Hands on: Rebuild, recycle and re-use

Considerations
When planning a new build, it’s important to step back from the latest technology and think about what is limiting about your current system, as well as what you’d like to achieve. Are you running low on space? Would you like to watch HD content smoothly? Are videos taking too long to process? Would you like a boost in 3D gaming?

The answers will, in effect, focus your budget on the most relevant areas, rather than just going for an upgrade that may not be as effective for your requirements.

Personally, I spend most of my non-writing time on the computer processing photographic images and editing videos. The latter in particular consume a terrifying amount of storage, so larger capacity was a must.

Responsive editing of both standard- and high-definition content was also important, as was reducing the time spent waiting for rendering and transcoding, so greater processing muscle was in order. As a non-gamer, there wasn’t any need for a graphics upgrade, especially as my current configuration was already happy playing HD content.

With this in mind, I then looked at what parts I could re-use in a new project. As mentioned earlier, I already had 6GB of Crucial DDR2 Ram in my old system, which was adequate for my requirements. I also had an Intel QX9650, which would deliver the required boost in processing over my existing Core2Duo E6700, but it just wouldn’t work in my old board.

So, the most important new component in my project would be a motherboard that could support both my QX9650 processor and existing DDR2 memory. Since I’d been so happy with my previous Asus P5W DH Deluxe, I opted for the P5Q Deluxe motherboard, which supported the required technologies and also featured illuminated power and reset buttons on its surface to help those who, like me, tend to build their initial test configurations outside a case.

I would then re-use my existing Gigabyte NX66256DP graphics card and Promise Supertrak EX8350 hardware Raid controller, although I’d swap the current triplet of 300GB disks for three 500GB models I’d bought over the past year to transport data between locations. This would increase the capacity of my Raid 5 array from 600GB to 1,000GB.

This would all be powered by another recent acquisition, a Corsair HX520W supply that could happily keep such a configuration running smoothly, quietly and efficiently. Speaking of quiet operation, the QX9650 required a new heatsink and fan, so I bought a Zalman CNPS9700-NT Super Aero Flower that employs a 110mm fan and four-pin header for extended motherboard control. So the only brand new purchases were the motherboard, heatsink and case.