The $500 Hive Mind Upgrade

F

Fharakin

Gawd
Joined
Jan 31, 2008
Messages
663
1) What will you be doing with this PC?
web, movies, basic office work, Diablo 3, general ms office crap
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$500 and yes I live near a Micro Center tax can be extra
3) Which country do you live in?
Outside Chicago, Il
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget?
cpu? mbd? vid? mem?
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing?
hdd, case, dvdrw, acc. psu (antec earthwatts 380)
6) Will you be overclocking?
no
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Dual Samsung 22.5" dvi 1650X1080
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
asap
9) What features do you need in a motherboard?
nothing I cant live w/o hdd's are 3gb sata,
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
yes win 7 64bit ultimate

Current system:
AMD Athlon 64 x2 5000+
Asus M3A78-EM
4gb Corsair 1066
1x 500gb Seagate
1x 250gb Seagate
9600 GT 1gb
Antec Earthwatts 380


Basically my stuff is getting long in the tooth. I don't have a ton of cash laying around right now (for some reason I went and bought a Mastiff....didn't really figure in the ancillary cost of food for that damn beast!)
So what would be the best use of $500 to upgrade me? I have been agonizing a build for the last 4 days trying to read and figure it all out.

As far as games I play AOE, GTA, I am looking forward to D3 and perhaps the new Star Wars mmo. Anything else, I encode/convert vid and audio files frequently, watch movies.

I do need the ability to run my dual monitor set up...I can't live without pRon on 2 screens.

Help a guy out!
PS: in my research the mbd I have only supports more than 4gb in ddr 800 modules...I cant seem to find 8gb inexpensively.
 
Pick up a i5 2500k from MicroCenter, should be around $180.

$89.99 - GIGABYTE GA-Z68P-DS3
$46.99 - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
$129.99 - XFX HD-679X-ZRFC Radeon HD 6790 1GB
$63.99 - Antec EarthWatts EA-500D Green 500W ATX12V ($5 off w/ promo code EMCKAHH43, ends 9/28 )

Total shipped: $329.29 shipped + ($180) = ~$510 tax not included

Alright I reconfigured it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Skillz said:
Pick up a i5 2500k from MicroCenter, should be around $180.

$89.99 - GIGABYTE GA-Z68P-DS3
$46.99 - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
$129.99 - XFX HD-679X-ZRFC Radeon HD 6790 1GB
$63.99 - Antec EarthWatts EA-500D Green 500W ATX12V ($5 off w/ promo code EMCKAHH43, ends 9/28 )

Total shipped: $329.29 shipped + ($180) = ~$510 tax not included

Alright I reconfigured it.
Click to expand...

This.
Also that 6790 comes with a free copy of Stalker Call of Pripyat and has a $20 mail in rebate currently
 
I do not factor MIRs in the total cost due to MIRs not being 100% guaranteed, but if you do get it then that's good, just don't base a build expecting/needing them to cover costs.
 
Dude for 4 days I have been building carts and going back and forth in forums.

You have done what I could not in a scant hour.

/tips hat

I salute you Skillz


I could sell the dog, but its 3 months an 57 lbs....its isnt a cute puppy anymore, no one will want it, lol.
 
Fharakin said:
I could sell the dog, but its 3 months an 57 lbs....its isnt a cute puppy anymore, no one will want it, lol.
Click to expand...
I think my grandma might want it for a stew.................... :D

Anyway, Skillz's setup is good.
 
I printed a copy of those 20% off Micro Center coupons for ram, psu, and gpu...i'll head out tomorrow and see if they work, wish me luck.
 
You're going to buy the RAM, PSU and GPU from MC as well? As those links are for Newegg.
 
Skillz said:
I do not factor MIRs in the total cost due to MIRs not being 100% guaranteed, but if you do get it then that's good, just don't base a build expecting/needing them to cover costs.
Click to expand...

Just food for thought, since its an added bonus if you do get the mail in. Instant rebates are were its at.

Fharakin
Print out neweggs page for the 6790 w/ the free game & MIR and see if MC will price match it. Granted you might not get the game or the chance for the MIR but 20 bucks price match is totally worth it especially if you still get to use the coupon.

GL on your build.
 
CALL Micro Center before you go and specifically ask about price matching and other specials. Your MC "benefits" vary from store to store, and even sometimes depending on the person who answers your call.
 
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