stay on Win7. I am not a fan of Win8. The Dell comes with Win7.
* If I buy the XPS-8700 I'll put my WD Blk HD in as a slave.
* OTHER CONSIDERATIONS?
I appreciate the feedback. I've built/repaired computers before. Its not my favorite past time. However I want the best bang for my buck. Thanks!:cool: