Computer decision, what would you do?

[MisFire]

Well... I finally put one together. It's been up for three weeks now and aside from re-installing all the software I had and updating files, it's works awesome! I did the best I could based on the small budget I had. Everything except the DVD writer was purchased thru Tiger Direct. Config: Ultra Mid Tower case w/ the clear side panel; Gigabyte M61VME-S2 mobo w/800Mhz FSB; AMD 64 X2 dual-core 4600 series @ 2.4 Mhz; (matched pair) OCZ Dual Channel (DDR 2) 800Mhz memory (2 GB total); LG DVD-CD R/W burner w/lightscribe; 3.5” floppy, 6 USB ports; IEEE 1394 Firewire card w/4 ports; (1) IDE 160 GB Seagate Barracuda OS drive; (2) 500GB Seagate Barracuda SATA 3.0 drives set up non-RAID (1.16 TB Total storage); XFX NVidia 7600 GS 512MB Video card w/s-video out and dual DVI ; SoundBlaster Audigy sound card; (2) Ultra Blue 120mm case fans; Ultra CPU Cooler w/120mm fan; 500 watt PSU and XP Pro OS.

How did I do?

Previous Post:

I have an HP 762 desktop computer purchased new in 2002 from HP. Items in blue were added in the last 2 years. Current configuration is as follows:

Pentium 4 2.26 GHz
80 GB OS drive
160 GB WD 7200 rpm video drive
2 GB Ultra PC2700 DDR Ram
CD R/W
DVD Player
Sony DRX-510-UL External CD/DVD R/W
NVidia GeForce 6800 AGP GS/XT w/dual DVI
(2) 19" Samsung SyncMaster 931B's
550 Watt PSU
SoundBlaster Audigy 5.1
Logitech Z4 speakers

This system has been virtually trouble free throughout the years. My expanding video hobby is beginning to tax the system during editing. I believe my mobo and processor are now the bottleneck to better performance. My question is...do I upgrade the processor and mobo if I can find one to fit inside the mid tower case or do I start with a new case and tranfer everything over. Has anyone ever tried refitting a computer like this?

[NightTran]

I would add one or two more big HD with the PSU you already have, take your CD rw and dvd player out and add two burners

[techreactor]

I would still live with it, seems a decent conf. Optimize the performance by maintaining some basic hygiene. Nowadays the encoders tooare becoming faster, so no hassels.