Looking for cheapest/best mobo/cpu/ram combo sub $400

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Dark Shade

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
May 2, 2006
Messages
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My buddy needs to upgrade for upcoming games such as Bad Company 2, yet he's still in 939/DDR land. His video card is sufficient as is his power supply, and storage is not a problem, so we're going to do a core upgrade.

We're heading to Microcenter on Tuesday to fish for deals, but we are definitely not opposed to saving a few bucks by going online, so if anyone has time, can you list these three components for the best bang:buck ratio? AMD or Intel, Dual or Quad, mid-grade to premium brand motherboards, and looking for 4GB of quality RAM if possible. The cheaper the better. Thanks.

Here's my initial setup, feel free to tweak:
AMD Athlon II X2 250 Dual Core Processor $69.99
Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H 758G AM2+ ATX Motherboard $79.99
Crucial Memory Ballistix 4GB DDR2-800 (PC-6400) CL4 Memory Kit (Two 2GB Memory Modules) $89.99
Click to expand...
Total: $252.97 ($16.00 tax, no shipping)
 
At Micro Center's B&M stores, IIRC, you could (still) get the i5 750 for $150, and some stores are known to be able to price-match most of the P55 boards and memory that they have in stock with NewEgg's prices.

Make a printout of a NewEgg shopping cart with the following items:

Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3L P55 ATX motherboard
Corsair XMS3 2x2GB DDR3 1600 dual channel kit (Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C9)

But call the store before you head there and ask them whether or not they're willing to price-match with NewEgg.

(Crap, gwarren007's right: You'll probably need a new PSU to ensure the longevity of your new system.)
 
These are good suggestions -- I will check on his PSU to see if his current one will be adequate.
 
regardless you'll probably need a new PSU

might wanna up that budget to $500 if possible
 
His PSU is sufficient, 500W Antec

His budget still has to be under $400 though for all other components total
 
To elaborate, if the Antec 500W is a TruePower 2.0 or SmartPower 2.0, he should definitely get a new PSU. Those units were notorious for failure in high heat conditions due to the faulty caps (fuhjyyu) used in them, combined with the poor cooling design.
 
Yup, there is also the Antec Basiq BP500 PS which is pretty shitty. There is also the Antec Neo Power 500W which is a good psu but by now, it's old like 4-5 years. If you have the Antec Earthwatts EA500 then your good.
 
Let's put it another way: If the PSU you're friend's currently using is over three years old, consider buying a new one.
 
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