Upgrade: Trying to keep it cheap-ish

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SR-71

n00b
Joined
Oct 21, 2003
Messages
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Alright, so my psu shorted out my old S-754 K8N-E Deluxe with a 3200+ and it's finally time to upgrade to something new.I have no idea what the newer technologies are or whats good or not, so I'd appreciate some help in figuring this out!

I have:
-hard drives, monitor, old case (antec sonata II), dvd burners...

I need:
-motherboard, cpu, ram, psu, video card

I'd like to keep it under $550.00

I made a configuration myself, but have no idea how decent it is or if I should try out something else, I'd like it to be dual core and DX10:

ASUS M2N-E SLI AM2 NVIDIA nForce 500 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard $87.99

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ Windsor 2.4GHz Socket AM2 65W Processor Model ADO4600CUBOX $89.99

G.SKILL 4GB(4 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Quad Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5Q-4GBNQ $134.99

Thermaltake W0093RU 500W Power Supply - Retail

XFX PVT84JUDD3 GeForce 8600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 $129.99

hah, suggestions welcome!
 
What size monitor do you have?

AMD is fine for low budget systems.

You don't need 4GB of RAM, and you need to ditch that PSU. You'll be better off spending the money a better PSU, and a better graphics card or CPU.

For the PSU, go with the XClio Goodpower 500W instead of that Thermaltake piece of junk.

What size monitor do you have?
What was your old vidcard?
What games do you play?

The midrange DX10 cards SUCK, especially for DX10 gaming. But, if you're on a really small monitor, it won't matter much, hehe.
 
Well, I can increase the budget it'll just mean a little bit more of a wait on ordering the parts.
As of now the monitor I have is a 19" Samsung LCD, but I do have a 42" plasma sitting in the corner not being used; would it be really expensive to hook that sucker up making it like an HTPC?

I play a ton of games, modern and old(Bioshock, HL2, Oblivion, SC) so would like a Radeon HD2600XT be better? Or is that still a little low performance wise?

I used to have a 9800XT 256mb

I'd go with intel but a motherboard/CPU combo would cost like 300-400 alone...
 
For the RAM just go with Dual Channel 2x1GB Corsair XMS2 800? Sounds like something reliable and name brand. Hah, once again I'm behind on the tech, and have no idea what brand is reliable or not.
 
Oh. Edit your post to make me look dumb. I see how it is now... :p (j/k)

That ram is fine. It just depends on your budget. You can get 2GB of 800MHz ram for as little as $55 with no rebates. Most of them come with lifetime warranty. More expensive ram has high tolerances for overclocking. Whatever you're comfortable with spending.
 
8600gt is chraptaculor lol
a 1950pro or 1950xt are good choice
2 gig memory is all you need since some of it(4 gig) will be wasted in 32 bit operating system
x2 may have some good overclocking head room if your into that kinda thing.
 
SR-71 said:
I'd go with intel but a motherboard/CPU combo would cost like 300-400 alone...
Click to expand...

Not really... here's an intel alternative...

$280 - 8800GTS ($30MIR)
$130 - Core2Duo E4400 2Ghz
$91 - IP35-E ($20MIR)
$66 - 2GB DDR2-800
$50 - 500W XClio Goodpower
======
$617 + tax and shipping - $50 MIR


If you go for AMD, go with the RAM and PSU I listed at least...

$280 - 8800GTS ($30MIR)
$90 - 4600+ X2
$88 - M2N-E SLI
$66 - 2GB DDR2-800
$50 - 500W XClio Goodpower
======
$574 + tax and shipping - $30 MIR

The vidcard would be best for DX10 gaming on a 19" monitor, but its up to you. The other alternative would be an OC'd 8600GTS or X1950Pro. All the new games will be playable in DX9 mode, if you choose the X1950.
 
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