Computer Question

[OPIE]

Ok so I use to be really good at this stuff but I fell out of the loop when all the wonderful new technology started to come out.

I am thinking of completely reworking my current computer. I currently have an HP and of course all but the 580GTX and the power source is all HP. I was wondering if I got a new Motherboard, processor and Ram and another hard drive if I would have any issues with the HP software currently on my hard drive? Or would I be looking into completely wiping out this hard drive and having to purchase windows all over again because HP no longer sends you a CD copy they just put it on a backup portion of the hard drive.

Would it just be as easy as hooking everything up and then installing the correct drivers for the new motherboard? The second hard drive is going to be used primarily for storage. My current 580GB is almost full with games and music so I need to move that onto another drive. I am thinking of getting the new drive and then just simply reinstalling everything on it to make sure all the file paths are correct and everything works out ok.

I've never run multiple hard drives in a computer before....does windows software have to be installed on both? Or will it just format the new drive and it becomes D:/ instead of C:/  and basically just have to specify where I want to install new software?

Now I am definitally going for an I-7 Sandy Bridge in the lines of 3.4ghz. I was thinking this processor.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070

Now I am confused. What is the main difference in that I-7 to this I-5 that puts the cost down $100?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115073

I know I-7 supports multi threading and the main purpose of this machine is going to be games and video editing/graphics design. I know most games don't utilize multi threading....yet. And I am looking for at least 7-10 years out of this machine of close to/maximum performance in games. So would it be worth it to toss in an extra $100 for what appears to be the same processor just one supports multi threading?

This is my current PSU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

I was thinking of this motherboard.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121514

I believe all the sockets and pins are correct. Any suggestions on motherboards?

As for RAM. I was never good with RAM I never understood the whole timing thing. I know I would need 240 pin and I was hoping to get at least 10gb of RAM. I saw this deal on Newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233198&cm_sp=Cat_Memory-_-Daily_Deal-_-20-233-198

Now in my experience with RAM usually the more expensive the better. I hate to classify it that way but that does seem to be the case. That deal almost seems to good to be true. Do you have any suggestions on RAM?

Please keep in mind Price is an issue but I don't want to sacrafice performance as well. Like I said I want at least 10 years out of this machine before I even have to begin to think about upgrading again.

As for another Hard drive I need at least a Terabyte. I was thinking external but all the reviews I read on the externals is they burn out quite fast.

Edit:

I was thinking of getting this case.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147107

This Hard Drive.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284

So looking at a total with those components of $774.95 before tax.

Any suggestions on change to ANY of this?

[Blimigerite]

Here is a link for the computer I built.  http://forums.lsclan.com/index.php/topic,6190.0.html

I went with the i5 2500k with the processor for my computer.  But I don't do any video editing or have any use for the multi-threading.  But if you go with the i5 2500 spend the extra $10 for the 2500k so you can overclock the pc in the future.  Same for the i7, make sure you get the k so you have the option to overclock.  That'll help give you some staying power when you get to the 10 year mark and the processor needs a little extra boost.  Though if you do plan on overclocking you'd need a better heat sink then the default.  But that can always be purchased down the road too.

The motherboard you picked is a micro ATX.  Does your case not fit ATX size boards?  You could use the i7 to i5 downgrade to get a fairly nice case.  You might also want to look at some Asus or MSI motherboards.  I picked a MSI board for my build and it's been working great.

I like the power supply.  Modular is the bomb.

The memory looks good.  I read that the i5/i7 like the 1.5 volts memory the best.  I went with a Gskill 'ripjaw' memory.  But I only went with 4GB in 2 sticks.  I'll bump it up to 8GB when I upgrade.  16GB for that price looks great.  That's a ton of memory

For the harddrives you only have to have Windows installed on one drive to boot up.  You can leave Windows on your current drive and just plug in more drives on the motherboard and they will be recognized.  I wouldn't do external.  They are slower and more expensive. 

I have only ever built computers with new harddrives though so I don't know if you'd have problems with old mb drivers in the new build.  I didn't know HP didn't give Windows CD's with their computers anymore.  That stinks.  Can you use someone else's windows CD and just use your windows serial number to register when if you reinstall?  That may be a way to go if going for the fresh approach.

[Asus]

What HP model do you have?

[OPIE]

P6110f

It's a E5300 pentium dual core 2.6ghz.

Has 6gb ram

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01738804&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN#N489

[Asus]

I'm not familiar with replacing parts especially motherboards in brand name computers. I know years ago it was a pain. It looks like the board they use in there is standard though so it might be an easy swap.

The board in there only supports upgrades as follows:
    Intel Core 2 Quad (Y) Q9xxxx
    Intel Core 2 Duo (W) E8xxx
    Intel Core 2 Quad (K) up to Q6600
    Core 2 Duo E6x00 (C) up to E6700
    Core 2 Duo E4x00 (C) up to E4400

So a new board would be in order to get an i5/i7 in there.
Usually the $200 mark is where I like to get my GPU and CPUs (wait for prices to come down on brand new stuff).
i5 2500 is plenty and good value. i7 2600 is better but at a price.

For memory I'd grab the speed that matches your motherboard supported speeds (1333 or 1600 etc). And I would go for 2 sticks at 8GB or if you get a triple channel memory board (as opposed to dual channel) then get a 3 stick set. You are on the right track with getting more than 4GB though.
But if you don't fill up your channels by getting 2x4gb then you can add more 4gb sticks later to get more memory. Plus the fewer parts the less likely to have issues.

The PSU is good.

I would recommend getting an SSD for OS/Programs. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167051
This is what you want to put your money on for speed these days. Not extra CPU.
Leave the standard drives for storage/downloads/etc. I do have my steam folder on my 2nd drive (1tb) and not my boot drive since it would fill up my 1st drive too quick.

[Blimigerite]

I just wish those ssd's would come down in price a bit ( like in half)

[OPIE]

Right, but will there be issues if I swapped everything out but the HD because of the HP software installed on it?

[Asus]

If you swap out added stuff like GPU, CPU etc generally you can keep the OS install there. Swap the motherboard (especially a different chipset) and you will want to reinstall. Not sure how reinstalling works from HP backup disks or if you need to get a retail windows disk.

[Blimigerite]

It might be best to reinstall from scratch just to get rid of all the bloatware HP installs on their computers.  Spending $100 may save you a lot of headaches with the software side of the build.

[OPIE]

I believe I am going to have to spend $200 to get windows 7...sucks but oh well.

[Asus]

http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Professional-64bit-System-Builder/dp/B004Q0T0LU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1320424315&sr=8-4

You'll want to copy your files first to a second hard drive probably. Also I'd drop the WD drive and go with
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
traditional HDD prices are going sky high after
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-10-thai-disrupting-hard.html
SSD prices are not effected.

Get 1 new drive?
Put it in your current machine. Make 2 partitions, 1 large enough for OS/programs (80-200?) and other for rest of drive. Move files you want to keep to 2nd partition. When you pop this drive into your new build then boot to OS disk and tell to format/install on 1st partition (don't select the wrong one or you'll delete your files)

Get SSD and new 1tb drive?
Move files to 1 TB drive from old.
Build new pc. Install OS on SSD. pop in 1TB drive. Wrap old drive in anti-static wrap and put away for rainy day or toss.