Hello. I’m about to build a new system and would like some feedback and
advice. I’m not looking to build the fastest system ever and would like to
keep the cost down as much as possible. But I would like to hopefully see a
noticeable improvement from my current system.

My current system was built for Windows Vista and my new one is being built
for Windows 7. I haven’t been keeping up with all the new computer specs so
over the last few days I’ve given myself a crash course in the new
developments.
Current system:
ECS KN Lite with a AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4200+ (Manchester)
2 gigs of dual channel ram using all 4 banks.
ATI Radeon 1600 PCIE video card with 512 megs of memory.
FusionHDTV5 RT Gold (TV Tuner)
530 Watt CompUSA power supply (purchased in 2006 and possibly beginning to
fail)
C drive – Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 500 GB
D drive – Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 160 GB
DVD RAM and DVDRW drives
LS120 floppy


Proposed System:
Quad core system – probably AMD Phenom but open to Intel.

For motherboard I am leaning towards an ASUS model because I’m interested in
the “Express Gate” instant on feature.

4 gigs of memory – probably DDR2 as I’ve read there’s no real benefit to
DDR3 for the price increase.

For video I’m looking at the ASUS EAH4670. My main reasons for favoring
this card are: 1. 1 gig of DDR 3 memory. 2. Built in HDMI out. 3.
Guaranteed (I hope) compatibility with the ASUS motherboard. 4. DirectX
10.1

I plan on keeping the TV tuner and my hard drives. But replacing the DVDRW
with a blu-ray/HDDVD combo drive.

I’ll be looking for a bare bones system/kit that I can order online
(searching through the pricewatch.com systems). Depending on if I order the
parts or a whole system I may or may not keep my current case. So in
particular I need to know if there’s a particular ASUS mother board to look
out for or avoid. If there’s a particular non ASUS motherboard that has
similar or better instant on features. Which CPUs to look out for or avoid.
Recommendations on the power supply. Any potential bottlenecks?

Thank in advance